How many hours per day for college-bound high schoolers?

[kpupg]

I'm asking because my new 9th-grader is shocked, shocked at how much time I'm expecting from him. I tell him war stories about my high school experiences, 6 hours per day just in class, plus homework, yada yada yada ... to deaf ears. I'm hoping that seeing responses from not-Mom people will be more helpful.

 

Also, if I really am out of line with my expectations, I want to know that! :)

 

Thanks,

Karen

[Nissi]

Yes, six to seven hours or more is what we are anticipating when we begin Sept. 1.

[Guest Barb B]

At least 6-7 hours here too.

[Jane in NC]

High school is not just a five day a week job. My son frequently studies on the weekend as well.

[Moni]

6 hours per day just in class

 

Those six hours weren't concentrating on task usually.

WE could write notes to friends, space out, daydream, or a combination thereof, so just something to consider.

 

I don't know how long my student works on his because he's on task, off task, etc. I can't sit there with a chess timer doing the on-again-off-again timerthing :lol:

:seeya:

[Guest Katia]

This is my dd's senior year, so we planned it to be 'light' on purpose. She has a solid 6 hours each day, and is doing ACT prep in the evening and on weekends.

 

9th-11th was more like 7-8 hours each day. High school is hard work and it takes t-i-m-e. Lots of it.

[Amy in CO]

This is dd freshman year. We are doing 7-8 hours. We haven't got it figured out yet if she will need extra reading time in the evenings. But she will need extra research time for the papers she will need to write.

[TravelingChris]

I put in six to seven but that is probably the minimum. Both of my kids who I have homeschooled in high school were probably doing more like 8 hours or 40 hours a week since some of their work was always done on weekends.

[justamouse]

I put 6-7, but I just started counting in my head and realized I was off a few hours.

 

Mine is shocked, too. I keep offering for her to hit the big yellow bus and see how much time she spends there. 6:30 on the bus, 7:70 school, 4 pm home and then homework! She'd be going to school in the dark and coming home in the dark.

 

Time for the rubber to hit the road and I'm dreading the learning curve.

[ncmomo3]

I put 6-7, ...

Mine is shocked, too.

:iagree: We are hitting closer to 7 hrs. and that doesn't include music (2 instruments).

She is quite surprised by the increase in work time. I DID forewarn her and

she will get over it... in time.;)

Edited August 27, 2009 by ncmomo3

[creekland]

It depends... my speedy 'gets it quickly' senior often spends 5 hours or less per day on his work - and does indeed 'get it.' I worry about what will happen when he gets challenged in college - or wherever that happens.

 

My middle 'highly academic' sophomore will spend almost every waking moment working on something related to his schoolwork. He's a perfectionist, has high goals (and will probably succeed), and seems to get antsy if he can't be doing something to further his education. In his off time, he reads. Schoolwork does not come easily for him as per my oldest, but this son tops older son's grades (where they aren't both at the top) merely because of the work he puts in. If given a short time to get something done (and correct) the older son will beat the middle son.

 

My youngest would prefer schoolwork didn't exist outside of Biological sciences - and perhaps a few other sciences... As much as I try to make him work, he's looking for excuses or ways not to... He is smart, but not as gifted as my oldest (except FAR more gifted in the Biological Sciences). He's also not naturally dedicated as my middle son is (except FAR more dedicated in the Biological Sciences). I'm still trying to figure out how to have him reach his niche - and in the meantime, insisting on time for 'boring' subjects like math - and anything outside of science. For hours? It's difficult to say as his day is so chopped up. If you include all his science experiments, observations, etc, then he's more like middle son, but if you get rid of what he does for fun and talk 'other' academics... I'm just not sure. Every hour counted here is a forced one though.

[Pongo]

When I was going to college , back in the day, my Professor told us most professors expect 2 hours of study/reading/homework per 60 minutes of scheduled class. I found that to be correct, and still now for graduate studies.

