Can you tell me about BeforeSchooling?

[Pamela H in Texas]

I'm figuring if Afterschooling is a word, then Beforeschooling is also.

 

Anyway, this seems like it should be common sense. If afterschooling happens after school hours, then beforeschooling happens before school hours. See, easy, right?

 

Ummm, no.

 

How does this look in real life?

 

How early are you getting up? How much do you do before school? How does getting ready for school work out? Do you have some tips and tricks? Could you do it trying to get 6-8 people (only 1-3 of whom can do it themselves) out of the house each day?

 

I'm just thinking that it makes more sense to do it earlier in the day as well as just the practicality of it considering what our afterschool schedule will look like even without afterschooling.

 

We want to cover at least the 3Rs formally though we'll add in geography, science experiments, Spanish & Sign also.

[Bang!Zoom!]

We are early birds here, up at 5 a.m. I have scheduled about an hour of before-school items, very basic. She works through these in any way she wants, just so long as they get done. Each area has a variety of materials, choices, and ways to work through it.

 

Subjects are:

 

math-10 min.

reading-10 min.

spelling-10 min.

vocabulary-10 min.

warm ups-15 min.

 

These are all self-directed without any input for me, as practice. When she gets home from a "full day" at school, the "afterschooling" schedule comes in to play. Now in those areas, I assist and some are self-directed.

 

I have planned a different schedule on weekends, or days that no school takes place due to vacation time, school closed time and such.

 

So I have planned out:

 

before schooling

after schooling

vacation schedules

no school day schedules

weekend schedules

 

Each is different.

 

As far as multiple kids, sorry can't help you there, I've just the one. :)

[matilda]

When the kids have to be out the door at 8:30, we do some beforeschoooling. Each dc has to make a lunch, eat breakfast, do chores, do 20 minutes of math and practice the piano. They usually have to be up by 6:30 and someone has to start the practicing rotation by 7:00 to get everyone through. One kid is doing each activity at a time and they rotate through.

 

I try to schedule them so that the kid who needs the most help with math is working while the oldest (who needs the least help) is practicing. But there are still times when it is somewhat chaotic - getting breakfast for the baby while telling someone to play something 5 more times and explaining fractions to someone else. I have to be up and ready for the day before the first kid makes an appearance in the morning, or we get out of sync.

 

So I don't cover all of the subjects that you want to do, but you might be able to use the rotations anyway.

[Pamela H in Texas]

When the kids have to be out the door at 8:30

 

Goodness! If we didn't have to be out the door til 8:30, I wouldn't have a question at all! The one will have to be driven to or walked to school to arrive at 7:15. The next two will be picked up by a bus. I assume about that same time unless they are last then possible as late as 7:30. The last two will be driven 20 minutes away. When I have to be where I am going depends on the day. I have to be 45 minutes from the last two's location at 9 some days. I have to be at schools by 7:30 other days. Some days I can do whatever I need.

 

Now, we did have some time we homeschooled very early. But encouraging 10 and 13yr olds to wake up at 5am (or before) seems a lot different than encouraging very young children to.

 

I don't mean we'll "do" geography, science, etc. Those things will be done just like we do now - as they come up IRL. Just like most families, things come up in discussion, as you're studying or reading something, based on someone's interest. I don't consider those afterschooling so much, I guess...just like I wouldn't consider going to the zoo afterschooling. That is just family life.

 

I'm really trying to make sure everyone gets the 3Rs though. We were a fairly laid back homeschooling family through elementary; but I feel some need to counteract school a bit. For example, phonics is important, not a back burner type thing. Additionally, even laid back, I feel basics are very important. And because of a lack of time (because school spends much of the day), I do feel we should be a tad more formal about it.

 

At least this is where I am now. I'm sure I'll tweak things as I go.

[Bang!Zoom!]

With that much going on, could you just focus on reading only and logging the minutes or book titles? That is a LOT going on, hard schedules or mixed topics might be a bit much to start with.

 

See how one subject goes and add in once you can "feel" the routine.

