How many subjects a day?

[Pegs]

How many subjects do you cover each day? And for which grade levels? Feel free to share a weekly schedule if that better reflects how often you address each subject.

 

I've been hitting four a day with my 2nd grader. (I don't count morning time, and so DS hasn't noticed that I basically introduced four extra activities each day. Shhhh ;) )

 

Daily: morning time; reading; spelling or copywork; mathematics.

 

Loop: History; science; grammar.

 

We're about to take a week off school, and I was thinking of changing things up a bit. For example, we're about to start Fix It grammar, which is scheduled to run four days each week. I wonder if I'll have a rebellion on my hands if I increase our daily schedule to include morning time plus five subjects.

 

I'm interested to see how others are fitting studies into each day, so if you'd like to share, please do so!

 

And if you have any advice about gently increasing the workload for a bright, autistic 7yo, I'm all ears.

[PeterPan]

Well the time to add things is when he's bored and showing he has room (mental stamina) to do more. If you're thinking it could provoke behaviors, it might not be the time. Fix It will be just as good later.

 

Instead of counting subjects, you might look at total time spent. I get a TON done with my ds8 with autism, but we work at lightning speed. We did non-preferred and alternate with highly preferred. I keep a consistent structure (file folders for the non-preferred alternating with preferred things, all in a pile), so increasing work means it has to fit in that structure. Generally each file folder we do is about 10 minutes, so we typically have 6 file folders and have preferred activities (read alouds, games, etc.) alternating with those. 

 

Right now my ds has been having a growth spurt or mental explosion or something, so things that used to need to be divided into 6 folders he can now do all at once. It has really been astonishing. I've kept it at that level for now, because frankly it's nice to be in rock star mode, lol. We're going to have a week off pretty soon for a little vacation, and then when we come back, after we're back in the groove (ugh), we'll have to shake things up. But still, I'll add up overall time and make sure I'm alternating preferred and non-preferred.

 

I do something for grammar-ish for my ds every day that we do paper work. I see you have grammar on loop but are wanting to do Fix-It daily. I think a little daily something could be good. Is it possible that your reticence is actually about how it will be done, not whether it could be done? I had Fix It years ago to try with my dd, but I don't remember much about it. I'm using a couple Scholastic workbooks (Success with Writing, Success with Grammar) with my ds. They're ebooks, so slipping in a single page or two from each is no biggee. 

 

Scholastic Success with Writing, Grade 1: Scholastic: 9780545200790: Amazon.com: Books

Amazon.com: Scholastic Success With Grammar, Grade 2 (9780545201063): Scholastic: Books

 

[Pegs]

I think Fix It will work really well with him, and I do think he's up for doing a touch more school every day.

 

Lately we've been negotiating extra school time for extra PC time, and that's been going really well. So I know he's got the brain space for more, and he's much more settled if he doesn't have too much unstructured free time.

Edited September 17, 2017 by Pegs

[Hobbes]

Young 3rd grader - math (with drill), reading/phonics (OPGTR & ETC), writing/grammar (copywork & journal), handwriting.

 

Morning time every day, with memory work, French, literature, Bible. Art/history/science once per week each.

[SilverMoon]

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Edited September 8, 2023 by SilverMoon

[Pegs]

If I were going to increase his load somehow in a way he would want to join the dark side we would talk about it a LOT before hand. I'd tell (not ask) him about what we were going to add, and describe how the new program works, what he'll learn from it, and what a day's load will look like. I'd probably start these discussions at least a week in advance so he'd have time to think and ask questions. He's not a fan of sudden change AT ALL, but he is a thinker. With anxiety. Talking things to death beforehand has really gotten him through some rough patches in life.

 

 

This is really helpful. Thanks for sharing.

[sarahrb]

So glad someone else posted this, because I struggle with "how many subjects makes a homeschool day "count"?" frequently.

 

We (me and my 2nd grader) do 3-4 subjects a day.  MWF are scheduled as 4 subjects a day and TR are scheduled as 3 subjects a day.  Today was a bad day for me on a personal level, but we still got three or four subjects in, depending how you count things (whole math lesson, reading lesson done on the computer = less than ideal but better than not reading, gym class, ELA did the read aloud but not the writing portion).

[wendyroo]

We school 4 days a week.

