MeganW Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Can you give me an estimate of how much time you spend homeschooling? I mean, really homeschooling, not recess or that kind of thing. I keep hearing that kindergarten can be done in 1-2 hours a day. How much for 1st grade? 2nd? How does that change by the end of elementary and into middle school? Thanks! PS - yes, this is yet another question for DH. Still trying to talk him into letting me homeschool. He is still eagerly eyeing the public school down the road... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susankenny Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 My son is 7 and in first grade. He takes 1 1/2 hours. My daughter is 9 & takes about 3 hours (sometimes a little longer). Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomesteadMommy Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 My prK/Ker and 1st grade are 1 - 2 hours and my 3rd grader 2 - 3 hours. But we do a lot of work together and often follow bunny trails. lol I try to keep our day all together no more then 3 -4 hours all combined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 In the early elementary years including K, I don't think we did more than an hour of formal school. By formal I mean the skills part of homescholing, which in the early years meant math lessons, hand writing and phonics or reading instruction. But I read aloud everyday for an hour or more -- sometimes we'd spend the entire afternoon reading through a stack of books. That was as important a part of their education as the formal stuff. Going to the museum or zoo, identifying bugs from the backyard, finding places on the globe, playing games and even baking together were also important and educational. I considered it all to be an integral part of homeschooling, and if you add it all together then their "school time" was longer -- 4 hours maybe on average a day? As your kids get older and you add grammar, writing, logic and/or a foreign language, the formal skills time takes longer each day. 2 to 3 hours. History, literature and science content was something we got through continuing to read together and through going out into the world whether to plays or lectures or museums, or by watching documentaries. But again this was integral to our homeschool, just not the drudgery in their eyes that the skills were! So, I don't know, 5 hours a day on average? Somewhere in the teen years everything I suggested, planned or assigned was instantly considered sheer drudgery!! Heavy sighs, eye rolling, procrastination, arguments -- wait, I shouldn't be telling you this part!! High school days could last 3 hours but sometimes last 8 hours when a project or assignment was due. I spent less each day with them, but more time in planning. I still read aloud or listened to books with them, we still went to lectures, plays and museums, and we still went to the zoo once in a while just for the sheer fun of it. A homeschooler's day is shorter than a day in a traditional school. There isn't the time wasted on classroom management between and during lessons, the time lining up for recess, the time passing out and collecting papers. In the high school years the flexibility of homeschooling allowed my boys to have unusual internships in the middle of the day, as they could adjust their assignments to fit their outside responsibilities. The book that helped tip the scales for my dh, by the way, was Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense by David Guterson. We started homeschooling when my oldest was in 2nd grade, my youngest in pre-K, and 11 years later have graduated both early. Hope my experiences help you both picture what a homeschooling life can be like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 My first grader works for about 1 hour each day of formal textbooky stuff. She also goes to school for a few hours each day, but its mainly electives. My third grader does about 2-3 hours at home and some electives at school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosy Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 About 2-3 hours for all but DD10. She's at a high level for math, once they get to a certain point it takes quite a bit longer. The younger ones are only actually working at the table for about an hour, we do read-alouds and silent reading for the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyBC Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 One rule of thumb is 1/2 hour of actual sit-down work per year. So K would take 1/2 hour, 2nd grade 1.5 hrs., 6th grade 3.5 hours and so on. I guess that would put 12th grade at around 6.5 hours. While this formula may not fit every family, I would guess it roughly fits what we have done for the last 8 years, particularly if you leave out some of the informal learning, like trips to the library, evening read-alouds, sports activities. And also leave out the less productive things, like arguing with your siblings, dropping your pencil 87 times, that sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 This is the amount of time we spent working on seatwork for these grades: K--20 minutes to 1 hour 1st--30 minutes to 1 hour 2nd--45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes 3rd--1 to 2 hours 4th--1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours 5th--2-3 hours We do math, language arts, reading, spelling, science, history and some sort of lapbook project. There is little fluff in our working day. On their own my children spend time: being creative (painting, drawing, crafts, etc.) being physical (riding bikes, playing games, etc.) The time that we spend on school work is fairly intense. I work with my dds one-on-one and then send them off to do independent work on their own. They finish quickly becuase they know that they have the rest of the day for free play.