ezrabean2005 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 (edited) **FOLLOW UP QUESTION ADDED ON PAGE TWO** How old are your kids? What are they doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? What are YOU doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Share with me :) Edited September 15, 2009 by ezrabean2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My boys are 8 & 3. They are arguing or playing, it's hard to tell the difference :p I am on here :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwinMominTX Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 How old are your kids? 8 year old twin girls. What are they doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Outside feeding goats and horses. Possibly playing outdoors. What are YOU doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Trying to get off the computer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patchfire Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 In the morning? Dd (9) is sleeping - she does her penmanship practice as soon as she gets up and gets dressed, and then we have breakfast before all other schoolwork. Since I don't have anything to do with penmanship, I'm eating 15 minutes before I start doing any schoolwork with her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My kids are 6 and 4. We wake up whenever we wake up. If they wake up early, I let them watch a tv show while I shower. Today, as of 7:30, they are both still asleep. We all eat breakfast and get dressed. We all tidy up the house. Clean up breakfast dishes. Make beds and tidy rooms. Put a load of clothes on. The house ends up not being spotless or "clean" but it is picked up to start our day. Sometimes, if weather will be getting bad, we go for a bike ride first. Otherwise, we start on school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seewah Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My kids are 10, 7 and 4. 15 minutes before we start school they are eating breakfast, making beds, brushing teeth, getting dressed, showering, doing a few chores (emptying garbage cans, taking the dog out, emptying dishwasher). 15 minutes before we start school I am generally scrambling to dry my hair and maybe put some makeup on ... and trying to keep the kids on task. I am usually announcing every 5 minutes, "School starts in xx minutes!" :) It has helped us tremendously this year to have an official start time for school. I think I disliked the change the most, but it has had a great impact on our day. I am so much more "plugged in" as I have most of my stuff out of the way once we start our day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithr Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My kids ages are in my signature. Usually we are eating breakfast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greta Lea Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Both of them are getting dressed and making their beds 15 min. before school starts. Me??? Depends on the day. On some Monday mornings at that time, I'm actually finishing up plans for the week. Some mornings I'm still having coffee and am on the computer. Other mornings I'm making my bed and starting laundry. It really depends on what kind of sleep I had the night before whether or not I'm up and going right before or still just lounging for a bit. (I have trouble sleeping). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyWImom Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 We have the "Accountability Kids" system, where they have cards they flip over that tell them what to do in the morning. It's a huge help for my ds, who needs a lot of direction. Simple stuff-get dressed, make bed, eat, clear table, vitamins, brush teeth, pick up room. Then, it's all done beore school. The last thing they are usually doing, is getting their "show & tell" stuff ready. We have "show & tell" every morning! That's one of my motivational things, so that they get all of the morning stuff done by the time we start school. I'm usually the one rushing and not ready! 15 minutes before, I'm eating, checking email, then, last of all, making my tea to bring to school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My kids are 10,8,and 6. 15 min. before school my kids are either playing or cleaning up the bathroom and kitchen. I am running around trying to clean up the kitchen, get dressed and making my bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2boys030507 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My boys are 6, 4, and 2 - 15 min before school they are eating. If I let them leave the kitchen table after eating - getting school done is really hard. Then again getting the 2 year old to leave is sometimes the challenge:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macrina Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 We wake at our leisure and do the "room to room" in the house getting things in order, then eat (about 90 min from start to finish) and then the kids get to run off and play for awhile while I chill out (at the computer about 45 min). Then school work. ETA: 8 and 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I'm playing on the wtm boards :) (well, and today doing online karaoke) Gregory and Tyler are playing (Ty watches Goo before school starts). Kimberly is doing online karaoke today but she is usually doing schoolwork or getting ready to go to meet for volunteer work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgilli3 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 (edited) How old are your kids?11,10,3 What are they doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Depends on the day. Most mornings we head to the pool for a swim, home for showers, lunch, then school......so I guess they would be doing the dishes :D What are YOU doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Again, it depends on the day. For example: No swimming this morning, but we needed to grab bread & milk from supermarket- and I *needed* to call past Dunkin Donuts to grab an Iced Caramel Latte to get me through the morning :lol: Most times, I do check my emails etc before we start our lessons. Share with me :) ****I transition into school time by saying something along the lines of; "10 mins until we start, 5 mins- please finish up what you are doing." ........ I use that method every time they need to start/finish something. For ex: Off for a swim this morning, so when it is nearing time to leave, I give a 1, 10 & 5 minute countdown- so they all know when we are leaving. It works very, very well. ******** Edited September 16, 2009 by sgilli3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Kids - eating breakfast Me - picking a book to read during our "circle time" opening/prying myself off of the computer/eating breakfast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleWonders Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My boys are 8, 5, and 3. On any given day 15 minutes before we start, they are either eating, playing (or sometimes known as "play fighting" ;), or doing a clean sweep of the house with me. If I'm not eating or helping them clean sweep the house, I'm on the computer. (Things go best when I'm not. :) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 How old are your kids? They range from toddler to tween. What are they doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Goofing off, finishing brekkie, running in circles, general playtime? What are YOU doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Drinking coffee and 'net surfing while attempting to wake up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 The older 2 are playing on the Wii, the 6 yr old is still iin bed though awake, and I usually on here while nursing my youngest giving her hermorning "boo-boos" fix. Yesterday all 4 were screaming and fighting right before we started school while I tried to have 2 minutes to brush my flipping teeth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezrabean2005 Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share Posted September 15, 2009 FOLLOW UP QUESTION: How do you "transition" into schooltime (or do you)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I make sure things are ready. Usually, this is the night before. I get each subject prepared in a tower that has drawers. For most of our subjects, that just means bookmarking our spot or tearing out the necessary worksheets. For math, I have all of the manipulatives, math meeting strip, etc...prepped and ready to go. Whatever we are doing, I give the girls warning that school is about to start. "School will start in five minutes, so finish up what you're doing." or "As soon as we get back from our bike ride, we are doing school." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 We don't transition really. School starts at 8:30, be there or be square :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My kids are 10 and 12. Four mornings a week we arrive home from skating around 8:45-9am. So they go read books and lounge around while I get breakfast ready. They have 15 minutes to eat, do teeth, etc and we start school. I always announce when school is starting in 15, 10, 5 so they are forewarned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I get everything ready the night before(workboxes) so when it is time to start I simply call the kids to the table and tell them to grab their first bucket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 They are 8 and 4 and are usually somewhere between finishing breakfast and trying to play quietly so that I won't notice that we should have already started school. I'm usually finishing a cup of coffee and wondering why I haven't eaten breakfast yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Mine are 11, 11, and 8. Depends on what you mean by "start school" - we have an hour set aside for instrument practice before academics. So if that counts as before school, they're either playing their instruments or playing with each other if they were done in less than an hour (or started early). They may all be practicing up to close to an hour this year as my violinist has added orchestra (more music to get rhrough) and my two pianists want to try adding a second instrument (cello), so will have to practice each daily. For the follow-up - when they were younger, I often started the day by lighting a candle and saying a verse a la Waldorf, but that has completely fallen by the wayside these past 2-3 years - not sure exactly when. I've moved academic time 1/2 an hour earlier this year, and have also been inspired by the Michael Clay Thompson books suggesting to start the day with a "poem of the day". So I've started again ringing a chime (well, one of those "singing bowls"), lighting a candle, and reading a poem. My kids complain it's hokey, but I really think it helps everyone get settled and switch our minds over to "school time". This includes me, as I think the past couple of years I've spent too much time checking the computer if they've been busy independently for a moment. I'm trying to be more "present" this year and not be on the computer from 9:30-12:30 (core school time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcara Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My kids (ages 9y, 6y, 4y, 2y, and 4m) and I are usually singing the final hymn at Mass 15 minutes before we begin school each morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 (edited) Breakfasting. I'm reading the paper while the kids (7 and 5) read the day's comics. Edited September 15, 2009 by nmoira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Ages: 5 & 2 Younger: Lying down to take a nap. Older and me: Lying down pretending to take a nap.* :tongue_smilie: Transition: Once my 2 yr old is asleep, my 5 yr old and I go downstairs and start school with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer. We are schooling in the in the afternoons so as to have uninterrupted time while my son sleeps. :) *Starting in a minute or two. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarana Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My twin girls are 7. Older one will be reading a book or will be dancing in front of the mirror. Younger will continue to pick on her breakfast (super slow & picky eater). I will be heating my coffee & trying to clean the kitchen and start cooking lunch while yelling at my younger finish eating fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Ds5 is playing, either in his room or on his computer in the living room. I am on my computer finishing work, or eating breakfast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usetoschool Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 **FOLLOW UP QUESTION ADDED ON PAGE TWO** How old are your kids? - 5th and 7th grade, 2 yo What are they doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? - jumping on the trampoline (yes, every day :001_smile:) What are YOU doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? - printing and sorting schoolwork and lesson plans Share with me :) Tiring them out and organizing my thinking and taking a deep breath... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narrow Gate Academy Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 How old are your kids? 10yo, 8yo, 5yo, 17mo What are they doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Finishing breakfast, clearing dishes, and wiping off the table What are YOU doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork?On a good morning, eating breakfast with the kids. Other mornings if the 17 mo had me up the night before more than once, finishing my shower and drying off. How do you "transition" into schooltime (or do you)? We don't really transition. If the girls don't get out their school boxes, I tell them to get them out. When it's time for my 5yo to do phonics, I just call him and send him to get the book from his box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phathui5 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Kids- Playing or eating breakfast Me- Cleaning or playing on the computer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usetoschool Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 FOLLOW UP QUESTION: How do you "transition" into schooltime (or do you)? Nope. Just call the kids, we sit down and start. They are usually pretty tired from playing before hand so they are happy to sit down and get started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classical Country Mama Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Only our 2nd week of homeschooling, ever, but.... DD is 4 (5 next month) and we're doing kindergarten. 15 minutes before school she's probably nagging me to get off the computer, which means 15 minutes before school I am.... well, you know. :) Love all these comments and ideas. I have big goals (dd will cure cancer, of course), but really very little idea what I'm doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Ages 4 and 6. Before we start school work, they're usually playing. Or chores in the kitchen. I'm usually cleaning the kitchen, or prepping lunch. How do we transition? We don't really. Or the playtime is our transition. I tell them they can play for 10 or 15 minutes while I clean the kitchen, and then we start our work. I often set a timer (more for myself, to keep me on task cleaning), and when the timer goes off, I tell them each to grab a box, and we get to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My kids are 5, 3.5, and 1.5. We're doing K with 5yo dd, with this others tagging along. Right before school we are getting dressed and picking up whatever mess the kids have made while I am doing my morning chores. I wouldn't really say that we have much of a transition to school time. I just tell them that we are ready for school now and they all (except sometimes youngest dd) come. I have already collected all of the school supplies the night before so once we are dressed and have cleaned up messes we are ready to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s.z.ichigo Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 How old are your kids? eight, 3rd grade What are they doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Usually eating lunch and watching tv. If she doesn't eat I get to hear the I'm Hungries all during the first subject. What are YOU doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Checking email or doing other online things. How do you "transition" into schooltime (or do you)? No real transition. Just a "Sit down, time for school." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macrina Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 They get a heads up, a warning- 5-15 min, whatever. It's really not a big shocker to them, they know it's coming. On a side note: The happier the are, the longer they get to play becuase I "forget" about them, the more they fight the more likely it is I'll call them for school! We have been known once to take almost a whole day off becuase it was just so darn peaceful I didn't want to mess with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemongoose Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 (edited) DD (4yo almost 5) is making her bed, getting dressed, and brushing her teeth. DS (2yo almost 3) is busy trying to get in DDs way and distract her from her chores so that she will go play with him. I am putting the baby down for a morning nap. As far as transition...we really don't have one. We just have a general routine. Breakfast-get ready for day-do school while baby is napping etc. Edited September 15, 2009 by bluemongoose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 (edited) How old are your kids? 10 and almost 6 What are they doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Older ds is eating, younger ds is waiting on me to get his breakfast. What are YOU doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Morning chores - making the bed, getting dressed for the day. Hod do you transition into school time (or do you)? Older ds eats breakfast and gets started on his own (we have workboxes and the first two subjects are things he does himself). While he works, I make younger ds breakfast. While he eats (and sometimes plays a bit), I work with older