[Leanna Tomlinson]

I put 6-7 hrs for my 2 high-schoolers because that is the number of hours for which they are earning high school credit. Add in violin practice, basketball, and ACT/SAT prep and we are above 8 hours. I actually used to feel guilty going above 8 hours, but my eldest dd, in her sophmore year at college, keeps reassuring me that I'm doing the right thing.

 

HTH,

Leanna

[love2read]

All of mine have been shocked too. The first few struggled to study for so long; now I start increasing their workload and study time in seventh grade even if that time involves just doing research or reading. I voted 8 hours, but that includes the time spent eating breakfast, lunch and taking short breaks for the bathroom. Normally they start at 7:30 and finish an hour or so before dinner.

[jonesloonybin]

I have a 9th grader also. Right now we are doing about 5 hours but this is only our 4th day of school. We will add in Science next week. I expect it to go up.

[MamaT]

My 10th grader puts in 6-7 hours a day. I found this to be about the time it took for my older sons as well, before they graduated. High school is a LOT of work.

[AnitaMcC]

We are just starting out and on our third day of school here. We start at 9:00am and they go solid until noon. Then they get an hour break and start up again at 1pm and go solid until 3pm. So that is only 5 hours of solid work. But right now we are just getting into a routine and finding our niche on how to fit this into our family schedule.

 

This does not include P.E. or electives yet. Just required classes of Algebra 2, Chemistry, World History, Language Arts (composition, grammar, vocabulary, critical thinking), and Health.

 

P.E. is done outside "school" hours as they do Kung Fu in the evenings 3-4 times a week, bowling on Saturday for Ds. Some times they walk/ride bike with me to pick the younger two up from school. It is a mile to the school so good exercise.

 

Their electives are done in their own time (Italian and Music Appreciation/History for Dd, and Computer Fundamentals and Latin for Ds). Dd will start with music lessons mid September though and that will be on Mondays 1-2pm. She will have to make up the "school" time late afternoon/evening for that day.

 

And if they do not get all done in required courses by Friday afternoon... they get the priviledge of working on it over the weekend.

[Janet in WA]

I couldn't vote, because there was no "other". My response would be "it depends". At least in our home, there were too many variables to really pin down a time period for a day's academics/learning. Rather, we had academic goals for the day, and when those goals were met, the school day was over. Some days that was a couple of hours, some days it was closer to your upper limit in your poll.

[Haiku]

Normally they start at 7:30 and finish an hour or so before dinner.

 

This is very discouraging to me, as the mom of young kids (I have a freshman, too, but she goes to school) because one of the main reasons I homeschool my kids is so that they will have plenty of time to pursue their own interests. I know that SWB recommends that hs-aged students become specialists, so to some degree that allows for individual interests, but 7+ hours a day of academic work doesn't sound very enjoyable.

 

The school my dd goes to starts at 8:45 and ends at 3:35, and they have a study hall, lunch, and five minutes between classes. NO WAY are they working for 7, 8, 9, 10 hours. Well, maybe they are if you add in homework? :001_huh:

 

I know that homeschooling allows for more rigor and a better education, but do kids really have to spend their entire day studying?

 

Tara

[Colleen in NS]

Those of you who said around 6-9 hours - are you doing school 4 or 5 days a week? And are you doing school for about 36 weeks/year, or are you doing school year round with fewer breaks? I'm just wondering if those lengths of days also accommodate more break weeks during the year.

[AnitaMcC]

This is very discouraging to me, as the mom of young kids (I have a freshman, too, but she goes to school) because one of the main reasons I homeschool my kids is so that they will have plenty of time to pursue their own interests. I know that SWB recommends that hs-aged students become specialists, so to some degree that allows for individual interests, but 7+ hours a day of academic work doesn't sound very enjoyable.

 

The school my dd goes to starts at 8:45 and ends at 3:35, and they have a study hall, lunch, and five minutes between classes. NO WAY are they working for 7, 8, 9, 10 hours. Well, maybe they are if you add in homework? :001_huh:

 

I know that homeschooling allows for more rigor and a better education, but do kids really have to spend their entire day studying?