[JenniferLynn]

I was pleased to have a kindergarten late start option at 9:50. Regular start is 8:15 and we need to be out by 8:00. We can usually finish 1-2 subjects before school and I rotate them. Particularly if something new or tricky is being introduced it is scheduled for morning and the rest happens after school.

[Bang!Zoom!]

Just another thought while I'm at it (working on schedules)

 

It was interesting for me to add up available hours in which I am free to roam without a school schedule in the way during various months.

 

For the months of Sept./Oct./Nov. there are 31 clear free days either by virtue of holiday from school or weekend.

 

31 days is a lot of time to lay down a subject and see that it gets covered in some form or another.

 

This does not include after/before schooling. For me, sometimes, it's a matter of finding opportunity in those gaps for continuity sake.

[Word Nerd]

With all the different schedules to factor in, I would see how it goes just getting everyone where they need to be before adding in before/afterschooling to the mix. Is your schedule after school less hectic? What about weekends?

[LittleIzumi]

We've got a 7-something ETA too, and I plan to at least do logic every morning, to wake up her brain. The rest may have to wait until after school.

[snickelfritz]

Are you naturally early-to-bed, early-to-rise?

 

I worked backwards based on how much sleep the kids need. It's just not feasible to get mine to bed before 8, because of our life. Besides spending time with dh, many activities assume a 7:00 end time is fine. I've worked to get them to bed at about 8:45(an improvement from 10+ over the summer :)) and they are getting up at 7, but running a little more tired than usual. So, I'm thinking bed at 8-8:30, up at 6:45-7 to leave the house by 7:40. That seems like it will work for mine, though, I think it's still a bit less sleep than is recommended. While our morning time may seem excessive, I find that 30 minutes makes me all "rush, rush, hurry, hurry, eat fast, we're going to be late!" If they have at least 45 minutes, everything is much calmer and we can actually sit down together to eat our (still quick and easy) breakfast.

 

Anyway, my point is, we just won't be able to before school. I am hoping to get in some exercise and, maybe, piano before we leave. After school, I'm going to have my supplementary materials laid out and ready to go. We'll sit down the same time every day to do her homework and THEN work on the supplementary items for the set length of time. If her homework takes an hour, I'm not going to add another hour of my stuff on to it.

Edited August 15, 2011 by snickelfritz

[Pamela H in Texas]

Thanks y'all.

 

WordGirl, ummm, well, afternoons are crazy also. My kids START the month with 75 appointments. A few may get cancelled and some will be during the day (like baby's OT or weight checks for boys); but we are SUPER busy. But in a way, I think that will help. When someone has an appointment, we have time to work with the others.

 

Anyway, so we practiced this morning trying to get it all done. The kids did pretty well! I think I'm going to try to just do phonics with the 5yr old to start with. I can try to add the boys in after we've had a few weeks practice and everyone knows what they are doing. And we'll still have after school and weekends even if those are crazy too.

 

I just need to keep remembering they don't need to learn all of elementary this month :) Even if we only do 20 minutes on top of homework, therapies, and living, we'll be making progress as well as telling them we believe education is very important.

[BabyBre]

How does this look in real life?

 

 

 

Hectic, sometimes rushed, sometimes unfinished, but dc are proud that they work harder and are at the tops of their classes.

 

 

How early are you getting up?

 

I get up at 5:00. Dc get up at 6:00 to be to school at 8:15 for dd, 9:00 for ds. We also start the bedtime routine at 7:00, read from History for an hour, and have lights out at 8:00. That leaves dh and I some time alone, too.

 

How much do you do before school?

 

See my signature. I have a strict schedule we have to stick to in order to accomplish all that. I'm happy to send it, so pm me your e-mail address if you'd like to see it.

 

 

How does getting ready for school work out?

 

Dc get 30 minutes or so of free time before we need to leave. If they get up and ready promptly before lessons begin, they don't lose a minute of that free time. If they dawdle and/or choose to get ready after lessons, they do that during their free time. It's their choice.

 

 

Do you have some tips and tricks?

 

I highly recommend beforeschooling, not afterschooling. It keeps it routine (no arguments), they're fresh and ready in the morning, and it keeps their afternoons free for sports, homework, and/or family leisure time (which has become far more scarce now that they're away 6+ hours a day).