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I've found the hour/grade level to be accurate for us. K is about 30-45 minutes, and my 5th & 6th grader have 5-6 hour days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonNative Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I do a 1st and 3rd grader in around 4 hours. I work with them alone on some things and then some of our studies we do together. This does not include things like experiments or crafts. Below is a post written by a wonderful lady on another board- A "day in the life" From a public teachers perspective.... The students are at school for 7 hours. The first 30 minutes, she is taking attendance, handwriting it in her green book, then filling it out in the computer system. She is collecting lunch money, writing each amount, student name and id # on the collection envelope, filling out paperwork as to who wants a salad, who wants a hamburger and who wants a hot dog. She is allowing students to go to the bathroom, but must keep tabs of it only being one boy and one girl at a time...since every other teacher is doing that as well. They are collecting notes from parents and making sure assignment books have been initialled. (much learning here? nope) Students are at recess for 30 minutes a day...plus 5 minutes getting 22 kids to the play ground and 5 minutes getting everyone back. Total of 40 minutes each... Students in 4th grade need 2 official bathroom breaks...These take 10 minutes each, because again...you have to monitor 22 kids. 20 minutes AT LEAST, is gone. Every once in a while it takes longer because kids in large groups tend to have a GREAT time in a private bathroom Students have a 30 minute lunch...plus a 5 minute walk there and a 5 minute walk back...40 more minutes...gone. Students have gym/music/art/computer/ etc...not saying this isn't learning, but remember...they PACK the rooms full on these classes because of few restrictions. How much art are they learning with 40-44 kids in these classes. It is chaos to say the least. 50 more minutes In 4th grade they switch teachers...so half way through the day...they have to pack their pencils, binders, etc. line up, cross the hall and get settled in...get their paper and pencil out again and get ready for new instruction. 5 minutes packing, 5 minutes lining up and crossing the hall, 5 more minutes getting prepared for the next lesson. This teacher needs to spend a couple of minutes picking up notes, taking attendance on green sheet, checking for signature. 15-20 minutes gone... We all know that there are behavior problems. Lets say this is a GREAT class. The teacher only needs to give a quick warning to only 1/2 the students... This is COMPLETELY unrealistic...but you see how talking to 11 kids very gently is completely understandable. Then there are the expected unexpecteds...someone needs a note to go to the nurse, someone can't find the homework and the teacher helps them go through all of their stuff to find it, someone gets out of control and the teacher has to stop and take control of the situation, write the kid up (filling that form out takes over 5 minutes) and then get the class "recaptured" again. Someone is sad, so you have to counsel them, someone is being bullied, someone is scared,etc. Someone does something wonderful and you need to praise them, give them time at the treasure box, or fill out a happy visit form. This happens EVERY day... and yes it happens at your home too...but probably not from 22 people. Lets not for get fire drills, assemblies, movies. I am not going to even guesstimate how much time we are talking...but I promise you its WAYYYYY more than the average person thinks. And last, but CERTAINLY not least...Every child has their own pace. They might excel in one, lag in the other, but NEVER is a child EXACTLY on grade level in every single subject...So the teacher is doing her main teaching to the middle...if you are behind...she tries to find time to catch them up. If the student is ahead...she tries to throw things at them that will challenge them. The first 4 weeks...is a complete waste of time because you are either collecting legal documentation and testing all students to see where they are, or you are reviewing them. Whether YOUR child needs the review or not. We have a total of 21 prep test and testing days in our school...no learning done on those days...and usually the next day is a movie/fun day because they are complete zombies after taking 5 hour tests for 3 days straight. So if you add all of this up...go ahead and take 2 months away...BAM! After