Hours versus Days/Year

[RahRah]

When I first looked over our state's requirements for HSing, it didn't really jump out that a 1,000 hour requirement each year was a lot to get in, especially for a first grader. It's only now, with seeing so many posts about appropriate hours per grade, that I realize 1,000 hours is A LOT for a first grader. So many posts seem to say about an hour a day for a first grader is a good amount of time for core subjects. Right now we're averaging about 1.5-hours a day with a range of 1-2 hours, depending on our day.

 

I was curious what public schools have to do - for PS it's 172 days and 1044 hours......and every hour "under the guidance of a teacher" counts, so a school-day scheduled in PS for 6.75 hours counts as 6-hours of educational time after factoring in lunch and arrival, dismissal and attendance time keeping. There is NO WAY the kids are being taught a full six hours a day in PS. But I digress.

 

As a HSer, I can't just count days - I'm not bound to do any particular number of days, just hours in the school year.

 

I have no reporting requirements; I am required to maintain records as evidence of meeting requirements.

 

I'm also not required to even have DS enrolled this year since he's still 5 - he'll be 6 in August - and our compulsory age for school is 7.....so I'm wondering if I should just not keep anything this year in way of records (at least not formally) since I'm not required to.

 

Of the 1,000 I am supposed to do each school year, 600 are necessary in the core subjects. In a 36 week school year, that would mean almost 3.5 hours a day, five days a week, to get the hours done. At this point, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around DS sitting still for core stuff for 3.5 hours a day! Even if I break it down to the 400 required in the HS (we can do 200 outside the home), that's still 2.25 a day, five days a week.

 

By next year, I'm pretty sure doing that will be easier, but for first grade, I'm scratching my head - how to get those hours in?

 

I keep coming back to his age - I don't need to be clocking hours like that yet since he's not under the compulsory education laws.....so, what would you do?

[Lolly]

Well, see, everything counts as school. Especially when they are little. There are lots of field trips. Trips to the grocery store, bank, post office, park, hiking a little trail. They are learning social studies and science there. You know, how the community operates. Lots of hands on learning going on too; helping cook, putting away groceries (categorizing), coloring, cutting up magazines, glueing. Those include math and English skills. Cutting, coloring, and glueing are developing hand muscles. Speaking of hand muscle development needed for writing, playing with playdough is a good one! Honestly, you can put an educational spin on EVERYTHING a little kid does! :001_smile:

 

Btw, I wouldn't report until required to report.

[fivetails]

If you aren't actually *required* to record hours yet, I don't think I'd bother with it - unless you want practice.

 

We don't have to record hours/days/etc where I live, but if I did - well, who says that "core work" needs to mean that the child is sitting at a table with his nose stuck in a workbook? ;)

 

(especially given how young he is!)

 

Does he help cook with you? Math (measuring) - Science (kitchen chemistry)

Did you read together before bed? - Language Arts

Write an email/letter to a friend? - Language Arts

Make crafts? - Art

Go for a nature walk? - Science

Experiments in the kitchen? (bottle volcanoes, oil/water mixes, cornstarch magic goop?) - Science

Visit a museum? - Social Studies/Science/etc (depends what kind of museum)

Swimming/biking/bowling/etc - Phys Ed

Participate in neighbourhood clean up? - Social Studies

Ask questions at the vet/maybe even get a tour? - Science

Watch a nature/animal/etc show? - Science

 

 

 

See where I'm going? And I'm just using typical examples ~ there are many, many learning moments in the run of a day. :)

 

...says the mom whose dd13 started researching the Tudor Dynasty because of a vampire-detective tv show. :laugh:

[hsmom]

I agree a lot of things count as school. Are you including reading time? Or playing ball and such as PE? How about helping with dinner and chores as life skills? There is tons and tons that count towards your hours. Now if you have to log it, put down 1 hour of life skills, 1 hour PE (played catch to work on hand eye coordination), I bet you get the point.

