This is what we are doing...

[TXMary2]

I am realizing my 1st grade plans may have been too ambitious. Here is what we are doing and we are barely making it. By barely making it I mean I am exhausted and ds 6 is having a daily meltdown.

 

Daily

 

We do the Calendar and the Weather Chart. He changes the numbers on his "Days in School" chart. He recites the months to me because he still reverses some at the end of the year. We say the Pledge.

 

We practice his memory verse by saying it 2 -3 times together. I read a short bible story from Rod & Staff bible stories and then I ask him the 3 quick comprehension questions.

 

Then we do a lesson from OPGTR and this is where the melting down begins! I am taking it slowly and we always review and sometimes I repeat whole lessons- this upsets him and he says, "We did this one already." The thing is we are doing it again because he hasn't mastered it and I don't see the point of moving forward without mastery. Am I wrong in doing it this way or he is just being argumentative?

 

After OPGTR we do a lesson from FLL - which is a breeze - he likes this one. Then we make 2 noun cards for our Word Bank that TOG assigns for Level 1 Writing Aids. This is quick - like 1 minute.

 

I give him a break at this point. Anywhere from 5-20 minutes depending on what I need to get done before he comes back.

 

After break we do 1 page in Explode the Code book 1. He used to do more pages, but lately he only wants to do one page and it isn't worth the battle to get him to do two. So, I guess this book will just take longer. After ETC I have him read out loud to me a Bob Book or an easy reader.

 

Next is Math- we are using Abeka 1 so we do a speed drill and 1 lesson. This is taking about 20-30 minutes depending on his mood. He also is starting to despise writing (as in the act of moving a pencil on paper) so sometimes I let him tell me the answer and I write it. No problem. Then everyday we either practice skip counting or we do a round of flash cards. Then math is done. Sometimes we play a math game when he is in the mood.

 

Those are the necessities that I feel MUST be done each day, but they aren't the fun stuff!! I wanted to do history and science each day, but it has only happened 4 out of our now 7 days of school. Which is ok so far because the lessons are really short and I was able to "stay on schedule" by combining the days. Ds enjoys these two subjects and sometimes ask to do them first, but if we do that we will never get the "important" things done.

 

Both history and science involve read alouds, sometimes a project or experiment and almost no writing yet - maybe cutting and pasting.

 

Am I doing too much? I don't see where I could cut something out.

[johnandtinagilbert]

Honestly, you can cut the calendar and pledge. If you spend a couple of weeks on this the summer between 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd, you'll get it. You can also just include the months via memorization and combine the 2 topic areas.

 

I'd split the math drills to a separate part of the day, like while you're cooking something, have him sit with you or near you and set the timer or you call out problems.

 

Rotate your history and science...science on Mon, Wed and Hist. on Tues, Thur, leaving Fri open or as your experiment/project day.

 

Maybe start with ETC instead of OPGTR. That may brighten his spirits. I'm really not familiar with OPG, but do you have to do the entire lesson again, or could you just choose where he needs a little practice.

 

Continue writing for him for half of the lesson, but tell him when you get to "this spot, you've got to write the rest." Handwriting was an issue until I said, "you can get help until the end of 2nd grade, but once you're in 3rd, you must write it all on your own." (ds was in 2nd at the time) No more tears, it wasn't a big deal.

 

Sounds like you're doing everything just right. Encourage him that everyone has to revisit things and that's just how it is. NO reason to be upset.

 

You're doing a great job.

[Snowfall]

My dd is also first, and we're doing about the same amount of work, I think. I don't feel qualified to give any advice about how much a kid should or shouldn't be doing at any stage, since this is only the beginning of my second year and it's only my first child to homeschool. :) However, I think with OPGTR, you could just do what I do if he gets upset about repeating lessons. We use Phonics Pathways instead of OPGTR, but we almost always do it on the white board. When I know dd needs extra practice of a certain skill, I don't have her read the same page over and over until she gets it. Instead, I write my own words on the board that cover that same skill, plus include some other words to review different skills. If you don't use a white board or chalk board, you could do the same thing on a piece of paper. Then he won't feel like you're doing the exact same lesson over again.