all of that...you have a Guaranteed 3 1/2 hours gone EVERY DAY without considering the last paragraph I just typed with all of the test prep, testing and review...just with the day to day stuff. And believe me...the time off task, with reprimanding the behavior we see...I didn't include that in the number...but it would be a LARGE one. It all boils down to this...its non stressful, so your sweet child is not downshifting his brain because he is stressed. He is not being taught stuff he already knows, nor is time being wasted while he is lost because the material is too challenging for him. He isn't lost reading textbooks that are too hard...fyi. almost all textbooks in science and social studies are 2 reading grade levels above where it should be...so he would probably be a 2nd grade level reader trying to figure out 6th grade level text in those subjects...can you imagine? You are teaching one on one...answering every question he has...because you have time to do so. You are teaching him at HIS LEVEL, gently challenging him, so that he grows and really learns. You don't need to "get to know him and try to build a relationship with him" to know what his needs are and what his interests are and to know his learning styles, etc. He is yours and few people will be able to reach him the way that you can because of your love for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1GirlTwinBoys Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 We didn't spend more than 45 mins in K. Actually, my boys were 4 & DD 5 when I taught them to all read at the same time. It was 45 mins of focused work and the rest of the day they just played. :) Now that my boys are 6 and DD 7, we spend 2 - 3 hours a day. They do get breaks while I'm working with another. That's just how long it takes us to complete everything. We do a lot of subjects together.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKNG Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I think you just need to base it on what fits your kiddos the best. If you work, 45 minutes on Monday, 30 minutes on Tuesday, 1 hour on Wednesday, etc then that's the perfect amount of time needed to home school your family. Some kiddos work less, some work longer...that's why we love home schooling because you can do what is best for YOUR family. Some states do require that you keep track of time, so I would make sure you know your laws too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 For many families the line between school and real life is so blurry. Is family devotions school? Is cutting a recipe in half while baking school? What about edutainment software? Or the new box of crayons? For most families homeschooling becomes a way of life. The home becomes one giant classroom. The amount of time devoted to sit down skills work is pretty short for both homeschooled and PS students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 (edited) This is the amount of time we spent working on seatwork for these grades: K--20 minutes to 1 hour 1st--30 minutes to 1 hour 2nd--45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes 3rd--1 to 2 hours 4th--1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours 5th--2-3 hours We do math, language arts, reading, spelling, science, history and some sort of lapbook project. There is little fluff in our working day. On their own my children spend time: being creative (painting, drawing, crafts, etc.) being physical (riding bikes, playing games, etc.) The time that we spend on school work is fairly intense. I work with my dds one-on-one and then send them off to do independent work on their own. They finish quickly becuase they know that they have the rest of the day for free play.:001_smile: We also use Oak Meadow and this looks right. K with my son was only taking maybe an hour a day, if that. 4th and 5th seem to take 2 1/2 to 3 hours on average, although if we were doing some sort of special hands on project, it might be a little more. Outside of that there would be extra reading for fun, educational games and shows and outings and field trips and extra curricular activities and crafts and playing and so on. But the time we're sitting down doing the main subjects, this about covers it. Edited January 4, 2011 by NanceXToo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 My 5th grader could drag school out to 8 hrs or so. But most of that time is spent in procrastination. My 4th grader can knock it out in 30 min to 2 hrs depending on the lesson that day. For my 5 yo, it's a few minutes here and there, depending on interest and inclination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 The time we spend in focused sit down work is about 60-90 minutes for K-1st grade. For 2nd-3rd grade the focused time is about 2 hours. But overall, we spend about 5 hours on school activities for those grades. Today, for example, my first grader is spending time on PE, dancing to music, watching a tale of China on DVD, participating in a relay and computer game contest about bones, listening to the music of Mahalia Jackson, and watching a movie about a book he just finished. This is the bulk of his day with some sit down work in math, reading, and a foreign