s/o Are you done by lunch?

[Renee in NC]

Are we the only ones who need to do school 8-3 or 9-4 (with an hour lunch break) to get everything done? That is actual hands on time for me (not all my dc do that much work, though.)

 

In the thread about hs activities being in the wrong part of the day, Crimson Wife says that even classical schoolers are done by lunch because hs is so much more efficient.

 

What is your experience? And if you have 4+ students classically (something resembling TWTM) and get done before lunch, please share your tips!

Edited January 17, 2010 by Renee in FL

[Rosy]

I'm done teaching by lunch, but DD9 still has schoolwork to do in the afternoon most days. She probably spends 4 or so hours a day, 4 days a week doing school. But I think it would be very hard to finish schooling teens by 1-2pm, unless you started really early in the morning.

[smrtmama]

Classical homeschoolers done by lunch? Maybe if you start at 5am.

[jujsky]

We are sometimes done by lunch, sometimes not. We usually start at 10:00, and it takes about 3 hours for me to do school with them. I only have 2 kids and they're both doing first grade. The only subject I do with them separately is phonics. With the amount of kids you have and all the different ages, I'm not surprised it takes you longer. I would probably spend the same amount of time as you do if I had a larger family.

Edited January 17, 2010 by jujsky

[Avila]

No, not usually. My two younger DDs can be, but my oldest is almost never done that early. And that is without adding in Latin. :blush:

Edited January 17, 2010 by Asenik

[Stacy in NJ]

When the kiddos were younger, yes. But, now at 11 and 12 years, we typically work into the afternoon. We begin around 9 or 9:30, take an hour for lunch, and finish up around 3. Other than lunch, we take only 5 or 10 minute breaks between subjects.

[Lovedtodeath]

No, we are not done by lunch.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

We are sometimes done by lunch, sometimes not. We usually start at 10:00, and it takes about 3 hours for me to do school with them. I only have 2 kids and they're both doing first grade. The only subject I do with them separately is phonics. With the amount of kids you have and all the different ages, I'm not surprised it takes you longer. I would probably spend the same amount of time if you do if I had a larger family.

Oh, yea, what she said.

[Night Elf]

Are we the only ones who need to do school 8-3 or 9-4 (with an hour lunch break) to get everything done? That is actual hands on time for me (not all my dc do that much work, though.)

 

I think an accurate comparison would only be valid if the people answering are doing the same things, i.e. subjects, materials, and number of children. I remember a thread asking how long people spent on math, and the answers for just that were all over the place! :)

[JudoMom]

No.

 

I've given up on that dream.

 

I can't give my boys the kind of education I want them to have and be done by lunch.

 

To get everything done with every boy I need to be actively teaching someone something from around 8-3, with an hour break. That doesn't mean that every boy is actively working (my 4 year old, for example, does maybe 30 minutes of work, while my 10 year old does 5+ hours a day).

 

I don't see it getting any better as my boys get older, either. I see it being different (more discussions and listening and bouncing ideas, with less direct teaching I guess), but I don't see it as being less time consuming.

[Renee in NC]

I think an accurate comparison would only be valid if the people answering are doing the same things, i.e. subjects, materials, and number of children. I remember a thread asking how long people spent on math, and the answers for just that were all over the place! :)

 

True - I made the question a little more specific (or tried to anyway!)

[WiseOwlKnits]

Nope. We don't even start till after lunch!

[MariannNOVA]

Classical homeschoolers done by lunch? Maybe if you start at 5am.

 

:iagree:

 

Certainly not finished by lunch here -- twins doing third grade and dd doing fifth grade.

 

Mariann

[Harriet Vane]

Absolutely never done by lunch. I keep wishing I could figure out how to do that, though.

[JenneinCA]

We try to be done with math, music, and writing before lunch. But nothing else. And we don't make it everyday.

 

Science, history, art, reading and anything else is done in the afternoon.

[Frontier Mom]

Are you kidding? We had to do school today to finish for the week and still didn't get the science lab worked in to the schedule. And, it's school planning tomorrow.

 

Nope, not for us. We usually start about 9 and finish about 3 but they usually have some extra reading or project to work on after that.

[HRAAB]

My 9 yr old twins are done with all the core subjects (math, grammar, spelling, writing, reading comp. and practice) before noon. They usually have time to read or play before lunch. The time after lunch is devoted to history, science, art and music or whatever else they might be interested in.

 

My 12 yr old dd is 'usually' finished by noon with her core subjects, but only if she drags herself out of bed before 9:00 A.M. That's spending 1 hr. 15 min. on math and at least that long on writing, revising and grammar plus other subjects such as vocab., logic and such.

 

So no. I don't see anyway to get it all, including science and history, done before noon. Especially with a middle school student. If there is, I would like to know the secret.

