Another "How long is your school-day" thread...

[sahm99]

We are drowning. Again. I want to do too much. We are exhausted.

...I said it...:001_huh:

 

Please, share with me how much time your middle grade student spends on "serious concentrated seatwork" - not including reading (tons of that going on here anyways), and potential read-aloudse (also lots of that...).

 

I am trying to stuff so much on my kids' plate, that I will try to roll it up from the other side: decide how much work (timewise) can reasonably be expected from the student...I will then start the "lightening-the-load-part".

 

...btw, you can probably guess that I am (heavily:lol:) leaning towards a challenging course of study...but, still, "somewhat" reasonable...

 

...I just wanted to add another question: do you call it quits after a certain amount of time, or do you go on, until the day's goals (subject- and content-wise) are reached?

 

Thanks!

Edited January 18, 2011 by sahm99

[patchfire]

I'll answer your last question first. I know my daughter pretty well, and if I've assigned a reasonable amount of work in a resource she's been using regularly, then we will put it away when "time's up," and if it's not finished, it's probably because of her dawdling or similar problems on her part. In that case, she has to finish it after the "schoolday" is over. If it's because it's a new resource or, upon reflection, I was expecting too much work in one day, then we stop, and she finishes it up the next day.

 

Dd does, most days, 7 45-minute blocks of work, so 5h15min. That does not involve literature reading. It might involve history or science depending on the day's assignment, but usually even if they include a book to read, that's not all of the assignment. She does less work on Fridays because of a webinar and band, spends Mondays at a homeschool enrichment program all day (so only math gets done at home), and her day is extended a little on Wednesdays when we go to another outside class later in the afternoon.

[Laura Corin]

Calvin used to work Monday to Friday from 9-5. This included 90 minutes of break time, one hour of PE, and half an hour of music practice, so actual sit-down work was about five hours a day. His curriculum from last year is still in my siggy. He would work on set reading in the evenings and at weekends.

 

I used to set his work for the week and it was up to him how he completed it. He sometimes managed it before Friday 5pm, but he sometimes had a bit to do at weekends instead.

 

Laura

[Colleen in NS]

Please, share with me how much time your middle grade student spends on "serious concentrated seatwork" - not including reading (tons of that going on here anyways), and potential read-aloudse (also lots of that...).

 

do you call it quits after a certain amount of time, or do you go on, until the day's goals (subject- and content-wise) are reached?

 

 

My grade 7 student spends about four hours a day, four days a week, on math/grammar/writing/Latin/logic skills work. This includes going over lessons with me or dh, giving oral answers where possible, and doing any independent work (math problems, grammar diagrams, writing outlines/rewrites, trans. English to Latin, corrections). He spends about three hours, one day a week, on content subjects like history, science, art/music appreciation, art skills, writing letters, and a few other misc. things. During this time he does things like taking notes, putting dates on the outline, doing an experiment, doing a periodic table workbook activity, etc. (we also don't do history/science on the same day as art stuff - those alternate).

 

I call it quits when the work is done for that day. Occasionally I will let something slide til the next day, but then I have to rework something else. I find if I don't keep up with the schedule I have mapped out for things like R&S grammar and math, and for Henle Latin, we will get behind for the year. If something slides, it's usually writing.

[Mom22ns]

My 5th grader is in school from 7:30-1:30 5 days/week. My 8th grader is in school 6:00-2:30 5 days/week. That does include a 30 minute read-aloud and 30-45 min/day of time spent on a "reader". Right now ds is reading the Hobbit for LL8 and Adam of the Road for SL, so he is probably spending more time than that reading.

 

The things the kids do with me are math 1 hr, science 1 hr, writing 45 min, history 30 min, Spanish and Logic alternate days 30 min each. Everything else they do on their own and how long it takes varies more.

[JudoMom]

My older two have 5-6 hours of work a day. This does include the history & literature readings for SL 6. If I subtracted that out, I think they'd average 4-5 hours a day.

