OMG!! Working on my schedule and I can't do it!

[HFClassicalAcademy]

This is my first year fully homeschooling 3 kids, a preschooler, a toddler, and a baby. I'm working on our daily schedule and there isn't enough of me to go around!!!

 

I have a 4th grader, 2nd grade, K/1st grader, and preschooler that I want to do things with and they need my time for one-on-one teaching for things (math, science, etc.). I'm combining where I can, but I can't figure it out.

 

How do you moms of many handle teaching 3 or more young kids?? My kids are on different levels for math, grammar, spelling, and religion. The older kids share phonics, history, and music; while the younger ones do different things for those subjects.

 

Would love to see/hear about how others make it work!!

 

Thanks,

Liz

[fairfarmhand]

khan academy has very neat videos for many basic math concepts. I would start there.

 

Prioritize. The years I had babies were the years we were unable to do much in depth formal history and science. But I brought home lots of interesting books from the library, (even adult books might have interesting pictures that can lead to good discussions!!!!)and we watched documentaries. But we always got our math and English in.

[coffeegal]

When my older bunch were little, we did the same/similar subjects at the same time. I put them at the kitchen table and started them on math, coloring, and penmanship. I'd sit with each one to explain, and then walk around the table checking work and looking for problems. All 3 children were also combined for history and science. Again, we'd sit at the kitchen table to school. The 3 R's were always top priority, then I'd worry about history and science. I've never regretted that priority. :001_smile:

[justamouse]

khan academy has very neat videos for many basic math concepts. I would start there.

 

Prioritize. The years I had babies were the years we were unable to do much in depth formal history and science. But I brought home lots of interesting books from the library, (even adult books might have interesting pictures that can lead to good discussions!!!!)and we watched documentaries. But we always got our math and English in.

 

:iagree:

When my older bunch were little, we did the same/similar subjects at the same time. I put them at the kitchen table and started them on math, coloring, and penmanship. I'd sit with each one to explain, and then walk around the table checking work and looking for problems. All 3 children were also combined for history and science. Again, we'd sit at the kitchen table to school. The 3 R's were always top priority, then I'd worry about history and science. I've never regretted that priority. :001_smile:

 

 

:iagree:

 

You can't do it all. You can't, and if you try, your burn out and hate it all.

 

Even now, we all sit around the table and I go around. Maths are all done at the same time-GRANTED, I feel like a rubber ball bouncing everywhere, but it's for a limited time of the day, not ALL day.

[Parrothead]

I'm not a mom of many. One of my best friends is. She has 6. One (well two this year) in college and a preschooler moving into K'er this year.

 

What she does is combine as much as possible, and really emphasizes independent work. Last year's senior worked mostly on his own. She was available during X and X times for him if he had any questions.

 

Actually each child (the twins shared) had a time slot (an hour) for instructions, math and any thing that may have come up.

 

I see most of yours are younger so it may be something you want to work up to. Starting in 4th grade I had dd move toward doing more independent work. I could do something else while she did a page of math problems.

 

I know a lot of moms combine history, science and religion if that is something you study. Younger kids, K and under, listen to the older kids lessons and seem to absorb by osmosis quite a bit.

 

Hopefully some of my rambling about things I have little first hand knowledge will give you an idea or two.

[lulubelle]

My 3rd grader does 1 hour of reading and about 45 minutes of worksheets from Critical Thinking while I do work with my 1st grader.

 

You could combine science and history.

 

Other than that, it's hard! We do some night schooling too at times to get it all in!

[elfgivas]

once upon a time, i had a high schooler, a middle schooler, a preschooler and an infant. that's not as many as you.

 

what i did:

started each day with the littles. they climbed into bed with me and i read a BFIAR book, long before the olders were awake. we had breakfast, fed the chickens, played, and then the olders were awake.

 

i did a group time with the littles: fingerplays, songs, and had a theme of the week. then i brought out pattern blocks and other things that were just "their" school. i would start them off, and then meet the olders at the table to begin school work with them. i found that because i had spent time with the littles early, they didn't "need" me as much.

 

each older had chores that the did with a little. the olders also read with the littles, made beds with the littles, etc. so i would be doing school with one "pair" while the other "pair" had together time.

 

after lunch, everyone had "happy horizontal hour". near the end of that, i would start first one older and then the other on whatever that day really required individual attention from me.

 

but for other things, i would teach one while the other finished up something else, then would teach them while the other worked on what came after the teaching.

 

and so it went.

