How long do you spend prepping?

[momma2three]

We've done two weeks of school now, and everything is going swimmingly with the school. Less so in terms of my free time! I feel like I spend longer prepping the lessons than we spend actually learning them. It takes up all of my evening.

 

We do about 1.5 hours of schoolwork. Both the English and math curricula we use are scripted, so I type them over onto a Word document, making changes as necessary. I'm a fast typer, so that doesn't take long. Then I find something to do for science or social studies, which could be a project or an experiment or an online game. I try the game or watch the video to make sure it's what I want (especially I portent, IMO, because she's so young so I want to make sure she can do the game and that the video is appropriate... For an older kid if I trusted the website I don't think I would bother), and gather all the materials for the project. Then I think of an art project for us to do, and gather the supplies for that as necessary. Finally, I print out a daily to do list for her, so she can see her tasks and check them off.

 

Is this over the top? Or normal? Our school time is short, and she has a typical 4yo attention span, so I want to school as efficiently as possible, so we have extra time for the games and art and gunner tasks. And I don't want her to get frustrated this early into things, so I want to spend time making sure everything will work. And she's so young that obviously I have to present everything and work through it all with her: no telling her to read a book and write me a report on it.

 

Does it get easier? There are things that I want to do in my evenings for myself!

[regentrude]

For a FOUR year old, I would not prep at all. I would not even use a formal curriculum at that age.

Why do you need to type in your curricula? In what form do they come? Can't you just use that?

[momma2three]

Well, we are doing kindergarten, for complicated but good reasons :)

 

It's easier for me to refer to a single sheet when I'm going through things, and it's easier to modify the curriculum the way I want. Both the English and math ones were designed for a classroom.

[Ellie]

Definitely over the top for a child so young. :)

[chepyl]

I would get a different curriculum. One that is easier to teach. I tried a scripted curriculum for one day and hated it! I don't want to spend that much prep time for 1st grade! We do better with non-scripted, lesson-a-day type curriculum. We went from Shurley English to Rod and Staff Grammar. I have no prep time for anything. Every few days I print out a few worksheets and lap book pieces. All my prep work was in picking my curriculum, laying out my schedule, and entering in the computer this summer.

 

Kindergarten should be fun and easy - for both of you!

[momma2three]

I find these ones easy to teach, there are just questions to ask and things to explain and I want to be able to do it correctly and efficiently.

 

Maybe now that we are both more into the swing of things, and she loves what we are doing, I'll read right off the screen and see how that goes.

[Samiam]

Uh, yeah, since ya asked....that is waaaay too much prep for a 4 year old. Frankly, I can't even imagine what kind of "English" you are using with a child that age....unless you are meaning phonics.

 

I spend about 30-40 minutes a night prepping for the next day, for THREE children. I choose curriculum that did alot of the planning for me. I spent much of July getting everything organized and adding in those things that I wanted to add (ie extra projects, movies/Brainpop videos, extra books etc). Got that all mapped out, scheduled, set up.

 

So now that we are in our school year, it's all right there, so I just look it over the night before, get the stuff set out, in workboxes, and ready to go.

 

I get wanting to be organized, scheduled, really, I do. But not that much, at that age. Honestly you spend more time prepping each night then I spend teaching my five year old each day. If it is in your nature to be so organized (which is a great thing!) perhaps you would do better with a curriculum that is geared for more at home use, or well laid out plans. Cause I see that much nightly effort equaling burn out!

[Pretty in Pink]

Over the top! :001_smile:

 

At that age we don't even do formal instruction (my 4yos have all tinkered around with an inexpensive handwriting workbook but that's about it). We do borrow lots of library books, spend a good bit of time in active play, participate in community events, play outside, that sort of thing.

 

There is *plenty* of time for the things that you are describing when your child is a bit older. I did do that sort of legwork when my eldest was 6-7 and I was preparing all of his work from scratch for financial reasons. Looking back, I wish that I hadn't wasted so much time organizing formal history and science lessons at that age. It was largely unnecessary.

