s/o schedules - when do we stop scheduling them?

[Ann.without.an.e]

Maybe I should ask this on the High School Side. Is there a point where I don't wake her up at 7 and tell her that school begins at 8:30? At some point, do I let her determine her schedule (as much as possible)? Just rambling thoughts. Any ideas, input, or alternative ramblings are welcome :D

[Princess Peach]

I don't know, I think in some ways, we're always scheduled. In college, the classes will be at set times. In the workforce, her boss will expect her to start work at a certain time.

 

On the other hand, it is valuable to learn how to budget one's time. I think for us, that will come in the form of having projects to complete and needing to do that efficiently.

 

I do know some hs families that give their high schoolers a schedule of work to be completed for the week and they do it at their own pace. I just don't know if I will ever do it that way.

[5LittleMonkeys]

I think a lot of it depends on the dc. dd13 has 1 session in the afternoon where I work one on one with her for a couple of subjects. That has to be scheduled at a specific time. Other than that she pretty much organizes her own day. I tell her what subjects\assignments need to be completed and what time I need her for babysitting the 2yo. (1 hour per day). Because we are a large family its important to me that meals be eaten at the same time and chores are worked on at the same time, otherwise it is to confusing to keep track of who is eating when and what chores have been done or not done so I still make sure she is up, has breakfast with the rest of us, and completes her morning chores by a certain time but she can start her school work whenever she wants. I'm not a stickler with her about completing assignments each day either...sometimes she will work ahead in Latin, doing 2 or 3 days worth of work in one day, and then do the same thing with math the next day. As long as she has completed x number of objectives by Friday we are good.

 

Now, dd12 is another story. She will probably be in the middle of high school before I can afford her all of the same freedoms. She gets completely lost in time...sometimes will loose 30 minutes and think only 5 have gone by. She can't stay focused for more than 10 -15 minutes on schoolwork unless I am right there encouraging her to keep going. She has to have a clear schedule so she knows exactly how long she needs to work on subject x and that subject y is coming next.

 

If dd13 was my only dc, or only 1 of 2, I wouldn't be strict about getting up at a certain time. Having a large family makes a difference though; if everyone got up whenever they wanted it would be a logistical nightmare all day.

[Deniseibase]

Let me know what the magic age is - dear husband is 43 and I still have to get him out of bed, point him to the coffee, and remind him of where he needs to be and what he needs to be doing every darn day :D

[regentrude]

I still wake my kids up and tell them that school starts at 8 (or 8:30).

that's the extent of schedule - which subjects they work on for how long is their choice, as long as it averages out over time. Experience has shown, however, that it is more effective to begin work in the morning than to postpone work for the afternoon - at least for my kids.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Let me know what the magic age is - dear husband is 43 and I still have to get him out of bed, point him to the coffee, and remind him of where he needs to be and what he needs to be doing every darn day :D

 

 

:001_smile: In my Southern drawl...."bless your heart, you poor thing"

This is what I fear, creating this for some other unsuspecting woman :001_smile:

[Ann.without.an.e]

I still wake my kids up and tell them that school starts at 8 (or 8:30).

that's the extent of schedule - which subjects they work on for how long is their choice, as long as it averages out over time. Experience has shown, however, that it is more effective to begin work in the morning than to postpone work for the afternoon - at least for my kids.

 

 

This is what I do. I don't schedule their studies, just their start time. In the afternoon when we have subjects to work on together, they need put their personal work aside if they are still working. They can complete it after we are finished with our group work. If they finish early, they are free until we have group work.

[Ann.without.an.e]

I don't know, I think in some ways, we're always scheduled. In college, the classes will be at set times. In the workforce, her boss will expect her to start work at a certain time.

 

On the other hand, it is valuable to learn how to budget one's time. I think for us, that will come in the form of having projects to complete and needing to do that efficiently.

 

I do know some hs families that give their high schoolers a schedule of work to be completed for the week and they do it at their own pace. I just don't know if I will ever do it that way.

 

 

This is what I think!!! I know people who let their middle/high schoolers get up and start at noon if they want, but that is very unlikely to be reality for them long-term. I knew a very bright young man who wanted to be a physician and he was accepted into a great pre-med program. He didn't last one semester before he came home. The studies weren't too difficult, but keeping a routine/schedule was impossible. He had a class at 8:00 a.m. and could never make it there. At the same time that I want my kids to have freedom, I also don't want them to gain undisciplined habits that handicap them in the end. I have been chewing on this one a bit.

[WTMindy]

This year I made finally made it the kid's responsibility to be ready to go with breakfast at 7:30. The punishment if they aren't ready to go is that they get up at 6:00 the next day and do some work for me. It seems to be working. :D

[Ann.without.an.e]

This year I made finally made it the kid's responsibility to be ready to go with breakfast at 7:30. The punishment if they aren't ready to go is that they get up at 6:00 the next day and do some work for me. It seems to be working. :D

 

 

Great idea. I limit Video Game Time and Movies in my house, making it precious to them. So, for every minute they are late to school, they lose a minute of video game/movie time. That motivates my kids big time. :D

[brownie]

Another aspect of this is making sure your kid knows how to schedule their time before you let them free to do it on their own and expect results. This may be a moot point for some but my ds will need training. In 2 weeks we are going to sit down together and begin scheduling out his workload plan for 5th grade. I hope to coach him on how to break up the work load appropriately and estimate the time required to accomplish everything. We will print up a year plan, 6 week plan and weekly plan for each subject, as well as discussing plans for daily work.

 

I will check in with him heavily in 5th grade and expect him to stay on track. In particular he will be expected to complete weekly goals. He will have some flexibility as far as daily goes, but not much. If he wants to do science in 2 days and history in 2 days rather than daily, that will be fine (as long as it works). If he wants to redistribute his grammar, vocab and spelling unevenly, that will be fine. Math must be done daily.

 

At least this is the plan :) now if there were only 3 of me...

Brownie

[Pegasus]

My DDs take charge of their own schedule by 5th grade. We don't wake them up but we have a set bedtime at night. I trust their bodies to let them know when they have enough sleep. They fix their own breakfast and get started on their subjects on their own. I'm out the door by 8 am and DD14 is usually already working. DD11 lounges in bed a little longer but is usually working by 8:30.

 

I do give them a weekly schedule but it is really just a list of which subjects to do each day. Of course, the ability to turn the students loose to do their own work is highly subject to what materials you choose to use, as well as their innate personality. I've purposely chosen materials that can mostly be done independently.

 

The only real rule is that there is no games or pleasure reading until their subjects are done. This has been the only motivation needed here to get started early and get it done.

 

Pegasus

[BlsdMama]

DD is 15 and she is pretty much completely in charge of her schedule in time. But, she's also wired to be a very Type A personality. She gets herself up, showered, dressed, and starts school before I've finished my cup of coffee generally speaking.

 

DS is 12. I've set a rule that he must be up, dressed, room clean by 7:30. Once he's moving, he moves at a good pace. He still needs light structure - "What are your plans for today?" "Don't forget X is needed by Wednesday," but he decides if he's going to work on writing first and then math, etc.

 

They both have daily accountability - now whether they NEED it or not, well...

 

So I guess the responsibility I take on vs. the the responsibility they take on has been a gradual shift with less and less on me. We'll see if this continues to hold true or if it's just the two oldest that are this way. ;)