2 young kiddos, lots of time-intensive programs....how to schedule?

[snickelfritz]

My kids do very little in an independent way, which is fine. The programs we are using take a lot of time. That's fine. They are working.

 

I'm pulling my hair out trying to figure out a way to schedule them. Breaks. How long to keep one working. What to do with the other one while one is working. etc., etc., etc.,

 

So, how have people been successful working with both kids? I've tried a little bit of "teach them and send them off to work" and that doesn't work very well. I've tried having them both work on, for example, math at the same time. One of them is constantly interrupting with a question. They do best when I am right there with them, one at a time, and we go through a subject and then repeat with sister.

 

Is it reasonable to expect older (7, 2nd grade) dd to do schoolish things when I'm working with her sister? Flashmaster, read her Sonlight books? Or should I send her to do something active for a break? Clean her room, etc...

[sagira]

Bumping up for you. My kids are four years apart, but I do try to occupy my three-year-old at the same time and 2nd grade is not entirely independent. The following he can do fairly well on his own:

 

- copywork

- penmanship

- Spectrum Spelling workbook

 

On good days, he can do Math by himself. I usually have to hover around, though.

[Kuovonne]

Is it reasonable to expect older (7, 2nd grade) dd to do schoolish things when I'm working with her sister? Flashmaster, read her Sonlight books? Or should I send her to do something active for a break? Clean her room, etc...

 

Yes, it is reasonable for your 2nd grader to do schoolish things when you work woth her sister.

 

My 2nd grader knows she has to do independent school work when I work with her sister. Here's some of the things she does

- daily journal (drawing / writing)

- piano practice

- math fact practice

- McCall-Crabbs reading comprehension test lessons

 

If she truely has nothing "schoolish" that she can do while I work with her sister, I let her read. She is *not* allowed to play -- I'll never get her back.

 

 

ETA: My 2nd grader doesn't do all these things each time I work with her sister. I don't work with my pre-K'er that long! She usually does only one or two of them.

Edited October 26, 2010 by Kuovonne

[Susie in CA]

I really think this depends on the kids. My younger son would have been fine by himself doing some schoolish things by himself when he was in 2nd grade. My older son, however, would still have been disruptive and/or unproductive. It worked best to send him off to do something physical to keep him busy. He was always great with things like cleaning, cutting back bushes, cooking etc. He loved doing it and it kept him busy. Now, that doesn't mean the work was always done all the way, but it did give me time to work on things with his younger brother.

 

Susie

[snickelfritz]

So, do you keep them in the same room?

 

Older dd is learning cursive and younger dd is learning printing. So, even penmanship requires some oversight from me. Violin is one-on-one. So is spelling. Etc., etc., etc.

[coffeegal]

Is it reasonable to expect older (7, 2nd grade) dd to do schoolish things when I'm working with her sister? Flashmaster, read her Sonlight books? Or should I send her to do something active for a break? Clean her room, etc...

 

Personally, I think it's reasonable to expect both children to do 'schoolish' things while you're working with the other child. You could teach them to pull out a book (ie. Sonlight) to look at or read. You might also keep coloring or activity books for the children to use while they're waiting. I picked up several of the HWT slates for my oldest 3. They would often color on their 'chalkboard' while waiting. A couple of my boys enjoyed playing with the math manipulatives while waiting. The only issue was the sound effects that went with the play. :lol:

[coffeegal]

So, do you keep them in the same room?

 

Older dd is learning cursive and younger dd is learning printing. So, even penmanship requires some oversight from me. Violin is one-on-one. So is spelling. Etc., etc., etc.

 

When my oldest 3 were little (K, 1st, 2nd or 1st, 2nd, 3rd) I put them around the kitchen table, and did school. Each child had their own side to sit at. I walked around the table supervising, and pulled out a chair when I needed to work 1 on 1. lol, A friend complained to me of homeschooling causing her to spend too much time sitting. I looked at her in amazement because my homeschool time was spent circling the kitchen table. :D

[nukeswife]

Are they good with quiet independent play? I have a 6th, 3rd and Ker this year. My oldest can do most things on his own, but needs me for spelling and to present grammar on mondays, and occasionally for a math problem that's stumping him. My middle dd needs a lot of instruction as we go because she's not a strong reader (she's a late bloomer with some speech issues) and my Ker needs me the whole time he's working. So I usually get the first one going on something work with the middle one after setting the older one loose and then switch off between them as needed. My youngest waits until I'm completely done with the older two. He's allowed to play wii sports or wii resort, watch a leapfrog video or word world video, color, or look at books as long as he keeps the volume down. Then when it's his turn the older two can play, but if they are inside, they also must keep the volume down so they don't disrupt our lessons.