Edited January 17, 2010 by Ishki

[Daisy]

I only teach two and we are *usually* done by 1pm. That is with an 8am start and a break. Some days it is more like 2pm. We also do more read-alouds and memory work in the evenings after dinner (only about 30-45 min).

 

I've heard it done though, but I don't know how. Our day is getting longer & longer as the children get older.

[EKS]

2nd grader is done by lunch, 8th grader is not.

[Peela]

We were done by lunch for a long time- about 4 solid hours of school...but it didn't include independent reading time.

My kids were so conditioned to finishing by lunchtime though, they really resisted when I wanted to extend the hours. Eventually last year I said "that's it, we work till 3pm like kids in school, but you dont have any homework like your friends in school" and they came around to realising it wasnt so bad after all.

[m0mmaBuck]

We start at 9:00 and do math, spelling, comprehension and history before lunch... However, after lunch their is reading, piano, science, sometimes more history, PE....

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Classical homeschoolers done by lunch? Maybe if you start at 5am.

 

:iagree::iagree:

 

It me about 4-5 hours day, but usually 5 with ds who is in 2nd grade. Now, I do break it though:)

[Garga]

Being that these (see below) are the subjects that we do each and every day, 5 days a week, it takes us from 8 in the morning till around 2 or 3 in the afternoon every day.

 

And it's just preschool and 2nd grade. I can only imagine it will be as long or longer when they're older.

 

Reading comprehension

Phonics

Math

Grammar

Handwriting

American history

World history

Art history or music history (different artist or composer every 6 weeks)

Bible reading, Bible memorization

Manners (yes--this is a separate subject for us!!)

Special preschool one-on-one time with the 4 yo (fun preschool stuff.)

Science--including experiments

[Murphy101]

No. Almost never. It is not unusual for us to work until dinner.

Now I have 7 kids I'm educating, so it's not all the kids all the time, but *I* am rarely done by lunch. The oldest three are usually done around 2ish.

[Tree House Academy]

My 1st grader is...my 5th grader is no where close! He starts around 9:30 and he usually works until 3 or 4 pm with a total of about a 1 hour break. Some of the time it takes him is due to him dawdling so much. If he gets on the ball and does the work, he can be done by 1:30 or 2.

[Leila]

My 5th grader does school from 8 - 3pm daily except Wednesday.

My K5 only works about an hour each day plus 1 hr read aloud with me.

 

But we really have to do 4 days of full work because Wednesday is PE day for them which takes our whole morning and I use the afternoon for our library day.

 

I don't know I struggle with time too with my kids. I have even posted this kind of questions here. I am glad I had to hear how most of you do school until 3 or 4. Because even how much I try to schedule and tweak the time, we still end up doing 5 -6 hrs of school. I envy those who can finish by noon. And I was rereading TWTM with the time schedule. To follow it, you need around 5 hrs each day or so. So yes, it probably take that long. If you have one child, I can see it happening, but having more that 2, I don't know. There is just so much distraction.

[Mommyof4ks]

No, we usually do the 'not so fun classes' as my kids call them before lunch, and then do history and science after lunch. Some days we are not home for more than a few hours though, so we have to make up for that on the other days.

[LauraGB]

When we were doing lower elementary we were usually done by lunch time. But now, its anywhere from 2-3pm (sometimes later), with a starting time around 9a. There was a big transition from 4th grade work to 5th grade work, and 6th has been along the same lines. I think its because we study the core classes more in depth than in 1st-4th and have added others that we didn't have before.

[homeschoolally]

I only have one formally homeschooling this year and we are rarely done before 3...and we've recently had to incorporate some weeknight and weekend homework to keep up.

 

When we do plan an outing we make up the work over the weekend. We haven't been on the 'finished after lunch' schedule since first grade.

 

I'm not bashing anyone who can get finished in a few hours because I'm sure it's possible for some, but I think that would be the exception in the classical homeschool world...not the norm.

Edited January 17, 2010 by homeschoolally

[Heather in WI]

Done by lunch? Only my K4-er. He's done by 10:30 . :-)

 

My second grader's schedule:

 

 

Silent History Reading -- 9:00-9:30

 

Bible -- 9:30-9:45

 

Science -- 9:45-10:15

 

Penmanship -- 10:15-10:30

 

Spelling -- 10:30-10:45

 

Math -- 10:45-11:45

 

 

 

Just over 1 hour break for lunch

 

 

 

History -- 1:00-2:00

 

Memorization -- 2:00-2:05

 

Grammar -- 2:05-2:15

 

Writing -- 2:15-2:30

 

Silent Literature Reading -- 2:30-3:15

 

 

 

My 4th grader's schedule:

 

 

Silent History Reading -- 8:30-9:00

 

Bible -- 9:30-10:00

 

Spelling -- 10:00-10:15

 

Math -- 10:15-11:15

 

Latin -- 11:15-11:45

 

 

 

Just over 1 hour break for lunch

 

 

 

History -- 1:00-2:00

 

Science -- 2:00-2:30

 

Grammar -- 2:30-2:45

 

Writing -- 2:45-3:00

 

Silent Literature Reading --3:00-4:00

 

Edited January 17, 2010 by Heather in WI

[ChristusG]

Nope. We don't even start till after lunch!