 

Tara

 

I am with you on this.... one of the reasons we homeschool is so the time spent on "school work" is less than a "normal" public school day.

 

Think about it this way... in public school kids have 7 periods of about 50 minutes each, with 5-8 minutes passing period... and travel time.... and in class the first 5 minutes minimum teachers are taking attendance and getting students settled and that is if the teacher is successful... then the teacher "teaches" a lesson at the speed/level to the "average" student (if your lucky). And often teachers are teaching to standardized tests as well as using class time to practice for these tests. And the students have about 3 hours of homework each night.

 

In our homeschool we are doing 5 required subjects (Algebra 2, Chemistry, Language Arts, World History, Health) and two electives. We do not have passing periods, we do not have assemblies, we do not have travel time, and PE is not done during day so no changing into uniform. I don't feel my twins need practice to take standardized tests under normal schooling.

 

So yes... I expect that my twins should be able to spend no more than 5-6 hours on the required courses and then they can spend all the time they want on their electives, P.E., and extracurricular activities. If they need more time to do things then fine... they can. But I don't expect them to need to if they use their time wisely.

[Miss Marple]

Within my own home I have seen some variation on this. I voted for the 7-8 hours because that seems to be what works for my 11/12th graders. My oldest didn't spend that amount of time in 9/10th, but ds#2 *did* work that long for 10th. My now 9th grader isn't doing that much yet. Once my boys begin concurrent college courses (11th grade), they are definitely doing greater than 6 hours per day - and they work on weekends and evenings. Much of the time is broken up with work. So, he might school for 3 hours, go to work for 5 hours, come home and do another 3-4 hours. I think I would be easier to say how many hours per week my older high schoolers do: about 36 hours.

 

We school at home 4 days per week and we have one co-op day. Co-op is 4 hours and covers 3 core subjects. My younger boys usually take the rest of co-op day off, but the older high schoolers still have to crack the books that evening.

[8filltheheart]

This is very discouraging to me, as the mom of young kids (I have a freshman, too, but she goes to school) because one of the main reasons I homeschool my kids is so that they will have plenty of time to pursue their own interests. I know that SWB recommends that hs-aged students become specialists, so to some degree that allows for individual interests, but 7+ hours a day of academic work doesn't sound very enjoyable.

 

The school my dd goes to starts at 8:45 and ends at 3:35, and they have a study hall, lunch, and five minutes between classes. NO WAY are they working for 7, 8, 9, 10 hours. Well, maybe they are if you add in homework? :001_huh:

 

I know that homeschooling allows for more rigor and a better education, but do kids really have to spend their entire day studying?

 

Tara

 

I honestly don't know how it can be completed any more quickly. If you have a student taking 7 academic courses, the material has to be read/lectured/discussed and then applied (problems, essays, etc). Even if you split it half and half......that is still 30 mins for each part of a course (though that is not a typical representation of my kids' experiences.) Though, there is another discussion about this same topic further down the board where people are doing precisely that. So......it all depends on the household.

 

7+ hrs of academic work is far less than I experienced in high school. My classes were all honors and AP classes. There were no disruptions. The teachers were serious about what they did and they lectured and discussed the entire 50 mins and all homework was completed outside of class. I hated high school, but I sure appreciated the experience when I went off to college and thought college was easier than my high school classes! I look back now and I wish I could thank a couple of my teachers, especially my English teacher, b/c she was the epitome of an educator. She assigned a couple of essays a week and they were returned in a timely manner with major comments and we were expected to re-write them and re-submit them. That was dedication. It was also an awesome learning experience.

 

My personal goal is to help my children achieve the same degree of instruction that I did during high school. It is a personal decision. Other people have different goals.

[Haiku]

If you have a student taking 7 academic courses,

 

At this point I don't plan to have the kids doing seven courses. I have in mind a more LCC-type approach (not in content, but in the idea of multum non multa).

