Peggy in Va Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I've been trying to figure out next years schedule for dss who will be in 6th & 7th grades. Those of you who actually make schedules, what amount of time and how many days do you allot for each subject. I know there are recommendations in the WTM, but I'm curious how others do it. With the exception of math, both boys will be working on the same things, so that's easy. There is a very good chance a friend of my older ds will be coming over to do Algebra 1 and science w/ us so I'm trying to figure out how to work that in. Obviously the science could be done 3 days/week. What concerns me is the idea of them only getting together 3 times a week for the Algebra, especially since they'll be using Saxon. So I guess there are actually two questions here. How do you schedule your days and does anyone have any ideas about this math issue? TIA :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Well, if they're going to cover Saxon algebra for an hour each day, how about setting homework for them to do on the days they don't meet? So if they meet M, W, and F, they'd have homework for Tuesday, Thursday, and even over the weekend if you want. The homework could be to cover the next lesson on their own and attempt xxx number of problems from it. Or you could cover two lessons with them at a time, then assign the homework to be working problems from both those lessons. If you did that, you'd cover six lessons per week and that's plenty to get you through the school year. I think that will also allow you some days for just testing or review, covering of the extra projects/explorations that are included, etc. Other than that, I'm not exactly certain what you're asking with regard to scheduling. Do you wish to know how we schedule all our other subjects? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 (edited) Let me preface this by saying I do make a detailed schedule every year, but I don't stick to it completely. I basically serves to help me place subjects within the day or within the week (math is always done early in the day, some days are busier than others so try to keep those schedules a little lighter, etc.) It also helps me to see whether something CAN work in a single day. We usually have to try it though to see if it really DOES work. Usually within a few weeks I'm willing to let DS do things out of order and he's always allowed to work ahead as long as he doesn't skip today's math assignment in favor of doing all his history and science readings for the week on Monday. Here's the schedule I made for 6th grade this year. It's a fairly good glimpse of our school week, but we aren't a slave to it. Daily Bible Memory Work/Copywork Math Latin (alternating between lessons one day and reviewing vocab and chant the next so it's more like twice a week than daily) Writing Omnibus Monday & Wednesday Grammar History Tuesday & Thursday Spelling Science Friday Logic (this sort of fell apart somewhere in the middle of the year, but we'll try again next year) Fine Arts (also fell apart mid-year but we've picked it back up again--alternating between drawing, pictures/artist study and music appreciation) Generally we spend 30-60 minutes on a subject at a time (except for bible, copywork, memory work and Latin review.) Anything not finished in a reasonable amount of time can be completed during "Study Hall" at the end of the day. This way we don't spend the whole morning on math getting frustrated, then the whole afternoon doing everything else and not having time to play. That break sort of eases tension. Oh, I actually do this in a table, all color-coded for the various subjects. It sort of helps me to see it all better that way. I didn't know how to post a table though. HTH Edited May 14, 2009 by Suzannah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I pretty much follow the scheduling ideas in WTM--We have history twice a week for 90 minutes, and Science twice a week for 90 minutes. I honestly, though, don't so much go by minutes (since I don't have to) as by what needs to get done. If I assign something and they finish it earlier than I thought, then they're done, I don't assign more just to use up time. If they need MORE time than I thought, then we just work it in. We try to stick with getting up at the same time, having breakfast, doing morning chores, and getting ready, then starting schoolwork. That helps build a routine that their body/brain gets used to. Then they have a list of what needs to be done that day, and they're responsible for getting it done. It may take them longer than 90 minutes to finish up something in Science one day, but another day it will not take the whole 90 minutes. It evens out. They're used to this plan, and I very rarely need to prod them to get their work done. Since that is the case, we'll stick with doing things this way. Welllll, actually, I'm having to do some prodding right now---with the end of the schoolyear so near, it's harder for them to concentrate! But we're making progress, and are done with some of their classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggy in Va Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 =mcconnellboys;950444]Well, if they're going to cover Saxon algebra for an hour each day, how about setting homework for them to do on the days they don't meet? So if they meet M, W, and F, they'd have homework for Tuesday, Thursday, and even over the weekend if you want. The homework could be to cover the next lesson on their own and attempt xxx number of problems from it. Or you could cover two lessons with them at a time, then assign the homework to be working problems from both those lessons. If you did that, you'd cover six lessons per week and that's plenty to get you through the school year. I think that will also allow you some days for just testing or review, covering of the extra projects/explorations that are included, etc. This idea makes sense now that I see it in writing. It's sort of what I was thinking; what had me concerned was how to cover Tues. & Thurs. However, if they both had either Saxon Teacher or the Dive CD, I guess if there were problems they could look to that for help. Other than that, I'm not exactly certain what you're asking with regard to scheduling. Do