[Thia]

If you feel the need to modify the script, I'd use some post it notes with your thoughts on there so that you can just do it as you roll.

[Grover]

wowee, that's a lot of work. Could you just print off the pages you need and write your changes on them, or if it's a printed book, just pencil or post it in your notes? Typing it all out seems like such a lot of extra work.

[sparrow]

I'm teaching 2. A 9 & 12 year old, 4th grade & 7th grade. I don't prep at all. Our curriculum is pretty much all open and go.

 

I can't imagine spending that much time prepping for K.

 

I was afraid I was the only one :blush:. We're doing 4th and 6th grade here and it's not too often I have to do any extra prep time.

 

 

ETA: Have you looked at Five in a Row? It's such a nice, laid back curriculum for this age. We loved it and my kids still bring up the books we read and the activities we did when we "rowed" a book.

Edited September 3, 2011 by sparrow

[KungFuPanda]

You are not pacing yourself for the marathon that is homeschooling. You are sprinting out of the gate. Seriously, for that age I'd be doing Math, Handwriting, and FIAR and consider myself an overachiever if I spent more than 2 hours a day on schooling and prep COMBINED.

 

I started K early with my oldest. Now she's 14 and I'm sure she'd be in the same place if we did nothing until she was six. She was capable, and we had fun, but it's easy to fry out on the prep-work when they're little and it's largely unnecessary. You just can't mess up K.

[Rosie_0801]

My 4 year old is behind yours, but my teacher prep is writing a list of things I need from the book and toy libraries, pulling stuff off shelves and putting them in a pile. If *hardcore* preparation is required, it's ten minutes hidden in my room colouring in some Dover stained glass style pics. :p

 

Rosie

[kalanamak]

At four I expected no more than 5 minutes of seat time! I read and read and read to him, until I was hoarse. Sometimes 2 hours a day. We did a great many hands on things and were outside getting very, very grubby at least 3 hours a day.

 

You should be having more fun, or honey ... you will burn out.

[Elizabeth in WA]

For two doing high school work, one middle school, and one elementary, I spend a couple hundred hours prepping over the summer, then a couple hours a day during the school year reading the kids lit and history selections, but no other prep work during the school year. Marking papers and doing white board "chalk talk" type math and science lessons, along with discussion of other subjects take up my school day. Marking papers and reading eat into my weekends and evenings as well.

 

But, when they were four, I taught informal math and reading lessons with no prep. Things like Liping Ma's book as long term prep ate into my free time, but that ( as valuable as it was) was out of interest. That is, I enjoyed that kind of thing. I still enjoy their reading and history, but time pressure reduces the fun factor these days.

[raceNzanesmom]

I'm an open and go kind of girl. My prep is grab the index cards while he does his copywork.

 

But even when it was for my high schooler it wasn't that much. I took about an hour or so every 3-4 weeks to plan out his history/lit, and maybe 30 minutes every other week on the library's web site. Everything else was open and go.

[swellmomma]

That is a lot of work for that age of child. It takes me maybe 20 minutes to plan out activities for my dd turning 4, and pull out all needed supplies etc, maybe an extra 20 minutes if I decide to make a new game or sensory bin for her.

 

This time of year I easily spend 1.5-2 hours in teh evening prepping for all 4 kids BUT more than half of that is lesson planning, not necessarily prepping. Once I have everything planned out for the year for all 4, then that drops to around 45 minutes per evening getting supplies out, photocopies made etc for all 4 kids.