 

Of course, we have seven years to go, so who knows how my ideas will change?

 

Tara

[Jane in NC]

I honestly don't know how it can be completed any more quickly. If you have a student taking 7 academic courses, the material has to be read/lectured/discussed and then applied (problems, essays, etc). Even if you split it half and half......that is still 30 mins for each part of a course (though that is not a typical representation of my kids' experiences.) Though, there is another discussion about this same topic further down the board where people are doing precisely that. So......it all depends on the household.

 

 

 

On the topic of personal expectation: when I was in high school, I spent maybe not every Saturday but at least every other Saturday in a large, downtown public library. My husband spent many an evening or weekend hour in libraries as well. I suspect that this is part of the expectation that we have for our son. School does not end at 3; school is something we live.

 

The books on the WTM list are meaty. They take time to read and discuss. Add in history, science, mathematics, Latin, writing, etc., and, like Momof7, I don't see how one can have a truncated school day.

 

But here is the thing: we are flexible. When my son had an opportunity to assist with a college archaeological field school last May and June, he was able to do so. He did math and Latin at night and on the weekends. Fortunately his CC classes were over which freed up part of his day. A student in a traditional school would not have been excused for the project due to their End of Grade exams. I see this as precisely the thing that Susan has addressed: my son wants to be an archaeologist, so he jumped at this opportunity.

 

While I object to busy work homework in elementary or middle school, I do think that high school work is quite different. Geometry proofs require time to puzzle over, text books need to be read with review questions answered, papers need to be written and rewritten, dense books need to be digested. At the moment that is my son's job.

 

Jane

[Haiku]

Though, there is another discussion about this same topic further down the board where people are doing precisely that.

 

Can you link to this, please?

 

Tara

[JennifersLost]

One thing to remember is that you can apply your kids' interests toward those hours. If I added in everything my kids did, then our time would be 6 - 8 hours a day, too, but many of those hours are spent programming for one ds and writing novels for another ds. I just add those hours to the appropriate classes.

 

You may also find that you don't follow WTM throughout the whole process. Some kids aren't ready for her reading lists. You may choose to do other kinds of classes.

 

But, yeah; high school has not turned out to be the beautiful experience I hoped it would be, either. I'm working on getting rid of my fears about college for my kids and sticking closer to my own aspirations about their education.

[Jean in Wisc]

I wasn't sure how long to put since each child is different. My kids take 6 to 8 hours to do their work, and sometimes my time with them runs over that. It just depends upon the semester and the child.

 

Jean

[Jenn in CA]

I finally came up with a "schedule" after 2 years of high school.

 

9th: 5 hrs. per day

10th: 6 hrs.

11th-12: 7-8 hrs.

 

My oldest is 11th and so far this is working well.

[Melissa in Australia]

my 9th grader is doing between 5-6 hours per day 5 days a week. this includes assigned reading. he does the reading in the evening, and reads for 1 1/2 hours. so it makes the school 'day' seem a little shorter.

he is doing

Saxon algebra 2

Abeka grammar

apologia physics and biology

HOAW and spielvogel for history

a rulebook for argument

German

ancient great books /WTM

[8filltheheart]

Can you link to this, please?

 

Tara

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123781

[Guest Barb B]

Well, maybe they are if you add in homework? posted by Tara

 

Well, To me thats the key. For homeschoolers that homework is done in the school day not later. So saying we homeschool for 6-7 or even 8 hours really isn't excessive because for the most part my ds doesn't have much in the evening (except sometime 1/2 hour or so). Truthfully, for the college bound there are certain classes you just have to have. I find it hard not to have at least 6 classes per year. If we don't have 6 classes per year then our transcript won't have those required classes. The 7th class is often added as an elective (which colleges also look for). So, If kids are college bound and homeschool, I don't see how they can't get around a minimum of 6-7 hour day (thats only ave 1 hour per class). Also, there is some off time in homeschool. We say 6-7 or 8 hours, but we have a 20 minute break at 10:00 and another short break for lunch. Then, there are "mini" 5 minute breaks my ds will take - get a glass of water, get the mail or just walk around (one can't work several hours straight with no break).

