How many days do you school?

[HSM-Crissy]

I am getting ready to start HS my K'er. I was looking for some input on how many days you school. Do you just do M-F? (I'm thinking on a typical week, as I know some people have mentioned they sometimes spill over into the weekend.)

 

We attend church Saturday night as a family because my husband works on Sundays. My main motivation to HS my children is to teach them about Jesus, which I plan to try in incorporate that as much as possible through each subject.

 

However, I was hoping for some advice or just your thoughts about schooling through the weekend. Do you just take it off as PS does?

 

Thanks in advance for your input and I love how we as moms can come together to learn and help each other! It's just wonderful! :grouphug:

[Ester Maria]

Sunday through Friday, with Fridays being shorter (usually finished around 2 pm). We're not religious, but have found that we work the best within the Jewish week scheme as opposed to the typical M-F schedule with weekends off. We prefer to school six days a week, but we travel a lot: the girls spend entire summers in Italy, and in addition to that every year we take a total of another month or two's worth breaks for traveling and staying abroad, so six days a week is a must in our case and has been since they were little, otherwise we couldn't get things done, given that we spend up to a full third of a year someplace else and not really schooling (and if schooling, rather informally).

[In2why]

We school 4 days a week. The 5th day...usually Friday is library day or field trips. Although we do some type of reading 7 days a week, I wouldn't consider that learning/teaching, just life.

[ondreeuh]

We school according to our local school calendar (though I have been known to do a brief math and LA lesson on the school vacation days). Our local schools only do 170 days which is a bit inconvenient since most homeschooling materials assume 36 full weeks = 180 days.

[m0mmaBuck]

We typically do M-F but if we take a 'field trip' or a vacation that involves school-appropriate activities over the weekend, I count those too.

 

For example, we went to the Zoo on my birthday. While there, we attended educational shows and seminars. We went to the the learning center and touch tank. We watched zoo keeper talks and animal feedings. We counted the day as a school day even though it was a Saturday.

 

We have done similar trips to nature refuges, salmon hatcheries, police academies, farms, National Parks, and so on.

 

So generally we don't do workbooks, texts and so on during the weekends, but we will count trips that are educational toward our days of school.

[Guest]

When my daughter was younger we had a more regular routine of subject-based activities and classes in the community. For a while she went part-time to a co-op, so our schedule was at its most routine during those years (grades 4 through 7).

 

Now we work around other activities. My daughter has a part-time work/study type job at a riding stable on Tuesdays and is tired when she gets home, so we usually don't do much but read afterwards. Saturdays are currently free, so we usually do some kind of school-like activity then. I have trouble sticking to a strict schedule, partly because my daughter is extremely creative academically and in other ways and nearly always has some kind of project going that I think is worthwhile and contributes to her overall schooling, so I tend not to drag her away to do paper-based work. She will go through cycles of intense work on a particular subject, or on the other hand, total lack of interest, so I also work with those cycles and with her increased need for sleep these days -- all seem to have intensified with early adolescence.

[texasmama]

We school Mon-Thurs, with homeschool co op classes on Friday. We take Sat and Sun off and take two weeks off at Christmas and a Spring break, as well as summer. Our curriculum (Sonlight) is set up to be four days a week (they also have a five day option) and is 36 weeks long so it works out well.

[mommylawyer]

We homeschool usually 4 days per week - Thursday thru Sunday - because I work 3 days a week. We go year-round because at times it is hard to get in our four days a week.

[elise1mds]

The *only* requirement that we have here in Oklahoma is to school for 180 days. We follow DD's school schedule. They follow a calendar that gives them a week-long break in October, a week off for Thanksgiving, two weeks for Spring Break, a few other small breaks, but then only two months off during summer. We love it. Usually :)

[razorbackmama]

The only time we do school on Saturday or Sunday is if it's some sort of family activity that I can count as school (which is SUPER rare). We do school M-F, but we take every other Monday off typically, because that is my dh's day off (and it's nearly impossible to keep the kids focused on school when he is around:tongue_smilie:). When he doesn't happen to have it off or is out of town on his "day off," we usually go ahead and do school so we can take some sort of break in the summer (we're required to do school 172 days/year).

[Ellie]

I see no point in doing Official School Stuff on a weekend (unless your dh's work hours are different), especially not with a 5yo.

 

I would expect to be finished no later than noon every day that you do Official School Stuff.

[siloam]

We do Monday through Thursday. Never do we spill into a weekend. We do though hs year around, taking weeks of as need. Generally 5 weeks on one week off, though we always have a couple times a year we take more time off.

 

Heather

[Haiku]

We do school M-Th year round, four weeks on, one week off.

 

Tara

[nukeswife]

We usually do work 5 days a week but one day is lighter. Right now that is M-W and Fri-Sat. We take off Thursdays because my dd has speech at the PS and that means a really early day (we're not usually up that early) we also use thurs for our Library day or a field trip day then.

