"Classroom" management in your homeschool?

[Renee in NC]

When we homeschooled before, one of the biggest problems we have was constant noise and chaos. I had a schedule, but we couldn't seem to follow it well. The dc would be at the table asking, "What do I do now? Can you help me? I can't do this by myself."

 

I don't want to do that again. Keep in mind, I have 5 school-aged dc and a 2yo. Of those 5, 1 is fairly severely LD/ADD, and two others have somewhat milder LDs. My 4yo (who will be K in the fall) is INTENSE - she reminds me quite a bit of my 9yo at times.:001_huh:

 

I *know* they can behave - their teachers in school tell me how well-behaved they are. They don't talk in class, they do what the teacher asks, and they put forth their best effort in everything they do. Of the 3 elementary aged dc, they have only a couple of "strikes" (like having your name on the board) for the whole *year*! The 9yo only got them for forgetting homework and he is the one that you would think would always be in trouble.

 

So, how do I get them to be quiet in our homeschool? How do I get them to stay on task, not bother others, do their work, etc.? Please note that we will be living in 1200 square feet, so there isn't much room to spread out or to do things like workboxes.

 

In school, they have direct teaching time, then independent work and centers. How do you do centers in your home? How do you get them to treat school seriously without spending all your time getting them back on task and quiet? What's a good procedure for getting them to work on what they need to and waiting for me to come around if they get stuck?

 

I did search the boards a million different ways, but didn't find what I was looking for. I have even looked at Managers of Their Schools, but I am not sure that is what I am looking for. Is this a large family issue? How do other moms of many handle school time, especially with younger children?

 

Any help is appreciated!

[extendedforecast]

:lurk5:

 

I post a daily schedule, but I still have the same struggles keeping everyone on task.

[AK_Mom4]

If you think that something like work boxes would work well for your group, there have descriptions on here from moms who used containers that took up much less space. The key to the workboxes is having all the materials where the kiddos can find them easily for each subject and making it clear what exactly needed to be done.

 

I think the key to taming the chaos is for Mom to be organized and focused. Even with just one at home this year, I do quite a bit of prep work on the weekend to make sure that all the books and supplies she needs are in her plastic milk crate and all her assignments for the week are written in her planner. We also follow a pretty regular schedule so she knows what to expect for each day.

 

BTW - I write the assignments in her planner and DD9 knows that if I'm busy when she needs my help, she can put it aside and work on something else until I am available.

[Jeanne in MN]

I wish I had answers for you. I often wonder how in the world one school room teachers did it, because I only have three kids and two different grade levels. So I feel for you. I hope more people chime in to help you.

[helena]

Here's how I've approached it:

Each kid has their own planner (I fill it out on Sun). I try to have everything prepared for the week, and I always have a place for everything and everything in it's place.

Beyond that, I put a lot of effort into how I expect things to be done. I'm always working with them on exactly how the classroom needs to run. There is a specific way to do most things around here. :001_smile: They should never have to ask me "What next?". They know which work they can do independently and there's a specific bookshelf of books to read while waiting if needed. I've written out and posted lists like Math Review Choices for my 9yo, so instead of asking me what she should do for review, she needs to look at the list and choose for herself. If she asks me I quietly point to the list. I know eventually she won't need the list, but in the meantime it keeps the classroom quieter, and puts the responsibility on her.

 

I talk about the fact that I expect the classroom to be peaceful, I use the word, I set the standard. I try to be peaceful as well. It's a central theme in the classroom. And, they seem to appreciate it.

 

I don't think it's enough to fill out a planner, I try to teach them how to follow it. I have a short list of rules, that I remind them of often. For example, I'll say "Did you mark off all of your completed work at the end of the day?". They know they won't get credit for the work if they don't fill in which lesson # (if that applies), and mark it off with the highlighter. They should never ask "What can I do next?", if they haven't looked in the planner first and tried to answer it on their own. 9 times out of 10 they can.