 

As for the ps question. I asked this when I first started out. The answers I was given included things like. In that 6 hrs of school how many of them do you thing the teacher is trying to calm all the kids down? A lot. Then there is usually those few kids who like to goof off so there is more time there. Then think of one teacher with 20 or 30 students. How long to pass out papers, answer all questions, help those who need it, etc. Then by the time you do this with all the subjects that is your 6 hrs. I mean I remember in school the teacher would talk for a minute, we would all get settled down (sometimes longer than others), start our work, get interrupted tons a times by someone talking or goofing off, then it was time to do something else. I can easily see where their time goes.

[elegantlion]

Mo, what a wonderful state. :tongue_smilie:Remember the 1,000 hour requirement for a 12 month period. That DOES NOT MEAN you need to school for 12 months. But activities in the summer and weekends went into the time log. History Channel program? I hour of history. Swimming in the pool with your friends? PE. One year I created a number of non-core hours while ds played with his friends and I had coffee with the mothers.

 

I tend to be very literal and counted everything in 15 minute increments. I carried a small notebook in my purse. I honestly wanted to know how many hours I did do homeschooling. we started in first grade too and honestly it took the full 12 months to get the entire 1k hours.

 

I created a log to track hours. I have it posted here. It really doesn't have to be complicated and you are not required to submit your log to anyone.

 

I was relieved when we moved to state that only had a days requirement.

[Pretty in Pink]

Don't report if you don't have to. Take this year to practice your recordkeeping if you need to. Don't sweat it.

 

Honestly, here's what I would do: work through my curriculum at an even pace which, in first grade, takes about an hour a day. Are we progressing nicely? We are? Great. And then I'd mark down that we spent 4 hours today 'schooling'. And you probably will. An hour of real 'work', an hour of reading aloud, thirty minutes to an hour of silent reading, plus a trip to the park or time spent gardening or playing in the pool or going to the doctor's office because, yes, I would count all of those as 'school' if I had to record hours. What a pain in the butt. Pffttt. :glare:

 

If you school year-round it works out to just under 4 hours a day, 5 days a week.

[Dawn in OH]

Life is educational. No, the ps kids are not getting the required number of hours of learning in. Most of their time is spent lining up: to the bus, to lunch, to music class, to art class, to PE, to the library, and back again.

 

Every time my kids help me make dinner, it's educational time. Trips to the grocery store, the pet store, grandma's garden, are all educational. You probably do a lot of things in your daily life that count as "school" and you don't even realize it.

[RahRah]

Mo, what a wonderful state. :tongue_smilie:Remember the 1,000 hour requirement for a 12 month period. That DOES NOT MEAN you need to school for 12 months. But activities in the summer and weekends went into the time log. History Channel program? I hour of history. Swimming in the pool with your friends? PE. One year I created a number of non-core hours while ds played with his friends and I had coffee with the mothers.

 

I tend to be very literal and counted everything in 15 minute increments. I carried a small notebook in my purse. I honestly wanted to know how many hours I did do homeschooling. we started in first grade too and honestly it took the full 12 months to get the entire 1k hours.

 

I created a log to track hours. I have it posted here. It really doesn't have to be complicated and you are not required to submit your log to anyone.

 

I was relieved when we moved to state that only had a days requirement.

 

I'm mainly looking to track this year simply to practice keeping track and to know if we did do the right number of hours, so I think something like this makes the most sense - small notebook so I remember some of the educational things along the way in our day, in addiiton to what we're doing formally as sit down stuff. I think my issue at the moment is, as you said, being "literal" about the 1,000 hours!

 

Everyone's replies have been great.....I've already been counting swimming and such as PE, but hadn't thought about the life skills and small teaching moments we have each day that aren't formal - and I wasn't counting time I read to him (silly me!) or when we go to a restaurant and he figures out the change for us before we pay and then he gets to pay and count the change.

 

So I think I'll keep track just for me to know....and then next year keep track, as I am required to.....either way, nothing gets reported :tongue_smilie:since I'm not obligated to report!