 

all that said, my most vivid memory from that time was standing at a floor to ceiling whiteboard, with a preschooler playing at my feet, breastfeeding an infant and doing AP calculus with the oldest.

 

it was, hmmmmm.... , an interesting time.

 

for planning, i worked on sections at a time: the early morning, breakfast, after breakfast time.... the morning time.... the prelunch, lunch, happy horizontal hour time.... the afternoon time.... etc.

 

then i tweaked each package as we went along.

 

i can try to recall the actual schedule if you'd like...

 

but i did ditch curriculum that required more than 20 minutes of my teaching time per subject.... it just wasn't going to happen.

 

hth,

ann

[BlsdMama]

This is my first year fully homeschooling 3 kids, a preschooler, a toddler, and a baby. I'm working on our daily schedule and there isn't enough of me to go around!!!

 

I have a 4th grader, 2nd grade, K/1st grader, and preschooler that I want to do things with and they need my time for one-on-one teaching for things (math, science, etc.). I'm combining where I can, but I can't figure it out.

 

Would love to see/hear about how others make it work!!

 

Thanks,

Liz

 

First, this might be the year you have to simplify. The bad news is this year is tricky. The good news (and hopefully encouraging) is that it won't get any harder than this year! Next year you'll have a fifth grader and a third grader - two fairly independent kids. So, keep that in mind on the hard days!

 

I'd have my fourth grader and second grader do this - wake up slightly earlier than the littles or have the littles have a "quiet time" in the AM so I could teach some independent work. Teach, then let them work independently while you do some of the 1st/K/PreK stuff like reading aloud. I'd have the fourth grader double as my buddy - helping teach whatever he/she can. Maybe one lesson with the 2nd grader and another "class" with the K/1st/PreK. This not only helps YOU it also helps your fourth grader "cement" some ideas like grammar. Grammar is a great buddy subject.

 

Save the hard one on one "focused" subjects for naptime. Insist on naptime/quiet time.

 

I can tell you that your best efforts should be put towards instilling a few good habits. They will SAVE you and be worth their weight in gold.

 

1. I have Mama time in the morning. No one (except the littlest ones) are allowed up and out of bed with me in the AM. That's my time to get in a little computer or devotions or just peace and quiet with my preparatory cup of coffee. It helps me feel prepared.

 

2. Naptime. If you can read, you may read. If you cannot, you can nap. If for some freakish reason you can't fall asleep, that's okay. Lie there and fake it. Don't get out of that bed. That would be bad... - This is time for Mama to recoup, do one on one lessons, do phonics lessons, do supper prep, take a nap... Whatever you need done that day.

 

3. Utilize your older children. The buddy system for teaching helps them foster good sibling relationships, teaches them patience, deepens their understanding of subjects, and gives you more time in your day.

 

4. Independent work. If your oldest children aren't used to independent work NOW is the time to start fostering that concept. It's a must. Maybe not in families with 2-3 kids but if you don't get them working independently in some subjects you will be SUNK.

 

5. Don't burn out. Burn out is caused by a couple of things. Don't take on more than you can legitimately do!!! It is better to do a few things and do them well and do them consistently than to take on too much and constantly feel like you are failing or not getting enough done. It leads to burn out. Better to do four important things each day and feel good about it than try to do eight subjects, do them only half way, always feel impatient, always feel rushed, and then feel like a failure.

[jamijoy]

It has worked for my family to do the majority of school that needs me (history, spelling, science, art, Bible) during afternoon nap time. My kids have always been good at working straight through without breaks so we are able to get it done, plus I usually have time for a little break when before the girls wake up.

 

The older boys do their more independant work (math, writing, english) in the morning. I may need to explain the concept for a minute or two but they don't need one on one the majority of the time, which would be hard with my little girls wanting my attention as well.

 

I usually have to wait until we actually start school to figure out what is going to work the best.

[*Lulu*]

We have a pretty similar spread, (I have 4th down to pre-K), and this is how our schedule looks:

 

Breakfast

Breakfast Basket- includes Bible, all read alouds, memory work, etc.

Chores

Group Work- Science, History, Art, Art/Music Appreciation, Nature Study, Geography (I try to do each 2x/week) *

Break- everyone outside for 15min. of movement

Seat Work- These are the personalized subjects/areas- English, Math, Latin, Piano, Logic, Fine Motor (for the pre/k),

Lunch

Quiet Reading- everyone spends and hour in their bed. Readers read, non readers look at books or sleep, and Mom gets a glorious hour to herself.

