Anyone?

Anyone?

My dd is 9 and we just started her 4th grade year. I also have a 1st grader. How many hours a day do you do school with your 4th grader? How much of it is direct teaching and how much is the child working independently? We also have twin 5 month olds and 2 1/2 year old. After having them in March we went on survival mode and pared down on school doing a "light schedule" for the last 6 months. Typically we'd do about 2 hrs of school a day. Now I'm trying to get us back on a "regular schedule." Right now we usually---- Start with a half hour morning time---CNN student news, Bible Story, prayer, overview of day, going over independent work with my 4th grader My dd starts independent work---45-60 min We have a mid-morning break / snack My dd takes toddler outside for a walk and to play and I work with 1st grader on Lang, math, and his bible lesson---45-60 min My 1st grader watches a show with toddler or plays with her and I work with dd9 on reviewing her independent work and correcting any errors, math, composition or grammar, and our Bible study---about am hour Lunch break then nap for babies and toddler At this point we are trying to do our chapter read alouds, Spanish and other subjects and maybe have my dd9 do a bit more independent work but we don't seem to be fitting all this in. A lot of times I'm still trying to work on basics like math and writing with dd. I usually have an 1 1/2 window for the kids to nap. We don't seem to get all in before they are up. I'd like my dd to do another 1/2 hr to 45 min of independent work then but I seem to lose her momentum. Any ideas or tips? Is this a realistic schedule? I think it's partly they've been doing a light schedule for awhile and so I'm getting resistance from them. They are used to being done by lunch and are not being cooperative about doing anything in the afternoon.

My dd is 9 and we just started her 4th grade year. I also have a 1st grader. How many hours a day do you do school with your 4th grader? How much of it is direct teaching and how much is the child working independently? We also have twin 5 month olds and 2 1/2 year old. After having them in March we went on survival mode and pared down on school doing a "light schedule" for the last 6 months. Typically we'd do about 2 hrs of school a day. Now I'm trying to get us back on a "regular schedule." Right now we usually---- Start with a half hour morning time---CNN student news, Bible Story, prayer, overview of day, going over independent work with my 4th grader My dd starts independent work---45-60 min We have a mid-morning break / snack My dd takes toddler outside for a walk and to play and I work with 1st grader on Lang, math, and his bible lesson---45-60 min My 1st grader watches a show with toddler or plays with her and I work with dd9 on reviewing her independent work and correcting any errors, math, composition or grammar, and our Bible study---about am hour Lunch break then nap for babies and toddler At this point we are trying to do our chapter read alouds, Spanish and other subjects and maybe have my dd9 do a bit more independent work but we don't seem to be fitting all this in. A lot of times I'm still trying to work on basics like math and writing with dd. I usually have an 1 1/2 window for the kids to nap. We don't seem to get all in before they are up. I'd like my dd to do another 1/2 hr to 45 min of independent work then but I seem to lose her momentum. Any ideas or tips? Is this a realistic schedule? I think it's partly they've been doing a light schedule for awhile and so I'm getting resistance from them. They are used to being done by lunch and are not being cooperative about doing anything in the afternoon.

That explains the piano. If you guys all enjoy taking lessons and having lunch with dad I might keep that. My ideas are that is too much work to get done with how much you are out. I would probably drop CC if you feel it's more a supplement or do less science and history at home and utilize CC more for that. If you already feel stressed, I would add more to your day so I would skip the bible study but probably keep the tennis for PE. Could that be moved to the afternoon? On piano days, I'd assign them some independent work to do well you do your lesson and maybe do some one on one with each child. Could you try some "car school" practicing maybe your Latin and listen to an audio book while you drive. If they don't get carsick maybe they could bring a clipboard and do a bit of work and bring a book to read. Utilizing an 1 1/2 in the car round trip could help them get a lot done! I'd probably do science 2x a week and history 2x a week. I'd try to get down to only 1 "out day a week." For reading at their age, I'd just do reading books related to the science and history topics they are studying and through in some art and music books here and there. Then I'd schedule on free choice reading. My kids do book basket for 15-20 minutes a day, reading books on our history topic or science, about 4 days a week, independently. Then they do about 20 minutes minimum of free reading whatever they got at the library or from their own collection. They usually like to read longer than that.

