Your schedule for teaching high school?

[swimmermom3]

We have been back from the holiday break for two days and I am already toast. I have said this before but I don't think I worked as hard in graduate school with a part time job, a toddler, pregnant again as I do now. But then I was 14 years younger in graduate school.

 

What does your schedule look like that keeps you sane and motivated to bring energy and inspiration to the table every day? I am embarrassed to admit this, but folks, I think I need a nap when we are done with school. I serve breakfast at 7am and read to the two that are home at this time. We work until 2:30-3pm with an hour lunch break. I had to go to an hour so that I would actually eat lunch instead of just correct the morning's papers. Three o'clock usually has to be the cut-off because of swim practices. The afternoon is devoted to driving, cleaning, and cooking. Dinner hits the table about 6:30pm. At this point, I work with the one child in ps on their math and my oldest one on other work as necessary. There is still prepping, correcting and personal study for the next day. Having a senior along with a 7th grader has taken the work load up several notches. The only option I can see is to not be so hands on. How does one do that?

[amtmcm]

I grade all of my DD11 work as she completes it, but I let DD14 grade her own daily work. We usually sit together to grade and discuss her tests and papers. DD14 and I share an office space, so I'm frequently in the room when she's grading and I spot check her work, but it's still her responsibility and she doesn't have free time until the grading is completed. Can you pass on some of the grading to your kids to lighten your load a bit?

 

ETA: I'm also noticing you customized your DS's curriculum for history and science. I've done that and it's really time consuming to keep up with. It may not be an issue with only 1 at home next year (when your senior graduates) but if you have two at home next year you may want to look for more open & go type curriculum.

Edited January 5, 2011 by amtmcm

[Susan C.]

Lisa,

I'm so there with you. I remember when I had a 7th and 11th grader, then 8th and 12th. Those were two hard years. Now I have a college junior living at home, and hsing a junior. The only way I can cope is to correct until wee hours, then sleep in while dd starts her day. (The two years above I was known to be up until 4 am getting everything ready, and they had "open and go" curriculum). I have one friend who gets up in the middle of the night to do stuff, then goes back to bed. She said it was better than to just lay there and fret. I tried to be more hands off this year, and I literally spent weeks catching it all up because it didn't work. It was a very big mess to clean up.... I need to look at/correct everything, grade tests, assign what is to be done, pick books to read etc. Dd has enough to do without trying to figure out what she needs to do. I caught her trying to make a computer schedule, the problem is, she got more into the scheduling than the work... And she has no time to correct, that would add to her full day. I think it is hard for a homeschooler to handle it all, and dd finally told me about a month ago that she really needed clear direction so she could just do the work.

 

I was just asking myself today "is there any way I can condense things?" Dd does school from morning til bedtime. It gets old. And its not healthy to just be in books all of the time. Our church sponsored the Extreme Makeover rally tonight because they are doing a build in our county. Dd really wanted to go, so we went. There will be a big mess because of it (we hadn't gone over her work and gotten things ready for tomorrow), but you have to live a little, right? (We were hoping to go one day and help with the build, but you have to be 18 y/o). I have done threads in the past about how to do less of each subject to regain a life, and it always ends up we need to do it all... SO..... I will be all ears to see if anyone comes up with any great ideas!!

[1Togo]

Been there, done that (at least a version of that). We now have one left at home, but I'm working with new methods and materials for next year (See #8. Sigh.), so I have a lot of personal study to do. In addition, this child is very involved in music, so I am her practice/accountability partner. It's hands on all the way. Also, I am always on the go driving to lessons, etc. There are other family commitments going on in the background. I wouldn't change a thing, but I'm as busy now as I was with three to homeschool.

 

Here is a list of stategies that I have used at various times:

 

1. Made a realistic decision about how much I could teach. When I had elementary, junior high and high school students with everybody needing help, most of my teaching time was devoted to English skills; i.e. composition, grammar, literature discussion, outlining, notetaking, etc. The olders had to use curriculum that was self-teaching for science, foreign language, etc. We used textbook courses on occasion (and not always the most rigorous) and a few online courses.

 

2. Made a realistic decision about how many weeks I could go before I reached break point. At various times, it's been four weeks with one week off or six weeks with two weeks off. With only one, we work eight weeks full on and then have one week to get everything wrapped up. Then, we take a week off.