Would you be able to work with one completely through while the other plays quietly and then switch off after the first one was done. You could rotate who starts first each day.

[5LittleMonkeys]

My dd7 does independent work while I work with her two older sisters. She also has one hour of watching\playing with the 2yo while I do one on one. Here are some things she can do on her own.

 

ETC

Math practice page

Poetry memory work

Reading

Illustrations to go with her narrations (we seem to always be a little behind in getting the illustrations finished)

Some parts of her R&S Bible Nurture and Reader workbook

Copywork (she does this while sitting next to me so that I can still watch to make sure she isn't making mistakes)

Penmanship (next to me)

Audio books

 

I have everything scheduled pretty tightly so she knows exactly what she should be doing at any given time. There are no times when she is at loose ends. I would prefer to have a more relaxed\flexible day but those don't work well around here anymore.:tongue_smilie:

[RootAnn]

Mine needed me "at elbow" constantly at that age spread. I do not have independent workers. I cheered in my head when my 3rd grader last year spent a few minutes doing GWG3 by herself after I went over things and before I checked her work. It was the first time she would do anything without me within a few inches of her, even if she didn't need me for anything specific.

 

Things are much better this year - with both kids. However, I think you need to work up to more independence. Something I did at that age was do one kid's work first, then sent them off to play for the rest of the morning & concentrated on the second child. (I could do the K work while the 2nd grader was finishing her chores or eating a late breakfast since she's my late riser. Or, let the K play and call her in when the 2nd grader was done.)

 

If you don't want to do that, I'd have several activities for the 2nd grader to do while you work with the Ker. For example, a book of mazes or dot-to-dots would be one choice. Some play-doh, stamps, markers/coloring books, light craft stuff would be another couple options. A puzzle or game that the older could play by herself would be a third: perhaps some not-too-difficult jigsaws or a memory game. These are all things I have available for my preschooler & older sibs to work on -- but they only get access to these specific things DURING SCHOOL TIME.

 

I'm trying to get my older kid to be independent enough that I'll have time to fit in a few things with #3 next year. It is an incremental approach. Listening to SWB's "Teaching Kids to Be Independent" audio lecture helped give me confidence that I'm on the right track age-wise & some more ideas to implement. If your kids are like mine were at that age, you might not get much independence out of them yet. But have some hope - it'll come.

:grouphug:

[Kuovonne]

So, do you keep them in the same room?

 

We have a pretty open floor plan, so my 2nd grader is usually where I can see her when I work with the pre-K'er. However, she isn't at my elbow unless she tries to sneak off to play. In that case I reign her in close. That's what works for us.

[Terabith]

Stuff my almost-7 year old (who is a fluent reader) can do independently:

 

handwriting practice (I don't allow this to be independent every day, but some days it is. I always check and have her fix any mistakes, though.)

 

reading comprehension or free reading

math practice (not learning new concepts, but practice)

play geography games on the computer

watch Spanish Salsa episode

read Mr. Q science and do activity pages

piano practice

 

However, until she could read fairly fluently, there wasn't much that she could do independently. I suspect it will be a LONG time before my 5.5 year old will be able to do anything independently, both by virtue of lack of skills and by temperment.

[Amy in KS]

How about some online learning that reinforces what you have taught? My daughter loves having the option of doing something on the computer (which we limit here).

 

Have you tried the free trial of spellquizer? I use it with SWR. You input your own words. I include phonograms and words we've covered. My daughter does spellquizer very willingly and it really helps. I have her listen to the word, she writes it on her paper, types it in, enters, and corrects her work if it is incorrect.

 

I have my 3rd grader do this while I work with my Ker on reading practice.

 

There are several great math sites as well. Here's one:

http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/math-trainer-addition.html

 

Or how about a free typing program like dance pad typing?

 

 

[Nancy Ann]

Can you have her do fun things at the table? Like pattern blocks, puzzles, drawing, coloring, Kumon craft books, maybe other table type educational toys.

[swainsonshawk]

This is why public schools use busy work. I use it too! Things like: crossword puzzles (easy), coloring, Between the Lions Videos, Magic School Bus, Books on Tape (listening center).