you wish to know how we schedule all our other subjects? I'm trying to figure out how to put all this together so that I don't "overload" them with hours per day. When we homeschooled before they were in 3rd/4th grade, so we weren't dealing with things like logic, and some of the other things that we should have been doing but weren't. So in answer to your question, yes, I'm trying to see how other people schedule they're academic time. I realize it's open to tweaking as the months progress, but I'm just looking for a general idea. Thanks for the math idea though. I think that might definitely work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggy in Va Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 =Suzannah;950460]Let me preface this by saying I do make a detailed schedule every year, but I don't stick to it completely. I basically serves to help me place subjects within the day or within the week (math is always done early in the day, some days are busier than others so try to keep those schedules a little lighter, etc.) It also helps me to see whether something CAN work in a single day. We usually have to try it though to see if it really DOES work. Usually within a few weeks I'm willing to let DS do things out of order and he's always allowed to work ahead as long as he doesn't skip today's math assignment in favor of doing all his history and science readings for the week on Monday. Here's the schedule I made for 6th grade this year. It's a fairly good glimpse of our school week, but we aren't a slave to it. Daily Bible Memory Work/Copywork Math Latin (alternating between lessons one day and reviewing vocab and chant the next so it's more like twice a week than daily) Writing Omnibus Monday & Wednesday Grammar History Tuesday & Thursday Spelling Science Friday Logic (this sort of fell apart somewhere in the middle of the year, but we'll try again next year) Fine Arts (also fell apart mid-year but we've picked it back up again--alternating between drawing, pictures/artist study and music appreciation) Generally we spend 30-60 minutes on a subject at a time (except for bible, copywork, memory work and Latin review.) This is very helpful, thank you. Just out of curiosity, what are you using for grammar and writing? Anything not finished in a reasonable amount of time can be completed during "Study Hall" at the end of the day. I really like this idea.:) This way we don't spend the whole morning on math getting frustrated, then the whole afternoon doing everything else and not having time to play. That break sort of eases tension. Exactly, this is what I'm afraid of happening and trying to avoid. Oh, I actually do this in a table, all color-coded for the various subjects. It sort of helps me to see it all better that way. I didn't know how to post a table though. HTH This is me, I love to make schedules. They just somehow make everything look clearer. If you ever figure out how to post it I'd love to see it. Thanks so much for sharing this, it is very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggy in Va Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 =Brindee;950468]I honestly, though, don't so much go by minutes (since I don't have to) as by what needs to get done. If I assign something and they finish it earlier than I thought, then they're done, I don't assign more just to use up time. If they need MORE time than I thought, then we just work it in. I agree, I don't want to make busy work for them, I'm just trying to figure out how to fit it all in. Then they have a list of what needs to be done that day, and they're responsible for getting it done. I'm hoping we can get to this point fairly early on. I don't see it being too much of a problem for older ds; however, the younger one is only familiar with spoon feeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I agree, I don't want to make busy work for them, I'm just trying to figure out how to fit it all in.Yeah, that's hard sometimes, and you may have to juggle things around a bit, but I'm guessing you'll come to a point where things seem to work out the best. I don't schedule it out to the minute, such as 8:00-8:30 Bible 8:30-9:15 Math etc. That makes it too easy to get thrown off schedule and frustrated, at least for our family (I tried that for awhile). That's why I figured out about how much was getting done per day/week, and scheduled it that way: "By the end of the day, this is what needs to be done." My schedule is more like the one Suzannah wrote above, only I've added in assignments for the day, at least in the beginning. Once we get to know the programs, they KNOW what needs to be done in the week, so I don't schedule every class all out, just ones they need to keep them on track. By looking at how much is in the book, you can break it down and figure out where you'd like to be by a certain time--by each week, or month, or quarter, however you like to work it. That's what helps keep me on track. I'm hoping we can get to this point fairly early on. I don't see it being too much of a problem for older ds; however, the younger one is only familiar with spoon feeding.Yeah, my ds the younger liked the spoon feeding for English Grammar! We have been using Rod & Staff, and he liked it when I worked orally with him through the lessons. He's in 9th grade this year, so I finally had him start working through it on his own! :) We started him iwth R&S when he was in 7th, so I did it with him at first to get used to the program and help him through it. But then, we kept going because we both enjoyed that time together, we actually laughed a lot while we worked through it moslty orally. He learned well, and it was fun for me to have that special time with him. This year though, he was in stuff that was past my level,:tongue_smilie: so I wasn't helpful for him, and he needed to work on his own anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 This is what I'm covering next year and how: Bible/Character - 30 minutes, 5 days Math - 30 minutes, 5 days Spelling/Word Study - 30 minutes, 5 days Handwriting/Writing - 30 minutes, 4/5 days Grammar - 30 minutes, 4/5 days Literature - 30 minutes, 5 days Geography - 30 minutes, 3 days Logic - 30 minutes, 2 days Spanish - 30 minutes, 5 days in two weeks Latin - 30 minutes, 5 days