 

They have to finish their weeks' work before they can have any Wii/computer game time on the weekend.

[Tohru]

We loop schedule and only school from 9am-1pm, which includes a lunch and snack break. Ds has the rest of the afternoon to pursue his own interests and pretty much does whatever he wants (without electronics). Field trips and extracurricular activities are only in the afternoon. We school 5 days a week, year around, 6 weeks on -1 week off. He's starting to do high school level work now.

[Mommee & Baba]

On average our school days run about 3.5-4hrs of work.

[Stacy in NJ]

work about 5 hours per day. We school from 9-12 and then again from 1-3. My 8th grader frequently has a bit of homework on the weekends (finishing a lab report, studying for a science test, completing a composition assignment, making up a Spanish assignment missed during the week).

 

I think it's pretty hard to quantify time spent on task. It varies so very much by student. My oldest is a very fast worker (too fast); my younger guy is more a slow and steady kid.

 

My 8th grader's schedule (all times are approximate):

 

Morning work:

30 minutes reading (assigned)

30 minutes on grammar

1 hour on science

1 hour on math

 

After lunch:

1 hour on history (3 days per week) or composition (2 days)(alternating)

30 minutes on Spanish (3 days per week) or geography (2 days)(alternating)

30 minutes on test prep

 

Most afternoons he has outside activities (swimming, guitar lessons, Aikido, bowling), so our days are actually pretty full.

 

My 6th grader schedule:

 

Morning work:

45 minutes on Math

45 minutes on History (3 days) or Science (2 days)

15 minutes on spelling

20 minutes on grammar

30 minutes on geography (3 days) or dictation (2 days)

30 minutes on reading

 

After lunch:

30 minutes on drawing (2 days) or logic (3 days)

20 minutes on memory work (3 days) or Bible (2 days)

30 minutes on free read (his choice)

 

He also as afternoon activites: fencing and bowling.

 

HTH, Stacy

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Wow-- Ok based on your other replies I am using my right to remain silent and lets just say you are not alone :blush:

 

 

Lets just say its more than what anybody else has posted :001_huh:

[funschooler5]

My 7th grader spends about 4-5 hours of seatwork, a little more if she is having difficulty, or has to do something over again.

 

M/W/F she has: Grammar, History, Latin, Math (Teaching Textbooks), Math (Life of Fred), Literature, Math drills (just fun online stuff), Geography, and a public school art class. Fridays she also does Mind Benders.

 

T/Th she has: Writing (Wordsmith), Art of Argument, Building Thinking Skills, Math (TT), Math (LoF), Literature, Science (which is pretty much just reading a science book of her choice, watching a movie, or doing a project), and her art class.

[AllSmiles]

We school from 8-3 (and sometimes a little later) here. If the day is dragging on because my kids haven't stayed on task, I generally require that they keep working until they are finished. If, however, the day is dragging on because they were really struggling with a particular topic or we had something come up, I'm likely to rework our schedule and cut the day a little short.

[Jyniffrec]

Our heavy load work days are Monday and Wednesday. If something doesn't get done on the heavy load days then it gets moved to Tuesday or Thursday along with their other work for that day. Friday is the day that work gets moved to if we haven't completed the work for the week. I also require Math and Grammar on Fridays. We can easily work from 8-4 depending on how much they have dragged their feet through the day. It all balances out in the end and the work gets done.

[at the beach]

We are drowning. Again. I want to do too much. We are exhausted.

...I said it...:001_huh:

 

Please, share with me how much time your middle grade student spends on "serious concentrated seatwork" - not including reading (tons of that going on here anyways), and potential read-aloudse (also lots of that...).

 

I am trying to stuff so much on my kids' plate, that I will try to roll it up from the other side: decide how much work (timewise) can reasonably be expected from the student...I will then start the "lightening-the-load-part".

 

...btw, you can probably guess that I am (heavily:lol:) leaning towards a challenging course of study...but, still, "somewhat" reasonable...