language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 An hour/grade level is the max limit for us. If it takes longer than that it's b/c someone is goofing around. We pack a lot into that time most days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 We saw a significant difference between grammar stage and logic stage. My 3rd/4th grader can be finished in under 2 hours (plus some reading). My (very diligent) 7th grader can easily spend 7 hours in a day (and occasionally more). I would say that both have pretty rigorous programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I think our day is usually 4-5 hours (incidentally, our state requires an average of 4.5 hours per day, five days per week) but that does vary. Yesterday, for example, both kids spent ALL DAY on schoolwork, DS (2nd grade) because he was goofing around, did the wrong lesson on the computer, chatted with another kid instead of doing his work, etc., and DD (3rd grade) because she had gymnastics and then came home and did two days' worth of schoolwork. Today has been a little more normal. Both kids were up and doing their work by 8:30. Around 9 we fixed breakfast and I read literature to them while we ate. Then we did history, which we also do together. After history, both kids moved on to their own work. As DD was so far ahead from yesterday's marathon, she was finished within a few minutes. DS is still working, having taken a break for lunch. He is up to about 4 hours so far today, but he's almost finished (and he did have a little bit to do from yesterday that he never go to). Having said that, we also try to have Fridays "off" from seatwork. That makes for longer days M-Th in order to get everything done for the week. The kids have done it both ways (4- and 5-day weeks) and they prefer this way because they like having Fridays free. So they're willing to put in more hours and effort during the rest of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Our day is LONG. But that is mostly because of transitions that I failed to consider when I first started homeschooling. Example: We sit down to do writing. Ds writes 2 letters. Ds spends 5 minutes whining about the way the 2nd letter looks. Ds finally erases said letter. Ds finishes other 5 letters on page Total time: 20 minutes for 1 page of handwriting This goes on and on with time for snacks, time to scratch an itchy leg, time to cut out tags that bother someone, time to stop and fix a lego for the 4 y.o., etc. It takes all day to bang out the basics, which I'm sure would fit in under an hour if you could sit down and get it all done at once. Anyway, my point is: Leave major time for transitions and things to come up. It takes way longer than I ever anticipated to get just the basics done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 My 6 yr old spends about 1 1/2-2 hours a day on sitting with mommy, doing academic work. That doesn't count independent reading, reading aloud together before bedtime, or any of the other stuff she does on her own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmamma Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 On a good day...no attitude or pokey-ness? My kids could be done in 3-4 hours. That includes practicing ukulele and piano daily for 20 mins each. On a slow day...sometimes they are still doing math as the sun sets :o( I wouldn't sign up for homeschooling if it is because you always need to be done in the shortest amount of time. We keep no commitments unless medical before 3pm every day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 My 6 yr old spends about 1 1/2-2 hours a day on sitting with mommy, doing academic work. That doesn't count independent reading, reading aloud together before bedtime, or any of the other stuff she does on her own. For my first grader I have done about 1.5 hours of seatwork our first two days of school. We haven't done history or science yet, so that will be another half hour or so. That also doesn't count independent reading or read-aloud time. Today, math was too much writing (number words), so that caused some problems, but after a grocery trip break and lunch, all was good. We still finished everything by 1 pm, so I know history and science should be doable when we start those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 Thank you so much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 For second grade, I did 10 hours/month (year round) math, 15 sessions of 15 minutes spelling, 18 sessions of 15 min WWE, 15 sessions of 20 min for grammar, about 4 hours reading instrudtion, 3 hours art (at least), 3 hours music (at least), about 8 hours of science, and 6 of history, about 15 pages of handwriting practice, about 2 hours of Latin, an hour of memorization, 12 hours gym instruction (or kayaking, etc) plus 30 minutes of required free reading every day. (This was 12 months a year). K4, we did 15 minutes a day sit down (started with 5) every day we weren't sick or out of town. K5 we worked our way up to 35 minutes per day. 1st grade was 7 hours a week (about 50 weeks a year) sit down (by the end), 2nd grade about 10. We also did A LOT of hands on science and art, plus me reading to kiddo. I would consider our hours