in two weeks (so I alternate these with 3 days one week and 2 the next) Reading - 30 minutes, 5 days History - 2 hours, 2 days per week Science - 2 hours, 2 days per week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeegal Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Well, since I have boys the same age as yours (11 (5th grade) and 12 (6th grade)), I'll throw out what happens in my house. Ds 12 grabs his school books and heads upstairs. He works through his materials and then reappears for the two of us to discuss his work (check and correct). Ds 11 sits with me for 30 minutes or so while we go over his assignments for the day, including Saxon Math. He then disappears to complete his school work. When he's finished, I check his work, make him redo all mistakes, and let him go. Generally both boys spend Daily: 45 min - 1 hr on Saxon Math 30 min - Rod and Staff English 15 min - Spelling 15-30 min - Latin 15 min - Greek (only 12 yo) Weekly: 2-3 hrs - history 2-3 hrs - science + time just reading In addition, they spend 30 minutes sitting down with me reviewing their schoolwork. My time is around 30 minutes per child + 30 minutes for any group subjects for the day. As far as using Saxon Math, you could cover 2 lessons with both boys when they meet. Saxon includes well written explanations in case students forget the lesson while doing their homework. Then, you could give the boys their test and 1 homework assignment on the 3rd day. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggy in Va Posted May 15, 2009 Author Share Posted May 15, 2009 Thank you all, these are a great help in trying to determine how much time the subjects take in real life.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 (edited) We use Abeka Grammar (per WTM) but I go through every so often and circle the exercises DS needs to do. I seriously think it would take all year and all summer doing it every day to get through each and every exercise. For writing we are using Classical Writing Homer. We're picking up the pace right now to finish it by the end of the year. When I said I make a detailed schedule at the beginning of the year, I actually do put in times and I schedule out all three children (even the toddler) in a table. This is not so that we will spend all our time chained to a clock. It's just so I can SEE how it will fit into the day. If I just say "We'll do Bible, Memory Work, Copy Work, Math, Omnibus and Writing in the morning before lunch" that sounds impossibly busy. But it is basically what we do. As it happens, the first three only take about 5-10 minutes each. It also helps to keep me on track. As I said, I hate to spend the whole morning on one subject--especially if it's stalling and not actual confusion. If I glance up and see that it's 11:30 and DS isn't finished with math, we MUST move on. He can work on it later in the day, during a time I have scheduled as "Study Hall." According to my schedule, it's from 2:30-3:30. But really Study Hall is just whenever the rest of the work is finished. I also have breaks scheduled, one at 10am and one after lunch. It doesn't actually make much difference when we take a break, but if I don't make a point of putting them on paper, they either turn into a whole afternoon of playing or I'm cracking the whip all day long because someone was stalling and making one subject run into another one. BUT, other than an initial effort at the very beginning of the year for the sake of establishing a routine, we don't go by the times of the schedule, just the spirit. :) Edited May 16, 2009 by Suzannah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggy in Va Posted May 16, 2009 Author Share Posted May 16, 2009 When I said I make a detailed schedule at the beginning of the year, I actually do put in times and I schedule out all three children (even the toddler) in a table. This is not so that we will spend all are time chained to a clock. It's just so I can SEE how it will fit into the day. This is exactly what I do. If I didn't I wouldn't have a clue as to whether or not we could fit in any outside activities or just a little down time. As I said, I hate to spend the whole morning on one subject--especially if it's stalling and not actual confusion. If I glance up and see that it's 11:30 and DS isn't finished with math, we MUST move on. He can work on it later in the day, during a time I have scheduled as "Study Hall." According to my schedule, it's from 2:30-3:30. But really Study Hall is just whenever the rest of the work is finished. I really like this idea of "study hall" time. It sounds so much nicer than "homework". BUT, other than an initial effort at the very beginning of the year for the sake of establishing a routine, we don't go by the times of the schedule, just the spirit. :) Are you sure we aren't twins?:) Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 I think in previous years I had told DS that anything not finished by the end of our school day was "homework." But then things would come up (scouts, music lessons, movie night, whatever) that would cause me to forget that there was homework (and of course DS wouldn't remind me!) or sometimes I just didn't want to mess with it. I set the assignments so I get to reschedule them if I want. This year I actually set a time for homework and called it study hall. By scheduling the time for it, we are better able to fit it into our day and make sure it gets done. I still push things back a day or a week sometimes, but much less often than before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggy in Va Posted May 16, 2009 Author Share Posted May 16, 2009 But then things would come up (scouts, music lessons, movie night, whatever) that would cause me to forget that there was homework (and of course DS wouldn't remind me!) or sometimes I just didn't want to mess with it. Like I said, are you sure we aren't twins. This sounds so much like me.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeegal Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 He can work on it later in the day, during a time I have scheduled as "Study Hall." :thumbup: What a marvelous idea! I'm going to have to use it next year. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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