This is what sort of typically stops me from joining CC. I much prefer a 4 or 6 year history cycle. We did early American History up through the Civil Wat this year and plan to do something different. We are going to do a Little House study doing a book a month then pick back up with the 1900's to modern next year focusing on US History. I don't know that CC will compliment my plans or that I want to change them to go along with CC. On the other hand it's tough finding other co-ops or starting one. And I have a toddler and twin infants, so I feel like we need something to help keep us on track, and I have a 4th grader that would benefit from Essentials and the whole group setting / instruction from someone besides mom. I thought well maybe it'll cover my basis for doing classical and then allow us freedom to take a longer stroll through US history / follow rabbit trail, etc

No one?

I think not wanting to get all the kids out of the house early is a totally valid reason! It sounds like you are on the fence and need a push lol.... So you will only have one school age child and he'll be in 3rd. He's reading above grade level. Ok I think it's very doable. He can likely get set on a routine to do independent work if he's reading well. My dd is in 3rd and can do about an hour and a half of her work on her own. She does her phonics, spelling, handwriting, math exercises, free reading and book basket (subject based readings) on her own. Some days this is all she does because our days are crazy, aside from Bible and me reading a chapter book aloud. We have a two year old and I just had my 3 week old twins plus I have a k'er. If we can do that and I can do Lang and math with my k'er I feel we're pushing along. Not to say we don't get to the other stuff---the field trips, science, history, grammar, handicrafts, music, art, park days, library days, nature journals, etcetera....we do...but we have our days with a full house of littles....

Curious. I will have a 1st and 4th grader. What do you do with CC at home? Do you study the same history at home? Do you treat it like memory work and do your own thing?

This is so my son! He's all about get the basics done and then doing his own learning by building, exiting outside, watching science shows, and asking me to do science expertiments or inventing his own. I had him start k at 6 and really glad I did. K looked very different with him then with dd. But that's ok!

We did this for 1st. We had very light "Bible history" in 1st. In 2nd we did a light overview of early US history from exploration through the 1812. It was mainly good books and hand on crafts. This year for 3rd we are up to a 3 hour school day. One hour of that's independent. "Light school" is very much a consequence of me being pregnant during 1st, having a newborn in 2nd, being pregnant in 3rd with twins, and now the newborn twins are home, so we'll continue to keep things "light". Next year my goal for dd in 4th is 2 hours independent work and 2 hours with mom. I will have an hour one in one with my 1st grader for math & Lang and he'll tag along for a 30-60 min with dd's stuff but not all.

I am very like you. Love history, literature, art, handicrafts, cooking , and music. We read science books, write in our science journal and watch science videos but I am not great at doing hands on science or nature journaling. I just had twins and decided to sign them up for a homeschool science class that takes place at a local park. They'll get the hands on science and nature time. I'll back it up at home with books and shows on the topic and get them to do a journal page.

I'm so excited that MFW has revamped their preschool program! I used the preschool toy package with my ds when he was 3/4 and rounded it out with BFIAR and Rod and Staff books, but this looks so fun! Has anyone been a pilot family or used All Aboard? How did it work for you? I have a 2 year old and newborn twins so I'll get my use out if it? Do you think all aboard at 2.5 is too young? That means we'd do voyage at around 3.5.

2 year old- all aboard the animal train (for two's) 1st grader- mfw 1st math, Lang, and Bible only 4th- Singapore math, Rod and Staff Spelling, language lessons for today, and finish explode the code books (might finish this year) Both- Prairie Primer as core and La Clase Divertida level 3

Hahaha! Yes I can see how that would sound confusing. A brief states study focusing on geography, culture and a bit more contemporary in focus and a state study of California as we are Californians that would explore California history.