[GoVanGogh]

When DS was K age, we schooled around roughly 140 days. Now that he is older (3rd grade) I do strive for 180 min. (Our state does not set a requirement.)

We run our school year from January to December, as DS has a late December birthday. In 2009, we finished with 190 days - 42 of those were field trips.

We generally school an average of 4 days a week for 2-3 months, then take 2-3 weeks off. We school year round. When I feel like we are 'done' for the year, we stop. Generally that means that we take all of December off.

[kalanamak]

I started out doing 6 days a week (I aimed for 7 but am usually too pooped on one day), because I work full time, but I have found small amounts frequently did the best by my child. I see no point in making a child dread school this young. I don't think they have the vision of the future that could motivate them to put in long hours.

 

So, at 4, it was 5 minutes per topic, for a total of 15 minutes a day (we could stay with it if he was staying with it) plus 2 hours of read alouds, in K it was 10 minutes per topic, and only late in 1st grade could he do 2 hours per day even 3 times a week. Now, 2/3rds the way through 2nd, he can do 2 hours every day with only a couple of warnings, and he offers to do extra on some days to "earn" a day off later (three cheers for delayed gratification) and sometimes does extra just because what we are doing that day interests him, or because he'd like to finish a whole chapter for the sense of accomplishment. I share my monthly goals with him, and he likes seeing the goal reached.

 

I know this is completely unscientific, but I believe he wouldn't have that spirit if I'd been the heavy when he was younger. He's a "good time Charlie", and if part of a "good time" is knowing your not behind in your work, so much the better.

 

HTH

[King Alfred Academy]

We school M-Th and are done by lunch leaving time for activities, play time, ect. in the afternoon. We do "Fun Day Fridays"...artists/composer studies, art instruction/projects, "living" math, finish up history/science projects, and park day with our homeschool friends in the afternoon.

 

We school year round, taking off whenever we need/want it (vacations, family visits, "teacher in-service" days, "just because we feel like it" days, mental health days, "the weather is awesome" days, ect.) :001_smile:

 

We don't "school" on Saturdays (but lots of things are learned still) and Sundays...we keep the Sabbath.

[coffeegal]

We're currently schooling Monday -Thursday and using Fridays for cleaning. :001_smile:

[2cents]

When the children were very young we only did school 4 days a week and reserved one day for co-op or other outside classes. But now that they're in middle school I've found that I am assigning a few lessons on a weekend day lessens the load during the week. We also school year round and that helps us to get everything in without having to stress or miss out on outside classes or events that the children enjoy.

[nono]

Our state doesn't say we need to do a certain number of days. So we do a certain schedule M,T,Th, F. I schedule "enrichment" for Wednesdays. Usually, that is outside activities, but it could also mean simply some fun things at home that don't fold into our existing schedule.

[FairProspects]

This year we have done K on M-Th, with Fridays for MOPS, or another fun activity. Next year we will do a Friday co-op. We started in late August, took off 2 weeks in November, 3 weeks in December, a week in February, this week for Easter/Spring break, and we will still finish our 36 week plans in mid-late June, right on target for our area.

[lvissers]

We do M - F this year. Next year we are joining a local homeschooling enrichment day on F, so then it will be M - TH.

[Klothos]

We plan on schooling Monday through Friday, year-round during 46 weeks of the year (they get a week-long break every three months, plus an extra two week vacation that can be scheduled anytime during the year). Through fourth grade, schooling only takes two hours per day; for the logic and rhetoric stages, it takes four hours per day. This doesn't include any breaks they might take in between or independent reading assignments.

[erikdeb]

We school M-F, when dh is at work. If he worked different days, we would school whatever days he was at work (probably even if it was 6 days a week). Sometimes we'll do a project on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon just because it sounds fun. Mainly, we have discovered that we don't do particularly well with days of unstructured time in general. We take days/weeks off when it seems to fit (we have taken short summer breaks - break after having a baby, if mom or too many dc are sick, we'll take that week off, and maybe the next week to "recover", etc).

[HSM-Crissy]

You ladies are all awesome! Right now, I'm finding she is wanting to do "school" randomly throughout the day. I kinda wanted to make a schedule since I'm not doing say Sonlight or a complete package where everything is planned for you. I am almost taking a unit approach to things she likes or finds interesting with books from the library or color pages from the internet.

 

I really appreciate your thoughts and comments as I totally forgot to take in the fact that we will more than likely do a co-op and have a Bible Study that takes up my entire Thursday morning (she will be doing the same study as we do, so it could be considered school since they do activities/play throughout the morning). So I'm thinking I might have to do like a M-W, F co-op and then S to make a 4 day week. I know it's going to be a journey, but as a wanna-be type A (:seeya:) I kinda want to get a rough schedule of what I want to accomplish and see what is working well for others!!!