Wrap-up- if there is any unfinished work this is when we finish it. (This hardly ever happens.)

 

During Seat Work I use a modified Workbox system to help with independence and to stagger the Mom intensive assignments. I also have a "waiting" area where I rotate baskets of logic puzzles, manipulatives, sensory tubs, and other interesting items. This is where the kids are to go if they need help but I am working with another child. I know if I look up and see them in the waiting area that they need me. It has cut down on a lot of the chaos during school time.

 

*I also do character development/study with the olders once a week during the littles library story hour.

[elfgivas]

a follow up: i went to your blog and looked at what curriculum you are using, and that may be part of the issue. the things you've chosen are good, but they take a lot - an awful lot - of "teacher time". there are other things out there that are equally good, but have a different proportion of "teaching time" and "student time".

 

another trick we use is to do things in groups, a sort of modified semester system. so we do a language arts program in the early years called "teach your children to read well", that has great phonics, grammar, short answer questions, and fluency work all in one program. it takes about 45 minutes, half of that "teacher time" a day, we split it into halves, doing the reading aloud each time, but the question answering only half of each lesson each day. at the end of 120 days, we are done, so i break it up into two 60 day lots, and then take a break and do something else in the area, like writing in journals or FIAR. the break/switch is good for us.

 

hth,

ann

[HFClassicalAcademy]

a follow up: i went to your blog and looked at what curriculum you are using, and that may be part of the issue. the things you've chosen are good, but they take a lot - an awful lot - of "teacher time".

 

I know that Saxon Phonics, for example, do require lots of teacher time. But it is something that I cannot trade for something else (I've tried sooo many phonics approaches, since my oldest had trouble learning to read and still struggles a bit). This is working really well, but I'm combining the kids with it, so it's going ok (we started already).

 

For grammar we use R&S. I'll be using FLL for my 1st grader and am thinking of having my oldest give the lesson to him since it's all oral and he can just read the book to him.

 

Do you have any suggestions? We use AA and really have loved using them, but I can't stretch myself too thin.

 

I love all the suggestions and have been adjusting my schedule!!!

 

Thanks,

Liz

[Excelsior! Academy]

You can do it. We have 9 dc ages 7 mos, 2, 3, 5, 7, 7, 9, 11, 14. We have also used Rod and Staff, IEW, and Saxon.

 

The way we use R&S English is to have the dc read through the lesson themselves. If they have a worksheet then they do it and bring it to me to check. If they don't have a worksheet they do it with me orally. It is usually a writing lesson. If it is diagramming or writing a book report then they write it. If it is tell what each sentence is, then they tell me orally. I don't see the point in them writing declarative, interrogative, etc. 10x. It seems busy workish to me. I figure if they can tell me orally they know the info. Kwim?

 

I haven't done Saxon phonics, but I have done their math. The way we do the math is by skipping the meeting and just working in those concepts at other times. They do the work alone once they can read. I correct each sheet as it is finished.

 

For IEW we are just getting ready to move to unit 3 so I can't give you any pointers there, but I will tell you that it hasn't taken much of my time up until this point. Maybe 5-15 minutes to work on a key word outline together or to present a new concept.

 

With the ages you have all I need to teach English is 15 or so minutes, phonics is less than that, math can vary greatly depending on how much the child is getting it or not.

 

With the youngers I just keep them involved in rotating activities. I just set out a tray and set a timer for 10-15 minutes. After the time goes off they get a new activity. With this format i can get a solid hour of time to work with the olders whike the littles are occupied. We also use a variation of workboxes that hold the work so the olders know to do the next thing.

 

Here is a helpful site for youngers. http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/2009/02/tot-school-back-to-trays.html

[HFClassicalAcademy]

You can do it. We have 9 dc ages 7 mos, 2, 3, 5, 7, 7, 9, 11, 14. We have also used Rod and Staff, IEW, and Saxon.

 

 

So glad that it's doable!!! I'm excited about starting IEW with the kids and I plan on them doing it at the same time. My oldest is starting Saxon 5/4 and I'm thinking on using the DIVE Cd's with him. Did you ever use them? I'm hoping this would free some time for me.

 

Thank you! I'm starting to get inspired and pumped up!!

[Excelsior! Academy]

Yes. I love D.I.V.E. I would encourage you to require your dc to work the problems along with him. It seems silly at first because they are so simple, but as the pace picks up your dc will have the practice of working out the problems step by step. I didn't require it at first and regretted it later.