 

...I just wanted to add another question: do you call it quits after a certain amount of time, or do you go on, until the day's goals (subject- and content-wise) are reached?

 

Thanks!

 

For my 8th grader, we aim for an hour a day for history, lit, science, math, and Latin. German takes about 40 minutes per day. Then we add in music practice. It feels like a lot sometimes, especially when she is working on a paper. She does free reading but the time spent on lit for her online class is included in that hour per day. She does have online class time, too. We've discovered pretty quickly this year that we need to keep to a minimum classes that have online lecture time. OTOH, we have discovered that she loves the online classes that are go at your own pace like OSU German and don't have meeting times. I would like to keep her academics to about 5 hours per day so that she has plenty of time to pursue her own interests.

 

For my 5th grader, she is academically reluctant when it comes to seat work. Math is about 30 minutes per day. Copywork and L/A stuff another 30. But we do play math games and board games. Then, there's art. Reading and read alouds take more time but that's more like sit on the couch time. She loves doing science experiments. We add in listening to classical music, playing violin, exercising. But seat work for math and language arts? Only about an hour. We are doing a CM approach for the most part right now. This is working for her, and she is learning a lot even though it seems fairly light. I keep in mind that homeschooling IMO should be more efficient than kids going to a regular school.

 

However, based on what you have said above, it doesn't really matter how long the rest of us are spending on school work, what you are doing appears to be too much for you. You said you are drowning and exhausted. That's not good for anyone. So, if I were in your shoes, I would be looking for an approach to homeschooling that would work for me in my home. One book that has helped me is put things in perspective is The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook by the Moores. Also, Ambleside Online, Mater Amabilis, and Simply Charlotte Mason are some CM sites that have helped me tremendously. I think that utilizing a CM approach can significantly reduce stress levels and increase joy and learning.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Trish]

About 3 hours of actual working time.

[elegantlion]

We do 3-4 hours, not counting reading. We should be doing about 4-5, but we've had a rough year. I've modified our schedule to a weekly list instead of a daily list, that way when we're in the groove we can work longer.

[Lady Florida.]

My 7th grader spends 3-4 hours a day, four days a week. This includes any hands on or lab work, so it isn't just seat work. No two days look the same, and no two weeks look the same. The 5th day, Friday, we use to catch up on anything he needs to finish up. If he doesn't have anything to finish, or projects to work on, then he has the day off. We are however, relaxed schoolers.

[PeterPan]

I'm trying to keep it under 6 hours, and that includes some pleasantries (puzzles and logic games, etc.) but NOT her reading. Have you made a schedule and put each kid in it, so you can tell exactly who should be doing what, when? I had to do that this year for the first time. I'm not a hyper-organized person, but it helps me stay more balanced to have actually figured out yes, I need her do work independently for one hour if I want that time with ds, that type thing. The bummer is that things (always, haha) take longer than you schedule. Sometimes they're shorter, but that's a fluke. But at least when you make out a schedule and TRY to put some realistic time expectations to it you can figure out if you're even close.

 

The other thing we're doing this year that is working REALLY well is daily work packets. All her work for Monday is stapled together, all the work for Tuesday together, etc. So the expectations are clear and upfront. It takes some time over the weekend, but it has improved our flow immeasurably. So I took that time schedule I made (paragraph above) and used that to assemble the packets. No dreaming or grand intentions or over-reaches. Just reasonable expectations. The cool thing is, if you flub up you just rip it out, hehe. But in general, it's working out for us. You might try it. Cleans off your desk too. Lets you feel like you have *1* thing you're doing, not 15 little things, kwim? For the things that don't have worksheets, I make a slip and staple it into the packet. She checks it off when she does it (typing, callirobics, whatever).

