How long of a school day for 6th grade?

[profmom]

How long is reasonable for a 6th grader?? Do you lean more towards 7 hours a day (see below) or is that too much? What time of day do you think a 6th grader should be done with everything school-related?

 

I'm looking at TWTM and adding up suggestions -- I know they're suggestions, but just adding them up for the week:

 

Logic: 3 hrs

Math: 4-5 hours

History: 3 hours

Spelling & grammar: 5 hours

Structured reading: 3 hours, 20 min.

Free reading: 5 hours

Writing: 1.5 to 3 hours with writing curriculum (not counting writing in science, history, or personal letters, which aren't given a time)

Science 3 hours

Latin: 3+ hours

Art & music appreciation: 2-4 hours (artists, artworks, composers, listening)

 

Using 5 hours for math, 3 hours for writing, and 2 hours for art/music, this adds up to 35 hours, 20 minutes, which would average 7 hours a day (not including "religion," PE, or instrument practice).

 

I'm not trying to put TWTM down or say the schedules are meant to be followed exactly. I'm just working on my own 6th grader's schedule, and checked TWTM because I'm thinking his days are too long.

 

So...finally!...how long is reasonable for a 6th grader?? Do you lean more towards 7 hours a day or is that too much? What time of day do you think a 6th grader should be done with everything school-related?

[Gwenhwyfar]

That would be way too long of a school day in our house, for any grade. :001_huh:

 

That said, each family is different.. what doesn't work for one might be perfect for another.

 

How long were his days last year?

[regentrude]

MY 6th grade son would not be able to put in 7 hours of concentrated schoolwork every day. We are going to aim for 4-5 hours.

7 hours is what I might expect a highschool student to work.

 

Granted, this means that we are NOT able to do everything TWTM suggests - but then, I use it as a guideline and not as a prison. I like to retain some of the flexibility homeschooling gives me.

 

Agnes

[ma23peas]

I'll take a stab at what my 6th grader is doing...

 

Math: 4 lessons a week (45 minutes each)

Rosetta Italian: 4 lessons a week (35 minutes)

Grammar: Analytical Grammar 5 days a week (averages 30 minutes a day)

Science: 2x weekly (one hour a day)

Writing/Vocabulary: daily lessons (averages 45 minutes a day)

Reading: an hour a day

Piano: about 30 minutes a day

History: about 3 hours a week

 

So let me do some math here that is 1455 minutes which equates to 24 hours and 25 minutes...over 5 days is about 4.9 hours a day...sounds right. add in the breaks, our chores, and when we start at 8am..we usually finish around 2:00....we're supposed to rise at 6:30, but most days it's 7:00 and we do chores then eat breakfast and start! :)

 

I also have a 7th grader and 9th grader, I would probably add about 6 hours to that total for his Chemistry work/PSAT prep...hope this helps! But I do remember fondly the days when we had K-5 and could easily get our work done in 4 hours..

 

:)

Tara

[specialmama]

How long is reasonable for a 6th grader?? Do you lean more towards 7 hours a day (see below) or is that too much? What time of day do you think a 6th grader should be done with everything school-related?

 

I'm looking at TWTM and adding up suggestions -- I know they're suggestions, but just adding them up for the week:

 

Logic: 3 hrs

Math: 4-5 hours

History: 3 hours

Spelling & grammar: 5 hours

Structured reading: 3 hours, 20 min.

Free reading: 5 hours

Writing: 1.5 to 3 hours with writing curriculum (not counting writing in science, history, or personal letters, which aren't given a time)

Science 3 hours

Latin: 3+ hours

Art & music appreciation: 2-4 hours (artists, artworks, composers, listening)

 

Using 5 hours for math, 3 hours for writing, and 2 hours for art/music, this adds up to 35 hours, 20 minutes, which would average 7 hours a day (not including "religion," PE, or instrument practice).

 

I'm not trying to put TWTM down or say the schedules are meant to be followed exactly. I'm just working on my own 6th grader's schedule, and checked TWTM because I'm thinking his days are too long.