 

3. Condensed subjects. History and English became lots of reading and a few papers.

 

4. Rotated subjects. Reading, writing and English were the only daily subjects. Science might be three days per week; i.e. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, for a longer time period, with another subject for for Thursday, Friday, and Monday. Then, the back to science.

 

5. Used a college schedule. One semester of intense work for a subject rather than an entire year.

 

#3,4, and 5 helped me because I didn't have so many subjects to track and grade on a daily basis.

 

6. Used any weeks off and holiday breaks to get ahead with meals. (I still do this.) For example, we took a month off during Christmas, and I stocked the freezer with meals - five batches of chili and spaghetti sauce, several types of soup, batches of beans, etc. Yes, I was working when others were playing (aargh!), but I am loving it now because I only have to put together salads and sides. At times, I've just worked out menus for the month with shopping lists, but planning meals ahead helps keep my sanity and the family budget.

 

7. Our older students were able to use their math textbooks without any input from me, but dd needs more support, so I work the lessons ahead of her. This really helps lower the tension with math because I am not trying to figure out how to help in the moment. Since we've always used the same math, I wish I had worked through the textbooks when we first started and kept my work. (See #8. Sigh.)

 

8. Find your method and stick with it. Enough said.

 

Finally, I've been talking with other homeschool mothers about these issues, and I offer this as my homeschool golden nugget: Only schedule what you have time and energy to supervise. It's better to have a small body of work done well than lots of do-overs. For many years, our children worked only on core skills and developing the ability to be disciplined and work independently. That came at different ages for each one.

 

Btw, I am following my own advice, and we've started the new year by streamlining, eliminating, focusing on skills rather than content. Since I've walked this road before, I know what is needed for independent and competent work at the high school level. Trying to get that from a student who isn't ready is like putting the square peg...

 

P.S. End school in time for your nap or quiet time. Listen to Jessie Wise's audio lecture on what she would do differently. She mentions that she had a quiet time every day, even when SWB and siblings were older. She rested, and her students were expected to stay in their rooms to read, draw, etc.

Edited January 5, 2011 by 1Togo

[1Togo]

P.S.S. Searching my memories of previous high school years and similar to antmcm, I did "check out," an idea from SOW author, with ds's during the high school years. Every day, before everyone ran off for lessons, activities and/or work, I sat down with each student, and we went over the work for the day. Some of it was quick; i.e. I looked at the math lesson for errors and reworks, checked the grammar or history work with the ak or tm, and some of the "check out" time was more involved; i.e. going through a composition. Their planners were already set for the next day, but "check out" time provided an opportunity for adjustments or adding in corrections/revisions. Of course, this meant that we couldn't schedule schoolwork down to the minute of running out the door, but "check out" worked well for our students when they were working independently - students on track and me in the loop.

[regentrude]

I am not as hands on by necessity: I work 25 hours a week. So my kids have to be independent. Between them, they get 2-3 hours instructional time with a parent per day.

DD takes an outside class; math is done with me or dad twice a week, independently the rest; French with me; English and History she does on her own with me as a discussion partner (often on weekends or afternoons in the car).

She is expected to work 5 hours a day (1 hour per core subject); how she divides her time is her choice.

They can read and we have audio books - so I don't read TO them.

 

One huge time saver: I do not grade papers. Math gets corrected right away, but all other subjects have no daily assignments that produce paper. They read a lot, write occasional essays and do projects, and those are evaluated. I may briefly look over their notes form their history or science readings. I know they are doing the work, so I see no necessity in having a sheet of paper to prove it.

 

DS works with me on physics and Latin; on math with dad 2 times /week; history/English on his own.

 

I see myself more as a facilitator who provides material, explanations and feedback as a teacher who feeds them the material.

[BlsdMama]

Concentrated teaching time with the olders in the AM with what you must cover so they can work independently while you're busy or sidetracked.