 

Usually the same for us!! But my DD is still very young and schooling does not take as much time.

[elise1mds]

We are, but I've only got one first grader, and I know we'll be inching pretty close to the lunchtime mark next year. There are times this year when we have gone past, but they've been pretty rare and usually only for science or history projects.

[AuntieM]

Done by lunch?

 

:smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5:

 

We used to be... but now I have three teens and a precocious 4.9999 year old....

 

Ah, I remember the good ol' days when after lunch was reserved for naps and play dates....!

 

Honestly, though, they do work much more independently now, so aside from the littlest, they don't need my constant, one-on-one attention most of the time.

[KidsHappen]

I only have independent schoolers left at home but when I did have littles at home we didn't even start until after noon. We also stayed up til midnight and didn't get up until we woke up. We keep wonky hours here. It's one of the great things about homeschooling, you can do it on you own schedule.

[AngieW in Texas]

We only got done by lunch when my kids were in 2nd grade and under.

 

My 6th grader starts at 9am and usually finishes around 1:30 or 2pm. My 9th grader starts at 9am and usually finishes around 3:30-4pm (usually around 1:30 on Fridays though). They both work hard to get finished. They don't want school hanging over their heads all day long.

 

My 11th grader likes to spread her school out over the entire day.

[abbeyej]

No way. (Aren't Crimson's kids very little?) We used to be able to finish by lunch, but no more.

[SonshineLearner]

My opinion is that if you're done by lunch... with older children.... add more. Maybe not more "teaching" but audio cds.... or something.

I've told my daughter that families on here say they spend 1 hr per grade.... up to 8 or 9 hrs a day. So, when you're in 10th grade, you'll be still spending 8 or 9 hrs a day... plus maybe some after school time work... at night or on the wknds.

Right now, she's in 6th grade, and I try for 5 hrs a day. (I'd rather 6, though...)

My son is 6 and in 1st and I try for one hr:-)

:-)

[Heather in OK]

I can't imagine getting EVERYTHING done, with four children, by lunchtime! :confused:

 

Subjects that we all do together (i.e. Bible Study, History, Science, etc.) are done in the morning. We break for lunch from 11:30-12:30. Then 12:30-3:30 is for individual book work.

[keptwoman]

Sure I'm done by lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

In my dreams :rofl:

[elegantlion]

Done by lunch? No way. We start school at 10am and our first break is lunch. We press onward until about 3pm on most days.

 

We are not morning people by any stretch and last year we started school at 11:30. It worked great last year, but this year the work load has gotten heavier.

[Guest Katia]

No. Not even when they were little. I can honestly say we have never, ever been finished by lunch-time.

[Avila]

Thanks to Renee and everyone who is answering. I was starting to feel like I am either a freak or doing something REALLY wrong this year!

[Wildiris]

If we called quitting time at lunch, something is wrong. I'd like to be done by lunch, but....

[Renee in NC]

No way. (Aren't Crimson's kids very little?) We used to be able to finish by lunch, but no more.

 

Yes, but she said that the large families that she knows are done by lunch - even those classically schooling. I just thought I would ask because I thought I was doing something wrong.

 

I am glad to know that there are others that cannot get done before lunch. I'd like to hear from those who do and how they do it, though!:D

[melmichigan]

Done by lunch?

 

:smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5:

 

 

In my dreams :rofl:

 

To often I'm just lucky to be done by dinner. :D

[Thea]

Nope. Not done by lunch here. 10, 12 and 15.5 yos.

[Pretty in Pink]

Nope, we are never done by lunch anymore (and I don't even do full Latin:blushing:). We were done that early when I only had one 'student' and he was in maybe 3rd grade and below.

 

These days we run more of a 9 to 3 schedule (taking an hour for lunch).

[Just Another Jen]

No- The last time I was done by lunch was 2001 schooling a K and 2nd grader. We start bookwork at 9am and finish at 3pm. Sometimes the kids still have more to do- but those are my hours. We only take 30 minutes for lunch.

[Dawn in OH]

We don't even get started with school until about 10:00. So no, we aren't done by lunch. My daughter and I are both slow to get moving in the morning, and my oldest son dawdles with his morning responsibilities. Throw in a toddler, and it's a great day if we are sitting down and doing school before 10 AM.

[Parrothead]

We could be if we started early. We are not morning people by any stretch of the imagination so we don't even start school until 10. Dd is generally done by 2:30. She takes a lunch break during school.

 

She does:

math

grammar

reading

spelling

writing/poetry

science

history

 

I need to add Latin and logic some time soon. We were suppose to start those this year, but have not yet purchased the materials. These will probably add at least an hour to school.