How much time???

[Celia]

I've been hs'ing my K'er for several months now after taking him out of ps because he didn't like it, and am planning for first grade now and having some troubles with it! I'm really not at all sure what to require of him. I've read WTM, and bought a bunch of the suggested curricula, but I'm nervous that it just might be too much. I've read through the sample schedule, and figure we'd be doing schoolwork for about 4-5 hours a day. I guess that's about the same time that he'd spend at ps doing schoolwork, but I do think that's perhaps too much for him (and me with juggling the preschooler and toddler!). I know I can cut back on history and science if need be, but I hate to go into homeschool with the feeling that I'm planning on failing to give him as good of an education as possible. On the other hand, I do want him to not be overwhelmed, and have plenty of time to be out in the yard digging up worms and whatnot.

 

We've taken things pretty easy since I took him out of K due to health and family issues, so we really haven't done much this year other than learning to read simple books and getting most of the way through is math course, RightStart A, which we should finish by the summer, plus a few weeks of Five in a Row.

 

So I guess what I'm wondering from those of you who have been there and done that, is how much schoolwork time should a mother reasonably expect from an active 6yr old boy? Is the schedule with the suggested times set out generally able to be accomplished by the average child? I'm wondering if it's a bit ambitious, but then again I've never done this before!

[ThreeBlessings]

I don't own The Well Trained Mind (yet!) so I can't flip through and read the age specific recommendations. I've checked it out from the library twice and read most of it. I like a lot of the ideas. So here's my opinion with that in mind.

 

If you are talking 4-5 hours (especially all in a row or with only one break) of focused seat work for an active 6 year old boy, yes I think its too much. Is he writing? Is he reading? Here's what I would do.

 

Writing With Ease Level 1- This should only take about 15-20 minutes a day and I'd probably do lessons 4-5 days a week. He'd be working on good listening skills and summarizing as well as handwriting. The handwriting is minimal. Most of the lesson is oral. There is some grammar to this as well. This is very gentle and short, but my children have been gaining a lot from it.

 

Sequential Spelling Level 1- If he is already reading and writing I'd recommend starting Spelling. If he isn't I would wait. This Spelling program is also short and sweet. My kids enjoy it. The like to see the word family patterns and get to correct any mistakes themselves immediately which helps retention. I use a big white board and they each use a small whiteboard. Paper is fine too, mine just enjoy using the board and it saves paper. The lessons should take 15-20 minutes. I'd do this 3-5 times a week depending on how much he likes it.

 

Math- It sounds like you've got something that is working for you so stick with it!

 

If he isn't reading I'd consider doing The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. If he isn't writing I would still do the Writing With Ease. You could use the copywork to teach him. Or you could do something focused like Handwriting Without Tears. Honestly HWT didn't work for us, copywork did.

 

Science- lots of nature study and books. My kids enjoyed the Let's Read and Find Out Series. I was able to check these out from the library. Each has several simple, related experiments.

 

History- I wouldn't worry over this too much. If he's interested do a unit study approach to geography, study one country at a time. Or maybe read him Story of the World or listen to the audio cds. But only so much as is interesting for him.

 

That and I would read to him as much as he'd like, involve him in chores and cooking, and take him out into the world, nature and everyday errands. Most six year olds have lots of questions. They learn a lot when we take the time to answer them, even if it means we have to research it ourselves. And I wouldn't necessarily do all that at once, but broken up throughout the day as it fit in. Between active play and normal life.

Edited May 7, 2010 by ThreeBlessings

[johnandtinagilbert]

1st grade times:

Phonics/Reading: no more than 30 Total (including any games, drills, and reading practice)

 

math: 20 m should be very hands on

 

You honestly can skip grammar and writing in grade 1 and instead use narration and copywork to start on those skills. If you just can't help yourself, then 15m of grammar

 

For example:

Read aloud for science or history (every other day for each) 10-15 m

 

narration on sci/hist or you decide how to summarize and have copywork (10m) This can also serve as handwriting practice if he is already able to write letters.

 

Practice reading aloud again (no more than 15m)

 

That's all that is necessary in 1st grade. For "butta" you may add music, art, drawing, park days, co-op, library day, weekly field trips, etc. but I encourage you to work hard and focus on fundamentals.

 

Also remember that a 30m math lesson "time slot" may only turn out to be 15m in reality. You always plan for maximum time.

