Why do I feel like I am not getting enough done in one day?

[delaney]

I always hit math and have them read and do WWE/FLL. I do science T/TH and history MWF. We do SOTW mixed with ideas from Biblioplan and HO. I have them use notebooking pages for SOTW and they are making lapbooks for history and science. I am able to get at least one lesson in math done with each per day since I combine Horizons and Saxon. I am beginning to mix in writing but have switched from IEW to Writing Strands. When I taught public I felt like I knew the pace b/c you had texts to follow. Feeling a bit lost here:confused:

We also have read Beowulf and Matilda Bone as read alouds and they have each read at least 3 books at their level plus some for reading instruction.

We are done by 2:45 ish each day with like 1 hour for lunch.

[Hedgehog]

Maybe because the smaller pupil:teacher/facilitator ratio is more efficient than PS...

[5LittleMonkeys]

I feel this way sometimes. Most times lately except when dd11 decides to entertain us all with her dramatics. We are finished by 2:30 most days and that is taking an hour for lunch and an hour of additional break time sprinkled throughout for the two oldest. My olders will come to me and say they are done and I'm left thinking I need to give them something else to do yet every subject is checked off on their planner, I've checked their work, and I know the subjects I've done with them were done to the depth I intended.

 

The first couple of weeks I kept a log of how much time each spent actually doing school and created a schedule based on those numbers. My older two do about 5.5 to 6 hours per day and dd7 does about 3.5 to 4. Ds does between 0 and 1.:D

 

At six weeks I evaluated if everyone was at a consistent level of learning (not too easy\not too hard), and at that time I even added in logic for my 7th and spelling for my 6th. I think they have just finally learned to work efficiently because they got tired of me taking away their free time. We do have days, like I said, where things just don't go as planned but for the most part I think we have gotten our schedule tweaked to the point of being very nearly perfect for us.

 

Would it help you if you were to write out a master plan for all of your subjects? I use a 5 column, 9 row planner for each child for each week. (I make them up 6 weeks at a time) That way I can see at a glance exactly what everyone is doing for the week. I don't treat it like it is written in stone though. There are many days that there are arrows moving something from one day to the next.

 

Maybe you and your dc have just reached homeschooling nirvana. Your all masters of efficiency.:D

[delaney]

I feel this way sometimes. Most times lately except when dd11 decides to entertain us all with her dramatics. We are finished by 2:30 most days and that is taking an hour for lunch and an hour of additional break time sprinkled throughout for the two oldest. My olders will come to me and say they are done and I'm left thinking I need to give them something else to do yet every subject is checked off on their planner, I've checked their work, and I know the subjects I've done with them were done to the depth I intended.

 

The first couple of weeks I kept a log of how much time each spent actually doing school and created a schedule based on those numbers. My older two do about 5.5 to 6 hours per day and dd7 does about 3.5 to 4. Ds does between 0 and 1.:D

 

At six weeks I evaluated if everyone was at a consistent level of learning (not too easy\not too hard), and at that time I even added in logic for my 7th and spelling for my 6th. I think they have just finally learned to work efficiently because they got tired of me taking away their free time. We do have days, like I said, where things just don't go as planned but for the most part I think we have gotten our schedule tweaked to the point of being very nearly perfect for us.

 

Would it help you if you were to write out a master plan for all of your subjects? I use a 5 column, 9 row planner for each child for each week. (I make them up 6 weeks at a time) That way I can see at a glance exactly what everyone is doing for the week. I don't treat it like it is written in stone though. There are many days that there are arrows moving something from one day to the next.

 

Maybe you and your dc have just reached homeschooling nirvana. Your all masters of efficiency.:D

hmmmm...that has me worried. DD is 10 and does not do 5 hours per day. Need to start tracking some of this somehow.:confused:

[Capt_Uhura]

I would look at what you do and determine if you feel it's enough. Some here have 10yr olds who get it all done in 4hrs b/c they are very efficient. Some schedules that folks post would take my 10yr old son 7hrs to accomplish. When I need reassurance, I emailed our schedule to a trusted teacher friend for her comments. Since you were a teacher, perhaps write it up and email it to yourself and give advice on the schedule. :001_smile: 1 on 1 is definitely more efficient than HSing. I recall a new HSing mom here at this forum who said the toughest part of HSing was letting go of all she had learned as a public school teacher. It just didn't apply with a class of 1 or 2 or 4 of your own kids.

[5LittleMonkeys]

hmmmm...that has me worried. DD is 10 and does not do 5 hours per day. Need to start tracking some of this somehow.:confused:

 

Last year my now dd11 didn't do this much. Last year she only averaged about 4.5 hours and she was a dawdler. She probably only did about 4 hours of actual work. This year she does: Latin, math, grammar, writing, spelling, poetry, history\science, logic, and art. A lot of people here will look at how much time is spent per week in each subject. This is how it breaks down for my dd11:

 

Latin: 45min.\ 5days \ 3.75hrs.per wk.