 

First Grader:

During Breakfast Subjects: Listen to a read aloud and some poetry, watch CNN10, practice his speech therapy homework (30 minutes total)

Every Day Subjects:  Reading, Handwriting, Spanish, Science (next semester history will take this slot) (45 minutes total)

Alternating Day Subjects:

     2 Days a Week:  Writing, Problem Solving, Typing and Drawing (30-45 minutes total)

     The Other 2 Days a Week: Spelling, Problem Solving, Programming and Drawing (30-45 minutes total)

Math After Lunch (20 minutes)

 

Total Number of Daily Subjects = 12?      Total School Time = Around 2 Hours

 

Third Grader:

During Breakfast Subjects: Listen to a read aloud and some poetry, watch CNN10 (30 minutes total)

Every Day Subjects:  Piano, Reading, Handwriting, Spanish, Science (next semester history will take this slot) (60 minutes total)

Alternating Day Subjects:

     2 Days a Week:  Problem Solving, Writing, Spelling, Grammar, More Spanish (45-60 minutes total)

     The Other 2 Days a Week: Problem Solving, Memorization, Programming, Typing, More Spanish (45-60 minutes total)

Math After Lunch (30 minutes)

 

Total Number of Daily Subjects = 13?      Total School Time = Around 3 Hours

 

[Seeking Squirrels]

My 9yo's schedule:

 

M: co-op

 

T:Morning Time*

Math

Writing

Word Roots (1/2 a lesson)

Dictation (Very short, just a couple sentences from her spelling program)

Science

History**

Read

 

W: Morning time

Math

Writing

Spelling

Handwriting

Engineering

Read

 

Th: Morning time

Math

writing

Word roots (2nd half of lesson)

Dictation

Science

History

Read

 

F: 1 ch. read aloud

Math

Writing 

  1x month: field trip w/ co-op

  Other weeks:

Art

Cooking

Games

 

We generally do MT, math, and LA before lunch. Science, history, and engineering after. 

 

*Morning time is supposed to be memory work, ASL, and read alouds from 3 selections. Lately it's only been 1-2 read alouds. It's been a rare day we get in the full morning time because we prioritize starting seat work "on time". 

 

**This history schedule was when she was just doing studies weekly. Now we're switching things up and history will be much more involved. I may have to rethink having it on the same day as science.

 

 

Things that have helped my highly anxious seeker adjust to a heavier school load:

Going to PS last year so her day is still shorter ;) 

Printing out her schedule every day so she sees exactly what's expected of her. 

Letting her take breaks when she needs them instead of pushing through when she's DONE.

I talk to her about each curriculum before we start. I get her input while still being the solid decision maker. I let her explore the workbook when it comes and get her input on if she'd rather keep it together as one book or have it split up in her daily folders and also on where in our schedule we should do it. Basically giving her control where I can. 

[happypamama]

1st grader -- goal is math, phonics, copywork, and drawing every day, plus groupwork (poetry, Bible story, geography, maybe other things), plus picture books and family readalouds.

 

3rd grader -- goal is math, reading, cursive or Bible application (alternating), writing, spelling, alternating history and science. He gets the group and family stuff too and usually spends a little time each day doing math facts games, DuoLingo French, and typing.

 

7th grader -- daily is math, literature, writing, history, science, general skills, Bible, DuoLingo Russian, and alternating Latin and arts reading. Plus he likes the typing program too. We also go over LLfLOtR a few times a week, and he generally listens to family readalouds.

 

10th grader -- algebra 2, chemistry, history, language arts, Spanish daily. Creative Writing and music elective several times a week.

[MinivanMom]

With my 2nd grader, we have 4 daily subjects (math, writing, literature read-aloud, and French). Then we alternate journal writing (M/W) with spelling (T/Th) and history read-alouds (M/W) with science (T/Th). I guess that technically makes for 6 subjects per day, but we treat the read-alouds as one long reading time so it feels like 5 subjects. My goal is to spend no more than 2 hrs on school each day except Fridays when we only do math and art. 

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

My K'er does 3 subjects daily: Math, Reading, Continents & Cultures. The latter is a mix of geography, life science, art, music appreciation, & foreign languages. Copy work related to our studies gets thrown in a couple times a week in some way, shape, or form. Each takes 30-45min including hands-on activities & games, with 15min breaks between them. This does not include sports (soccer & gymnastics) or family read-alouds.

