Do you actually have your 5th grader make his own TOG weekly schedule?

[jenniferlee]

I'm having such a hard time imagining doing this. I still make my 7th grade dd's weekly schedule for her (she uses sonlight and other things)

But I see that TOG recommends that you start having 4th grade and up do their own. This stresses me out. Does it really work? Isn't it just a huge pain for ME?:tongue_smilie:

 

Help me out :D

[bethben]

I've done it - actually ds has only done 2 weeks with scheduling it out. I started with handing him the books and what he needs to read in the books (via the main schedule) and then he divided it up with suggestions from me (actually a lot of suggestions, but hey - you've got to start somewhere). There was a lot of moaning and groaning, but he did fine. I schedule the rest of his school, but eventually, he'll have to do those also. Baby steps.

Beth

[HSMom2One]

This is our second year of TOG, and dd is in 6th grade. From the start I have given her the weekly history and literature assignments, as well as some long term composition and geography assignments. It is up to her to set up a schedule that will enable her to get the work done by our mutually agreed upon day and time. This has been so good for her, as it gives her a sense of empowerment and independence. 5th grade is not too young for this to happen. Students this age are perfectly capable of pacing themselves, as well as practicing setting goals and meeting them. Students that learn responsibility step-by-step this way do very well in school and at home with other responsibilities. That is what it's all about after all. Our job as parents is to help them in gradual steps stand on their own, and that is a process that takes years to develop.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[M&M]

I have taught two children so far how to plan their work and to work their plan. My oldest son was in4th grade. It took him all year just to learn how to plan his work. He did not get the work done all the time, but each year he has improved. Dd is 9th grade and is independently planning all her work. She was a fast learner. All skills take time to teach/learn you must determine if it is a skill you value for your children to master. Don t stress !

[Renaissance Mom]

We, too, took the whole 4th grade year to transition my eldest to doing all her planning. It was soooo worth the time it took. She's done her own planning and has learned from her mistakes in doing so ever since. She gets a list from me on Friday for the following week and she schedules everything in her planner. She does not only the TOG assignments but all of her school work. She's responsible for checking off her own work and rescheduling anything she did not finish on a particular day.

 

FWITW, this one skill is the one that prompts the most discussion when planning or scheduling comes up among moms at our homeschool group. You can just see the delight in their faces when they imagine what their lives would be like if they taught their dc to do this. It really is well worth the time it takes to model and teach it.

[johnandtinagilbert]

For the naturally, uberorganized dd, yes :) For the sloppy and scattered, like her momma one, no. Instead, we logged as we finished for all of 4th, then started planning just the reading at first. She basically has generic "geography day" and "Vocab. day" on her schedule already. I plan to add to her work load on Monday, so she'll have to start scheduling reading, outlining/notetaking days, and summary days. Essentially, she'll still be filing in blanks, but it will get her ready for the expanded schedule she'll use next year as a full time Dialectic student (ew. full-time D student :crying: I'm not ready for her to be a big girl).

[jenniferlee]

thank you all for your encouragement. Sometimes it seems almost impossible for me to imagine things being different than what they are now/what I am used to. I have to remember that change is good and even achievable.

This gives me courage to at least start.

 

Jen

[AngelBee]

I am having ds11 do his own schedule. A few bumps this week. :) (Our first week of TOG) but not too bad.

[Gratia271]

We construct the schedules together at this point.

[NancyNellen]

No, my 5th grader does not schedule her week...we will begin in the 6th grade. My 7th and 8th graders schedule their weeks with minimal problems.

[melmichigan]

For my DD11 I list the weeks assignments for TOG in my main binder, it is up to my DD to then update my binder each day with what she has done so I can glance and get a feel for how her week is going.

[AuntPol]

No -I do not. My 5th grader has Aspergers and has ZERO ability to organize. My 6th grader isn't really that ready either.