 

So...finally!...how long is reasonable for a 6th grader?? Do you lean more towards 7 hours a day or is that too much? What time of day do you think a 6th grader should be done with everything school-related?

 

First of all, it's all in how you look at it. Music in our home is evenings so I do not count that as school time. I also do NOT count reading time as school time. Reading is for life and I assign books and she also chooses her own for leisure. It is expected to be done, but she chooses when to do that outside of school hours. She chooses to read for breaks, before bed, during lunch, and almost all weekend long. So that brings it down to 5 hours a day for school, which, as previously mentioned, is just the ideal. SWB has said that she never wanted to put hours in the book, but the editor or publisher (?) wanted her to. So if it's the ideal, then it will be fine if you are the ideal teacher and your dc the ideal students. And wellll, none of us are :lol: so what have I done? I've decided to do grammar 2 or 3 times a week, so 2-3 hours a week. There, I saved some time. Then I figured logic puzzles can be done as a family bonding thing a few nights a week or on the weekend. Bingo, saved more time. Just keep tweaking things and making them YOURS. It's YOUR family, YOUR time, so tweak tweak tweak until it's totally yours. Then, take SWB's advice and aim high the first 2 weeks. Write down your ideal schedule and try HARD to stick to it for 2 whole weeks. If, after 2 weeks you need to revamp the schedule, then tweak it. If not, then great! It is much easier to ramp down than it is to ramp up. She said it, I lived it. I have to agree. I kept ramped up like that from last September to January, and we accomplished SO much in that time that my dd finished school 6 weeks early and when we did slow down in February, I did not feel one iota of guilt! So THANK YOU SWB for the ramping up idea in TWTM!

 

ETA: we are usually done around 2pm but we take lots of breaks (including lunch) and don't start until 9... so probably 3-4 hours depending on the day. We do have heavier days on Mon, Tues and Wed, but the average is 3-4 hours per day.

Edited August 12, 2010 by specialmama

[Donna T.]

Five hours here, give or take a little. Anything not done after five hours will get pushed to the next day.

[coffeegal]

So...finally!...how long is reasonable for a 6th grader?? Do you lean more towards 7 hours a day or is that too much? What time of day do you think a 6th grader should be done with everything school-related?

 

Personally, I like 3-4 hours for my 6th graders. 7 hours would drain my children and myself, and we'd up staggering around like zombies. As far as time of day, it varies. We like to be done by 12 or 1, but I have friends who homeschool in the evening. They don't even start until 6 or 7 pm. ;)

[profmom]

Personally, I like 3-4 hours for my 6th graders.

 

How do you manage to get finished in 3-4 hours? I think I need tips from you (and Karyn too!)

Edited August 12, 2010 by profmom

[profmom]

I appreciate the replies, everyone! I'm going over his schedule again now. Here's what I see as challenges: 2 instruments (piano & guitar, same as past few years), 2 languages (Latin & Greek, also same as past few years), and adding Classical Conversations Foundations this year! I chose lighter history and science this year to make room for CC, but I'm not sure that's enough.

 

I'm not sure how long his schedule took last year because he was quicker at the beginning of the year and took longer as subjects dropped off at the end!

[coffeegal]

How do you manage to get finished in 3-4 hours? I think I need tips from you (and Karyn too!)

 

Well, there are a couple of ways I keep our school day shorter. The first is I use 1 curriculum, not 2 or more, for any given subject. The second is I only count our formal schoolday, not the informal studies done at other times.

 

Logic: - informal ~ I leave puzzle books and magazines around the house for the children to play with during their free time.

Math: 4 1/2 hours / week (45 min / day)

History: 3 hours / week

Spelling & grammar & writing: 4 1/2 hours / week spelling is a short program, and grammar & writing are combined

Structured & free reading: informal / completed at other times of the day (before school, before bed, during quiet time, and sometimes we take a day off to just read)

Science 3 hours / week

Latin: 2 hours - I approach latin with a philosophy of short but consistent lessons

Art & music appreciation: informal ~ We listen to music during other times of the day, I leave books on art lying around the house, give art supplies as birthday/christmas gifts, etc.