 

You have been given a lot of good ideas, here. It never worked for me to send my other child out of the room to play while the sibling is working. The one doing school whines that he has to work while the brother is playing, and the playing brother wants a buddy or just hangs around being annoying.

[Lori D.]

I tended to "ping-pong" between them, with both working on the same topic, such as math -- so I'd set one up, and as that one worked, I'd help the other.

 

I also gave them things they could work on independently:

- a set of 2-4 "fun pages" (mazes, visual puzzles, very simple crosswords or word searches, Highlights magazine puzzles, etc.)

- basket of educational fun things to choose from (tangrams, math manipulatives, coloring/learning page, art project, etc -- the TOPS Lentil unit always interesting, and what about some science kits such as magnets, etc.)

- book basket with solo readers or books on tape and a cassette player

- at some point in the day, each would get a 30-minute turn using educational software on the computer or watch an educational video from the library (Magic Schoolbus, Schlessinger Media, Bill Nye the Science Guy, etc.) to give me focused one-on-one time with the sibling; then I had them switch so the other had the 30 minute turn and I could focus one-on-one on the other child

 

We definitely did as much as possible together: Bible, science, history, geography, art/music, read-alouds, etc.

[plain jane]

I keep mine at the table at all times. What I did was set up my schedule in "blocks" of subjects- those that require me full-time (like MCT), those that require me to teach then are done independently (math, writing), and those that the dc can do on their own (reading, WWE copywork).

 

Then I mix and match the blocks of subjects. I pair up a teacher intensive subject like MCT with a completely hands-off one like reading (or sometimes I teach the math lesson quickly then let younger work on her own) then I switch and do a hands-off for my oldest and a teacher intensive for my younger. I've been know to give my younger one spelling tests while going over the discussion questions in the MOSDOS texts. :001_huh: It gets a bit confusing but the kids are used to it now.

 

I found this has worked nicely for me. I do switch up the order of the "blocks" so we're not doing every subject in the same order every day, but everytime MCT comes out, younger dd is doing her reading or math.

 

Sometimes I'll have a child double up on something, say, do 2 days worth of copywork for WWE just so I can have a few extra teaching moments with my other. There's usually no complaining as they know that it's one less day of copywork they have to do that week. ;)

 

ETA: I've also found ways to make some subjects less teacher intensive. For WWE4 a tape recorder is handy for dictations and saves me from having to repeat myself over and over. I don't enjoy listening to myself over and over, but that's another story. :D I also have them write their own narrations for WWE4 so it's a mostly hands-off program now. Phew.

[sbgrace]

My boys are both 6.5. I can't teach them together because they are so very different in needs, one answers for the other, one gets distracted, etc. So content subjects (math, handwriting, phonics, spelling, etc.) all are done individually here and otherwise would not work.

 

I'm sort of feeling weird even responding. I must be not getting something or who knows but we do it entirely different than others who have responded. Schooling doesn't take an entire day here. Does it for most people at the early elementary stage?? So, I just work with one and let the other do his own thing whatever it is. It gives them a nice break between subjects. Today guy A spent almost all his downtime between subjects playing lego. Guy B spent most of it looking at books today though he did some drawing. If transitions were terribly hard OR if my kids worked better in longer stretches I'd do all the academics with one child and then switch kids but mine need short lessons with breaks so switching off works better.

 

So:

Math guy A while other guy plays/draws/whatever, then switch people.

 

Read some books together or do our music together.

 

Phonograms/spelling and handwriting type work guy A while guy B has downtime and then switch.

 

Chapter book read aloud together.

 

Reading practice (each on their own again)

 

Break for lunch

 

After lunch--our together activities--this week history is the content subject.

We do history, daily bible, art, etc. type subjects together and I am pretty sure I would in the case of K and 2nd as well.

 

When they are reading well independently I could see having some reading time in one of those "downtime" slots. If one child will not to leave the other alone during school time to me that is a discipline issue and there would be natural consequences here. I can't see trying to come up with busy work to fill time. I also wouldn't want my attention divided trying to keep the child I'm not working with on task or answering questions or supply issues or whatever might happen if I assigned work of any sort--academic or chores. If whatever it was is fun enough to be motivating it would be distracting or even upsetting to the guy doing the academics (ie missing an audio story even if he were going to listen later, Salsa Spanish or other videos, playing a computer game, etc.) Ideally I want my focus to be completely on the child being taught at the moment.

