AlmiraGulch Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I'll be homeschooling my rising 8th grade dd13 for the first time starting in the fall. I've selected curricula, but I'm having difficulty deciding how many days of each subject she should do, and how much per day. Here's where I am: TRISMS: Covers history, geography, reading, and includes IEW for writing. Will do every day for however long it takes to get the assignments done. 2.5 - 4 hours is what I'm reading. VideoText Algebra: Daily....will follow the writer's suggested lesson plan. Rainbow Science: Supposed to be 3 times per week, with 2 reading days and one lab day. We're planning to do 4 days per week instead, 2 readings, lab, 2 readings, lab. Rosetta Stone Spanish: How many days? How long? Mavis Beacon Typing: How many days? How long? Fallacy Detectives: How many days? How long? Wii Fit (or something else physical): 30 mins - 1 hour, 4 - 6 days per week, depending on what she feels like doing. She will also attend a 4 hour enrichment program from 9 - 1 on Fridays. I want her to be challenged but I don't want to kill her and beg to go back to PS! Any comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated. TIA! Quincy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I responded in green. Mavis Beacon Typing: How many days? How long? Four days/week at 15ish minutes per day. Fallacy Detectives: How many days? How long? Actually, ideally, I'd do this during the summer. She has a fairly full plate and only 4 full days. This would be easy to read and discuss over the summer. That would be the best option IMHO. Otherwise, I'd plan on 4 days/wekk at about 20 minutes per day. HTH, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Thanks so much! Maybe we will do FD over the summer. I hadn't even considered that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted June 24, 2009 Author Share Posted June 24, 2009 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda in NM Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 It does seem ambitious, but if she's academically inclined...HM is a lot of fun, but IEW for the first time through is time consuming...you might look at about 1/2 hour/day for Spanish...or more if she's inspired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted June 24, 2009 Author Share Posted June 24, 2009 It does seem ambitious, but if she's academically inclined...HM is a lot of fun, but IEW for the first time through is time consuming...you might look at about 1/2 hour/day for Spanish...or more if she's inspired. That's what I'm worried about. She's very smart, reads voraciously, but is not particulary academically inclined. I'm afraid this might be too much on her, but then I don't want to necessarily make it "easy" for her, either. What to do? Sigh... Thanks for the feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 It sounds like a lot to me, but then my ds is NOT academically inclined but he is highly artistic and I have to remember to give him clear blocks of time 2-3 hours at a time, to draw. This means I have to stick to the basics...maths, IEW, grammar, and science. Other stuff we do when we get to it. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CO MOM Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Fallacy Detective has just 36 lessons, so it works well to do one/week for the year. We just did it orally together on Friday afternoons - usually took about 30-45 minutes - an hour if we started discussing tangents or on some of the later lessons. With Rainbow, my ds took about 30 min./lesson for reading with taking notes. Otherwise he would be done in 15 and not remember much! We just went at the suggested pace, but I don't think if would be too hard to go faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted June 24, 2009 Author Share Posted June 24, 2009 Fallacy Detective has just 36 lessons, so it works well to do one/week for the year. We just did it orally together on Friday afternoons - usually took about 30-45 minutes - an hour if we started discussing tangents or on some of the later lessons. With Rainbow, my ds took about 30 min./lesson for reading with taking notes. Otherwise he would be done in 15 and not remember much! We just went at the suggested pace, but I don't think if would be too hard to go faster. Both good pieces of info. So she will have several subjects, but some will definitely be lighter so I won't be killing her. Cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 That's what I'm worried about. She's very smart, reads voraciously, but is not particulary academically inclined. I'm afraid this might be too much on her, but then I don't want to necessarily make it "easy" for her, either. What to do? Sigh... Finding the balance which challenges but doesn't overwhelm is the key. And it might be difficult to judge that as you are planning for your first year. I would suggest a couple of things. First, as suggested, would be to do one of the lighter subjects this summer -- FD or the typing for example. You could also ramp up rather than start all at once. If you were planning to start Sept. 1, for instance, you could start a week early with the TRISMS and get your rhythm down with that. The next week, on your official start date, roll in math and Spanish and then roll in science the third week (or sooner if all is going well). Just a suggetion so that you can be flexible the first week or two and find a routine that works well. The tricky part for you all will be to fit it into 4 days, since one day is out of the house. You can do it -- we have a co-op day as well -- but it makes those four days at home a bit longer. And my highschoolers come home from co-op and finish up math and other necessary subjects. HTH, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted June 25, 2009 Author Share Posted June 25, 2009 Finding the balance which challenges but doesn't overwhelm is the key. And it might be difficult to judge that as you are planning for your first year. I would suggest a couple of things. First, as suggested, would be to do one of the lighter subjects this summer -- FD or the typing for example. You could also ramp up rather than start all at once. If you were planning to start Sept. 1, for instance, you could start a week early with the TRISMS and get your rhythm down with that. The next week, on your official start date, roll in math and Spanish and then roll in science the third week (or sooner if all is going well). Just a suggetion so that you can be flexible the first week or two and find a routine that works well. The tricky part for you all will be to fit it into 4 days, since one day is out of the house. You can do it -- we have a co-op day as well -- but it makes those four days at home a bit longer. And my highschoolers come home from co-op and finish up math and other necessary subjects. HTH, Lisa Excellent ideas! Thanks SO MUCH! I really want this to work, and I appreciate your advice more than you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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