[Karen in CO]

To get to the fun stuff, try putting some read alouds in the afternoon or a bedtime. Maybe aim for history OR science each day. They can both take up a lot of time. We do the basics first and fast in the early years then linger over the fun stuff.

 

If your reading is causing the meltdowns, then maybe reevaluate how you are doing it, if you are making the lessons too long, if it is the right kind of reading lessons for you right now and if there is a better time of day to do it.

[patchfire]

Another thought: break up the LA vs Math. Do two components of LA, then part of math, then back to LA, then back to math.

[TXMary2]

Honestly, you can cut the calendar and pledge. If you spend a couple of weeks on this the summer between 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd, you'll get it. You can also just include the months via memorization and combine the 2 topic areas.

 

I'd split the math drills to a separate part of the day, like while you're cooking something, have him sit with you or near you and set the timer or you call out problems.

 

Rotate your history and science...science on Mon, Wed and Hist. on Tues, Thur, leaving Fri open or as your experiment/project day.

 

Maybe start with ETC instead of OPGTR. That may brighten his spirits. I'm really not familiar with OPG, but do you have to do the entire lesson again, or could you just choose where he needs a little practice.

 

Continue writing for him for half of the lesson, but tell him when you get to "this spot, you've got to write the rest." Handwriting was an issue until I said, "you can get help until the end of 2nd grade, but once you're in 3rd, you must write it all on your own." (ds was in 2nd at the time) No more tears, it wasn't a big deal.

 

Sounds like you're doing everything just right. Encourage him that everyone has to revisit things and that's just how it is. NO reason to be upset.

 

You're doing a great job.

 

Thanks for the ideas! I think with history and science I can rotate- maybe 1 week science 2 days history three and then the next week vice versa - since trying to do them both each day clearly is not working.

[TXMary2]

My dd is also first, and we're doing about the same amount of work, I think. I don't feel qualified to give any advice about how much a kid should or shouldn't be doing at any stage, since this is only the beginning of my second year and it's only my first child to homeschool. :) However, I think with OPGTR, you could just do what I do if he gets upset about repeating lessons. We use Phonics Pathways instead of OPGTR, but we almost always do it on the white board. When I know dd needs extra practice of a certain skill, I don't have her read the same page over and over until she gets it. Instead, I write my own words on the board that cover that same skill, plus include some other words to review different skills. If you don't use a white board or chalk board, you could do the same thing on a piece of paper. Then he won't feel like you're doing the exact same lesson over again.

 

We do use a white board and in fact today I wrote some two consonant blends on the board to mix it up a little! It helped some.

[TXMary2]

To get to the fun stuff, try putting some read alouds in the afternoon or a bedtime. Maybe aim for history OR science each day. They can both take up a lot of time. We do the basics first and fast in the early years then linger over the fun stuff.

 

If your reading is causing the meltdowns, then maybe reevaluate how you are doing it, if you are making the lessons too long, if it is the right kind of reading lessons for you right now and if there is a better time of day to do it.

 

We do read at bedtime and the only reason I haven't done our history or science reading at that time is because there is usually a project or assignment related to the reading so waiting until bedtime doesn't work. I do like the the idea of doing history or science read alouds at bedtime, but maybe they can be supplemental in nature. Hmmmmmm......

[Daisy]

I like the other suggestions. I also think you probably don't need to do your entire opening routine EVERY day. You can alternate.

 

Monday - pledge, change the days in school, Scripture memory.

Tuesday - months of the year, change the days in school, Scripture memory.

Wednesday - weather station, days in school, Scripture memory.

Thursday - xtra calendar work, change the days, Scripture memory.

Friday - whatever he needs more practice on, etc.

 

I never did ETC. I found it just more writing when the same skills were covered in other subjects.