Edited October 26, 2010 by sbgrace

[2squared]

I teach one-on-one with my kids. We enjoy it, find it to be more effective for us, and I also use teacher-intensive materials.

 

My 3rd grader gets one-on-one time in the morning for about 1.5 hours. She works on math, spelling, grammar, writing, and handwriting. The other kids play or hang with us while we're working.

 

My 1st grader gets one-on-one time after lunch for 30-45 min. He works on math, reading, and handwriting. The 2yo is napping during this time while the others are playing.

 

We (3rd, 1st, 4yo, & 2yo) spend up to an hour in the afternoon together reading for history, science, and religion. We may do some science activities as well, but mostly I read aloud and we discuss those subjects. My 3rd grader does have a history timeline that we add to every so often.

 

It all gets done and truly doesn't feel like we are doing school all day.

[snickelfritz]

I'm going to have to think through the ideas. Thanks to everyone for sharing what works for you.

 

I'm mulling over what I can get them to both do at the same time. If they could do math and handwriting at the same time, it would be awesome. I do have a flashmaster, pattern blocks, wedgits, etc... so I think I could do a better job of utilizing those.

 

We do watch the Magic School bus online, but I've been having them watch them together when we do science. duh.....Have them watch when I'm working with the other one.:tongue_smilie: I need to think through some other history/science/art things we do that they could work on independently. And they love audiobooks, I just hadn't incorporated them into our school day.

[snickelfritz]

I'm sort of feeling weird even responding. I must be not getting something or who knows but we do it entirely different than others who have responded. Schooling doesn't take an entire day here. Does it for most people at the early elementary stage?? So, I just work with one and let the other do his own thing whatever it is. It gives them a nice break between subjects. Today guy A spent almost all his downtime between subjects playing lego. Guy B spent most of it looking at books today though he did some drawing. If transitions were terribly hard OR if my kids worked better in longer stretches I'd do all the academics with one child and then switch kids but mine need short lessons with breaks so switching off works better.

 

Yes, it takes us all day. It didn't last year, for first. But my combination of kindy(teaching to read), both learning new handwriting, and adding in history/science/art this year is making for a longer day.

 

But, we don't start until 9:00 and we do take lots of breaks (15 minutes mid-morning when we all take dog outside and jump on the tramp, about an hour for lunch, and all that time when I'm working with a sibling) and we do EVERYTHING during the day...oral reading, math facts practice, read alouds, instrument practice, etc.... Afternoon work is all extras. History/science/art/violin practice.

 

Violin practice, alone, takes us an hour by the time we get out instruments, I tune them, spend 20 minutes per child practicing, do a few sight reading exercises, and listen to the current music on CD. They do Suzuki, which is very parent involved, and they are at different levels and can't really practice together. BUT even typing out that list, I see ways I could save time. Have one listen to their music while I practice with the other. Teach my older dd to tune her violin.

 

It just seems like all of my curricula choices work out the way our violin does. :tongue_smilie:

Edited October 26, 2010 by snickelfritz

[Kuovonne]

My boys are both 6.5.

...

we do it entirely different than others who have responded. Schooling doesn't take an entire day here. Does it for most people at the early elementary stage?? So, I just work with one and let the other do his own thing whatever it is.

 

If my kids were both in 1st grade, I'd do things differently too. However, my 2nd grader has *far* more schoolwork than my pre-K'er, and they both know it. School for my pre-K'er is short, sweet, and first thing in the morning after our morning meeting. However, I need to keep her older sister in "school mode" during that time or it is too hard to pull her back in from play.

[KrissiK]

I have three kids - 2nd grader, 1st grader and preschooler and school is one very intense morning for us. My boys don't do a lot of independent work and a lot of the subjects require me teaching them. It's a lot of work. We start at 8:15 each morning, take a 45 minute break at 10:15, get going at 11:00 and finish at noon. I am exhausted by the time it is done. The boys do have some "independent" work, but 2nd grader hates school and if I left him to his own devices it would take him all day to complete his seat work. My little preschooler gets "school" in about every other day. I know it's not a big deal, but I would like her to at least learn her letters and sounds this year. I've just resigned myself to the fact that at this age it will be tough, and by the time they get to 4th or 5th grade it will get better. But, I've about given up my Fine Arts program because I am so tired getting in the core subjects that I can't even get to the gravy.