 

I can't thank you enough for your insight!!:)

[mom31257]

We do school M-F, but we only do core academics 4 days a week. We attend a co-op one day a week, but only about half the year. I try to use that 5th day, when we are not in co-op, as a fun activity day (projects, art, science experiments, etc.).

[SilverMoon]

We school Monday through Friday typically. Occasionally big projects or bad dawdling will cause us to roll over into Saturday, but I don't assign anything for that day.

 

When my oldest was in kindy we only schooled 3 days a week. My younger ones have done theirs more frequently because a big sibling is doing school and they want in on the fun.

[patchfire]

On paper, we school M-F, and for 180 days total. In practice, dd does something that most people would consider "schoolwork" most days of the year. Right now, she's reading about physical science and asking me about biochemistry. Over our "spring break," she'll do some math, vocabulary, and reading. You get the idea. :) Sometimes, because we do a lot during the week, and because I have a one-year old, we do a day of school on Sundays, to give us more leeway or a day off during the week. Occasionally we've even done school on both Saturday & Sunday for those reasons.

[FlutterbyMommy]

We are doing year round and 4 days a week with breaks around holidays and as it feels natural.

[Dinsfamily]

We also school M-F year around. This allows us to take breaks as we want or need throughout the year. We take July off because we're travelling and did Christmas school this year between Thanksgiving and New Year's. We also had a few weeks when we were busy or family visited and school didn't happen.

 

Now, with my K'er this year, we only did school for about 2-3 hours/day (including about an hour of read alouds) and plenty of little brother distractions. As far as our schedule, we just started each day with the 3Rs and our day fell in place from there. I usually did read alouds during the baby's naptime otherwise he was very disruptive.

[duckens]

:bigear:

[Paula in PA]

Our schedule is Monday through Friday, 42 weeks per year, year-round. Friday is still a slightly lighter day for us and will probably remain so for the next couple of years.

[EppieJ]

My DH is full time staff at our church so his days off are Saturday and Monday. Our main schooling, therefore, is done T - F. The exceptions would be piano practice and Kumon math which are everyday items. One of the main reasons we homeschool is so that we can have this family time. I can't imagine ds being in ps all day M-F and only having one full day with "Dad".

 

We also continue some schooling (way more relaxed) during the summer. And because we are part of an "alternative education" program, we do get vacations such as Spring Break at the same time as ps kids. However, we often use this time to get caught up on anything that may have been neglected. Now, before you think, "that poor kid never gets a break!" We do take vacations, etc throughout the school year, just on our own schedule.

[One Busy Mom of 5]

I can't believe how many of you homeschool year 'round. With 8 weeks to go, I think I am more excited about summer break than my kids! :party:Clean, swim, playground, play, bike, organize, more play, that kind of stuff, yippy!

 

 

Anyway, since you are doing Kinder (I've done 2 of those so far), I think you're schedule sounds pretty terrific. M-W, with friday co-op (which we count this as a school day!) Then Sat you can make an "extras" day, library day, computer learning game day, project day, that sort of thing and you should be able to make great progress with your kindergartener.

 

As for # of days, I think most states that require = 180 days. My kinders only do "school" for up to 2 hours max. (That included phonics lessons with practice "sounding" and writing and such, usually a project of some sort, and some math concepts)

But reading, computer play, games and such are added learning adventures that we don't count as actual "school" :hurray:

 

Good luck on your new adventure!! You are in for loads of fun!! :iagree:

[lovemykids]

We school year round, without any planned breaks, with the exception of summer. In the summer we may take six to eight weeks off. (does that count for a summer break? I think so.;)) I let the weather dictate the schedule and the planned break. This way we can remain flexible throughout the year, and we are able to facilitate both a relaxed and a rigorous method, depending on the time of year, or whatever may be happening in our lives at the time. (Meaning when we don’t feel like doing everything in the winter, we can have many fun days to enjoy crafts, etc., instead of hitting the books!) We don’t celebrate Christmas, so that doesn’t count here.

Typically, we school Monday through Friday, but very often we take a day off during the week and play catch up on Saturday. Other times, we have had six days of school M-Sat. :D

It will all come together for you.

Enjoy!

[Reya]

M-F whenever there's no family or group vacation year round, 4 hrs per day.

[brownie]

Your oldest is a 5 year old? Oh for the simplicity of those days! You don't even need to call it school if your child isn't wanting to go to school. We did lots of fun educational stuff at that point throughout the day. Thus you could school 7 days a week without getting burnt out. My oldest got a better education without formal schooling than is ds who is about to turn 5 and joins us for formal schooling. LOTS of reading, games, puzzles and talking about numbers as you play, climb the stairs, etc...pretty much gets it done when you have lots of time to enjoy it.

Brownie

[MaMa2005]

We loosely follow our county's calendar. DH is a high school teacher and it is difficult to have school at home when DH is home for a school holiday. The exception to this are DS's enrichment classes. They don't follow anyone's calendar but their own so DS will go to those classes regardless of DH's schedule (unless we are traveling).