How long is your only child's school day?

[GoVanGogh]

If you have an only child - or homeschool only one - how long is your school day? Including general classical studies, such as Latin and memory work.

 

I recall hearing/reading someplace that a good general rule is one hour per grade. (Ex: three hours for a 3rd grader - up til, believe it said, ~6th grade)

Just curious. Trying to find some balance and see if my expectations are in line. I have noticed this week that DS does better with a later start time and school time broken up. (Ex: 10-12, then 1-2) Honestly, three hours straight is too much for even me. :tongue_smilie:

Thanks in advance!

[Satori]

We definitely break it up. I aim for about 2.5-3 hours per day, and we might break that up into three different sessions. I'm including the fun stuff, which is probably an hour a day. This is for our first grade.

[nitascool]

Once upon a time I only homeschooled one. We did about 3 hours when we did 3rd grade work. 30 min. each of the basics; math, science, history, and language arts. And another hour for all the others (not including projects). But by 4th grade level he was doing closer to an hour in each of the basics. But that was with 15 min. breaks here and there and lots of art and physical activities in between. Now with three homeschooling our school day begins at 8 and ends around 3ish with few breaks for the teacher (though plenty for the students).

 

Hope that helps.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

For Kinder we are doing anywhere from 2hours-5 hours a day, 7 days a week. This includes 30 minutes a day of some sort of physical activity, 30 minutes a day of reading aloud, 10 minutes a day of phonics work, and everything else spread out.

 

It seems like a lot, but it really isn't. Especially when you consider the physical activity and reading aloud, which we'd do even if we weren't homeschooling. We also do art projects twice a week, and I've scheduled 30 minutes each time for that, even if it only takes 10 minutes. (And our 5 hour day includes 2 hours for watching a movie in French!)

[elise1mds]

I have a 7 1/2 year old in 'second grade.' It usually takes us 2-3 hours per day to get it all done, on average. Today it only took 1 1/2 hours; sometimes it'll take closer to 4. Depends on what we've got going and if there are any special projects, etc. I insist on math and some sort of writing activity daily, then we usually do 1-2 other core subjects and 1-2 'elective' subjects. Today we had math, writing, spelling, science, and piano. I don't count reading because he loves to read, so I don't have to worry.

[Bayt ul-Hikmah]

We generally spend around 3 hours for first grade, and we do it all first thing in the morning (well, after morning chores). This way, the boys have all afternoon free for other things (*lots* of playtime, hockey, riding, independent projects, visiting Grandma, etc).

[Food4Thought]

Last week was our first week of 1st grade, and it took about an hour each day. I've introduced a few extras this week, but even with that our typical "school" is under 2 hours. We do read for at least an hour each day (at bedtime) and also play games.

 

I think I'd be what you consider an eclectic homeschooler though - my philosophy still leans toward unschooling for this age, so I don't require a lot.

[shannatheshedevil]

Last week was our first week of 1st grade, and it took about an hour each day. I've introduced a few extras this week, but even with that our typical "school" is under 2 hours. We do read for at least an hour each day (at bedtime) and also play games.

 

I think I'd be what you consider an eclectic homeschooler though - my philosophy still leans toward unschooling for this age, so I don't require a lot.

 

Yup, that. :iagree:

[HSMom2One]

We put in four six-hour days and one three-hour day, Mon. through Fri. most weeks. If we have special projects going on it may be more, but so far for sixth grade, this is the pattern. (Oh, and we do take a lunch break of about 30 minutes during that time frame, but we keep talking during lunch mostly about our studies.)

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

Edited September 4, 2010 by HSMom2One

[guateangel]

We are on our 3rd week and averaging 2.5 - 3 hours a day for my 2nd grader. This does not include all the reading we do throughout the day (average of 2 hrs.) I don't count reading since it's something we did when she was in ps daily.

[dsmith]

I would say about 3.5 to 4 hrs. Ds needs a lot of breaks, so we often finish at 4pm. We usually start at 10:30 - 11:00 am.

[Cindyz]

We do about an hour and a half to two hours/day of actual lessons (this includes art), 30 minutes each day of piano, 30 minutes of him reading to me (broken up during the day), 30 minutes to an hour of us reading aloud to him. Also, many of his fun activities are learning activities of some kind for instance Jumpstart games, time4learning.com, watching Bill Nye or Bindi the Jungle Girl videos (he's just now getting into nonfiction type videos). He also plays outside quite a bit with daddy, has soccer twice a week and starting in two weeks, he will have a structured gym class including swimming lessons and various gym activity games. We also do lessons 7 days a week. We take off days when we need to, but that isn't very often. On the days that we have to take off from lessons, he always complains when we aren't starting our lessons on time.

 

We start at about 7:30am and are usually done with main lessons by 10 - 11 (lots of breaks between lessons). He plays outside until lunch and then after lunch does piano lessons. We read in the afternoons and play outside again, watch videos, play learning games on the computer.