 

Maybe it sounds kind of rigid to some people? But, I'm a Montessori teacher, and I was trained this way. I've honestly found that most kids are eager for a smooth running machine, but they on their own don't know how to achieve it, much less what a peaceful classroom is, if you don't show them. I do a lot of pointing, nodding, smiling, and shaking my finger. I also ring a little bell instead of yelling for them to come to class. I taught them all the rules about the bell, such as: you may not ring it if you were not invited to, you may not ring it like a wild animal, etc. Like many things that are done in this manner they are intrigued by the whole experience. It's not just ringing the bell, it's how to put your hand underneath to silence it. And the control it requires to do it properly. Here's a little bit of something I found on the bell:

 

Just before circle time, the teacher took a bell and walked in a circle around the carpet. The bell is one of my strongest memories from my own days in Montessori. At circle time, we’d play “pass the bell.†While sitting in a very large circle (well, we sat in a square around a carpet), one child would get the bell and have to walk with it to a child on another edge, without allowing the bell to ring, and then hand it to the next child. It was an exercise in concentration and body-control. Today, the oldest girl in the class, who has been to a few primary classes, took the bell and tried to walk without ringing it. I didn’t realize this was a Montessori tradition – I thought it was just my own particular teacher’s invention.

http://www.amymossoff.com/parenting/832/toddler-montessori/

 

Have you ever read about Montessori's silence game, or her writings on peace in the classroom? http://www.infomontessori.com/practical-life/control-of-movement-silence-game.htm You might find some helpful info there, there's so much in Montessori that teaches the joy of peace and order.

 

hth

and, btw my kids aren't robot children. :D

 

:lurk5:

[....]

Are you going to start homeschooling again?

 

My answer to chaos is to combine the kids as much as possible.

 

We do have days where I have to pull them from a light saber fight in the hallway to do math. Also, the 3 yro likes to climb all over the table while they try to read. :glare:

[chiguirre]

I sit with my HFA son during his entire school time. Otherwise chaos breaks out. We limit ourselves to 1.5 hours of reading, writing and math. Dd can work on her own for LA and math after 15 minutes of instruction and sample problems. We do read-alouds (SL 2ish now and SL 3 in the fall) together. We also listen to books on tape in the car during our commute to oldest's school and activities. If I had 2 hsers like ds, I'd be at the school table a LONG time each day.

 

In your case, who can work at least sometime on their own? Who needs you right there the whole time? How long will it take to get the 3Rs done with the ones who need you all the time? Are you okay with just covering history and science as a group with read-alouds, videos and audiobooks in the car? Can some children attend school and others hs?

[Renee in NC]

Are you going to start homeschooling again?

 

My answer to chaos is to combine the kids as much as possible.

 

We do have days where I have to pull them from a light saber fight in the hallway to do math. Also, the 3 yro likes to climb all over the table while they try to read. :glare:

 

I am going to homeschool most likely. Once we figured out that only *one* of us could work full-time, that ps wasn't going to give my special needs dc what they need, and then dh got his new job, it seemed like the natural decision. I should know better than to say "never again.":tongue_smilie:

 

So, I am trying to go over the problems we had with hs before and work to reduce those stressors. Chaos was a big one, even when I was prepared ahead of time. However, the 9yo is now on meds, so that will help.

 

Which kids to combine? At least for the last 9 weeks of this year, we are sticking to basics. Everyone will do language arts and math. Everything else will either be me reading aloud or hands-on projects. We'll have to continue reading and math through the summer as well.

 

The biggest thing is that the dc need a quiet, orderly environment to work the most effectively. That is what I am aiming for.

[Renee in NC]

I sit with my HFA son during his entire school time. Otherwise chaos breaks out. We limit ourselves to 1.5 hours of reading, writing and math. Dd can work on her own for LA and math after 15 minutes of instruction and sample problems. We do read-alouds (SL 2ish now and SL 3 in the fall) together. We also listen to books on tape in the car during our commute to oldest's school and activities. If I had 2 hsers like ds, I'd be at the school table a LONG time each day.

 

In your case, who can work at least sometime on their own? Who needs you right there the whole time? How long will it take to get the 3Rs done with the ones who need you all the time? Are you okay with just covering history and science as a group with read-alouds, videos and audiobooks in the car? Can some children attend school and others hs?

 

The only one who can really work on their own is the 6yo.:001_huh: The 12yo will need me for Barton Reading and math. The 9yo will do Barton Reading and math. The 8yo will do beginning phonics and math (he can't do Barton until he does LiPS.) The 6yo will do the parts of Memoria Press 1st grade that she needs to - she'll move into 2nd in the fall.

 

As for some going to school - that is a possiblity. It really depends on where they get in (we've applied to charters and magnets.) The base school our new house is assigned to isn't great. None of the *want* to go to school, so having to go while others stay home might be very upsetting to them.

[JudoMom]

I'm fairly strict when it comes to school behavior, because with 5 boys things can quickly get out of hand. They aren't allowed to leave the school area until school is done for the day, or we take an official break. If we're doing group work, I often have them raise their hands. Don't get me wrong, we laugh a LOT, but I do have to be kind of draconian at times.

