How much/what kind of independent work would you expect a 7-year-old to do?

[melissel]

I've been contemplating the Robinson curriculum, and I love the idea of turning more responsibility over to my DD7 (she's a very mature 7, she's always been a few years ahead of herself). But it seems like most of the stuff we're using is pretty teacher-intensive: FLL, RightStart, SOTW, etc. Is it a lot to expect a lone 7-year-old (as in, no older sibs for guidance or modeling) to be at all independent?

 

Also, what kind of independent work would you expect? We have a whole workbox setup that I just haven't been able to implement yet because I'm so scattered trying to get through these last months of work. I was thinking of switching from FLL to some grammar workbooks I picked up, or maybe doing FLL one day per week and then assigning her the corresponding worksheets for other days in the week. And how would independent science be done? Just reading living books, taking herself out in the yard, etc.?

 

I'd love to hear about any suggestions or experience you might have, and feel free to tell me I'm off my rocker with this too!

 

TIA!

[Emmy]

I have a 7 1/2 year old boy. Independently he does:

 

Independent Reading (reads 20-30 minutes, then comes to tell me about it)

Explode the Code

Handwriting

Growing with Grammar

Math worksheets (on days when he doesn't learn a new concept - I work directly with him when he is learning something new)

 

He doesn't do all of this at once without breaks but these are the subjects where I can say "go do your fillintheblank" and he goes to do it without help.

 

This was new for us this year - last year in first grade, I sat with him while he did his work. This year I started schooling a 3rd kid in kinder and I needed more time with him, so I decided to try to have my 7yo be more independent - I've been very pleased with how he's done. The time we spend together is on history, science, read alouds, etc.

[Chris in VA]

When dd was 7, she was in second grade and I was schooling my eldest (11th grade). While I had a discussion about once a day with ds, dd would usually finish a Saxon math page or do some copywork. That and her spelling words/book were about the only independent work she did (guess you could count SOTW coloring pages, too).

 

While I understand why some people choose to foster independence at a young age, I'd rather do that by assigning chores and those types of responsibilities (self care, for example). I think one of the pleasures and perks of homeschooling is hearing how my kids think about/process information, and hearing and getting to comment on their opinions and discoveries. I feel strongly, personally, that 7 is too young to be left so much on one's own. It feels--lonely. There's a difference between going out to play or perusing one's 7yo interests alone, and then coming in to share, and being made responsible for teaching nearly everything to oneself.

[Samiam]

For me, I wouldn't expect a 7 year old to do very much independently at all. Is that a 1st or 2nd grader, if labeled? I just can't see it. I can see maybe filling in a few workbook pages, after given specific instructions, but I don't see that as independent. I see that as teaching it, then the child showing they understand...even then, I would be near and overseeing.

 

I understand independent work to be :Here, read pg 1-5, then workbook pg 2-3, and I be back in 30 minutes to check your work. Basically handin the book/assignment to the child and moving away. I started my first child in 5th grade with some independent work, and now in 6th, he's about 60% independent.

 

The only thing my first grader does somewhat independently is handwriting. We do use the workbox system, so he gets the handwriting book out, turns to the next page, and will start. But I am in the room, reminding him about neatness, line direction etc.

 

I guess, in the end, it would depend on the child, the curriculum, etc, but I personally, just can't see a 7 year old doing a ton of independent work.

[robsiew]

I have a 7 yo too. These are the things she does independently:

 

Math (she comes to me if she doesn't understand something and when it's her turn to work with me I correct her work while she's sitting there so I can catch any problems with understanding)

 

Handwriting (cursive)

 

Growing with Grammar (Grade 2)

 

Reading for 20 min. (She reads a choice book from approved "school" books... then she reads 10 minutes out loud to me when we work together from a book above her reading level to challenge her)

 

The rest is one on one work with me... we do science together. I wouldn't give up teaching that. Too much interaction that goes on during that learning time. History is the same way.