Edited September 4, 2010 by Cindyz

[jewellsmommy]

For 2nd grade: about 4 hrs, 4 days a week and all day (9am-3pm) co-op 1 day a week

 

ETA: 3rd grade will be about the same, I think

[Amy loves Bud]

I'm only homeschooling one right now.

 

The average hours per day is about four - with a range of 3-5 depending on the day and other commitments. She also does half an hour of music practice and half an hour (minimum) of free reading each day.

 

She's in 5th grade. We cover math, grammar, spelling, reading, literature, latin, history, science, art, and sewing/cooking. Writing is incorporated into the other subjects.

[BettyL]

We spend an average of 4-5 hours each school day to complete our goals. We take the day in two chunks of time. Our schedule usually runs 10-12, then 1-3. It works well for us to have the break in the middle too.

[In2why]

It should take about 2-3 hours a day and does in a good day. But sometimes it stretches because little man can turn a 15 minute lesson into 45 minutes. But we are working on that. ;)

[NanceXToo]

Last year, we averaged 3 hours a day with my 4th grader. Sometimes we were able to finish in 2 1/2. Sometimes we were doing a particular hands on project and it took closer to 4. But I'd say 3 was average.

 

This year I'll be starting a Kindergartener in the mix, and I expect to spend 1 to 1 1/2 hours doing school with him (nearly all stories, drawing, crafts, nature, music and movement and hands on kind of stuff, not worksheet type stuff), and I expect that we'll still be doing around 3 hours or so with my daughter who will be going into 5th, but I'll see how that plays out once we actually start (next week).

[MaMa2005]

I'm homeschooling an only. On M,W, and TH we spend between 4 and 5 hours on schoolwork. Practicing Chinese, Spanish and piano as well as independent reading are not included in that time.

 

On T and FR, DS takes enrichment classes from 9-2 and 9-1, respectively. When we get home, we usually have about an hour of work to complete.

 

As you can see from my siggy, we are covering a lot of curriculum. Also, DS falls in the HG/PG arena.

 

I have to say that I thought it was going to be too much this year, but DS has risen to the challenge and loves school. :thumbup:

[Tonia]

Homeschooling an only; first grade - basics takes about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, other subjects and fun things are about another 1 to 1/2. So on a full day it's about 3 hours. This doesn't include reading time - that's another 1/2 hour of silent reading and about 1/2 hour of read alouds (plus audio books at breakfast and lunch).

[Pata]

I'm homeschooling an only (well she's not an only anymore, but I digress...), last year (2nd grade) we spend 2.5-3 hours a day. This year we are spending 3-4, depending on how cooperative the baby is :). We generally start between 9 and 10 as my dd likes to sleep in.

[elegantlion]

If you have an only child - or homeschool only one - how long is your school day? Including general classical studies, such as Latin and memory work.

 

I recall hearing/reading someplace that a good general rule is one hour per grade. (Ex: three hours for a 3rd grader - up til, believe it said, ~6th grade)

Just curious. Trying to find some balance and see if my expectations are in line. I have noticed this week that DS does better with a later start time and school time broken up. (Ex: 10-12, then 1-2) Honestly, three hours straight is too much for even me. :tongue_smilie:

Thanks in advance!

 

We did 3.5-5 hours /day last year, depending on the day. This year I anticipate about 5 hours for 7th grade.

 

We do start later, it works best for us. Ds and I are NOT morning people, I have insomnia and sometimes I'm just getting back to sleep at 5am. We start at 10am. One year we started at 11:30, when it only took about 3 hours. Dh didn't like that too much. :D

 

So now we start at 10am with 30 minutes of read-aloud time. That acclimates us to school and is a great bonding activity. We take one break and one lunch break. We haven't started yet, so I'm not sure how much it really will take this year.

[Mallory]

I am one who figures by an hour per grade. When I plan out daily work if it seems like thier work is going to be more than that figure, I cut some things. I don't figure reading or p.e. into that but any formal studies count. So our spanish worksheets or text counts, but watching something in spanish or talking in it during our day doesn't. I also think 5 or 6 hours is probably enough, but my 10th grader is hoping to be finished a year early and she works more like 7 or 8 hours a day, but it is her choice.

 

But I do have several kids (4 or 5 depending on how you count ;)), and I can see that a couple of mine might need a more planned day if there weren't so many others to play with. So I can also understand that a only might have a longer day of school, because I have spent more time playing with them (doing puzzles, or games, or experiments) that would count as school. Right now I really don't have the time or need-I mean they have brothers to find bugs with, fish in the pond with, play games with, and make things with.

[SamanthaBea]

I homeschool an only child and we probably spend about 3 hours per day on school. It's hard to say exactly though. I work part-time and ds completes some of his work independently while I'm at the office.