 

Barb

Edited August 28, 2009 by Barb B

[Gwen in VA]

Barb,

 

I'm curious as to how you come up with SIX classes per year that colleges require.

 

I look at high school as --

 

1 English per year

1 history/social science per year

1 foreign language per year

1 math per year

1 science per year

 

and then electives. My older two kids both did one "academic" full-credit elective but otherwise just did a 1/2 credit per year (plus PE, which we count as a 1/2 credit).

 

(Honesty requires me to say that my dd only did 3 science, but she did 5 math, so even the rudimentary guidelines above have some flexibility to them...)

 

What classes do you feel are required such that your student needs SIX classes per year NOT counting electives?

 

BTW, I filled in the bubble for >8 -- even with five academic classes and two 1/2 credit classes, my kids' school plate is FULL to overflowing.

Edited August 28, 2009 by Gwen in VA

[Gwen in VA]

My kids find that a lot of the higher level classes require significantly more time than just one hour per day. (Member of the "Draconian homeschoolers" here!)

 

My ds (10th grade) is taking a chem class that is supposed to take 1.5 hours per day -- and it isn't even AP! And certainly my kids do more than an hour of math per day. So for my kids, I do best figuring 1.5 hours or more per class on average, and some (like APUSH and AP Literature) require significantly more than that!

Edited August 28, 2009 by Gwen in VA

[outtamyshell]

We are hosting a foreign exchange student from Korea this year. For three years of high school, they go to school 7:45am-10pm (Monday through Friday). They have lunch and dinner at school. In the evenings, they have time with tutors.

 

They also do not follow our traditional calendar with summers off. I asked dkd (dear korean daughter) if they have time off in the summer and she said yes, they take off about a week. Then she clarified.. they have off about three days at the beginning of summer and three days at the end of summer.

 

dd (American) has now put my requests for a 40 hour work week into perspective.

[8filltheheart]

Barb,

 

I'm curious as to how you come up with SIX classes per year that colleges require.

 

I look at high school as --

 

1 English per year

1 history/social science per year

1 foreign language per year

1 math per year

1 science per year

 

and then electives. My older two kids both did one "academic" full-credit elective but otherwise just did a 1/2 credit per year.

 

(Honesty requires me to say that my dd only did 3 science, but she did 5 math, so even the rudimentary guidelines above have some flexibility to them...)

 

What classes do you feel are required such that your student needs six classes NOT counting electives?

 

Unless I am misinterpreting the website, VA requires 24 credits and only 2 of them are electives if you want an advanced diploma.

 

English 4

Mathematics 4

Laboratory Science 4

History and Social Sciences 4

Foreign Languages 3

Health and Physical Education 2

Fine Arts or Career & Technical Education 1

Electives 2

 

Total 24

 

 

Have I misunderstood the requirements? If I have, please let me know b/c I would love more freedom in course selection!

[Mommyfaithe]

I'm asking because my new 9th-grader is shocked, shocked at how much time I'm expecting from him. I tell him war stories about my high school experiences, 6 hours per day just in class, plus homework, yada yada yada ... to deaf ears. I'm hoping that seeing responses from not-Mom people will be more helpful.

 

 

Also, if I really am out of line with my expectations, I want to know that! :)

 

Thanks,

Karen

 

I chose 6-7...but that does NOT include Swim Team or any extras that we do. The 6-7 hours includes Math, Science, English Lang (lit/grammar/ comp,) Social Studies, Logic, Foriegn Language.

 

Art, Music, Swim, Bible etc. are other hours...so really we work 8-10 hours per day.

 

~~Faithe

[danielle]

Dd starts music practice at 8 am and winds up with more practice ending at 6 pm. Hour for lunch. This doesn't include 2 hours of orchestra on Thursday evening, 2 hours of another orchestra on Saturday, and possibly a chamber music group for another 2 hours.