 

This year has been harder than any year so far as we also have a new high schooler, a 6th grader, and then several younger children. I'm blessed that our newly turned 7yo took it upon herself to learn how to read on her own last year so that took one thing off my plate. :D

 

1. Concentrated teaching time as above.

2. Make sure they can and will work indpendently.

3. I went back to Rod & Staff grammar because it's more independent.

4. My high schooler is EXTREMELY independent.

5. Most of my concentration is on my sixth grader right now.

6. I've minimized what the younger children do down to the basics and read aloud from a variety of good books.

7. This year the oldest does Latin at our co-op with a Latin teacher. This has helped IMMENSELY.

8. Do what they did in the one room school house - have the older kids help the youngers! My dd can teach Latin to CJ better than I can. My son needs the extra drill on spelling so Liz and Christian can drill orally on Spelling. I have the 6th grader & the 3rd grader read aloud to the younger set as well.

 

I've simplified as much as possible I guess. Most days I'm still trying to cram 28 hours into 24, but it'll all get done... Always working but stressing out over it will only burn us out completely. Then where would we be? You can only do what you can do.

[Nicole M]

Are you feeling any better today? I've been thinking about you. There were some great replies here.

 

I read your post very early this morning before I scooted to work. I'm home, just wrapping up lunch, and now we're about to start lessons together, at 2pm, and we'll go until bedtime, taking a break for dinner. So yeah, I get the fatigue thing. Though it was much harder when I was schooling the two, who are the same age difference as your two. In retrospect, that was one of the hardest chapters of my whole life. It's only a chapter of your life, and you are doing a terrific job.

 

:grouphug:

[Mom2boys]

Lisa,

I'm so there with you. I remember when I had a 7th and 11th grader, then 8th and 12th. Those were two hard years.

 

 

Yikes! I'm dreading next year, when I'll have a 5th and 9th grader. But I thought it would get easier as they got older, and by the time they reached 7th and 11th, my load would be lighter. :glare:

[8filltheheart]

 

What does your schedule look like that keeps you sane and motivated ?

 

 

 

Have you ever noticed my avatar? Sanity is over-rated. :D

 

Seriously, my schedule resembles:

 

"It's always tea-time, and we have no time to wash the things between whiles." (Madhatter)

 

"Then, you keep moving around I suppose? "(Alice)

 

"Exactly so, as The things get used up." (Madhatter)

 

"But what happens when you come to the beginning again?" (Alice)

 

"Suppose we change the subject. I am getting tired of this." (Madhatter)

 

I just try to imagine how empty my life would be w/o the much of the muchness. and try to simplify the parts of my life that I can (crockpot meals, etc)

[Kalypso]

Have you ever noticed my avatar? Sanity is over-rated. :D

 

Seriously, my schedule resembles:

 

 

 

I just try to imagine how empty my life would be w/o the much of the muchness. and try to simplify the parts of my life that I can (crockpot meals, etc)

 

 

I really enjoyed your post this morning. The "much of the muchness" is the only thing that keeps me going some days. :)

[Nicole M]

Lisa, dear, you've exceeded your private message storage again. Check your regular email, please.

[swimmermom3]

I grade all of my DD11 work as she completes it, but I let DD14 grade her own daily work. We usually sit together to grade and discuss her tests and papers. DD14 and I share an office space, so I'm frequently in the room when she's grading and I spot check her work, but it's still her responsibility and she doesn't have free time until the grading is completed. Can you pass on some of the grading to your kids to lighten your load a bit?

 

ETA: I'm also noticing you customized your DS's curriculum for history and science. I've done that and it's really time consuming to keep up with. It may not be an issue with only 1 at home next year (when your senior graduates) but if you have two at home next year you may want to look for more open & go type curriculum.

 

There is some basic correcting work that I could turn over as long as it does not add too much to their already full schedules. I will need to look at that. Your point about the curriculum is a good one; however, it was in place when the oldest made the decision to come home. I think I feel a bit demotivated by the fact that the youngest has given up some of the best activities to make sure I have time for working with his older sibling.