Edited September 20, 2017 by Expat_Mama_Shelli

[Mommyof1]

Mine is prek, so right now it depends on her.

 

Read aloud's (variety of subjects)

 

Phonics/her reading

 

Math songs, Rays or Bedtime Math

 

My goal in these early years is to give her the tools she needs to love God, be a good and kind person, to know how to read and love to learn things. To be a renaissance woman when she grows up.

[HomeAgain]

I have a 2nd grader.  He does more than 5, but that doesn't matter. 

 

In your house, I would start by renaming one of the subjects.  Instead of reading and spelling, he has now graduated to Language Arts.  And Language Arts has more components. 

 

 

[Pegs]

I have a 2nd grader. He does more than 5, but that doesn't matter.

 

In your house, I would start by renaming one of the subjects. Instead of reading and spelling, he has now graduated to Language Arts. And Language Arts has more components.

I think we will probably do something like this. Or maybe separate reading out from homeschool and do it as part of bedtime.

 

So we'll have a schooling schedule looking something like,

 

Morning time

 

Break

 

2 subjects (maths and grammar)

 

Break

 

2 subjects (history or science, and spelling)

 

Break (PC time - significant motivator)

 

Reading at bedtime

 

 

 

 

Does this look reasonable? I write our schedule up on the whiteboard every morning, with different colours for school and for breaks, and that seems to really help our day go smoothly.

[PineFarmMom]

My 2nd grader:

 

Morning time - 30 minutes:

Prayer

Bible

Memory work or art appreciation as we have time

 

Math - 30 minutes

Math/drill/challenging word problems

 

Language arts 1.5 hours broken up with breaks:

Spelling workout

Cottage Press, which covers copywork, fables, narration, vocabulary, dictation, picture study, nature study, not all the same day.

Prima Latina - mostly oral

Literature

He reads to me

He reads to self

 

History or science - 20 minutes

 

Awana/Bible - 15 minutes

 

We always have a read-aloud at lunch too,, most often it is aimed at my older boys

 

If I broke that up, it would be:

Math, bible, language arts, spelling, Latin, literature, history, science, vocabulary, with nature study and art thrown in once per week.

[Jackie]

2nd grader who really likes school time

 

4 days/week, 3 hours/day, covering 6 subjects at 25 minutes each with 5 minute breaks in between

 

Morning, usually 10:00-12:00: Writing, Language Arts (other than writing), Math, Foreign Language

Then lunch andsomeing else for the afternoon (gymnastics, field trip, games, whatever)

Afternoon, usually 4:00-5:00: Science, Social Studies

 

She chooses extracurriculars, which currently include learning piano, so she also practices piano daily. There's a few minutes of logic work in the mornings as part of a "brain warm up". We spend at least 30 minutes/day on a family read aloud.

[...................]

At second grade we never got past four subjects per day. 3Rs and then an alternating

[Another Lynn]

At second grade we never got past four subjects per day. 3Rs and then an alternating

 

Yes, and this is the beauty of using all 5 days for school - you can do fewer subjects each day!   :hurray:

[coastalfam]

We do math and language arts daily. We do geography about 3 days a week, and science, history, art, music, and other enrichment activities once a week each. So generally this puts us at about 4 to 5 topics/subjects a day, besides reading aloud, practicing their instruments, and sports. 

[goldenecho]

3rd grade -

 

MONDAY

Spanish Class (sort of like co-op).   Sometimes we get the "every day" subjects done before Spanish class, but some Mondays getting out to Spanish class is all that happens.

 

EVERY  DAY (Combined time: 1-3 hours)

Reading, Spelling, Math, Spanish Review....I try to do only one "new concept" lesson in any of these each day (though occasionally reading and spelling concepts overlap and are combined into one lesson), and the rest is practice which takes less time. And I try to never do new concept lessons on Fridays because I want at least one day of review of the concept before the weekend. 

 

MOST DAYS (30-45 minutes)

History/Bible...2 to 4 days just depending on what we're covering.  Right now we are still in ancient times so Bible is combined with History.  

 

SPORADIC

Science will sometimes coincide with history (like we studies planets and constellations when we were studying ancient Greece and Rome, because there was overlap. ).   Other times we do it unit study style and do it daily until it's done, and during those times we may cut down on some of the other subjects. 

 

Edited September 25, 2017 by goldenecho