 

She doesn't have "homework" unless she doesn't finish what I've assigned during the day. She generally has 20-50 pages of reading in the 2 hours mapped for Medieval Lit/Hist for 10th grade. However, we do watch The Western Tradition (annenberg) and Great Authors of the Western Tradition (teaching company) in the evening to correlate with readings. We'll be listening to "The Art of Reading" (Teaching Co.) in the car on the way to orchestra practice.

 

She's over-subscribed as usual (planning AP Comp Politics & AP Macroecon this year), but still trying to figure out how to continue Music Composition, drawing, and learning to sew--which I tried to interest her in when she was younger and had the time. I make every effort to keep Sundays free, but she usually has something she has to complete.

 

Anyway, she never complains about being bored! Every once in a while she has a meltdown and we blow off a day. Now that we're using HS Tracker, I can see that we can do that 6 times this upcoming year.

 

Makes me tired just thinking about the start of the school year.

Danielle

[danielle]

Looking at what others are listing, here's what dd is doing:

 

Combined Medieval Lit/History (2 credits)

 

Geometry (LOF--their sequence has Adv. Alg. first, which she completed in 9th)

 

French III-IV (she's well into French in Action, and might be able to finish it)

 

Latin III

 

Science. We're calling it Field Biology II, but it's Kamana program's 3rd level--this takes a lot of time, and hopefully she'll take the SAT II Biology at the end of the year.

 

AP Comparative Politics (first 1/2 of year) followed by AP Macroeconomics (second half of year)

 

I might give some credit for Rhetoric/Creative Writing--maybe 1/4 credit--if she does enough writing, finishes Argumentation (Teaching Co.) and The Art of Reading. Maybe do an IEW intensive.

 

2 orchestras + private harp lessons

 

volunteer at nursing home

 

I think most kids around here who are on the "fast track" do A LOT. If not as much academics, then lots of sports, debate, math olympiad, etc. We live in a college town (Northwestern Univ.) and there are lots of kids-of-professors, so maybe not typical.

Danielle

[Guest Barb B]

Sorry, not fully awake here! It is basically 5 classes per year plus an elective:

1.English

2.Math

3.foriegn language (we do rosetta stone and I require all 4 years)

4.History (including maybe geog. and definitely government/civics &economics)

5.Science

6. electives

 

But check individual schools - some want art/music (so for them I will include guitar), health/pe (easy one here ds is on baseball but also bikes for a long time several times per week). Also, most require 3 of social sciences and 3 of science. But that is the minimum and I feel it best to have these subjects all 4 years to be competitive (well, we will have 3 of social sciences but 4 of science since ds wants to go into engineering).

 

So that is 6 classes per year. And as someone said - some at times really do take more them 1 hour per day (sometimes more sometimes not). Also, not on the transcript but definitely takes time, is SAT/ACT prep. I include this in the time of schooling but don't put it on the transcript. So, there I have a minimum of 6 1/2 - 7 hours.

 

Barb

Edited August 28, 2009 by Barb B

[Gwen in VA]

I think most kids around here who are on the "fast track" do A LOT. If not as much academics, then lots of sports, debate, math olympiad, etc.

 

Yes, yes, yes.

 

I think they are called "overachievers" for a reason!

Edited August 28, 2009 by Gwen in VA

[Colleen in NS]

I spent maybe not every Saturday but at least every other Saturday in a large, downtown public library.

 

But here is the thing: we are flexible. When my son had an opportunity to assist with a college archaeological field school last May and June, he was able to do so. He did math and Latin at night and on the weekends...I see this as precisely the thing that Susan has addressed: my son wants to be an archaeologist, so he jumped at this opportunity.

 

Geometry proofs require time to puzzle over, text books need to be read with review questions answered, papers need to be written and rewritten, dense books need to be digested.

 

To me, this describes a full, engaging, and interesting life. Thank you, Jane, for this picture of "high school" - I loved reading it and I can see spending hours doing things when you describe it this way.