 

Lisa,

I'm so there with you. I remember when I had a 7th and 11th grader, then 8th and 12th. Those were two hard years. Now I have a college junior living at home, and hsing a junior. The only way I can cope is to correct until wee hours, then sleep in while dd starts her day. (The two years above I was known to be up until 4 am getting everything ready, and they had "open and go" curriculum). I have one friend who gets up in the middle of the night to do stuff, then goes back to bed. She said it was better than to just lay there and fret. I tried to be more hands off this year, and I literally spent weeks catching it all up because it didn't work. It was a very big mess to clean up.... I need to look at/correct everything, grade tests, assign what is to be done, pick books to read etc. Dd has enough to do without trying to figure out what she needs to do. I caught her trying to make a computer schedule, the problem is, she got more into the scheduling than the work... And she has no time to correct, that would add to her full day. I think it is hard for a homeschooler to handle it all, and dd finally told me about a month ago that she really needed clear direction so she could just do the work.

 

I was just asking myself today "is there any way I can condense things?" Dd does school from morning til bedtime. It gets old. And its not healthy to just be in books all of the time. Our church sponsored the Extreme Makeover rally tonight because they are doing a build in our county. Dd really wanted to go, so we went. There will be a big mess because of it (we hadn't gone over her work and gotten things ready for tomorrow), but you have to live a little, right? (We were hoping to go one day and help with the build, but you have to be 18 y/o). I have done threads in the past about how to do less of each subject to regain a life, and it always ends up we need to do it all... SO..... I will be all ears to see if anyone comes up with any great ideas!!

 

Oh Susan, you definitely have been there.:grouphug: I am thinking that the solutions do not lie in simple schedule changes or better organization even though I asked about scheduling. I couldn't think of a polite way to ask "What's wrong with this household?":tongue_smilie:Here, I am the bus driver and my passengers include four type B personalities. Or at least that is the way I perceive them. I could have a heart attack just waiting for one of them to move from one room to the other. Now there comes a point when every bus driver needs a break, even a short one, and either the bus comes to a grinding halt or another driver takes over. Dh's hands are beyond full at work and he may be at a point where we will have even less of him than we do now. That leaves the kids. Since I first wrote this thread, it has dawned on me that I have not done a good enough job in teaching the kids to drive themselves and this is part of why we are struggling right now. bluntly, for too long we have used my energy to propel this family and I forgot to keep some in reserve.:blushing: Does this make any sense?

[Susan C.]

 

 

 

Oh Susan, you definitely have been there.:grouphug: I am thinking that the solutions do not lie in simple schedule changes or better organization even though I asked about scheduling. I couldn't think of a polite way to ask "What's wrong with this household?":tongue_smilie:Here, I am the bus driver and my passengers include four type B personalities. Or at least that is the way I perceive them. I could have a heart attack just waiting for one of them to move from one room to the other. Now there comes a point when every bus driver needs a break, even a short one, and either the bus comes to a grinding halt or another driver takes over. Dh's hands are beyond full at work and he may be at a point where we will have even less of him than we do now. That leaves the kids. Since I first wrote this thread, it has dawned on me that I have not done a good enough job in teaching the kids to drive themselves and this is part of why we are struggling right now. bluntly, for too long we have used my energy to propel this family and I forgot to keep some in reserve.:blushing: Does this make any sense?

 

I get it! That was my rant the ENTIRE vacation!! It seems like I propel it all over here. I made my scene (don't like that approach, but it does get attention), high screeching voice and all, and ds (college) made himself in charge of the dishes, and every day I gave each person a task to complete. It is a tiny bit better, but I am very backlogged. The rant was why do I have to do all of this? Everyone is big now (no young kids). The family will be watching a movie, and I will be doing the checks, laundry, cooking, school all at once..... ummmmmm. Dd and I are more Type A, ds is a toss up, and dh is Type B.

 

A few things that help (when we do them, sometimes I do get tired of being task master): When things are backlogged, we "do the five" which is everyone does five things that need to be done around the house everyday. It can go down to less when things get caught up. I haven't moved this philosophy over to homeschool, but it gets people racing to take the trash out (one thing can be large or small, so everyone races to take care of the small stuff quickly, which is exactly what I want). I do bargains like give five points to mow the lawn, or vacuum the entire house. It does help get everyone doing something so I don't feel like a slave. It is a work in progress, and part of training the dc for life when they move out.

 

For school, I have the "do something in each subject every day and write it in the log book" thing for when I get too swamped to give directions of what to do. This takes care of the "you didn't tell me what to do so I didn't do anything".... You might get the easy punctuation and capitalization chapters done out of order (easier, but qualifies as something), but things get done, and then when your whole life seems to be falling apart, at least some school happened.