 

I think the amount of work you are putting into this for a 4yr old is insane. There is no reason to retype a math or phonics program out. Science and social studies are not needed at all. If you want to do science, watch Sid the science kid together and do the investigation they did, or read magic school bus to her. At 4 yrs old the things I like to do most for science are play with magnifying glasses, and big horseshoe magnets, explore nature, do things with sink/float and colour mixing. No lessons, no major planning, minimal prep. Social studies at age 4 should focus on herself and the family imo. Again no prep necessary. I sounds almost like you have your dd4 doing 1st grade with the number of subjects you have there. If your child is ready for more formal work than I would focus only on phonics and math, no formal science or social studies. If you want more than that read to her, or do activities from 1+1+1=1, I love the tot books and the preschool packs from homeschool creations for my dd almost 4. There is no need for a 4 year old to have all those subjects and that would reduce your prep time dramatically.

[momma2three]

Gosh, I really wasn't expecting this level of critique.

 

I can guarantee that the level of work we are doing is not "insane" for a kindergartener. We are doing one day's lesson from the kindergarten curriculum, one day from MEP reception level (which is specifically for 4 year olds, fwiw). Then we do either a science activity (mostly taken from Science is Simple, which is a book for preschool) or something that would have fallen under "social studies". This week we studied matter, which basically means we froze and melted stuff. Last week we did a kindergarten map curriculum I found online, because DD is really into pirates and has been making "maps" to follow, like in some of her books. And I try to have an art project of some sort, too, because she loves that.

 

So, I'm sorry, but maybe I'm explaining myself poorly, because I really don't see how I'm doing anything except a very gentle kindergarten program. For a child who is kindergarten age in many districts, including where we are moving next year and she will be put in 1st grade. The reading program we are using is much gentler than most of the k curricula I see recommended here... I wasn't even planning on doing handwriting yet, let alone something like copywork.

 

But anyway.

 

Thanks for the perspective on prep work. I'm still figuring things out as I go along, and don't want to plan too far in advance so we can slow down as needed. Reading your responses, I think my problem is that I need to prep smarter, not harder :). As I said, I'm still figuring things out as I go along, and I didn't spend all summer doing stuff, and I'm reading about things as I go.

[Carrie12345]

I have a third grader, fourth grader, ninth grader, AND a four year old. I've been spending quite a few hours reading the books I plan to assign my 9th grader. That's pretty much the extent of my prep.

 

I'm not going to say that what you're doing is WRONG, but you are setting yourself up for a huge probability of burn out before your kid is even of traditional school age.

Perhaps you could ask yourself exactly how all of that time and effort is benefitting your dd. Chances are, it's not.

[swimmermom3]

Gosh, I really wasn't expecting this level of critique.

 

I can guarantee that the level of work we are doing is not "insane" for a kindergartener. We are doing one day's lesson from the kindergarten curriculum, one day from MEP reception level (which is specifically for 4 year olds, fwiw). Then we do either a science activity (mostly taken from Science is Simple, which is a book for preschool) or something that would have fallen under "social studies". This week we studied matter, which basically means we froze and melted stuff. Last week we did a kindergarten map curriculum I found online, because DD is really into pirates and has been making "maps" to follow, like in some of her books. And I try to have an art project of some sort, too, because she loves that.

 

So, I'm sorry, but maybe I'm explaining myself poorly, because I really don't see how I'm doing anything except a very gentle kindergarten program. For a child who is kindergarten age in many districts, including where we are moving next year and she will be put in 1st grade. The reading program we are using is much gentler than most of the k curricula I see recommended here... I wasn't even planning on doing handwriting yet, let alone something like copywork.

 

But anyway.

 

Thanks for the perspective on prep work. I'm still figuring things out as I go along, and don't want to plan too far in advance so we can slow down as needed. Reading your responses, I think my problem is that I need to prep smarter, not harder :). As I said, I'm still figuring things out as I go along, and I didn't spend all summer doing stuff, and I'm reading about things as I go.

 

I think perhaps you might want to head over to the Accelerated Learner Board where your question will be met with much gentler replies. I hope you both have a good year together.:grouphug:

[Osmosis Mom]

Well, you asked and then you didn't like the answers. Even heading over to the Accelerated Board might not prevent the burn-out you'll have in a few months' time. My kids are pretty smart too, but if you want to do homeschooling for the long run (with all the kids, not just your first-born), then you'll find yourself that you need to modify your approach!