 

BTW, we're very much in focus on the basics stage. I don't care if somebody else gets done faster. My kid needs to work that long, and that's how long it takes. I'm totally over this whole comparison game and feeling guilty if my day takes longer. That's cool that somebody else can do 20 subjects in 3 hours. Mine can't. To get to where we need to be, that's what we spend. And we're not doing a lot of romantic stuff. It's writing, math, LA, writing across the curriculum (book reports, paragraphs for science or geography, etc.), the basics. Oh, and that's with lots of toddler interruptions and breaks, which I figure you probably have in your house too, lol. That's another reason this whole gotta be short or you're doing something wrong thing is a crock. Add a toddler to the mix, and EVERYTHING takes longer, ack!!!

 

And yes it's wearing me out. I was up till midnight outlining science and reading about sensory integration. It's just a lot of mental work at this stage! It's tiring to help them through their work while talking pirates with the toddler and catching flying objects. This is definitely harder than the earlier grades.

Edited January 19, 2011 by OhElizabeth

[PeterPan]

Wow-- Ok based on your other replies I am using my right to remain silent and lets just say you are not alone :blush:

 

 

Lets just say its more than what anybody else has posted :001_huh:

 

Feeling better yet? There have been several 6-7 hours since you posted. :D

[PeterPan]

BTW, to answer your original question, I went by time when dd was little. Now I set the quantity and tell her to get it done. If it's taking too long, she clearly needs to do more, not less. We break it up between pages, snacks, etc., but she does it.

 

The key is to start with a spreadsheet schedule so you know if you're even close. Then your gut will tell you what to do and what to chop.

[Capt_Uhura]

The issue I have with this is that I know how efficiently I can get it done, but how efficiently should I expect him to get it done? SOme days we are at 5-6hrs, but of ACTUAL engaged, focused work time, it's probably 3hrs. So much daudling. So while I feel we hit the time limit, I feel what we actually accomplish is quite light. I've been trying to keep a list of engaged times so I can show him how much time is wasted.

[jvenice]

I'll answer your last question first. I know my daughter pretty well, and if I've assigned a reasonable amount of work in a resource she's been using regularly, then we will put it away when "time's up," and if it's not finished, it's probably because of her dawdling or similar problems on her part. In that case, she has to finish it after the "schoolday" is over. If it's because it's a new resource or, upon reflection, I was expecting too much work in one day, then we stop, and she finishes it up the next day.

 

Dd does, most days, 7 45-minute blocks of work, so 5h15min. That does not involve literature reading. It might involve history or science depending on the day's assignment, but usually even if they include a book to read, that's not all of the assignment. She does less work on Fridays because of a webinar and band, spends Mondays at a homeschool enrichment program all day (so only math gets done at home), and her day is extended a little on Wednesdays when we go to another outside class later in the afternoon.

 

This sounds very reasonable to me.

[Capt_Uhura]

I'm trying to keep it under 6 hours, and that includes some pleasantries (puzzles and logic games, etc.) but NOT her reading. Have you made a schedule and put each kid in it, so you can tell exactly who should be doing what, when? I had to do that this year for the first time. I'm not a hyper-organized person, but it helps me stay more balanced to have actually figured out yes, I need her do work independently for one hour if I want that time with ds, that type thing. The bummer is that things (always, haha) take longer than you schedule. Sometimes they're shorter, but that's a fluke. But at least when you make out a schedule and TRY to put some realistic time expectations to it you can figure out if you're even close.

 

 

 

That is what I've come to realize. With HSing two and a 4yr old, it's time to try a schedule. I need to schedule my time w/ each of them, as well as schedule time for each them w/ their 4yr old sis since I have less time for her.

[PeterPan]

That is what I've come to realize. With HSing two and a 4yr old, it's time to try a schedule. I need to schedule my time w/ each of them, as well as schedule time for each them w/ their 4yr old sis since I have less time for her.

 

Bingo. My spreadsheet has 11 columns, so I have all 5 days for dd, all 5 days for ds, and the times so that I can see what anyone should be doing at that time. It was when I did that that I realized I COULDN'T get done her acadmics, as originally conceived, and have the time with ds I needed. Reality check, lol.