 

A few suggestions:

 

 

• I print off assignment sheets every day (I use HST+). My older 3 know what they can work on without me, and I highlight what my ds7 can work on without me. They know they're supposed to keep working, and if they need help and I can't help them at the moment, they move on to the next thing they can do.
   
   
  
• I used to schedule time with each boy, but that doesn't work so well right now (and ds11 & ds10 are mostly independent, but that means I have to make time to check work and understanding, which is a whole other issue :001_huh:). Now I just do what I can when I can, and I have a daily checklist for me that I use to keep track of what I'm supposed to get done in a day. Also, I try not to jump from boy to boy when we're doing 1:1 time. I try to get all ds5's work done, or all ds7's work done, etc. When I have time to do group work, they are expected to put whatever they were working on to the side as quickly as possible.
   
   
  
• The older 3 are doing Rod & Staff English, and they need me to go over the lesson before they can work independently. When they are ready for their lesson, they bring me the teacher's manual and their student book (they've already read the lesson themselves). If I'm doing something else and can't do it right then, I have the visual reminder that they're waiting on me. Because they bring me the books, it often means that I'll go over their lesson while I'm doing something else around the house (laundry, cooking, etc.). Then they can do the exercises independently.
   
   
  
• I also use Help! tags. I explain them at the very bottom of this post.
   
   
  
• I combine history and geography, along with whatever else I can. My older 3 are doing Sequential Spelling together, the older 4 are doing Saxon Phonics Intervention together. We'll also be doing Killgallon Sentence Combining and Evan Moor Sentences and Paragraphs together starting this week.
   
  

 

Edited February 21, 2011 by JudoMom

[JudoMom]

I am going to homeschool most likely. Once we figured out that only *one* of us could work full-time, that ps wasn't going to give my special needs dc what they need, and then dh got his new job, it seemed like the natural decision. I should know better than to say "never again.":tongue_smilie:

 

So, I am trying to go over the problems we had with hs before and work to reduce those stressors. Chaos was a big one, even when I was prepared ahead of time. However, the 9yo is now on meds, so that will help.

 

Which kids to combine? At least for the last 9 weeks of this year, we are sticking to basics. Everyone will do language arts and math. Everything else will either be me reading aloud or hands-on projects. We'll have to continue reading and math through the summer as well.

 

The biggest thing is that the dc need a quiet, orderly environment to work the most effectively. That is what I am aiming for.

 

Since they are used to the strike system and have done well with it, could you implement something like that at home for school hours? Have a clear list of expectations, and rewards/consequences for violating them?

[Ferdie]

It gets easier as your children get older. One thing that helped me when my children were young was to provide each child a daily checklist. There was something about a checklist in writing that helped them stay on task.

 

I also had them make their own cubicle by cutting a tri-fold presentation board in half, (horizontally). They decorated the board and then used them at the table when they did their independent study. Somehow they were less likely to distract each other if they couldn't see each other. The presentation boards are great because they fold up and store easy when you need to clean up.

 

Have fun and enjoy the journey!

[Renee in NC]

I'm fairly strict when it comes to school behavior, because with 5 boys things can quickly get out of hand. They aren't allowed to leave the school area until school is done for the day, or we take an official break. If we're doing group work, I often have them raise their hands. Don't get me wrong, we laugh a LOT, but I do have to be kind of draconian at times.

 

A few suggestions:

 

 

• I print off assignment sheets every day (I use HST+). My older 3 know what they can work on without me, and I highlight what my ds7 can work on without me. They know they're supposed to keep working, and if they need help and I can't help them at the moment, they move on to the next thing they can do.

   

   

• I used to schedule time with each boy, but that doesn't work so well right now (and ds11 & ds10 are mostly independent, but that means I have to make time to check work and understanding, which is a whole other issue :001_huh:). Now I just do what I can when I can, and I have a daily checklist for me that I use to keep track of what I'm supposed to get done in a day. Also, I try not to jump from boy to boy when we're doing 1:1 time. I try to get all ds5's work done, or all ds7's work done, etc. When I have time to do group work, they are expected to put whatever they were working on to the side as quickly as possible.

   

   

• The older 3 are doing Rod & Staff English, and they need me to go over the lesson before they can work independently. When they are ready for their lesson, they bring me the teacher's manual and their student book (they've already read the lesson themselves). If I'm doing something else and can't do it right then, I have the visual reminder that they're waiting on me. Because they bring me the books, it often means that I'll go over their lesson while I'm doing something else around the house (laundry, cooking, etc.). Then they can do the exercises independently.

   

   

• I also use Help! tags. I explain them at the very bottom of this post.