 

So, yes, the majority here suggests you are over-doing the planning, but if it works for you and makes you feel good, then feel free to carry on (of course).

[Denisemomof4]

I never prep and I never plan. I'm going into my 14th year of homeshooling and it's always worked.

 

I do make sure all science supplies are on hand. Sometimes I order special history books. That's about it.

[FaithManor]

Well, for the 6th grader - not much at all. He learns everything easily...the only thing I do is look ahead in his science and determine what labs we want to do, which ones are to easy, which ones are convoluted, which ones I will replace with something of my own and then pull together the components.

 

8th grader - Zip...this kid is just flying through his curriculum and quite often I find him in his bedroom doing extra and particularly in science. I'd be hard pressed to stay very far ahead of him even with weekly lesson planning. So, we role with it.

 

9th grader - Lots of time spent on art history because that is a weak area for me. Thankfully, no matter, and I do work hard at preparing, he is still getting a lot. Art history is not offered by any school in our county and it would be a 55 mile drive (one way) to find a college that offers it. So, I read ahead, study the Sister Wendy Videos and Learning Company videos first and then watch them with him so we can have some decent discussion, and plan field trips to the DIA. He doesn't know it yet, but at the end of the school year, he's getting a trip to the Chicago Art Institute with me. I also do some prepping for biology because the text we are using this year is new to us. Other than that, he's quite independent except for the literary discussions and he's covering the same ground I had already covered with dd, so we are good to go there. He's completely independent in Latin and English Grammar. I do make his writing assignments, but many of them are the same or similar to what I assigned dd. As far as prepping and planning, having completed high school with one already, things are less stressful and I'm more confident.

 

Faith

[SeekingHim77]

I sit down sometime during the weekend and spend 30 minutes to an hour prepping for the following week. I am doing this for my 15 yr. old and 9 yr. old but when my kids were little, I didn't do any prepping. I simply picked up the books the next day and started where we'd left off. I was (and still can be) admittedly bad at having the needed things on hand for experiments and hands on projects. I would usually get all gung ho about those things every few months and buy stuff to do tons of projects and then we'd do them all at once.

 

I didn't really start doing any prepping until my son reached 7th grade or so. I started making plans at that point for several reasons. I am required by my state to keep a learning log and I hated that but making lesson plans seems so much more productive to me. Now, planning serves two purposes in my home: the plans double as my log once I cross out anything we didn't do and add in any additional activities and my son can pick up the plans and run with them without having to wait for me to give him instructions if I am busy.

 

I can totally see where you're coming from though, as the mom of one school age child and starting homeschooling for the first time. If you're enjoying it and it's working for your child, then I say carry on! You'll settle into a groove and adjust your prepping as time goes on and needs change. Meanwhile, congratulations on starting your homeschool and I hope you have a great year! It sounds like you are doing a very thorough job. :001_smile:

[SeekingHim77]

Eww, what state is that (so I can avoid it)? I thought NY was annoying.

 

Florida. :001_smile: We have to keep a log of all educational activities, keep a portfolio with samples of each student's work and fulfill a annual evaluation requirement. We have three choices for the evaluation: have a certified teacher do a portfolio review, have a certified teacher administer a standardized test or take the FCAT at a local public school.

 

It's really not bad. I would keep portfolios even if I wasn't required to. They are kind of like a homeschooling scrapbook and we like to look at them from time to time. I choose to have a certified teacher do portfolio reviews on both of my children and we have found a great evaluatior so we really look forward to and enjoy the evaluations. She is a great help to us in recommending curriculum to fit the children and helping to flesh out my son's highschool transcript.

 

The learning log however, was a thorn in my flesh for years! I detested it! It was such a pointless task and not one person has ever really looked at it in my 8 years of homeschooling. Switching to planning has been great because lesson plans actually serve a purpose.