 

I must stick to the schedule. It's too easy for me to fall into the "let them sleep in this morning" trap! That happens only occasionally, when it's truly needed.

 

I make a point to choose curricula (of which the options are numerous!) that are fairly open-and-go, requiring little prep on my part because my time is limited. I spend much of my "free" time in dc's school and classrooms, which I feel is by necessity.

 

I make an attempt to befriend dc's teachers. Open lines of communication, I feel, is the key to the most effective education. Ds's teacher last year not only allowed me to teach ds's Saxon Math lessons to him during class time, but asked that I also take a handful of her more advanced students, too. That can really open up time in the morning for other subjects, it was a lot of fun for all of us, and benefitted the other kids, too.

 

 

Could you do it trying to get 6-8 people (only 1-3 of whom can do it themselves) out of the house each day?

 

 

 

 

 

Yikes. I and several others would probably have to get up earlier (remember, early bedtime never hurt anyone!), but I believe it can be done.

 

 

We're here for you!

Edited August 17, 2011 by BabyBre

[YourFidgetyFriend]

I'm attempting beforeschooling this year. My daughter has a few activities after school and I wanted to leave her time to just read and play as well.

 

It was only the 2nd day we've tried this and we haven't yet actually gotten up at the time I planned. I'm trying to ease us into getting up at 6. This will give us around an hour to work. Yesterday we got 30 minutes in and today we were up to 45. I'm going to try for the full hour tomorrow.

 

This is my ideal schedule:

6:00-6:15- kid gets ready, mom tries to pry herself out of bed

6:15-7:00- active work time (French, math, logic-haven't worked out the specifics of the hour)

7:00-7:15- finish up work or listen to educational cd while mom fixes breakfast

7:15-7:30- kid eats breakfast, mom showers and attempts to not look like she was run over by a bus

7:30-7:45- Last minute preparations (making sure child isn't leaving barefoot, sucking down first cup of coffee, etc)

7:45- Leave house

 

I am NOT a morning person. Not at all. I mean, not even a teensy, weensy, little bit. It's 10AM here and I'm still recovering. Fortunately, my daughter is a morning person. I actually have her wake up first and then wake me up (with my alarm set 5 minutes after hers just in case). If it were solely up to me, I'd hit the snooze for an hour and a half like I've done since I was 15.

[Roadrunner]

I can't even imagine how you get anything done in the morning and I am usually up at 5:30 am. It's a mad house over here. Getting kids dressed, fed, packing school lunches, making beds, doing dishes..... There isn't a chance I can get anything formal done. We do review new French words sometimes over breakfast, but even that is a problem. Around here evenings are better. We get around kitchen table around 5:30pm. Grammar for older (MCT next week instead) and phonics for younger are done in 15 minutes. Math takes another 30 to 45 min., so by 6:30 we are eating dinner. After dinner we do the reading and 15 min. for piano for my older. History is done in the bed as a bedtime reading twice a week. French and the rest happens on weekends. Surprisingly it seems to work.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Okay, so this morning, we got everyone up at 6:00. I think, after reading the thread, I'm going to wake Princess up at 5:45 with the goal of her being done with everything by 6:10.

 

Anyway, so the bad news is that I have two who are waking up crying (two days in a row now). The one, I sat in a bar chair with Pediasure. He was fine once the sugar hit him. The other and the baby, my daughter and I got ready while Princess and Sport got everything done. Munchkin (the one with the Pediasure) was slow but got ready.

 

At 6:40, all we were lacking was Sport's medication and Munchkin's shoes. Princess had even done some reading!

 

So that isn't bad. If we walk to school, we need to leave at 6:55. If we drive, we have til 7:10. Obviously different kinds of education can happen one way versus the other (ex: mental math, oral recital, etc versus paperwork, manipulatives, etc).

 

And it was day two. I think they (at least Sport and Princess) may be able to speed it up considerably as they get used to it. But if I get Princess up a few minutes earlier, that will buy us more time also. I think it'll be good.