[Mrs Mungo]

Oh, curses. I put 5-6 hours but I was *not* counting outside lessons or sports. We need to come to an agreement about these things before voting starts, lol.

[Jill- OK]

I know that homeschooling allows for more rigor and a better education, but do kids really have to spend their entire day studying?

 

Tara

 

One of our main reasons for homeschooling is to allow for a "non-schoolish" experience, to a certain degree.

 

High school for us has so far meant a stepping up of academics (I'm quite relaxed in early years), and a time of implementing outside influences, as well (co-op classes for math and science, and an online university course for Spanish this year, with community college classes folded in next year, Lord willin' the crick don't rise :001_smile:).

 

But we still purposefully keep it under a certain time frame.

 

Five or six hours a day for high schoolers, here. We allow about an hour for each subject, streamline and combine several, and don't do every subject every day. (We also only do hot and heavy school four days a week, only catching up on discussions and scheduling for the next week on Friday, if possible.)

 

This is our second year of high school, and it's worked thus far.

 

When my kids go to college, they likely won't be taking a full course load right off the bat. Unless they win some heavy-duty scholarships, they'll be working, as well as attending school. One of the reasons we keep this pace is because they've got a long road ahead (paying for it all yourself or with minimal help from parents can mean five years, instead of four), and this is a marathon. So while one of my reasons for doing it this way is philosophical...one is also practical; they're going to have to have a day divided between academics and "real life" (working, etc.) when they reach college, so why not have them get used to that, now?

 

Even more than that...I want learning to be a lifestyle, really. Not every child is going to get burnt out by a heavy course load for the entirety of their academic career, but I don't want to take the chance that mine will. We move at a slower pace than many here, from the very beginning, but it's also a very steady pace. (We also school year 'round).

 

Many of their individual pursuits are pretty impressive...but I don't know how inclined my particular children would be to dabble in intellectually demanding things if they weren't allowed time to just *be* and recuperate from the intellectually demanding things that I'm *requiring* of them. (Note that I'm saying my children; this is not a commentary on children in general and isn’t meant to argue against the experience of others here, should it differ from mine).

 

So...that's a priority for us. Because I like for them to take the initiative and pursue things on their own, and this is working to that end, so far.

 

Also, "College Prep" for our house probably looks different from what many mean when they say that. I'm preparing my kids to attend college...but I'm not attempting to get high achievement out of them in every area. They test well, they have a good academic work ethic, and I'm happy with what we're accomplishing, but I'm also not focused on high achievement in every subject. Each of my students has strengths, and we're focusing on stacking the achievement in those areas, while shoring up weaknesses. That helps keep the workload lighter.

[Jill- OK]

I was answering "five to six hours" for academics, not music, gymnastics, volleyball, and stuff like that.

 

That's not really considered "school" in their eyes, lol, even though I count them as extracurriculars. (Actually, for Littles I consider Piano an academic staple, and we do that during "school time", but once they're older and choose to pursue a different instrument on their own, lessons and practice are accomplished on their own, too.)

Edited August 28, 2009 by Jill, OK

[Guest Barb B]

Those of you who said around 6-9 hours - are you doing school 4 or 5 days a week? And are you doing school for about 36 weeks/year, or are you doing school year round with fewer breaks? I'm just wondering if those lengths of days also accommodate more break weeks during the year.

 

I put 6-7 hours. We follow a traditional school year - 5 days per week, from mid august to mid May. We take about 1 week break for christmas, the usual Thursday, and friday for thanksgiving, and something around Easter (at least thursay - sunday or monday - some years a week if we go somewhere).

 

Barb

[Colleen in NS]

One of the reasons we keep this pace is because they've got a long road ahead (paying for it all yourself or with minimal help from parents can mean five years, instead of four), and this is a marathon. So while one of my reasons for doing it this way is philosophical...one is also practical; they're going to have to have a day divided between academics and "real life" (working, etc.) when they reach college, so why not have them get used to that, now?