 

Whew! That was way more than what you asked for, wasn't it? :D

[Kim in Appalachia]

I'm not saying you are doing too much with your child, just that you are doing too much prep. At that pace you will burn out by the time your child hits the middle grades.

 

I don't see much reason to retype the script that you have, just make changes as you need. Or to have that detailed of a plan at this stage.

[lovelaughs_times_three]

You are not pacing yourself for the marathon that is homeschooling. You are sprinting out of the gate. Seriously, for that age I'd be doing Math, Handwriting, and FIAR and consider myself an overachiever if I spent more than 2 hours a day on schooling and prep COMBINED.

 

I started K early with my oldest. Now she's 14 and I'm sure she'd be in the same place if we did nothing until she was six. She was capable, and we had fun, but it's easy to fry out on the prep-work when they're little and it's largely unnecessary. You just can't mess up K.

 

:iagree:with what everyone else has been saying. I do get being organized. But you don't want to burn out and end up missing the joy of this special time with your young one! :001_smile:

[Cassy]

I think you're probably doing fine. Looking at your blog it seems that you're actually "afterschooling" and don't intend to homeschool full-time in the long term, so 'burn out' shouldn't be an issue. I think you're probably right in that you need to make your prep smarter rather than more. Beware perfectionism, as I was constantly reminded when younger, don't let excellence get in the way of good.

 

Best wishes

 

Cassy

[GingerPoppy]

I think you're probably doing fine. Looking at your blog it seems that you're actually "afterschooling" and don't intend to homeschool full-time in the long term, so 'burn out' shouldn't be an issue. I think you're probably right in that you need to make your prep smarter rather than more. Beware perfectionism, as I was constantly reminded when younger, don't let excellence get in the way of good.

 

Best wishes

 

Cassy

:iagree:

What you're doing sounds great. :) But when I hear "retyping", it sounds like "perfectionism". Is there another way to make that program work? Maybe you simply read the script and she does the work on a blackboard or whiteboard? Or maybe consider a different program that cuts down on your prep.

 

As for art and science, have you thought about:

- finding a "premade" program that lays it all out for you

- doing science units that span a number of days (eg. growing a plant from seed, and each day drawing what it looks like and making a simple log to track growth/changes)

- doing art units... so maybe for one week, you do a variety of drawing skills, trying out drawing with different media, etc... and another week it's all about making finger paintings or watercolours... and another week is modelling week, so you do play dough, then Model Magic, then plasticine... none of these types of exploratory art require much in the way of prep. It's all in the process. (Which reminds me, there's a great book about kids' art being all about the process--can anyone think of the title or author?)

[happypamama]

 

Maryann F. Kohl's books, like Preschool Art and Primary Art, have this is as their main focus, the process, not the product. They're good for kindergarten-ish.

[JudoMom]

Gosh, I really wasn't expecting this level of critique.

 

I can guarantee that the level of work we are doing is not "insane" for a kindergartener. We are doing one day's lesson from the kindergarten curriculum, one day from MEP reception level (which is specifically for 4 year olds, fwiw). Then we do either a science activity (mostly taken from Science is Simple, which is a book for preschool) or something that would have fallen under "social studies". This week we studied matter, which basically means we froze and melted stuff. Last week we did a kindergarten map curriculum I found online, because DD is really into pirates and has been making "maps" to follow, like in some of her books. And I try to have an art project of some sort, too, because she loves that.

 

So, I'm sorry, but maybe I'm explaining myself poorly, because I really don't see how I'm doing anything except a very gentle kindergarten program. For a child who is kindergarten age in many districts, including where we are moving next year and she will be put in 1st grade. The reading program we are using is much gentler than most of the k curricula I see recommended here... I wasn't even planning on doing handwriting yet, let alone something like copywork.

 

But anyway.

