When do you grade? (especially those of you with 3 or more in school)

[razorbackmama]

Typically, our "procedure" is that my kids do their work and put their completed pages back in their folder (if they can be torn out...if not then they stay in the workbook). Then once school is done for the day, I take out their work, mark anything wrong, and then write down on their assignment sheet for the next day what they need to correct.

 

I would LIKE to move more toward a "grade as you go" sort of system so that I can free up time in the afternoon. But I don't know how or when to go about doing that since our school day is so packed with stuff I'm doing.

 

So I'd love to hear how you go about checking their independent work...maybe I can steal some ideas.:001_smile:

[thowell]

I have dd6, dd9, and dd11 at this point and we grade as you go. A lot of things I do with them or am there while they are working but for the things they do independently, they bring them to me as they finish and I grade them at that moment. They have one big binder with all the different subject separated and labeled so when I hand them back they file them then. This seems to keep things more organized and has really freed up my Saturdays that I used to spend grading.

[Mrs Mungo]

It depends. I grade right away for math work, spelling tests and Latin quizzes. Everything else I grade on Fridays.

[razorbackmama]

I have dd6, dd9, and dd11 at this point and we grade as you go. A lot of things I do with them or am there while they are working but for the things they do independently, they bring them to me as they finish and I grade them at that moment. They have one big binder with all the different subject separated and labeled so when I hand them back they file them then. This seems to keep things more organized and has really freed up my Saturdays that I used to spend grading.

 

Does it ever get chaotic? Like they bring you something to grade while you're working with someone else? What do you do then? I'm just foreseeing several traffic jams.:tongue_smilie:

[razorbackmama]

It depends. I grade right away for math work, spelling tests and Latin quizzes. Everything else I grade on Fridays.

 

Mrs. Mungo, does grading on Fridays cause you to miss where one of your kids might be going astray when it comes to understanding? I have a couple that, if I don't catch it immediately, it just snowballs into awfulness LOL.

 

And I am LOL at your signature. My oldest is most definitely a serial kitten murderer.:lol:

[Mrs Mungo]

Mrs. Mungo, does grading on Fridays cause you to miss where one of your kids might be going astray when it comes to understanding? I have a couple that, if I don't catch it immediately, it just snowballs into awfulness LOL.

 

Well, that's why I grade math right away. For *my* kids, that's the main area where they might go astray. I'm sure your kids have areas where they are pretty consistent and/or the material doesn't build upon itself.

 

I grade spelling and Latin quizzes right away because the kids demand it, they like the instant good feedback.

 

And I am LOL at your signature. My oldest is most definitely a serial kitten murderer.:lol:

 

:D

[thowell]

Does it ever get chaotic? Like they bring you something to grade while you're working with someone else? What do you do then? I'm just foreseeing several traffic jams.:tongue_smilie:

 

The main lessons they do separate are math, grammar, and dictation. I have a strict no interrupt policy. All of the girls also have their own schedule printed for the week. If they are finished they will move on to another subject they do independently and wait until I am finished with whomever I am working with. It really doesn't cause any problems. However, let me say that from 9:00 until 12:30 the schoolroom has my undivided attention. I used to try and do other things during school but that led to chaos. It has ended up that because we get done earlier I actually have more free time now than before.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I allow more time in our schedule than is generally needed and use the extra time to grade work. For example, phonics with my K generally only takes 20 minutes, so I can use the extra 10 minutes to grade the math assignments for my 3rd and 5th. My 5th grader's CW time doesn't usually take a full 30 minutes, so I can use the time to check the girl's grammar and my 3rd graders handwriting and Miquon. I do a 3rd round of checks while the 2yo is eating lunch. After that the girls bring their assignments back to me in the office as they complete them. HTH

[Chloe]

My two oldest do their math in their rooms while I do math with my 1st grader at the kitchen table. I grade his math immediately after he's finished or check as he's doing it (the same for his handwriting and Explode the Code). When my older two finish their math lesson they come to the kitchen table, grab the TM and grade their lesson right there with me in view. They have to use a colored pen and circle anything that's wrong. I then look it over quickly to see what mistakes they made and have them do corrections right there at the table on another sheet of paper. This has actually worked very well for keeping math errors down (especially for careless mistakes), as they seem to care more when they are doing the grading. Even though I always had them redo any problems that were wrong, when I graded the math they weren't as diligent about doing their best. They just wanted to get it done. They seem to take more ownership of their work when they grade it.

 

Spelling is Sequential Spelling, so that's not really graded. Winston Grammar we grade together. My two oldest are working through it together. I teach the lesson to them together. They do the worksheet independently, then the next day we correct it together. They each take turns reading the sentence, telling the parts of speech and what they modify etc. That's the grammar lesson for that day. The next day I go over the next lesson, then they do the worksheet independently and so on.