 

HTH :)

[johnandtinagilbert]

 

That and I would read to him as much as he'd like, involve him in chores and cooking, and take him out into the world, nature and everyday errands. Most six year olds have lots of questions. They learn a lot when we take the time to answer them, even if it means we have to research it ourselves. And I wouldn't necessarily do all that at once, but broken up throughout the day as it fit in. Between active play and normal life.

:iagree:

[SilverMoon]

My wiggly male first grader has about 45 minutes of seatwork a day, tops. That includes his grammar, writing, spelling, Latin and math. If he's being particularly wiggly that can be broken into a few small sessions. This is towards the end of his first grade year. He started with less and slowly built up to what he's doing now. After he's ran in circles a bit I'll call him back to read something to me (he doesn't need separate phonics anymore).

 

In the afternoon he'll do science or history, and during the family wide quiet/nap time he'll curl up with a chapter book to read by himself for about twenty minutes.

 

Otherwise, he spends a grand chunk of his free time in the backyard, playing with his cars, or building train tracks. He's also in an active Cub Scout pack.

[Chris in VA]

It's not that long in WTM. She just budgets extra time. Trust me, you can get done her recommendations in about 2.5 hours or less.

Saxon math

Phonics Pathways

WWE

FLL

SOTW

Kingfisher/other science

[FlutterbyMommy]

I have a young 5 year old, but I don't see much of a change coming when she is 6. The sit down type stuff probably takes about 20-30 minutes a day. The rest of our learning is hands on, through song, or outside.

 

When CC is in session, they sit more in class for that day. But that is the only time she sits for longer periods. Otherwise, I go with my instinct a lot. If it feels like too much, I adjust.

 

You may look at Simply Charlotte Mason as well and look at their suggestions for this age. I have found combing the approaches has been a good experience for us thus far.

[Laura Corin]

In first grade we did a couple of hours. Half an hour of English; half an hour of maths; an hour of either history or science. On top of that I read out loud a lot and we got lots of fun exercise. Things like art happened as fun time, rather than as school.

 

Laura

[TandLMommy28]

We are planning on something like this....

 

Monday and Friday: 2-3 hours, mostly the "fun" parts of school like science experiments, art projects, and history. These are the days my son will be home from preschool with us so I want him to be able to at least get a little education in.

 

Tuesday and Thursday: Little guy is at preschool from 9 - 12:30 so we will use this time for handwriting, grammar, writing, and anything else that involves us being less distracted by the little dude. :) I have a five year old who has one heck of an ability to focus, she has a better attention span than I do so this should be harder for me than her!

 

Wednesday: Home school PE, library day, Bible Quiz team and at kids choir at church at night. No formal school work on Wednesdays, ever! :)

 

I don't plan on more than 3.5 hours per day in the first couple of years. My daughter's a reader so I'll encourage her to read books that work with our formal studies in the afternoon but won't force it. Some days all she wants to read is "It's Sharing Day with Dora" over and over and I am good with that (for now!).

[NanceXToo]

Hm well I only spent 2-3 hours a day doing school stuff this year with my fourth grader, so if you're talking about even more than that for a Kindergartener, I agree that it's too much. (For written or seat work anyway, if you're doing hands-on fun stuff that he enjoys doing and seems willing to go along with, spend as much time on it as you guys want!) :)

[mommy4ever]

My 6yo covers this in a day:

 

AAS - 1 lesson 15 min

OPGTR - 1 lesson 15 min on a wiggly goofy day

Math Mammoth - 2-4 pages... approx 30 minutes, some days she wants to do more, so we'll do another 3.

WWE 1 - 10-15

FFL - 15 min

 

Alternating days

SOTW - 10-20 minutes depending how engaged she is, sometimes it can be an hour, but it involves coloring, story books, and the reading from SOTW.

or Science - 15 minutes or so

 

This is broken up all over the day. Sometimes we're done by 10 am. Other days, she is restless and needs to run around outside, or craft or just be.

 

When she is focused she wants to work, so we work. Sometimes she doesn't know it is school work. She WANTS to read out loud to me. She LIKES to be read to, and answering questions naturally not realizing we're 'doing school'.

 

We do LOTS of actual math in a day. We play cards, adding numbers, throwing dice, playing with folder games. She is weak in her facts, but growing stronger.

 

You can cover plenty of 'work' without actually doing pages and pages of worksheets. Just keep a journal for a bit and see how it adds up.

[Celia]

Thanks - all of your responses have been really helpful for me to put this into perspective! I was starting to freak out :)