 

Thanks for the perspective on prep work. I'm still figuring things out as I go along, and don't want to plan too far in advance so we can slow down as needed. Reading your responses, I think my problem is that I need to prep smarter, not harder :). As I said, I'm still figuring things out as I go along, and I didn't spend all summer doing stuff, and I'm reading about things as I go.

 

I think what you are doing work-wise with your dd is reasonable, especially if she enjoys it :001_smile:--it's the amount of prep work that would have me twitching! Can you switch to prepping one week at a time? I often found that to be a bit less time consuming since I get in a groove and have all the books I need out. What about making a photocopy of the teacher pages you need and making notes on them instead of retyping them?

 

FWIW, I did Bob Jones Foundations for Fours with my oldest when he was 3.5. My dh was working nights, and I spent about an hour prepping for the next day. It worked fine then--I had nothing else to do after I put the boys to bed, but now that I have 5 in school and evening activities and a dh home in the evening, I now do the bulk of my planning in the summer and spend about 1-2 hours on the weekend prepping for all the boys. You'll figure out what works for you and what doesn't work for you--the trick is to figure out how to change the what doesn't work part before you burn out.

[angela in ohio]

That sounds about right, except that I don't re-type anything (I photocopy and mark things up.) I don't think you need to go to the Accelerated board. :D You will always get some people who do less and some who do more; don't be afraid to post anyway. You didn't post because she is frustrated by it or anything, so it's not really an issue of needing to back off. Some dc - not just Accelerated ones - thrive on structured learning, though that personality type is not appreciated by most homeschoolers. ;)

 

When my dc were in kindy, we did about 30 minutes a day of math and phonics and handwriting. Then I spent other time doing art, science, geography, etc. projects informally. I had more time than money, so I hunted down projects and activities on the internet. Now I can buy programs that are all put together, but I spent years doing it myself. The good news is that this meant that I actually had previewed things and wasn't just reading through a lesson, making it up as I went along (which makes it boring for the student and doesn't allow you attention to make connections.)

 

My only advice would be to streamline your planning time a bit so that you can also spend time learning ahead. There are some great threads we've had here about how important it is to spend the early years splitting your time between homeschooling your dc and yourself. Look ahead at what topics you plan to teach and start reading up, if you don't already know about them or how to do them. It will be good for your dc to see mom "studying," too. :001_smile:

 

Also, make sure to leave plenty of time for field trips. Experiences outside our home formed the best base for later learning for my dc. And now we have less time to do those things. K-3 is the perfect time to get in all the outside classes, zoo trips, history and art museums, etc.

[chicagoshannon]

I'm also teaching a 4yr old kindergarten. I don't really prep at all. On Friday after we're done with school I spend 10 minutes tearing out our next week lessons (handwriting, math, phonics). I then print off our craft work sheets. We then just follow the istructor guide for our read alouds and things.

[Murphy101]

Definitely over the top for a child so young. :)

 

I get far more done with my 5 and 7 year old without so much wasted prep time.

 

The math, phonics, and penmanship are mostly open and go.

 

The science and history is mostly mom read aloud, discuss, related craft or art project.

 

So my prep is gather books, gather supplies, and start.

 

I keep a list for me of my goals for the week. I don't expect or require a child under 7 to need that list because they are not going ti be held accountable for it.

[Runningmom80]

Im starting tomorrow with my 4 year old, and I'm not prepping too much, we will just kind of go with the flow. I'm probably not doing enough, but we are going to try it this way first.

 

 

Def check out the accelerated learners board. Also, you can poke around davidson board, http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/forum_summary.html

 

There are lots of understanding and helpful parents of gifted kids. lots of them homeschool, and did rigorous academics with you kids.

[blondeviolin]

I'm currently doing K, but I don't prep for that long for the week. And, at four, we just did reading lessons until she was a fairly fluent reader.