ds on the subjects where he needs my coaching/help. When we finish that, I start school with younger ds (by calling him to start school). Something that is important to our schedule working properly is that the kids are not allowed to get up and watch TV. The play in their rooms until 8:30 (if they wake up before then). This can include computer time (in their rooms - no internet). Once we all leave our rooms, we all do our morning chores. I start laundry, take a shower, get dressed, make my bed. Older ds makes his bed, opens his blinds, takes out the dog, and opens the chicken coop door (they are free range during the day). Younger ds makes his bed and gets dressed. Older ds is required to prepare his own breakfast - waffles or cereal is his usual. I still prepare something for younger ds (toast, waffles, or cereal and fruit). Edited September 15, 2009 by Tree House Academy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 **FOLLOW UP QUESTION ADDED ON PAGE TWO** How old are your kids? 9 and 12 What are they doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Morning chores: brushing teeth and hair, getting dressed, unpacking/repacking dishwasher, feeding dog, tidying and airing rooms. What are YOU doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Taking a shower, usually, or drinking tea/eating cereal. Share with me :) Transitions? At 9am I say, 'It's 9 o'clock' and we start work. Usually Hobbes and I start with speech therapy and Calvin chooses what to begin with - usually something strictly timed, to get him going for the day. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 How old are your kids? 6 and 7 What are they doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Playing in the family room; this usually involves Legos What are YOU doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Eating my breakfast and checking my email How do you "transition" into schooltime (or do you)? My kids know that I will begin making breakfast at 8 a.m., after my older daughter and husband have left the house. If they have completed their "morning routine" before breakfast, they get any time they have between the end of breakfast and the start of school (9 a.m.) to play. At 8:30 I give a half-hour warning. At 8:45 I give a 15-minute warning. At 8:55 I tell them to put their toys away. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandKsmama Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 How old are your kids?What are they doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? What are YOU doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? 13, 8, 6, 6 monthsDevotions and prayer for all except the baby - he's playing in his exersaucer at that time. Before that we all are having breakfast, before that we all are doing our morning routines. I recently started this schedule, and it works GREAT. Going from prayer time straight into schoolwork flows really well. No one has a chance to get off track:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 (edited) How old are your kids? 6 and 2 What are they doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Eating breakfast (or brunch) What are YOU doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? Either finishing up breakfast or looking at today's schedule and trying to visualize our day. How do you transition into schoolwork (or do you)? Just by looking at the schedule about 15 minutes ahead of time I can see whether I need to get a few books ready, read a short passage from Handbook of Nature Study, get a few supplies together, etc. Everything else is usually right there and I just shout, School time! and everyone runs to the library/schoolroom. I tried to do piano practice before school but I keep forgetting to require it. Maybe we should try again. The first thing we do every day is look at what date it is. It's the month of September, it's Tuesday, it's day 15. Edited September 15, 2009 by sagira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 The only son I have home is currently 11. What we're doing in the quarter hour before we begin school varies quite a bit by day. If we're going out early and have to get ready before we begin school, then we're showering, dressing, getting something to eat, etc. We may also be loading the car for the day or things like that. If we don't have to rush around or even actually get to stay home for the day, then we may be having a leisurely cup of tea (we do sometimes eat something, but rarely and little). My son may be playing with his cat or toys; I may be watching news or (rarely) checking my email for the day if I've got something going on and am expecting questions, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermine Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Me: I'm drinking coffee and checking my email Kids: Eating breakfast, playing video games, playing in a pile of pillows, watching TV. Who knows. :D Ages: 6 and 3 Transition: I say "we're going to start school soon!" and they either come running in, or they ask if they can finish this level/show/whatever, and if they're behaving them I play on the computer a few more minutes while they finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My DD is nearly six. She's usually doing one of two things 15 min. before school starts. Either eating breakfast while watching TV, or sitting in time-out because she threw a tantrum over starting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 FOLLOW UP QUESTION: How do you "transition" into schooltime (or do you)? I say, honey we're starting in a few minutes. Honey, we're starting in five minutes. Drew you've got two minutes. Andrew, get in the kitchen. Salve amicus Latina! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 How old are your kids? teen and pre-teen What are they doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? taking dog outside to potty, making beds & getting dressed. What are YOU doing 15 minutes before you start schoolwork? feeding the cats, scooping & making coffee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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