Dh wonders if the kids are doing "enough school"

[AHASRADA]

This is our 8th year hsing. For the past almost 3 years, dh has been around the house during the day much more than he used to be, and has helped out with teaching when necessary, even taking over homeschooling entirely for days or weeks at a time, following my plans and schedule. He has currently taken over Algebra with ds, since I was getting in over my head.

 

Today was the first time in a long time that he actually sat in the same room with us, working on his computer, through the entire day, giving him an accurate picture of our daily routine.

 

At about 2pm, just before we started our afternoon academics, dh comments, "The kids don't really spend that much time studying, do they?" :confused:

 

Of course, I was caught off-guard. I was sure he was aware of our schedule, and was satisfied with their workload. True, as it nears the end of the year, we have streamlined somewhat and aren't trying to squeeze in any extras, we are just finishing up the basics. Personally, I can see the light at the end of the academic year tunnel, and am enjoying not feeling so insanely stressful trying to cram everything in every day.

 

So, what do you all think? Are my kids not doing enough school? Here's our schedule:

 

9:30-12:30 - dd 10: one-on-one with mom; ds13: independent work

12:30 - 1:30 lunch break

1:30 - 2:00 - chores

2:00-4:00 - dd 10: finish math problems, spelling worksheet, education computer games; ds13: one-on-one with mom, may have math to finish in the evening

 

I told dh this means at least 3 hours for our 4th grader, and at least 5 hours for our 7th grader. That sounds like enough to me. It seemed like he thought letting them do chores after lunch, instead of after 4pm, cut into their school time. We have tried it both ways, but leaving chores until the late afternoon meant they usually didn't get done. Yes, they probably don't really need a full hour lunch break, plus chore time, but we all enjoy the break, and not having to rush through lunch makes the day go more smoothly. This schedule is working great for everybody. Comments?

[Mynyel]

Sounds good to me!

 

Like I have said before and I am sure I will say it again...

 

Kids absorb way more than you think in such a short time.

 

We cannot compare ourselves to public schoolers. We just can't. We have 1 on 1 time. That means more gets done in a shorter time.

 

PS kids are in school about 7 hours but they aren't doing school the whole time and if you compact the time they are actually getting instruction it would probably be less than what we do!

 

So....you are doing enough school in a day...and so are the majority of us! :)

[Sasharowan]

Sounds fine to me. We save the chores till after school and half the time they don't get done. I may try doing them right after lunch and see if that works.

[Karis]

Maybe he wants a more traditional school schedule.

 

Ask him what he'd change or what a "productive" day looks like to him? How would he prefer the day to be scheduled/the time be spent?

 

Maybe he just doesn't like school "broken up" with chores. Or he feels they can do more. Get some feedback. In other jobs you have evaluations/ team meetings etc... discuss goals and expectations.

[elegantlion]

Not only do kids absorb more quickly, for us there is that unspoken vibe. If you've ever worked with a team and had great ..um (not sure if it's the right word, but love it)... synchronicity it streamlines every process. That happens in our schooling. Five hours seems about right to me.

 

dh doesn't like it when we start school late, we normally start at 10, has drifted to 11 late in the year. We've been homeschooling for six years. I reminded him (in love) that I knew how to schedule our day so we were both working during our peak effectiveness and that neither me or ds were morning people. Of course he mentioned this early one morning as the first cup of coffee was creeping in, he hasn't brought it up since.:lol:

[DarlaS]

At about 2pm, just before we started our afternoon academics, dh comments, "The kids don't really spend that much time studying, do they?" :confused:

 

 

Your schedule's fine!

 

What a vague comment. :001_huh: I'd ask him to clarify what he means by "studying".

[Parrothead]

Maybe he wants a more traditional school schedule.

 

Ask him what he'd change or what a "productive" day looks like to him? How would he prefer the day to be scheduled/the time be spent?

 

Maybe he just doesn't like school "broken up" with chores. Or he feels they can do more. Get some feedback. In other jobs you have evaluations/ team meetings etc... discuss goals and expectations.