 

For us, our formal school week is around 17 hours. If we counted the informal schoolwork the children do on their own time, we would have a longer school day.

[LisaKinVA]

Depending upon how my son is working, it's 7-8 hours a day (scheduled), however, he is usually finished earlier than the scheduled time -- and takes a long break.

[NanceXToo]

Well, 4th grade, we averaged about 3 hours a day. I expect 5th to be about the same. So therefore I expect that 6th would be maybe 4 hours a day?

 

7 would be way too long for us.

[AngieW in Texas]

We did about 4 hours/day for 6th grade. I think much more than 5 hours would be overkill.

 

We don't do logic. My dd argues enough already.

 

Math was 30 minutes/day.

History was 30-45 minutes/day.

Spelling, grammar, and writing were about 45-60 minutes/day altogether.

Science was about 30-45 minutes/day.

Readalouds were about 30-45 minutes/day.

Free-reading and assigned reading were about 30 minutes/day each.

Guitar was 30 minutes/day.

[Tree House Academy]

Well, this is my older son's first day in 6th grade. Thus far (first day of a new curriculum and all, mind you), he has spent about 7 hours. I expect that to be cut drastically as he gets accustomed to the work he is doing and following the lesson plans on his own. My goal is no more than 5.5 hours a day for the majority of the school year.

[southcarolinamom]

At that age we were done around 3 to 1 1/2 hours... working diligently.

 

Nowadays it's 4 to 5 hours max...

[DawnM]

We have started and are doing about 4 hours a day. That includes some dawdling though. My boys are 5th and 7th grades but are doing more around 5th or 6th grade materials as my older son struggles with reading and writing.

 

I would like to up it to 5 hours, but I think I will have to ease into it as I am not getting too much cooperation past 4 hours (their concentration is gone!)

 

Dawn

[melmichigan]

I am aiming for 4-5 hours a day. We aren't up to full speed and won't be until Oct. after my DD comes back from her month long vacation. I am trying for 2-3 hours in the morning with leftover time being their own, a break for lunch and to get the youngers down for naps (usually includes a literature read aloud), and then 2 more hours. We have not done it this way in the past but I have found I need to try something different this year, both in curriculum and schedule.

 

I do not count any of their reading time, that is required but not scheduled. All are avid readers now, which helps. I am waiting on logic and language, outside of latin vocabulary. I have so much resistance from my DD lately that I need to pick my battles this year. She needs more time to pursue her interests in science and nature.

[creekmom]

I've heard that time spent is roughly one hour per grade level. So, six hours for 6th grade sounds about right to me. 1 hour math, 1 hour science, 1 hour history, 1 and 1/2 hours language arts (spelling, voc., grammar, writing) 1 hour foreign language, 30 minutes logic - I don't count reading time as part of the 6 hours since my kids normally do this at bedtime. I also don't count the arts as part of the school time each day.

[jenn&charles]

Depending upon how my son is working, it's 7-8 hours a day (scheduled), however, he is usually finished earlier than the scheduled time -- and takes a long break.

 

 

Looks like we are in the minority, but my 6th grader also has about 7 hours or so scheduled. He is also often finished before the scheduled time. I thought I'd post so you (Lisa) don't have to feel like the only uber Nazi mom, lol. :D

 

Besides Otters regular subjects he also has piano, Latin, logic, extra math and I am also counting reading.

We would never get enough accomplished in only 4 hours or so.

 

He also does much better and is happier when we have a full day vs. one where he is off goofing around for large chunks of time.

[Pongo]

My 6th grader did 6 hours tops.

[5LittleMonkeys]

My 6th's schedule:

 

Latin- 30 min.

Grammar- 45 min.

Math- 45 min.

Writing- 30 min.

History\Science (alternate days)- 60 min.

Poetry- 30 min.

Logic- 30 min.

Reading\Lit.- 60 min.