 

You probably know all of this. For me, sometimes homeschooling and normal "mom" duties can get to be too much. You are discussing literature with your dc while stressing about the stack of laundry, dishes, dinner to prepare, etc. Since I'm editing, I get to comment about what is after this :) and say I'm so glad you got a moment to recharge and listen to Jessie. I may need to listen to that as well! One time I was fried, and everyone was in bed, and I stayed up and watched a movie all by myself, wonderful. Start to finish, no phone, no one needing me for anything, ahhhhh! I also agree wholeheartedly with the posters who said that our lives would be empty without the muchness. So true. When the house is clean and we are caught up, it will be empty, and that will be sad!

Edited January 7, 2011 by Susan C.
condensed the rant :) and added

[swimmermom3]

:001_wub: I so appreciate this board. Thank you all for taking the time our of your busy schedules to respond. I am working through in order, taking notes, and hopefully formulating somewhat intelligent replies, but first, I don't want to leave Greta with the wrong impression!

 

Yikes! I'm dreading next year, when I'll have a 5th and 9th grader. But I thought it would get easier as they got older, and by the time they reached 7th and 11th, my load would be lighter. :glare:

 

Greta, I didn't mean to panic you. You will be fine next year. My situation is a bit unusual in that most people don't start home schooling a high school student in 12th grade like I am. This also happens to be the only child I have never home schooled before so I had very little idea what her strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes would be. She suffers from severe depression which makes cc courses not really an option and she is only 5.5 credits away from graduation. Gulp! It's a weird situation and out of the norm, so please, again, do not panic!

 

Bonita, this part is for you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your posts. You helped me clear away some of the fog that is a direct result from feeling overwhelmed. I had a rare hour alone this afternoon and spent it listening to Jessie Wise's lecture that you recommended. I wasn't sure what to expect because Jessie and I come from opposite angles in some respects but darn it all, I was teary there at the end when she said that if she could do it over again, she would. That is exactly how I feel even though things seem so hard right now and the majority of the people in our real world think we are absolutely nuts. I am just not used to being considered a nutcase. :D I expected Jessie lecture to be all about the things they did right; I appreciated hearing her regrets and her fears. It was reassuring to not feel so alone in some aspects.

 

About your first point in being realistic about much I can teach, this needs to be examined. I am in the bad habit of pruning our studies back only to find yet something else worthwhile to add. Dd's World History class probably does not need to be much more than her TC lectures, timelines, and mapping. My whole point was for her to fill in the gaps in her world history knowledge and to set the context for her more demanding study of world literature. Like you, we devote much of our time to the English skills as well. I employ Nan in Mass's theory of teaching "thinking" in one major subject so our LA tends to be very hands on.

 

I always seem to start these responses during the dinner hour and am afraid of losing what I have written so far. Back shortly.

[1Togo]

Lisa,

 

Homeschooling would be easy if we all had self-motivated students, and had a clear game plan for the beginning, and began from day one with each of our students, and our students didn't struggle with some aspect of learning, and we didn't struggle with some aspect of keeping it all together, and we weren't taking care of senior parents and..., but that isn't the case for most of us. Instead, we're trying to mesh our vision of homeschooling and family with a variety of challenges and needs, and it's often learn-as-we-go.

 

One idea I got from Julie Bogart (btw, check out her blog for homeschool encouragement and reassurance) -- plan the year and take out 1/3. Of course, I usually take out the 1/3 after we get going. :tongue_smilie:

 

Like Regentrude, the one hour per subject rule worked for us with our independent learners, which means five hours for five subjects, and if we only had five hours for the core subjects because of other commitments, I couldn't expect to get in that art lesson or that extra book on....

 

I am changing direction of this thread, but as I plan for high school next year, I have hit the wall of reality -- most curriculum expects the high school student to have solid English skills in place before high school; i.e. write an essay on X, Y or Z, write one history, science, and lit essay per week (WTM), and so it goes. While the student may be refining her essay writing or reviewing grammar skills, the focus shifts because core subjects like math, science, foreign language, literature, especially if you use a lit approach, take more time. So, now I am faced with taking out more than 1/3 as we strengthen the basics; i.e. math, English (grammar, composition, poetry, vocabulary) and reading. All of that is taking most of the day.