   

   

• I combine history and geography, along with whatever else I can. My older 3 are doing Sequential Spelling together, the older 4 are doing Saxon Phonics Intervention together. We'll also be doing Killgallon Sentence Combining and Evan Moor Sentences and Paragraphs together starting this week.

   

 

 

Thank you! This is very helpful. I like the idea of raising hands if they want to talk - they do that in school now, so I know they can do it at home. We'll combine read alouds with olders and youngers - sometimes the 8 and 9yo's are older, sometimes they are younger.;)

 

The Evan Moor comment made me think of those "Daily Review" sheets. Ds 12 does those at school now and that could be very helpful for younger ones as well (as long as they can read for themselves.) I was also thinking of other activities they could do that would help remediate some of their issues.

 

My biggest problem is that only the 12yo and 6yo can read, so everyone else either has to read to or get a picture schedule/checklist.

 

I think I need to come up with what exactly the 2 and will-be 5yo will do while I work with others. They are fairly disruptive, but I should be able to come up with things for them to do. I like the workbox idea, except I think I might modify it somewhat to fit our space and needs.

[Renee in NC]

It gets easier as your children get older. One thing that helped me when my children were young was to provide each child a daily checklist. There was something about a checklist in writing that helped them stay on task.

 

I also had them make their own cubicle by cutting a tri-fold presentation board in half, (horizontally). They decorated the board and then used them at the table when they did their independent study. Somehow they were less likely to distract each other if they couldn't see each other. The presentation boards are great because they fold up and store easy when you need to clean up.

 

Have fun and enjoy the journey!

 

That is a GREAT idea! In addition, I could assign study areas - not everyone has to be at the table all the time. But the study corrals would make a HUGE difference in the distractibility.

[Renee in NC]

Since they are used to the strike system and have done well with it, could you implement something like that at home for school hours? Have a clear list of expectations, and rewards/consequences for violating them?

 

Yes! I think the biggest help there will be clear expectations and consistency.

 

The first graders get stickers on their folder as long as they don't get 3 strikes. I've never had one not get a sticker. We could have the same thing - a chart with stickers.

 

The 3rd grader's teacher uses a classroom economy like in the Rafe Esquith books. I think I will pull those books out again for ideas/inspiration.

 

There is also the idea of the "If/Then" chart - clear expectations with clear consequences posted for everyone to see.

[JoyfulMama]

The Evan Moor comment made me think of those "Daily Review" sheets. Ds 12 does those at school now and that could be very helpful for younger ones as well (as long as they can read for themselves.) I was also thinking of other activities they could do that would help remediate some of their issues.

 

My biggest problem is that only the 12yo and 6yo can read, so everyone else either has to read to or get a picture schedule/checklist.

 

Can you take a picture of the fronts of books or of an item that will be used on a regular basis, and include those in a daily review sheet? That's what I did with my younger two, who wanted a checklist of their items.

[JVA]

I loved the "If/Then Chart

A written daily schedule (for the readers, of course) Pictures for the non-readers.

The older they got, the more independent they got....if they slipped up- then they had to sit with Mom and do ALL their work right next to me.

Only took a few times.

ALL of us working at one table or in one room wasn't always the best scenario for us...the oldest ones earned the privelege to work in their roooms.

CLEAR expectations- Chores, schoolwork, attitude- nothing left to the imagination.

I have to say that Dad's involvement was KEY here. He made it very clear to them that they were to be cooperative (there were 5 of them), follow their school schedule, speak respectfully to one another and Mom, do their BEST work every day. As the 'principal', they were accountable to him- for awhile with a few of them they needed to gather ALL the work they did during the day and have it ready for Dad's review when he walked in the door. THis was enough to straighten them out, if they needed it. I found this SO valuable.

Hope those thoughts are helpful for you.

[8circles]

I also use Help! tags. I explain them at the very bottom of this post.

 

 

 

LOVE THIS!

 

 

Have you ever read about Montessori's silence game, or her writings on peace in the classroom? http://www.infomontessori.com/practical-life/control-of-movement-silence-game.htm You might find some helpful info there, there's so much in Montessori that teaches the joy of peace and order.

 

 

Loved your whole post, Helena. I've not been disciplined enough myself to do this kind of thing but I dream about it.

 

I'm living in chaos at the moment so I have nothing helpful to add.

[prairiewindmomma]

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Edited November 10, 2021 by prairiewindmomma

[Renee in NC]

There are some great ideas here, ladies. Thanks so much! I really feel like I can do this if I implement some of these ideas.