 

That works out to 5.5 hours per day. I didn't count the time she spends doing riding lessons, art lessons or working on self interest projects (she's making collages of each Greek god right now. She doesn't consider those things learning so I'm keepin' my mouth shut.:tongue_smilie: We are "in session" from 7am to 2:30 but that includes two 30 minutes sessions of watching the baby so I can work with dd7, 1 hour lunch break and about 15 minutes of transition time between subjects.

[KAR120C]

How long is reasonable for a 6th grader?? Do you lean more towards 7 hours a day (see below) or is that too much? What time of day do you think a 6th grader should be done with everything school-related?

If you're including an hour a day of free reading time and 40 minutes a day of assigned reading in your seven hours, I don't think it's too much to try... It might not work out for you, in which case you can change it, but I wouldn't rule it out without trying.

[sheryl]

How long is reasonable for a 6th grader?? Do you lean more towards 7 hours a day (see below) or is that too much? What time of day do you think a 6th grader should be done with everything school-related?

 

I'm looking at TWTM and adding up suggestions -- I know they're suggestions, but just adding them up for the week:

 

Logic: 3 hrs

Math: 4-5 hours

History: 3 hours

Spelling & grammar: 5 hours Does he need this much? My dd has been stronger in spelling/grammar than anything else (she scored off the charts in 2nd grade and continues to test well/annual test)...she'll have 20 min/day.

 

Perhaps you can revamp both reading programs somehow.

 

Structured reading: 3 hours, 20 min.

Free reading: 5 hours

Writing: 1.5 to 3 hours with writing curriculum (not counting writing in science, history, or personal letters, which aren't given a time)

Science 3 hours

Latin: 3+ hours

Art & music appreciation: 2-4 hours (artists, artworks, composers, listening)

 

Using 5 hours for math, 3 hours for writing, and 2 hours for art/music, this adds up to 35 hours, 20 minutes, which would average 7 hours a day (not including "religion," PE, or instrument practice).

 

I'm not trying to put TWTM down or say the schedules are meant to be followed exactly. I'm just working on my own 6th grader's schedule, and checked TWTM because I'm thinking his days are too long.

 

So...finally!...how long is reasonable for a 6th grader?? Do you lean more towards 7 hours a day or is that too much? What time of day do you think a 6th grader should be done with everything school-related?

 

 

I'm agreeing that it's waaaay too much for 6th grade. For my 6th grader we'll start at 8 am and continue until about 1-2. That is with a 10 break and 45 min on lunch. So, in reality it's closer to 5 hours a day. HTH.

[txhomemom]

We do about 3-4 hours a day tops. If we did 7 hours a day my dd would want to go ahead and go to public school.

 

Right now we have only started math, spelling, grammar, and word roots and that is taking us about 10 hours a week. I expect science, history, and writing to add in another 10-12 hours a week.

 

I don't really count reading in our school time since it happens whenever and I definitely wouldn't worry about what TWTM schedules look like...everyone is different in their approach to classical education and homeschooling in general.

[laurad1125]

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196616

 

My son does 5.5 hours a day.

[Mom22ns]

My 6th grader will do 6-7 hours of school/day. My ds did 7 hours/day when he was that age, but he is not a fast worker. Like the op we include read aloud and silent reading time in that and those are relaxed times for the kids. We do lots of science labs that are fun, and move from one learning style to another. I notice that some of those saying they have very short days are saying that reading time isn't counted. If you add that back in you take the shortest days from 3-4 hours to 4.5-5.5 hours. I expect that much variance between families.

 

The breakdown for my 6th grader is:

Math: 3 3/4 hours (45 min/day)

Science: 5 hours

History: 5 hours

LA: 7 1/2 hours (including reading, writing, vocab & grammar)

Foreign Language: 2 hours

Logic: 1 1/2 hours

Geography: 2 hours

Orchestra: 3 hours (plus practice time)

[Narrow Gate Academy]

My 6th grader has 6.5 hours scheduled for the upcoming year. That includes piano practice and time for assigned reading. Last year once we got going, she generally finished her assignments in less time than scheduled. I expect this year will be the same.