[PeterPan]

The issue I have with this is that I know how efficiently I can get it done, but how efficiently should I expect him to get it done? SOme days we are at 5-6hrs, but of ACTUAL engaged, focused work time, it's probably 3hrs. So much daudling. So while I feel we hit the time limit, I feel what we actually accomplish is quite light. I've been trying to keep a list of engaged times so I can show him how much time is wasted.

 

Ok, i'm going to flip this. Instead of telling the child to stop being bad and start focusing (which clearly doesn't help, lol, btdt), how about figuring out what physical changes you can make to help him refocus? We're doing OT stuff like in "The Out of Sync Child" and it seems to be helping.

[dionne3514]

We go to the gym 4 of the weekday mornings, so our day "starts" at 5:50 as I categorize this as PE. (Wednesday is a sleep in until 8:30 day--whew!)

 

But, we too have many challenging subjects, two of which are on line courses through Memoria Press (Latin and Logic) that require chats and tests outside the daily lessons on her own. I hate to say this for fear of those who may think I am too over the top, but many days we go until dinner around 5:30. I know, nearing 12 hours sounds insane!

 

Here's the deal though, we work all day in a "broken continual" cycle--meaning things interfere, we sometime meander, and we are OK with that. But, we don't stop until the daily lesson plans are completed. Also, my husband took over math this year, so my daughter needs to be flexible around his schedule, which is weird since he works hospital shifts.

 

I can't give you a real time value, but here is an example of why: Yesterday the weather was beautiful for mid-January, so we set up our lawn chairs in the backyard and completed a vocabulary review while playing with a bunny rabbit and intermittently stopping her from burrowing in the wood pile, then I had my daughter pick up dogie droppings as we orally invented copia for alternative line endings to a poem in Classical Writings, then she was swinging while I drilled her Latin words for the week. A snack was thrown in there too.

 

So, at the desk--that should have been about 45 minutes worth, but in the backyard it stretched out to almost 2 hours.

 

We pretty much do what we want when we want and for how long we want, but, trust me, it gets done . . . and well! They are long days, but w actually enjoy them.

 

And, if we need to do something outside the house, we reign it in at the desk and get it finished in half the time.

[Colleen in NS]

If it's taking too long, she clearly needs to do more, not less.

 

What does this mean?

[PeterPan]

Well the "she" was my dd, not the op's dc, lol. In our case, I've picked what I feel is a reasonable amount for her to do, knowing what she has covered, etc. We've been off quite a bit, and she was never a speedy gonzales at math to start with. So in our case quantity is one tool to improve proficiency and speed. The fact that she is slow is to me a sign that I need to keep working, not cut the workload. I try to work efficiently, and I am merciful. The work is varied and fits her learning style as well as possible. It does her no good at this stage of her learning if I cut her math time.

 

Besides, I'd have to go check, but she did 6 or 7 pages today in 1:15. It's not like I'm torturing her, lol.

[Colleen in NS]

So in our case quantity is one tool to improve proficiency and speed.

 

I knew you meant your dd. :) I was just confused about what you meant by your statement about how more quantity would improve speed. But now that I read this, I remember you saying, a few years ago, the same thing about writing with her. Thanks for the peek inside her learning life. :) It's interesting to see how families do things and to understand why.

[Leila]

We spend about 5-6 hours of work. I spend an hour in the morning working with him and explaining things. In the afternoon, I spend another hour or less discussing his work in his writing, history or, science. We do experiments together, not because I have to but I actually enjoy doing it with him.It'a a treat for me.:001_smile:

We don't stop at a certain time. He knows his schedule and we both know the reasonable time he should be done. We discuss this before he goes off to do his independent work. We make his schedule together base on the amount of work I am asking to do that day. So some days are long and some are short. If he doesn't finish on the time we agreed he should be, then no rewards or privileges that day, meaning no tv or video games.

[mcconnellboys]

Not counting read alone or read aloud time, just the "written work" sorts of stuff, I'd say 3 hours a day. That said, our school routine is from 8-3:30 daily, and that's pretty hard and fast. Some days are later than that because of outside classes that go later....

