Time Management Question with 3 Kids!!??

[Murrayshire]

I sat back this morning looking at all the curriculum I'm using for my 3 kids.

My oldest is 10 in 6th grade(11 in Sept.), middle is a new 8 yr. old in 3rd grade, and my youngest is 5 (6 in Nov.) and is already doing some kinder. but will be doing a little adv. kinder in August.

 

Here is what I'm doing with each child starting in August.....

 

dd10:

Sonlight Core 5 (F) with Readers and RA's

Saxon Grammar & Writing 6 (possibly using something different for the writing portion or supplementing it)

Spelling Power.....Spectrum Word Study & Phonics 6

Saxon Math 7/8 w/DIVE

Typing

Rosetta Stone Spanish

Art(with dad)

Earth Science

 

dd8:

Sonlight Core 1+2 with some Int. readers but mostly adv. readers

Saxon Math 3

First Lang. Less. 3

WWE 2 (finishing it up and then start WWE 3)

Spelling Power.....Phonics 3

SL Science 2

Cursive

Typing

Rosetta Spanish

Art(with dad)

 

dd5:

Finish up Saxon Math K....possibly start Saxon Math 1 mid year

SL LA K

HWOT K

ETC 1,2,3

Art(w/mom & dad)

Listening in on science, history read alouds, and spanish with sisters.....

Starfall.....

lots of nature discoveries in backyard

 

I know scheduling will work it's way out when we get into the groove of things....but I'd like to have an idea of how to schedule our school days.

As far as dd10, she can mostly work independently on some things.....and have me there for discussion and questions.....

I'm concerned with the Saxon Math 3 and K or 1.....will I have time to do this separately with ds5 and dd8? dd8 will need me with her FLL and WWE....ds5 will need me with just about everything except handwriting and centers play.....Please help by giving advice if anyone has similar situations.....I'm aware that I'll be on my toes!

Thank you in advance!!

Jana in NC

:confused:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[texasmama]

Our kids are almost exactly the same ages. (I have a teen who private schools in addition to my younger three.) I also work part time. You can look at my siggie to see what we are using. I combine my two boys (5th and 3rd next year) in as many subjects as possible. They are working individually in math and language arts but are combined for everything else. I even combine them for spelling (Sequential spelling). Most of our curriculum is very teacher intensive, and my two boys will be doing SL Core 5 next year, working together. (I haven't figured out the details of this yet as I don't have the Core in my hand to plan.)

 

I accept that my kids are mostly needing one on one with me for math and language arts and just schedule time to do all of that. We fit in the content subjects where we can around my work schedule and our other out of the house commitments (piano lessons, co op classes and OT/speech for one kid). Somehow, it all works. I've homeschooled for three years and have worked through the past two of them, adding in another work gig last year. It was hectic, but it all got done...well almost all. We skipped some history at the end of the year to finish up a week early so I could take a bit of a break before summer classes start for me.

 

Be flexible. You will find your groove.:001_smile:

[morosophe]

This is why I'm switching to Biblioplan after next year--it allows you to at least be studying the same period of history with multiple kids.

 

Other than that, I'm all ears for time management tips, myself--I have trouble enough with only one kid actually in school! (We're doing Sonlight Core 1, with Core 2 to follow next year.)

[JudoMom]

We're on a light schedule now, but this is how we ended the year:

 

• 7:30-8:30: Bible Study (dh led) & Breakfast
  
• 8:30-10:30: History, Literature, & Geography (Sonlight 6, Map Trek, Evan Moor 7 Continents Europe, Beginning Geography)
  
• 10:30-11:30: Math (Saxon, Evan Moor Daily Word Problems)
  
• 11:30-12:00: Grammar (Rod & Staff)
  
• 12:00-1:00: Lunch & Break
  
• 1:00-2:00: Spelling (Sequential Spelling) & Writing (a blend of: The Writer's Jungle, Writing With Skill, Evan Moor Paragraphs & Sentences, Killgallon's Sentence Composing, WWE, and whatever else strikes my fancy)
  
• 2:00-3:30: Latin (Visual Latin, SSL, Minimus), Greek (Elementary Greek), & Logic (Blast Off With Logic books)
  

 

My older 3 did Saxon independently with the DIVE cds, and I would give the younger 2 (in Saxon 3 & 1) their lessons.

 

I'd squeeze phonics in with ds5 at the end of the History/Lit/Geography block when the older boys were finishing up their mapwork. I'd work with him on his Plaid Phonics page usually during the Grammar block (I'd often do WWE with my ds7 during this block as well).

[Jyniffrec]

It really helps me to have the day's schedule up on a white board with each dc's name at the top and their subjects underneath. I line up the subjects on the board for organization's sake and then the subjects that vary go towards the bottom. I also tend to list the most important ones at the top. Then we just work until we are finished - I can, for example, look at the list and say I am going to do some grammar with dd11, so dd7 should do her handwriting and ETC and ds10 should do some math during that time. We all love marking the subjects off the list and nothing, in the end, gets forgotten. Postponed, maybe, but not forgotten.

 

It also really helps to have a few subjects farmed out. We use TT for the older two (for better reasons than scheduling, but it works out well) and I try to use audio books as much as I can so that I have time to read the ones that we can't get on audio.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

Once I have my list of curriculum I use the following steps to set up a schedule:

 

1. Beside each curriculum list the amount of time needing direct teacher involvement and the amount of time required for independent work.

2. Add up the time required for direct teacher involvement. If the number is too high, you'll need to go back and make changes either to the curriculum or to your expectations.

3. Group the curriculum into 30 minute blocks by combining short lessons (5 min. of memory work + 15 min. of dictation + 10 min. of grammar lesson) and match up subjects to alternate like science and history or 4 days of CW lessons with 1 day of history discussion

4. Decide which curriculum are most important and require the most focused concentration (for us this is math or phonics)

 

At this point I start plugging the subjects into a MOTH schedule, putting the ones I marked in #4 first thing in the morning and alternating which child I'm working with one on one. This was our most recent schedule with a 6th, 4th, 1st, and 2yo. Here's the previous year's schedule with a 5th, 3rd, K, and 1yo.

 

HTH

[Murrayshire]

Thank you ladies for your advice.....I will figure out something!!

Jana

[simka2]

Right now my personality is not lending itself to a strict schedule. I will get there, but not right now.

 

The first thing I did was make sure we were doing as many subjects together as possible. That means science, history, geography, religious studies, art, and copywork.

We have morning and afternoon work. Morning is religious studies, math, grammar (and phonics with my youngest), and cursive. If I have had to be focused on the olders...dd10 will make lunch while I work with ds6. In the afternoon we do Social studies, art, science, read alouds and music.

 

At this point it has just worked for me to have it divided this way.