Math: 45min.\ 5days \ 3.75

Grammar: 30min.\5days \ 2.5

Writing: 60min.\5days \ 5

Spelling: 30 min.\5 days \ 2.5

Poetry: 30 min.\3days \1.5

History: 60 min.\3 days \ 3

Science: 60 min. \2 days \ 2

Logic: 30 min.\3 days \ 2.5

Art: 60 min.\2 days \ 2

 

So that's 28.5 hours per week which breaks down to an average of 5.7 hours per day. However, in reality Fridays are usually less time because if she works ahead a little during the week she will have a short day on Fri. All of these times are averages too. Sometimes she takes longer and sometimes she is done in a little less time. I re-asses their times at the end of every six weeks and make adjustments to their schedules. I have a target range of between 5 to 6 hours for my two oldest. Anything under that and I don't feel they are working to their potential. Anything over and it is too much work load or they aren't using their time wisely.

 

Just track one child at a time. Keep a stopwatch\timer and a pad of paper handy and record the times for each subject over the course of a couple of weeks and then average it. It will give you a rough idea that you can then use to tweak your subject content.

 

That might be more info than you wanted.:D Hope you can find some peace of mind...I know its no fun trying to teach confidently when you have doubts.

[Colleen in NS]

When I taught public I felt like I knew the pace b/c you had texts to follow. Feeling a bit lost here:confused:

 

Do you have a clear idea of what you want to teach, and maybe some year-end goals? If you get that settled in your mind, then you can plan your weeks to accomplish that, and rest assured that no matter how long or how short the day is, you are doing what you set out to do.

 

I want my kids to learn math, grammar, spelling, writing, reading, Latin, and logic skills. And I want them to practice these on some of their history/science/literature reading. So, I pace out the skills textbooks/methods each year, so that I will finish those items on time or accomplish a particular goal in a skill (for example, by the end of this year, I want ds to be proficient in three-level outlines, and to have started learning to rewrite from them). Then, I figure out what content reading I want them to do - for example, this year we are reading through "spines" on early modern history (along with library books to supplement), through early modern literature (working my way through the WTM lists), and through chemistry experiment and information books. I don't mind not "finishing" the content spines, as long as we are consistently reading from them, talking about the info., writing about the info., and reading library books about the info.. But I do want my kids to finish the skills plan I set out for each year.

 

This is how I plan out my year, and how I can determine each day/week that we are "doing enough."

[Moni]

Feeling a bit lost here:confused:

 

Have you set your Own Goals?

Are you meeting them?

 

That's what I use to answer the question...Am I doing "enough." :)

Enough for what?

Compare against my goals....and I am able to determine a yes or no answers.

 

Sometimes the goals are task-based. Do one lesson of math per day.

Sometimes the goals are minute based. -- Read three times a day, half hour per session.

 

:seeya:

[Colleen in NS]

Sometimes the goals are task-based. Do one lesson of math per day.

Sometimes the goals are minute based. -- Read three times a day, half hour per session.

 

This is how I operate, too. In addition to going through the task based things (skills) each day, I schedule 2-3 hours a day for reading. This reading includes history, science, literature, and kids' choice (hobbies, fun stories, etc.). With this much reading, plus skills work, I know we are accomplishing a lot of content learning each year.

[NanceXToo]

You can teach your kids much more efficiently than a public school teacher can teach 20-30 kids.

 

You can move at your child's own pace. If they "get it" you can move on faster. You don't have to wait for a group of slower kids to catch up, you don't have to assign tons of "busy work," you don't really have to work on a time table at all.

 

My daughter is almost 10 and her schoolwork does not take anywhere near 5 hours a day. She spent an average of 3 hours a day doing schoolwork last year in 4th grade.

 

We've only just finished our second week of fifth grade so I haven't really figured out yet what we're averaging time wise, but it seems to be taking about the same amount of time as fourth grade took, pretty much.

 

We use the Oak Meadow curriculum, which is pretty hands on. We do everything that's in a week's lesson, and it just doesn't take a ridiculously long time. (But it's not based on tests and worksheets and a lot of dry textbook material and busywork).

 

And still, I can see that my child is learning plenty. Our evaluator has been impressed with her portfolios. Our district superintendent has accepted her portfolio without a problem. And when I gave her a standardized test at the end of last year "for fun" to see where she was at after more than a year of a relaxed style of homeschooling using the OM curriculum and being finished within 3 hours a day, she was right where she's "supposed to be." She's doing great!

 

And she's got plenty of time to "be a kid," explore her own interests, to just spend time with her family, we go on lots of outings and field trips and extra-curriculars and we do fun things, and it's all working out great.

 

So based on that I just don't think you have to worry that you need to do hours and hours of work a day or that you aren't "doing enough"- it sounds like you're doing enough to me!