:iagree:

 

To my mind and the way we do things in my house, to "spend that much time studying" is unnecessary. Spelling for example, we don't need to study (rote memorization alone at the table or in a bedroom). We work on spelling rules for each week and go over the words together for 15 or so minutes Monday through Thursday with a test on Friday.

 

History is the same way. Why spend time alone "studying" when we spend a week reading together, projects, time line, etc.

 

For us that is one of the beauties of homeschooling. There isn't the need for the traditional several hours a day alone studying in the bedroom because one didn't learn what one needed to learn at public school.

[NanceXToo]

It sounds more than fine to me!

[Jean in Newcastle]

Don't fix what ain't broke - and your schedule ain't broke!

[Starr]

You can show him what you are completing for the year. It's hard to evaluate how much gets done by just being in the room. The loud lunch break and chore time probably threw him for a loop. We forget what a classroom at school is like as well.

[milovany]

Hey, if this helps show it to him:

 

Our Schedule:

10 a.m. to Noon -- table time.

That's it for our 16yos, 14yod, 12yod and 10yos. Our 8yo daughter does even less. Now of course they do other things that are part of their real-life learning activities throughout the rest of the day, but for Official Academics this is how much time they're at the table. I can send references in regard to the results if he'd like. :lol:

 

Feel better?

;)

[happi duck]

Sounds good to me!

 

Like I have said before and I am sure I will say it again...

 

Kids absorb way more than you think in such a short time.

 

We cannot compare ourselves to public schoolers. We just can't. We have 1 on 1 time. That means more gets done in a shorter time.

 

PS kids are in school about 7 hours but they aren't doing school the whole time and if you compact the time they are actually getting instruction it would probably be less than what we do!

 

So....you are doing enough school in a day...and so are the majority of us! :)

:iagree::iagree:

[Beth in TN]

At about 2pm, just before we started our afternoon academics, dh comments, "The kids don't really spend that much time studying, do they?" :confused:

 

I would ask him what he means by "studying". You may have different definitions, as well as different expectations on what your dc should be doing each day.

 

I was sure he was aware of our schedule, and was satisfied with their workload. True, as it nears the end of the year, we have streamlined somewhat and aren't trying to squeeze in any extras, we are just finishing up the basics.

 

If you have not already, let him know that you are winding down the school year just finishing the core subjects. He may be under the impression that the entire school year has been like he witnessed today.

 

It seemed like he thought letting them do chores after lunch, instead of after 4pm, cut into their school time. We have tried it both ways, but leaving chores until the late afternoon meant they usually didn't get done. Yes, they probably don't really need a full hour lunch break, plus chore time, but we all enjoy the break, and not having to rush through lunch makes the day go more smoothly.

 

Some clarification may be needed about whether he really is taking issue with the chore time or not. If he does have a concern about the time at which the chores are completed, explain it to him just like above. He will probably get that.

 

If your dc do other things during non-school time that would normally be counted as school (e.g. PE, reading, writing, art project, whatever), you might want to remind him of this because he may be forgetting since it is such a normal part of your family life.

[WTMindy]

I guess I can't answer that question since I'm not sitting there with the kids, but he is seeing something that concerns him. Why don't you just ask him what that is, and what he thinks should be different? I'm a big believer in partnering with my dh in this homeschooling gig and taking his concerns/advice to heart. He will sometimes see things that I could do differently or better. And, sometimes he offers a suggestion that I don't think is better, but we still discuss it. My kids are similar ages as yours, and I would say that our schedule is similar to that. We start earlier and don't do chores in the middle of the day, but we have similar times.

[TXMomof4]

Sounds good to me!

 

Like I have said before and I am sure I will say it again...

 

Kids absorb way more than you think in such a short time.

 

We cannot compare ourselves to public schoolers. We just can't. We have 1 on 1 time. That means more gets done in a shorter time.

 

PS kids are in school about 7 hours but they aren't doing school the whole time and if you compact the time they are actually getting instruction it would probably be less than what we do!