 

I'm preparing my kids to attend college...but I'm not attempting to get high achievement out of them in every area.

 

Each of my students has strengths, and we're focusing on stacking the achievement in those areas, while shoring up weaknesses.

 

I would never have thought about the pacing-to-make-working-and-college-easier. I like that point.

 

I like your points about achievement, too.

 

I put 6-7 hours. We follow a traditional school year - 5 days per week, from mid august to mid May. We take about 1 week break for christmas, the usual Thursday, and friday for thanksgiving, and something around Easter (at least thursay - sunday or monday - some years a week if we go somewhere).

 

Barb

 

Thanks for answering that! Helps me to understand your answers.

[Beth in TN]

For our family those hours would include her four basic academic courses: English (Literature, Composition, Grammar, & Vocabulary), Math, Lab Science, and History, which I estimate should take her average around 5 hours.

 

Then I would add her 3 co-op courses which are elective academic courses: this year they are Government & Economics, Speech/Debate, and ACT Prep. Co-op day requires 3 hours plus an average of 1-2 hours in homework depending on the assignments.

 

Her the daily total of 6-7 hours would not include her non-academic electives: Fine Arts/Music - piano lessons & practice and PE - tennis lessons & competitions. Both add another 3.5 hours in lessons plus 5 hours in practice time to her weekly schedule.

 

Last year (grade 9) we homeschooled only August to May, but are switching back to a year round school schedule because my dd would like to graduate early.

 

I think for a college-board high school student it would not be unreasonable to have upwards of 40 hours average in work per week depending on the courses.

[Guest Barb B]

One thing important is that where my ds is "in school" for the same amount of time as his public/private school counterparts - he doesn't have the homework load on week nights and week ends. I am thinking that public/ private school kids have over 1 hour or more of homework per night plus weekends? This is a guess? Anyway, ds sometimes puts in time at night (not long and not common) - but not most nights and rarely on weekends (probably never). So, it is less time IMO then going to public/private hs. So, I may say 6-7 hours this is still less then public school counterpart.

 

Interesting to note that for my house middle school is also about 6 hours. Same amount of subjects, so . . . about the same time. There really isn't much of a transition as far as time.

 

Barb

 

Added- I must homeschool - I was noting how the poll turned out to be a nice bell shaped curve!

[Brindee]

When my kids go to college, they likely won't be taking a full course load right off the bat. Unless they win some heavy-duty scholarships, they'll be working, as well as attending school. One of the reasons we keep this pace is because they've got a long road ahead (paying for it all yourself or with minimal help from parents can mean five years, instead of four), and this is a marathon. So while one of my reasons for doing it this way is philosophical...one is also practical; they're going to have to have a day divided between academics and "real life" (working, etc.) when they reach college, so why not have them get used to that, now?

I was in that same boat. I'd dropped out of school as a Junior to work and to help my mom who had 3 hip surgeries in the two years that would've been the rest of my junior year and my senior year! I was 17 when I took the Highschool Equivalency Test (they said I had to be 18 to take the GED). When my friends from my grade graduated from highschool and headed to college, I did too. My mom was back to work, and said I should go if I wanted to. I DID want to, so I did. But, since I hadn't finished school I didn't have any scholarships, and my parents had no money. So I worked and went to school. It actually took me 6 years to get through! :) But I'm glad I made it through!

 

I agree with what you're saying here. Because I had already been working to help support my parents and me, I had a work ethic, and was ready to dig in once I made it to college! Of course, the grants and loans I did get watched me closely. I could only work a certain amount and still receive them, but I could only take so many hours also, or I wouldn't be able to pay for it. So it was always a juggling act, but not a bad one! I made lots of friends in college, some the last two years I was there, when I wouldn't have met them otherwise!

 

Different people have to handle things differently, depending on their circumstances! There are probably millions of ways to get through college! :001_smile:

 

***Sorry I went on this rant, that statement brought back memories so off I went with them! :blushing:

Edited August 28, 2009 by Brindee