 

The only other grading I need to do is for writing (mostly written narrations). I try to do this each evening, then go over it with them the next day and have them do the rewrite then for their writing that day. I get behind grading writing because it's my weak area, so I dread doing it. I haven't come up with a good system for keeping up with writing yet.

[razorbackmama]

When they're done, they put it on the kitchen table where I sit to grade. I grade whenever I have a few minutes to sit and do it :)

 

 

OK this leads me to another question...do y'all have a box or bin or something for them to put their work in - a "to be graded" bin or whatever? I might smack someone if they just start handing me papers left and right.:lol:

[Mrs Mungo]

OK this leads me to another question...do y'all have a box or bin or something for them to put their work in - a "to be graded" bin or whatever? I might smack someone if they just start handing me papers left and right.:lol:

 

Yes.

 

We have stacking paper trays. Each child has an in and out box. They place the papers in the inbox as they complete them. I grade them and place them in the outbox. They take them out of the out box and put them in their binders.

[johnandtinagilbert]

I have an inbox. I usually grade daily at about 5:30 or 6 in the morning, when it's quiet. It seems like an activity I can kinda do in my sleep :), plus, when it's that early, I won't get interrupted 5 bazillion times! They do generally tell me, "Mom, I put my Latin in the inbox," although my only response is, "Thank you."

 

If it's something that is graded via completion, but not grade, they walk by, "Mom, here's my journal entry." Then, occasionally, I sit down and read all the entries, usually once every other week/dc. As I read them, I put a colored check mark across the top. I chance the color for good measure!

 

I correct as we go for language arts with the Little League b/c we work through the vast majority of it together. I often correct their math when I have a few seconds, b/c I don't even need to pull out the TM for it.

 

The Elders mark their own math, Daily Grams, Latin textwork and worksheets, but I grade them....they are trustworthy and although they each tried once to cheat....just once.....this works very well for us. That way, they can instantly correct what they got wrong, instantly recognize a pattern of error, but I can stay aware of their grades, problems and offer the accountability to keep them honest. When I return them, each child has his or her own record keeping paper for each class, where they keep track for transcripts (only for high school credit classes).

 

 

I do grade writing assignments in the afternoon, about 3pm. I do this twice a week, in accordance to our program, and it takes about an hour each time (3 middle schoolers).

 

This multi-facet plan has worked the best so far :)

[abrightmom]

Does it ever get chaotic? Like they bring you something to grade while you're working with someone else? What do you do then? I'm just foreseeing several traffic jams.:tongue_smilie:

 

We have an "In-Box" (as we call it) that they put their work or workbook into when they're done :) and Mom is too busy to look the work over. It's just a file tray but it works to have a designated place for those papers or books. Before we had it I was frazzled by them running up to me with the papers/books and not being able to handle them at that moment. Then I'd just set the stuff down and it would be piling up or getting lost or something!! I love the In Box now. :D

[angela in ohio]

My two older dc grade almost all of their own work. I see no reason to grade it for them after they are 10 yo or so. In math, they often work wtih the answer key nearby, so that they can check answers after they have done a few and make sure they are on eht right track.

 

I sit with my little guy to keep him company while he does his independent work. He hands me papers as he finishes them, and I grade them and have him correct them immediately. Neither of us gets up until everything is 100% correct.

[laurad1125]

The boys each have file boxes with various folders in them. I load them at the beginning of the week with their assignment sheets and any pages they need. They put completed work in a done folder. At about 5-6pm during evening chore time I grab their done work and grade it. Work with an 85 or above goes in their to-file folder and other work goes in the homework folder to be corrected after dinner. Once a week we take stuff out of the to file folders and put them in notebooks similar to those described in TWTM.

[Barefoothomeschooler]

It depends. I grade right away for math work, spelling tests and Latin quizzes. Everything else I grade on Fridays.

 

 

This is what I do. I teach the littles in the morning and with them I do ALL grading with them. I teach the bigs in the afternoon(after lunch) so I really don't have time to grade everyday. Fridays works well, it usually ends up to be at night. Then I enter every thing in HST Friday or Saturday. All work must be corrected on Monday BEFORE they move on to the next lesson.

[robsiew]

I grade as we go. The kids work independently on what they can. Each has a special time to work with me where we do all the things they need me for (one on one time, not history and science where we're all together). They bring over their math, grammar, handwriting and anything else they've done independently and I go over it with them right then and there. It doesn't take very long because most of the time they've done just fine and have no questions. If they do have questions or need to correct something we do it right then and there. The only time this doesn't work is if they don't finish their individual work before they come work with me. Then I have to correct that later and if there's errors I just find them and go over them quick when I get to correcting it sometime later that day.