 

I hopped over to your blog and I saw a few differences. Beyond phonics (ours is AAS because she is a fairly fluent reader already) and math (we're doing Miquon), we are using FIAR and other gentle unit studies.

 

It seems as though planning your science and other activities are what is taking the most time. Have you thought about using a free curric like lessonpathways or headoftheclass? Or just going through What Your ____ Needs to Know? (I saw that mentioned on your blog...I LOVE Core Knowledge too!) Maybe you could pull in the BCP Lessons Plans for a Core Knowledge-based K. I'm not sure many others know about this, but the What Your Preschooler Needs to Know has two activity books that you can buy to go with them. My nearly-4yo does the first one when he asks for school. There is also a second one for 4-5 year olds. I love FIAR and it is very gentle and low-prep (though, you can make it high-prep...).

 

When does she turn 5?

 

Just some thoughts. :)

[DawnM]

One of the reasons I buy the SL IG is for the schedule.

 

I am not one to reinvent the wheel. Re-typing the info isn't in my time allotment!

 

I actually do photocopy the week so that I can mark it up as much as I wish and add whatever I want in.

 

If I did what you are doing for all 3 of my kids we would never have time for anything.

 

Dawn

[Murphy101]

Well, you asked and then you didn't like the answers. Even heading over to the Accelerated Board might not prevent the burn-out you'll have in a few months' time. My kids are pretty smart too, but if you want to do homeschooling for the long run (with all the kids, not just your first-born), then you'll find yourself that you need to modify your approach!

 

So, yes, the majority here suggests you are over-doing the planning, but if it works for you and makes you feel good, then feel free to carry on (of course).

 

Yes. This isn't a question of what is being used for curriculum. I don't think the OP is teaching too much or too fast for the average 4 yr old. I didn't see anything accelerated there.

 

But the prep time and such seems a bit much to me. Even if the 4 year old is 4 years ahead of the average, teaching an 8 year old is not the most complicated of objectives. It's fairly simple and shouldn't take hours of prep time.

[DianeW88]

Well, after 17 years of homeschooling, I can tell you for sure that you will burn out if that is the level of prep you are doing for a 4 year old.

 

I plan two weeks at a time and it never takes more than two hours every two weeks to complete. That was when I had three students at home. Now that two have graduated and I only have a fifth grader....I spend even less time.

 

Also, you are not required to keep any kind of record until your child is the age of mandatory school attendance for your state. For most states that's six years old. I'd dump that thing like a hot potato....needless work.

 

Homeschooling is labor and time intensive. It does take over your day (life). Free time is precious and becomes even more difficult to find when you are schooling kids older than yours. Don't make things harder than they need to be. Burnout among homeschool moms is very, very real...and devastating. I'd make a course correction now, before the very word "homeschooling" makes you shudder. :lol:

[momma2three]

Thanks everyone.

 

I skipped the self-written script today, and just worked off the ons I'm following. It was a little more awkward, but not enough to make a difference. And DD is so into our "activities" (as I've been calling it) that she was very patient while I got to where we needed to be. It definitely was easier not to do that much prepping, though :)

[momma2three]

I'm currently doing K, but I don't prep for that long for the week. And, at four, we just did reading lessons until she was a fairly fluent reader.

 

I hopped over to your blog and I saw a few differences. Beyond phonics (ours is AAS because she is a fairly fluent reader already) and math (we're doing Miquon), we are using FIAR and other gentle unit studies.

 

It seems as though planning your science and other activities are what is taking the most time. Have you thought about using a free curric like lessonpathways or headoftheclass? Or just going through What Your ____ Needs to Know? (I saw that mentioned on your blog...I LOVE Core Knowledge too!) Maybe you could pull in the BCP Lessons Plans for a Core Knowledge-based K. I'm not sure many others know about this, but the What Your Preschooler Needs to Know has two activity books that you can buy to go with them. My nearly-4yo does the first one when he asks for school. There is also a second one for 4-5 year olds. I love FIAR and it is very gentle and low-prep (though, you can make it high-prep...).