[JulieD]

Can I just ask, why aren't we including reading time?:confused:

 

Julie D.

[LisaKinVA]

Can I just ask, why aren't we including reading time?:confused:

 

Julie D.

 

I believe this is extra reading...not reading necessary for history, literature, etc. In our family, lit may take 45 minutes, but the children have a challenge reading list, from which they choose a book and read for an hour or so. It also doesn't include free reading, which is anything they want....twaddle or serious literature.

[PeterPan]

Can I just ask, why aren't we including reading time?:confused:

 

Julie D.

 

She reads so much, I just basically try to keep her in books. I nudge her certain ways or require certain things, but other than that I don't need to plan it. And the things I *do* require I use as deadline assignments, meaning I don't *want* to be the one planning it.

[Colleen in NS]

not including reading (tons of that going on here anyways), and potential read-aloudse (also lots of that...).

 

Can I just ask, why aren't we including reading time?:confused:

 

Julie D.

 

I didn't, because the OP specifically said not to include that.

[JulieD]

I guess I was thinking that reading should be the bulk of a logic student's day. Maybe I'm not balanced enough there? It just seemed like it would be impossible to separate it out.

 

Julie D.

[Elizabeth in MN]

It all depends on my energy level, her stubborn level, and the week. If we are doing the bare minimal then it can take less than an hour. If we are doing a full schedule of everything I have planned then it can take four hours.

[Colleen in NS]

I guess I was thinking that reading should be the bulk of a logic student's day. Maybe I'm not balanced enough there? It just seemed like it would be impossible to separate it out.

 

Julie D.

 

I understand; I was just trying to answer the OP's specific request.

 

If it helps you any...we do have 2-3 hours of reading time here every day. And actually, it is scheduled separately here. We do our academic skills (math, grammar, writing, memory work, Latin, logic, discussions, timelining, experiments, etc.) in about a 4 hour time period each day. We also have a read-alone/play-alone time for two hours after lunch, a read-aloud time before bedtime, and a read-alone time before "lights out."

[Capt_Uhura]

Perhaps this should be a separate thread and if so, OP please say so.....but how much of your time is spent actually engaged/teaching your kids? I was just reading the Robinson Curriculum last night and he said on average, he spent 15 MINUTES each day teaching. 15 minutes. The kids were working for 5hrs each day, each at his own desk. THat would never fly for my kids. Perhaps he is making a distinction between teaching/lecturing vs discussion? I feel like I'm engaged w/ one of my kids all day long. My 10yr old is still in the "parent at elbow" stage as coined by SWB.

[PeterPan]

I guess I was thinking that reading should be the bulk of a logic student's day. Maybe I'm not balanced enough there? It just seemed like it would be impossible to separate it out.

 

Julie D.

 

The bulk? Hmm, I wouldn't have thought of it this way. But we're only doing 6th. Maybe someone else has an opinion? I pretty much have to STOP dd reading to get anything else done. So I stop her reading in the morning to get her to do her textbook science, etc. I think it's as important to DO something with what you're reading as it is to read. They need to synthesize, discuss, write, do a project, etc. Not for every book or all reading obviously, but for certain things definitely. So in that sense there's no way reading can be the bulk of their schoolday, because it takes time to make those other, less natural or less-inclined, things happen.

 

Btw, I have no idea what you're doing and don't mean to step on your toes if that's not how you're doing things. It's a transition, a process, and everybody has their own balance at a given age/stage.

[canadianmomtofour]

Perhaps this should be a separate thread and if so, OP please say so.....but how much of your time is spent actually engaged/teaching your kids? I was just reading the Robinson Curriculum last night and he said on average, he spent 15 MINUTES each day teaching. 15 minutes. The kids were working for 5hrs each day, each at his own desk. THat would never fly for my kids. Perhaps he is making a distinction between teaching/lecturing vs discussion? I feel like I'm engaged w/ one of my kids all day long. My 10yr old is still in the "parent at elbow" stage as coined by SWB.