neither light nor heavy, but just in between. HTH. P.s. because I tend to over commit and over do things, I added up the advised time at the end of the grammar stage section of WTM for each year, divided by 12, and just saw that I got that done each month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyz Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 (edited) We spend about 2 hours a day for K (doing first grade work). Edited January 5, 2011 by Cindyz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChandlerMom Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 (edited) For us, I find the length of the day depends on two things: 1) how much prep I've done, and 2) the kids motivation. What seems to work best for us is if I set up their work for the day on a clipboard (one for each kid; in order, alternating "work" and a coloring or puzzle sheet), we start first thing with drill and math and move towards the "more fun" crafts, free reading, science projects, and piano. They can be done with the "have-tos" in under 2 hours (including 30min of reading for the 2nd grader). Having those clipboards set makes the day go smoothly. As the first respondent mentioned, having something to motivate the kids is key, too. Right now it's time on the Wii when they are done. If they're still doing lessons at 3pm, no tv or Wii for the day. It's not punitive -- just natural consequences. :D ETA: (3) clear expectations: we do a quick 1min "briefing" each am so each child knows what they need to do that day to be "done". I resist the urge to add after that, though if a kid is struggling I might say, "how about we do half of that today and save the rest for tomorrow." The clipboards also give the kids a clear indication of their progress and satisfaction when they "turn in" that last sheet for the day! Edited January 5, 2011 by ChandlerMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 My 1st grader spends 2 hours on school but almost half of that is me read-alouds. 3rd grader spends about 4 hours. 5th grader spends 6 hours. 7th grader spends 8 hours (or more) only because he works at a snail's pace. 8th grader spends 6-7 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 For us, I find the length of the day depends on two things:1) how much prep I've done, and 2) the kids motivation. What seems to work best for us is if I set up their work for the day on a clipboard (one for each kid; in order, alternating "work" and a coloring or puzzle sheet), we start first thing with drill and math and move towards the "more fun" crafts, free reading, science projects, and piano. They can be done with the "have-tos" in under 2 hours (including 30min of reading for the 2nd grader). Having those clipboards set makes the day go smoothly. As the first respondent mentioned, having something to motivate the kids is key, too. Right now it's time on the Wii when they are done. If they're still doing lessons at 3pm, no tv or Wii for the day. It's not punitive -- just natural consequences. :D ETA: (3) clear expectations: we do a quick 1min "briefing" each am so each child knows what they need to do that day to be "done". I resist the urge to add after that, though if a kid is struggling I might say, "how about we do half of that today and save the rest for tomorrow." The clipboards also give the kids a clear indication of their progress and satisfaction when they "turn in" that last sheet for the day! So do you rip pages out of workbooks? We are currently using ETC, HWOT, Dev Early Learning, etc. The thought of ripping makes me cringe, but if it is the easiest way to organize, I may have to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyz Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 So do you rip pages out of workbooks? We are currently using ETC, HWOT, Dev Early Learning, etc. The thought of ripping makes me cringe, but if it is the easiest way to organize, I may have to! We rip pages out of workbooks because it makes it easier to write in them. I keep a binder and then put them all together in a binder. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Thank you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 We use a lot of workbooks and I don't tear anything up. Instead, I list the workbook and pages to be completed on the weekly assignment sheet. For example, DS had this for his reading comprehension this week: Monday Spectrum Reading p. 24 - 25 Tuesday Nonfiction Reading p. 22 - 23 Wednesday Spectrum Reading p. 26 - 27 Thursday Spectrum Reading p. 28 - 29 He just goes to "his" shelf and finds the right book and does the assigned pages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I homeschool 3 boys...4th,3rd and K. 4th grader takes 4 hrs 3rd grader takes 3hrs K'er takes "maybe" an hour but is often listening in or doing crafty stuff while we work. He only does math, HWOT, FLL and HOP...it's all 1st grade stuff so maybe that's why it takes 1 hour :) This doesn't include physed, music, art...or the book club we belong to, coop, library trips or extracurriculars. On coop day though (2x/mth), ds 4th grade does math...that's it. brownie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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