 

When does she turn 5?

 

Just some thoughts. :)

 

Thanks, those are some great recommendations. :)

[twoforjoy]

I think some of it is that you're just starting. If you do keep homeschooling for years and years, you won't be doing that amount of prep. If you enjoy the prep work, then I don't see any problem with the time you're spending on it, but if you want to be spending less time, you could very easily do so, and you've gotten great suggestions.

 

Personally, I love homeschool prep work. I'm a teacher, and I'm a planner. (Following through on my plans, not so much. ;)) Spending my evening doing homeschool prep is really, really fun for me. Now, at this point, with the two littles, I really can't do it very often, so my prep time is much reduced from what it could be (most of the time I don't prep at all, other than gathering all the materials we need at the start of the week), but if I had a run of free evenings, I'd enjoy spending a few of them doing homeschool work.

 

The thing with teaching prep is that it's the kind of thing that can fill as much time as you let it. We learned that when I was in grad school and many of us were teaching our first classes. It's just kind of the nature of teaching. You can spend 20 hours a week prepping for your classes, or you can spend two hours. There's always more you can be doing, and you'll never get it perfect, so unless you either LOVE doing it and have unlimited time, you need to put limits on the time you spend, otherwise the planning can and will expand to fill any time you leave open.

[elegantlion]

I'm not saying you are doing too much with your child, just that you are doing too much prep. At that pace you will burn out by the time your child hits the middle grades.

 

I don't see much reason to retype the script that you have, just make changes as you need. Or to have that detailed of a plan at this stage.

 

 

:iagree:

Thanks everyone.

 

I skipped the self-written script today, and just worked off the ons I'm following. It was a little more awkward, but not enough to make a difference. And DD is so into our "activities" (as I've been calling it) that she was very patient while I got to where we needed to be. It definitely was easier not to do that much prepping, though :)

 

Good. I'm an organizer. When ds was younger, I liked to prep longer, it was my thing, I was used to working in an office environment. I can over organize and over plan anything.

 

I would NOT retype anything. We used Abeka for 3 years, I tweaked everything. The one time I tried to follow the scripted lessons I pulled my hair out.

 

Another pitfall of homeschooling is over planning, over researching, over preparing. Someone wrote a post this week that challenged us to make sure we were homeschooling with as much exuberance as we do the planning. At 4, obviously that's not going to take a lot of time.

 

If I could go back I would take less time to prep and spend more time creating an atmosphere of learning. We would go to the park and explore more, nature study. We would do more art, we would do more reading together. We did a lot of things together, but I would have spent less time at the desk and more...well, exploring life with my child.

 

Homeschooling really can become an extension of who you are, who your family is. That doesn't need a script. Enjoy the journey, and although cliche take time to smell the flowers, they grow so quickly.

[JenniferB]

Save your time & energy for your hubby, children & yourself. You can wing it for a 4 yo. Phonics, letter formation, basic numbers is all you need, oh & read aloud w/ library books.

[Amy in NH]

I vote "over the top". You are making it more difficult than it needs to be.

 

I prep about once per month, ordering ILL books to supplement our program. Everything else is used as is or modified on the fly if necessary.

[Jen in PA]

Thanks everyone.

 

I skipped the self-written script today, and just worked off the ons I'm following. It was a little more awkward, but not enough to make a difference. And DD is so into our "activities" (as I've been calling it) that she was very patient while I got to where we needed to be. It definitely was easier not to do that much prepping, though :)

 

I'm glad it went well going the low-prep route.

[GingerPoppy]

Maryann F. Kohl's books, like Preschool Art and Primary Art, have this is as their main focus, the process, not the product. They're good for kindergarten-ish.

 

Thank you, thank you! That's exactly the author I was thinking about. Highly recommended for young children and process art! (i.e. the opposite of follow-the-direcitons cookie cutter craft projects)