 

 

With my 10yo I spend 3hrs, 4days/wk. That is 100% one on one time. I always feel badly when I read these threads and hear about 5 to 6 hour days, 5 days a week. I start to think I must not be doing enough, but I have to keep reminding myself that this is what works for my ds and try not to compare. Of course, my 5 & 6yo boys need the same so I hear you when you say you are always engaged. It's exhausting, but necessary.

[Colleen in NS]

With my 10yo I spend 3hrs, 4days/wk. That is 100% one on one time. I always feel badly when I read these threads and hear about 5 to 6 hour days, 5 days a week.

 

Oh, don't feel bad - everyone is going to do this differently, based on what they think is important for their child and on how to manage their whole family. Three hours of one-on-one will probably reap big rewards in later years. My 12 year old doesn't have some of the "independence" that other 12 year olds have, but he does have some, and his one-on-one time with me has gone down in the past year or so - he spends maybe 2 - 2.5 hours with me or dh in instruction time, and the rest of the time is him doing his independent work, assigned after we've gone over new concepts or whatever.

Edited January 22, 2011 by Colleen in NS
had to change something to reflect reality

[Amy loves Bud]

For my 5th grade, 10 year old daughter this is our schedule:

 

9-11:30 - math, grammar or writing, spelling, latin, vocabulary, memory work on a loop.

 

11:30-12 - piano practice

 

12-1 lunch break, read aloud

 

1-2 history

 

 

The above schedule is 4 days per week. On Fridays we do science and any projects that interest us.

 

She is required to do her literature reading on her own time.

 

I imagine we will add 30 minutes of work to each grade level, so by 8th grade we'll be at 5 hours, plus outside reading and music practice.

[mcconnellboys]

I have found over the years that a LOT of folks don't count reading time. This has always sort of confused me, too. Now, in light of Lisa's comment to you, I'm wondering if some kids don't do any reading related to their history or science studies, or any "formal" literature - but just their interest driven reading.....?

 

I mean, my son always has a book of his own going, which has nothing to do with school and which I don't count as part of school in any way. But he also reads every day either literature or non-fiction related to his history studies and/or science..... I do count that as part of our school day - 'cause that's what it is and it takes the place of reading from a textbook or listening to an oral lecture.....

[Colleen in NS]

I'm wondering if some kids don't do any reading related to their history or science studies, or any "formal" literature - but just their interest driven reading.....?

 

Then I guess my post could be confusing, too. The two hour rest time after lunch includes at least an hour of reading - I always tell the kids to get library books to read then, because there lie the history/science/literature books I've reserved. I let them have free choice of those, though. Sometimes I "assign" a book, but not usually, because they browse through/read most of them anyway. Read-aloud time is always a chronological literature book. Bedtime reading is "free choice," but my kids read a mix of history/science/literature/art/music books, as well as other choices. I don't try so hard anymore to separate things out like that, because they do read a good variety.

[elegantlion]

Perhaps this should be a separate thread and if so, OP please say so.....but how much of your time is spent actually engaged/teaching your kids? I was just reading the Robinson Curriculum last night and he said on average, he spent 15 MINUTES each day teaching. 15 minutes. The kids were working for 5hrs each day, each at his own desk. THat would never fly for my kids. Perhaps he is making a distinction between teaching/lecturing vs discussion? I feel like I'm engaged w/ one of my kids all day long. My 10yr old is still in the "parent at elbow" stage as coined by SWB.

 

I'd say 75-80% of my time is teaching. His reading (which is usually tied to our studies in some way) is about the only time I'm not nearby. We work through most of his subjects together. My son needs a lot of discussion time.

[Melissa B]

My middle grade children spend about 9 hours per day on school work and I spend approximately 3 hours per child directly instructing or discussing with each.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Feeling better yet? There have been several 6-7 hours since you posted. :D

 

 

MUCH better :D Now I will say it... usually 6 1/2-7 hours but longer if she is not staying on task (which has been more and more recently :glare:)