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I live in a state with day requirements instead of hours, and I was getting frustrated because I'm not sure how many hours we have to work in order for a day to count. I mean, we do learning stuff every day of the week! But now I can see how the hour requirement would be pretty rough, especially when they are young!

 

Like others have suggested, keep your eyes open for teaching moments, and count them! Remember that in 1st grade, they are constantly learning, and things that we don't even have to think about (measuring while cooking, reading speed limit signs-DD's new favorite thing!-etc) are all learning moments!!!

 

I don't have to report until 2011 (when DD is 5) but I am keeping a portfolio this year. I'm hoping to find someone (another homeschool mom maybe?) who will take a look at my portfolio at the end of the year and tell me I'm doing it right. I am notoriously BAD at keeping records and such, so I just want to practice for a year first before I have to do it officially.

[ChristusG]

I agree with everyone else.....anything can be learning time. My dd is 6 and I encourage lots of imaginative play with her sister. It may not technically be "school" but I think that imaginative play is good for kids. Anything can be learning at this age....even things that we think may not be. My kids have learned lots of spanish words from watching Dora and Diego. We learn about science every time DD finds a new bug or critter....we always stop and take the time to research it and learn about it. Anything is school.

 

I think it is crazy for a homeschooler to have to log "school hours." It's much too difficult to break it all down.

[Photo Ninja]

I wonder if you can schedule it the way a school does, and count it that way, too. Schools don't count only actual instructional time, just scheduled time periods. A school may schedule 45 minutes for math. Now not all that time is spent on math. Some of it is passing out or collecting papers, and getting the kids to sit still, giving directions, and then some instruction and seat work. But the entire 45 minutes is counted as math instructional time. So if your math lesson is meant to take 45 minutes, and your dc finishes it in 15, shouldn't you still count it as a 45 minutes lesson? Your dc shouldn't need to do extra work just because of working diligently and getting the lesson completed sooner. Does that make sense? So with a math lesson, a reading/phonics lesson, a history lesson, and a science lesson, you could have 4 45 minute periods, or 3 hours of school. Add in all the rest, like art, PE, computer time, library, cooking and other life skills, outdoor activities and all, and it seems like it would be fairly easy to reach 1,000 hours.

[elegantlion]

I wonder if you can schedule it the way a school does, and count it that way, too. Schools don't count only actual instructional time, just scheduled time periods. A school may schedule 45 minutes for math. Now not all that time is spent on math. Some of it is passing out or collecting papers, and getting the kids to sit still, giving directions, and then some instruction and seat work. But the entire 45 minutes is counted as math instructional time. So if your math lesson is meant to take 45 minutes, and your dc finishes it in 15, shouldn't you still count it as a 45 minutes lesson? Your dc shouldn't need to do extra work just because of working diligently and getting the lesson completed sooner. Does that make sense? So with a math lesson, a reading/phonics lesson, a history lesson, and a science lesson, you could have 4 45 minute periods, or 3 hours of school. Add in all the rest, like art, PE, computer time, library, cooking and other life skills, outdoor activities and all, and it seems like it would be fairly easy to reach 1,000 hours.

 

When we lived in MO there was great debate among homeschoolers about the legality of 1 subject being considered an hour, vs actual time logged. Here's a link to the actual law. It says "1,000 hours of instruction" but an hour is not defined. Some people took that to mean 1 subject is an hour, some perceived it as literal hours. Logs are not required to be turned in to the state. I believe that has never been challenged in court, I could be wrong, so many people do say we did 5 subjects today, that's 5 hours.

 

Since we were new to homeschooling I chose to follow the letter of the law, I didn't want to end up being that one example that ruined it for everyone.

 

I do think it's a stupid law and counting days would be a much better option.

[mcconnellboys]

I think you've already hit the nail on the head. If "every hour 'under the guidance of a teacher' counts", and you're the teacher, then every hour spent with you counts. There should be no problem with you fulfilling this requirement. We're about the only nation that seems to think that learning occurs through osmosis and that

"time served" somehow equates to amount learned.....