 

I would highly encourage **some** independence... otherwise you may end up with a child who strongly opposes it later on.

 

Even my K child is starting to do some independent work... his choice and I'm not going to discourage him! We use workboxes and it's easy to organize their work with that method.

[missmoe]

Handwriting. That's it. Even at 10, my kids need quite a bit of supervision. They may be able to complete the work without me sitting right there, but I need to be nearby. I need to be there to answer questions and to keep them on track. I think expecting a child to take his work and go complete it on his own is unreasonable at that age.

[Medieval Mom]

My son is 6, not 7, but here's our experience. Hope it helps!

 

Here's our daily schedule for ds6. The subjects marked * he does "somewhat independently".

 

*Piano-- I give the lesson, he practices on his own more and more.

Singing

Memory Work

*Math -- CLE grade 1 has a daily "I Can Do This" section of independent work (currently 2 lessons per day)

MEP -together (1 page per day)-- not conducive to independent work!

*Copywork -- he does this on his own, but I immediately review/critique/applaud, whatever!

CLE LA (so far, we do this together)

 

*Reading. First, he reads aloud to me from McGuffey. We then "buddy read" poetry. Afterwards, he reads silently for an hour or two. (We've built up to this, but fairly quickly.) My ds always narrates what he's read and we'll discuss the book (this is great fun, for he becomes so excited!).

 

Read Alouds

Artwork

 

I imagine our second grade year (when ds is 7) will be similar (adding Latin, etc.), with math becoming more independent. We're an eclectic mix of WTM, Robinson (ideas with our own booklists including Robinson titles), CLE, and CM. ;)

 

This schedule is what works for us with a baby in the house :D

 

I like the idea of independent learning in some areas, but not entirely. My son is the same way. Sometimes he'll say, "Don't look, Mom!" and is so proud to show me his finished work. But we certainly enjoy our read alouds, poetry, music, singing, memory work, etc. "together" times, too. I try to include the baby as much as we can during these times, though right now longer read alouds only happen during naps and when dh is here to entertain the wee one. (Audio books are wonderful, too!!! How delightful to listen to The Swiss Family Robinson while helping a baby take his first steps and ds6 is playing with Legos!;))

 

After much thought, we couldn't go ALL THE WAY Robinson here (at least not at this point), but I do like the idea of assigning work by "time" and not quantity, necessarily. It's much easier to have ds read at his own pace through books than to try to guess what schedule would work for him. He's grown leaps and bounds in his reading comprehension and abilities; I firmly believe that if I had followed a pre-set schedule or reading for him, he would not be as far advanced.

 

In general, I think learning how to learn independently is important. I had to do this (by necessity), and it has served me very well in life.

Edited November 24, 2009 by Medieval Mom

[Medieval Mom]

Handwriting. That's it. Even at 10, my kids need quite a bit of supervision. They may be able to complete the work without me sitting right there, but I need to be nearby. I need to be there to answer questions and to keep them on track. I think expecting a child to take his work and go complete it on his own is unreasonable at that age.

 

 

Independent work can still be heavily supervised ;)

[kalanamak]

I let kiddo do what he tells me he can do on his own. He gets a very happy note and tells me "to do something else" or "to fiddle in the kitchen". He calls if he wants more help. For now, unless he asks me to leave, I stay. I have noticed when he gets 100% correct when he has asked me to leave him alone, so I think it is when he feels confident.

[FriedClams]

I have a great mentor who has been teaching me to embrace the journey of homeschooling. It's not that I don't want my kids to be independent, but I don't want to rush them. Should a 7 year old *have* to do their work themselves? Should they be self-taught? I'm home to teach them, so I am working on embracing that and enjoying it together. They still need us to teach them, guide them, walk along the way with them. So for my guy - he works with me in the room. He does his work himself - but we are together in the process. He reads a lot on his own, both assigned and for fun. He also does his copywork by himself (when we are listening to a story on tape). Other than that -h works alongside me.