 

The funny thing is that the days we finish up quickly tend to be the good days--ds is focused, attentive, and hard-working. The days that take forever are quite the opposite. I do not believe that more time spent on school is always better.

[skueppers]

I have no idea how long we actually spend on school, as so many things in life could be thought of as part of school.

 

We have a block of 2.5 hours daily that's dedicated to school, but we take a lot of breaks. My daughter is in Kindergarten. I'd say no more than 1.5 hours are spent on sit-down bookwork.

 

We also do other stuff outside of those hours. She does a piano lesson once or twice a week with Dad, reads out loud at bedtime, listens to a read-aloud at bedtime, watches German podcasts/TV on the iPod in the car, and we do science activities in the afternoon.

[AngieW in Texas]

My 7th grader works from 9am until about 2pm. That includes a one-hour break for lunch and taking care of a neighbor's dogs. It also includes 30 minutes of guitar practice.

 

My 10th grader is still working out her schedule. After just two weeks of school, it looks like it takes her from 9am-4pm (sometimes 5pm) M-Th and 9am-2pm on Fridays. That includes one hour for lunch and taking care of a neighbor's dogs. It also includes a 10 minute activity break about 1x/hour. She has to MOVE to keep herself from feeling stressed. Doing 10 minutes of fairly strenuous cardio every hour or so seems to help her reset herself (she's Aspie). This year she's taking world history, English, Algebra II, Physics (AP level textbook), Spanish, and piano. She's also working on PSAT prep 3x/week until the PSAT test in October. She is a very hard worker and is extremely conscientious. I have to put limits on what she does, because she often tries to answer a short answer question with a full page. Where I have to give minimums for my other kids (for instance a minimum length of 300 words for a short essay), I have to give her maximums (a maximum length of 500 words for a short essay).

 

My 12th grader is harder to figure out. She puts things off as long as she can and then flies through the work. She is taking 4 classes at the cc this semester, so she's in class for 5 hours on M/W and 1.5 hours on Tu/Th. She is also doing Thinkwell Government at home and that takes her a couple of hours each week. I have no idea how much time she spends studying or working on homework for her classes. I just know that she has never had to work as hard as either of her sisters.

 

edited to add:

I didn't realize that you asked how long for an only child to do school. The time when I was hsing just one child was so far back that I don't really remember anymore.

Edited September 4, 2010 by AngieW in Texas

[SailorMom]

Well - I have two sons, but only homeschool one - so I guess that counts!

 

I use Homeschool Tracker, and it is telling me that we are averaging 6.1 hours a day for the last two weeks. This is for 7th grade. It also doesn't include lunch, or breaks.

 

I was a "30 minutes a grade" until 3rd grade person, and then about an hour a grade from 3rd on.

[kalanamak]

If you have an only child -

Thanks in advance!

 

I did the math, and we average 1.5 hours per day 365 days a year. That includes local field trips, but not "road trips". Our science-hands on day can go for as long as 5 hours, but most of our sit-down book days are 2 hours at the most.

 

Since our time is not piddling around waiting in line for recess, 2 hours straight is WORK for both of us. If he is restless or coming down with something and can't concentrate, I read to him, and we do the work another day. It is one thing I lovelovelove about hs: efficiency. Efficiency in nearly everything is the loofah that scratches the itches on my Back of Life.:)

[Researcher]

We average 3.5 - 4 hours of work each day. Our breakdown looks a little like this:

 

1.5 hrs in the morning before snack break (handwriting, spelling, and math)

1 hr of work before lunch (reading, grammar, and writing)

1-1.5 hrs of work before 2:00 (science, history, geography, and anything else)

[Elizabeth in MN]

Maybe two to three hours a day, including an hour on the Wii Fit Plus.

[Halcyon]

My 3rd grader works from about 9 am until 1 pm, with a short snack break. He is 8. My 5 yo works sporadically within that time frame, usually totaling about 1 hour-2 hours.

[mcconnellboys]

I'm afraid I'm not the norm. We've nearly always homeschooled from about 8 until about 3 (lower grades) or 3:30(middle grades). That does include outside classes, too. We read a ton and so reading takes up a good portion of that time.

[MrsMe]

For a 10 yr old, we're going around 10-3 with at least a one hour break. We've not hit our groove this year. We're not finishing. She needs a timer. But we'll get there. We've only gone 4 weeks this fall so far.

[GoVanGogh]

Thank you so much for the responses. I have been toying with the idea of adding another hour of school but didn't know if I was being unrealistic. We *need* the other hour to do an additional science that DS requested. He knows we need more time and seems fine with it on the surface. But I have been afraid that a few weeks in, we will both be burned out.

Right now we have been doing 'formal' school for 3-3.5 hours a day. But that isn't counting outsourced classes (art, music, physical education) or self-directed learning (reading 1-3 hours, music practice, nature studies, etc.) He has always been so good at keeping himself occupied doing semi-educational things that I hate to rock the boat.