Edited January 7, 2011 by 1Togo

[GMB]

Lisa:

 

Finding balance in homeschooling has been a challenge for me, and only one of my 2 children is homeschooled. My oldest, DS17, is in ps and my youngest, DD14, is in homeschool. Meanwhile, I work 20 hours a week in an internship. Since we began homeschool a year ago, I have assumed the role of tutor/facilitator. Last year it was a no-brainer decision because DD14 was in an online academy.

 

This year I did my best to select a curriculum approximating a classical model. By Christmas, I realized that the History/Lit/Geography study guide was sapping her academic enthusiasm. So last weekend, I made a change and adapted its reading list to a more palatable plan for DD14. For me, homeschooling is easier when I tailor my expectations and curriculum choices to fit my child and my schedule.

 

Each morning I give DD14 a written daily assignment sheet. I attempt to have preview discussions the night before, but her acceptance is hit or miss. I call from work (3 days a week) for a check-in on progress. By phone or when home, I function as an available tutor or facilitator: I answer questions, clarify assignments, and try to prompt DD14 to stay on schedule while I do internship work or housework. I try to grade Algebra work daily and I do not assign numerous problems for drill. I only assign problems that will show me she masters concepts. I grade Biology study guides (Apologia) as soon as she completes them and tests as soon as she takes them; lab is in a co-op. Because she has shown proficiency with logic, I'm pretty lax about grading it when I can. I read Great Books as she does and initiate discussions any time. I also rely on family strengths: DH is a history and law buff; I'm a math buff; grandmother will facilitate Odyssey discussions this year and tutor Latin I next year; former editor/author grandfather can mark up compositions and research papers.

 

It really disrupts my mojo when DD14 fails to meet my expectations (i.e., timeliness), but I'm learning the freedom of permitting her to experience the consequences of her choices (i.e., poor time management means missed opportunities and a longer school year). I felt like a failure for a few days around Christmas because my daughter was less than halfway through the History/Lit/Geography study guide I purchased. Visits to this site challenged me to re-examine my expectations. The study guide had previously directed my expectations, but it was not written with direct knowledge of my child's learning style and intelligence. A week ago, I altered my expectations (and DD14's History/Lit/geography assignments) to reflect her intelligence, creativity, and learning style. I think flexibility is the beauty of homeschool, but my realm pales in comparison to those of you who homeschool multiple children.

[AngieW in Texas]

Wow, your kids are almost all the same ages as mine.

 

My 17yo is taking almost everything at the local cc. The only thing she is doing at home this semester is Thinkwell Economics (did Thinkwell Government last semester). She's easy for me because all I have to do is make sure that the car is available for her to go to class or drop her off if I need the car while she's in class.

 

My 15yo is very independent. I do one of her courses as a class (physics). I actually have one other student who comes to my house for this. Physics class meets for 1.5 hours, 2x/week. Aside from that, my dd does everything independently. Her math program is on the computer. The only portion of her math program that doesn't have immediate feedback does have an answer key and she checks that herself. She has me read her history and English papers as soon as she's finished with them (and sometimes while they're in progress if she needs feedback).

 

I do nearly everything with my 12yo. She takes a fashion design class that meets 1x/week, but my 17yo drops her off and picks her up since it happens to be right during my physics class. My schedule mostly revolves around her. She starts off with reading and guitar practice (that's my free time in the morning). Then around 10:30 I do 15 minutes of math followed by spelling and history with her. If she hasn't delayed things too much, we can also get science done too. Then she goes with my 15yo to take care of a neighbor's dogs and comes back home to eat lunch. Around 1 or 1:30 we start back up with another 20 minutes of math followed by science (if we didn't get it done before lunch) and readaloud. On the day that she has her class, she doesn't get home until 11:15 (right after my physics class ends), so we just do guitar practice, 15 minute math, spelling, history, and 20 minute math. On the other day that I teach, she spends the time that I'm teaching doing reading, guitar practice, and writing.

 

My 12yo generally finished up with her schoolwork around 2 or 2:30 and then we go to the gym. My 15yo usually works until 4-4:30pm except on Fridays (usually finishes by 2 then).