[LindaOz]

My 7yo does independently:

 

-math (we go over it if a new concept or she is stuck.)

-handwriting

-spelling (writes out words, and does the daily workbook activity)

-own reading

-piano

-violin

 

Together we do:

-LLATL Red

-read alouds

-Sonlight Core readings

-Science reading (then bookwork on her own)

 

When she has finished indpendent work, I go through it to check that all is good.

[SonshineLearner]

Playing Legos:-) And.... anything else with little pieces....

 

My son is 6 though. He's just not independent, lucky for me I'm a slow Classical Mom:-) Right now, his job is playing:-)

 

Carrie

[elise1mds]

It depends what you mean by independent learning. I don't expect my DS to teach himself anything at this age, but he will often complete a worksheet or two by himself or conduct a simple science experiment. He doesn't do any writing assignments by himself since he has trouble with handwriting and needs the comfort of knowing I'm there to help, which I always am if he needs it, no matter what the subject.

[tofuscramble]

My 6 year old works independently for the most part, until he needs help with something. I have three boys and like to spend a little time with each, so for the time I'm working with one, the other two have to work independently. I Sometimes write out instructions for him to follow. They all seem to do just fine with it, even the four year old, who just colours, draws pictures or plays with Lego when he is done with his workbooks. They all get their hour or so of uninterrupted mum time a day and I get to keep good track of their progress.

[Haiku]

My seven year old does her phonics (ETC) and a math review sheet independently, and that's it. I am involved with everything else. I know that everyone homeschools for different reasons, but for me, a big part of the reason I homeschool is to work WITH my kids, not have them working alone. I honestly think a child that young would miss A LOT if left to work independently. I wouldn't want to ditch a good, yet teacher-intensive, program just to switch to something workbooky.

 

Tara

[2_girls_mommy]

I call independent what she can sit and do w/out me sitting there going over it all together.. like workbook pages. Mine does a lot of that independently, but we go over all of the instructions and teaching together first, if that makes sense.

 

She pretty much does phonics completely independently. She is a wonderful reader, and is just finishing up a 2 yr program. Nothing new here for her, just daily practive of rules.

 

English, we read the lesson together, then she does the work independently.

 

She reads a LOT independently. A lot of it is assigned reading from me. And she occasionally writes a narration independently on her reading. I do supervise this, and help out.

 

She does handwriting and copywork independently.

 

We do math lessons and drill together daily, then she works on the work herself. Occasionally, if there is nothing new, I just assign the page, w/out doing drill.

 

We do history and science and music and art together.

 

But, being classical homeschoolers, everything overlaps. There are many days that her history or science is reading from a living book. So she learns a lot that way on her own from books.

 

This dd was always very independent, and prefers it that way.

[Pata]

I also have a 7yo dd. Here's what she does independently...

 

-Math (we go over the textbook lesson, then she does the workbook alone, I correct it and she fixes the mistakes while I watch)

-Reading (for assigned school reading I sit next to her and read my self-ed books at the same time)

-ETC workbook

-Cursive Handwriting

 

That's about it! Although dd could easily do bible, history and science on her own, I enjoy the interaction we have in these subjects. After all I homeschool so that I can be an integral part of her education :). Hope that helps!

[abbeyej]

The only thing that I expect my 7yo to do totally independently is reading (and that's because she's a very strong reader already).

 

Some things she can work on without me directing each step, but I'm still right there and available at all times, whether for additional instruction, correction, or just plain encouragement. A day for her might look like:

 

math - Horizons - she can usually do about 70-80% of this alone, but I will work with her on anything confusing or new, and I'll come and look over her work as she's doing it so that I can correct any mistakes while she's working rather than later in the day. If she needs extra help with a concept, I'll sit down with base ten blocks or some other tool to help her understand.

 

WWE- Pretty teacher-focused, except for copywork.