 

So....you are doing enough school in a day...and so are the majority of us! :)

 

:iagree: There's a reason why kids can go to school all year, all day and still be behind. They don't spend all that time studying. They certainly don't have a 1 on 1 tutor. When they aren't actively studying, it's doubtful that they are doing chores.

[Blueridge]

Your schedule seems very reasonable to me. You might compare homeschool teaching with a tutoring-type experience. A tutor can cover a week's worth of work in 1 solid hour session. Homeschooling is a wonderful way to efficiently maximize time use. Speaking about the school year's end...I remember once when a school teacher friend of mine said that her class watched movies and played games and such for their last month of the school year...:confused:...but the students were still learning. You are wrapping it all up for your *students* very efficiently, which shows you value your family's time. What my girls do 'outside' their regular school hours is just as important as when they are sitting at the table with their math, for example.

[AHASRADA]

I appreciate everyone's replies. That is basically what I was looking for, other moms to compare our schedule to theirs and tell us what we do is a "typical" or "normal" homeschooling schedule (if there is such a thing).

 

I think it's too late in the year to be worrying about changing their schedule or work load, but I agree that I could ask for a little input from dh for next year. Funny how he didn't think they were doing too little when HE was doing the teaching ;).

 

I believe it is a perception issue. Dh would like them to get up earlier, start earlier, take a short break, and just keep plowing ahead until everything is finished. That would work for dd, but ds needs to work slow and steady, with frequent breaks.

 

I'm sure he didn't mean much by it (other than that their mid-day break and chores took too long). It does help to know that our work load is similar to others'.

[silliness7]

I think you are in a very enviable position. You have another pair of eyes and ears, another head (think 2 heads are better than 1) to help your kids get the best education you and your dh can give. I think a lot of homeschool moms, myself included, are completely on our own when it comes to curriculum planning, scheduling, and accountability. For those of us who are independent, strong-willed, and fairly confident this doesn't seem so bad. But we are all human and there will always be weak spots only sometimes we're so busy juggling everything we don't have time to see them.

 

You have another pair of eyes to help you out with those. Take advantage of that. Sit down with your dh and ask him to be very specific about what he thinks is lacking. Saying that the kids don't seem to spend a lot of time studying is too generic to be helpful. But his saying that, might be his way of saying that something is "off" and he's just not sure how to word it or if you would even be amenable to this type of discussion.

[FaithManor]

My advice is to ask him if he is satisfied with the results and if not, then to please detail what he thinks should be addressed.

 

It's a fundamental misconception of homeschooling that we always need "lots of time", i.e. the six hour traditional school day, to get everything done. I think of it this way, when I was in elementary/junior high, I never had homework, always got my work done in class, and spent a lot of time trying to entertain myself while I waited for the last of the class to get done or for the teacher to decide to go on to the next subject. It was wasted time for me. Generally speaking, during those years, I doubt that I actually spent more than two hours on academics on any given day and sometimes it was a lot less. The other four or so hours were spent waiting for the next thing to happen.

 

Homeschooling streamlines the process so the child does not wait and can just keep going. I never look at time spent on work. I evaluate based on curriculum covered and mastery of the subject. So, if someone is struggling, then definitely more time is going to be involved. If not, we'll be whizzing through that subject material - not much time spent. Naturally, as assignments get more complicated, i.e. research papers, essays, algebraic problems that take half a page to solve and 40 are assigned, etc. then more time is spent on school work.

 

I would ask him to really detail exactly what it is that he is concerned about. Is it that he is afraid the kids will suddenly "hit the wall" when harder high school age assignments come and there will be some attitude about how long "school" takes or is he concerned that they won't be ready for the longer hours of college or does he think they need more structure, etc.? It may not be a purely "time" issue.

 

If he really wants them to have a longer day, in preparation for something in the future, then maybe you could ask him to engage the kids in current events discussion and research or get some great educational videos and teach the kids how to take notes off the videos. I did the note-taking thing with my high schooler since my own teaching style isn't "lecture" based and I want them to have the skills to do well in lecture based classes.

 

Faith