 

I'd do opening, Bible, FLL, and OPGTR and then a nice LONG break (minimum 30 minutes).

 

Math, Reading (you read some, he reads some on the couch), History/Science (alternating).

 

Other read-alouds while he eats his lunch and/or bedtime/naptime.

[specialmama]

Have you thought about doing a loop schedule? This would allow you to efficiently rotate things so it doesn't get stagnant. It would also allow you to plop in a "surprise" section somewhere in the loop. The surprise could be his choice: a game, a building project, etc. IMO, if a young child isn't having fun at some point in his school day, then he has nothing to look forward to. Let's not forget why we're homeschooling, and to take the time to form wonderful memories. (That's my mantra to myself hehe)

[Guest janainaz]

So, if you added up all the time it's taking, how long do you think you are spending on school? Some of those things don't appear that they would take a really long time. I don't think it sounds like you are doing too much for 1st grade at all. I would not cut out the calendar part, but I would cut the weather (unless he enjoys it). Everything you listed seems rather necessary to me.

 

My ds5.5 is also using TOPGTTR and he does not love having to do "two review and one new" either, but I make him do it. I made my older ds do it when we was learning to read and he became an excellent reader by the time we began first grade. This is definitely not a subject I would cut down on. However, I noticed you said you have him do an Explode the Code page and then have him read again, is that right? I would not make him read again.

 

It does not sound like he's taking too long for math to me. That sounds about right. In first grade, if we began our day right at 9am we would finish by lunch if we worked straight through until noon. But I had a one-year old also, and so we took many breaks and school often took until 3pm.

 

This was our schedule (from what I remember):

History (M, W, Th) - 30-40 minutes

Spelling (daily) - 20 minutes

FLL (3 days per week) - 10-15 minutes

Writing (daily) - 10 -15 minutes

Reading - (daily) 30 minutes somtimes we combined this with science/history

Science - (2 days a week) - 40-60 minutes

Math - (daily) 45 minutes

 

What if you switch up the order of things? I started to allow my ds to choose what he wanted to do first and I still allow him to do school in any order, as long as we get everything done. As far as writing goes, at that age my ds only did his copywork sentences (two of them and very simple). He gave me his history narration verbally and I wrote it down (same with reading and science). He did one page in math and he did have to do some writing for that, but it was minimal. For spelling we used SWO, and he had ten words per week. He did one small section of his workbook lesson every day (there were 4 sections).

 

First grade does take longer and some whining is normal. My ds used to grumble and I just learned to not get emotional and buy into his tears. He ha to learn that we had to do school, it was not a choice.

[Tree House Academy]

Really, your schedule doesn't sound too hard to me. 1 page in ETC book 1 is truly NOTHING for a child who can read! My 1st grader (last year) did ETC book 5 and was doing 2-4 pages a day.

 

I have a friend who did Abeka math with her kids and it caused meltdowns for them too. I have never used Abeka, but I can say that my son doesn't love math and will balk at any curriculum that isn't hands on in that area. He also doesn't like to do umpteen problems and such with each lesson. I understand that!

 

How long are your days with what you are doing now? It just really doesn't sound like too much to me. Maybe he just needs more time to get back in the school groove. Around here, we hit our stride at about week 3.

[TXMary2]

Thanks everyone. To those of you who asked how long our day is - we start at 9 and with breaks, working with my high schooler and lunchtime we finish first grade at around 2:00 ish sometimes later.

 

I think I will take the advice of not doing the morning recitations every day - maybe just twice a week to keep him sharp.

 

Language Arts takes us the longest because it encompasses so much - and we aren't even doing spelling this year. I do not do a handwriting program at this time so that is why we do ETC - I figure it sort of covers spelling, but it also is printing practice and some reading practice.

 

I would love to spend the most time on science and history because it is fun for both me and my ds! He loves, loves, loves to do projects and I have plans for them, but we aren't getting to them all!

 

I need to evaluate and come up with a better schedule. Thanks for the ideas!!!