 

SWO D- I give her the pre-test, then she does most of the workbook section alone, but with me available to help her as necessary. While she can do most of it alone, she could not be expected to go off and do the complete lesson without someone available to answer questions as she works.

 

R&S grammar 3 - Teacher-focused. I may send her off to write out the sentences or some such at the end of her lesson, then bring it back to me to correct with her.

 

SOTW - I'll read to her or have her go read on her own. Comprehension questions and mapwork is done together. She might go off on her own to read a supplemental book or color a coloring page.

 

Science - She might read the section on her own, but I sit with her while she writes out her fill-in-the-blank sentences or answers her short-answer questions.

 

Logic - She has a workbook and depending on the exercise she may or may not need my help.

 

Even handwriting I consider best done with supervision at this age, so that bad habits do not become ingrained.

[maryanne]

In my experience the amount of independent work a child can do varies dramatically from one child to the next, but I don't really like to turn much learning over to them until I'm sure that they have successfully transitioned from "learning to read" to "reading to learn". For me I don't think this happens until after phonics instruction is completed and the reading level is at least upper elementary, maybe 4th grade or above. Before this point independent work is limited to skill areas where repetition is a large part of the process.

 

My ds was only beginning to work independently at the age of 7 (2nd grade) on maybe a phonics worksheet and a math worksheet. In K and 1st I literally was dragging this very bright kid letter by letter through his school work: "What letter comes next... ok, now write the letter... how does it start... don't forget to start your letters at the top... now what letter comes next ..." ad nauseum.

 

Now he is in the 4th grade and working very independently on everything he's asked to do. He gets all of his assignments at the beginning of the week. They are broken down by day but he has some flexibility to work ahead and/or catchup the next day. Some assignments are complete when the task is completed; others are done in specific time increments. For example art is done either 15 minutes a day or 1 hour a week. When the time has completed he can carry over any unfinished projects to the next week.

 

Together we do spelling tests and editing on writing assignments and alternate working together with independent work in science and history. What I mean by alternate is that this week we might do history together me reading aloud and doing any assignment together while he does his science independently except for comprehension questions/discussion. Then the next week he would complete his history independently except for narration/discussion and we would do all the science together. I do it this way so that he can practice independence in these subjects but I can still keep close supervision and accountability. Also he really enjoys doing it together.

 

My dd, 6 and in 1st, is far more independent than ds at the same age. She will do 2-3 pages of ETC and handwriting independently (after I've taught the lesson). She will also do some math independently. Beyond that I don't expect much independence because her reading comprehension just isn't good enough yet.

[...................]

Granted I have raised him to be hard working, and cheerfully obedient for 7 years. Which factors in. Add to that his personality which is capable type A-B ... So keep all that in mind.

 

But he has a schedule and does the following independently:

 

Abeka Grammar

ACE Spelling

Abeka Phonics

Abeka History and Science

Hey Andrew Greek

A Windows Vista how to book

Easy Tech computer lessons

Reading

 

I teach him in depth daily:

 

Understanding Writing

Spectrum Reading Comp ( he really enjoys the stories and likes to cuddle and read them to me.)

 

we use Saxon math and because we used abeka last year most of it was review - so I go through ahead and look for new material and write "see mom" by it. We do not do the meeting every day, but take out all the meeting strips from a blog i found and just go through the pattens and counting now and then. So 3 out of 5 days math is also independent.

 

Then he puts everything in a stack and I check it all over and call him infor corrections or explanations as necessary. If it was a sloppy error I do not help him.otherwise we walk it through together. This is rare. Most errors are sloppy ones, which decrease greatly after the first week of school- no child wants to be Interrupted during play time to fix errors.

 

Now it should be said that we will be going back to WTM history next year, as I miss teaching it. In the meantime my son loves the Abeka book and can tell you all about it.

 

He is also an extremely avid reader so I know he is learning a lot, and I read aloud classic lit and we study the bible together.

 

I would say my son is 90% independent.