Why does school take so long for some people?

[ChrisB]

For 1st grade our family does:

Math = 30 min/day

Phonics/Writing = 20-30 min/day

History = 30 min x2/wk

Science = 15-20 min x2/wk

Art = 30-1hr x1/wk

Religious Ed = 15 min/day

 

In second grade we added WWE, grammar, spelling, and cursive as the next step after phonics. From the beginning I've read aloud daily, but I don't know how much extra since I don't tract the time.

 

They also go to a Friday morning co-op where they have a unit study, which tends towards geography/science, etc., art, music, and PE.

 

But, hon, if I had a newborn in the house, I'd just be doing what I could to get by at that point.

[Ria]

TWTM only has science scheduled 2 times a week and history 2-3 times a week in the grammar stage, and the "Priorities" sections in both Ch. 3 and 8 emphasize that science and history should not eclipse language arts and math in the grammar stage.

 

Yes, but historical fiction read-alouds can be done daily...that's both literature and history. And science can be just a walk outside plus two days of more formal class.

[catz]

One thing that works well for us is I always have a science based and a history or literature based read aloud going. So if our days are busy and we don't get to deep and hands on stuff, we've at least done something. I usually spend 30-45 minutes reading aloud and discussing. We listen to SOTW in the car and pull out a number of maps all at once.

 

We do TONS out of the house and I feel like much of our art, history, and science gets really reinforced well by the hands on we get to do out of the house. Music lessons/practice are big here too. I think my 5th grader can get through everything in 4-5 hours and my younger can be done in less than 2 hours (young 2nd grader, trying to gently ramp her up a little this year).

 

I will also say I don't think it's fair or accurate to compare a cyber school to regular homeschooling at the elementary level. There is SO much output required for cyber school to prove to a teacher somewhere you're learning somewhere it takes much longer.

Edited September 9, 2011 by kck

[angela in ohio]

I do not feel that any other subjects, at their ages, are necessary or even useful (I think they'd forget most of the things they'd study).

 

We probably take longer because I don't believe this is true. Everyone gets to have their own educational philosophy and approach.

 

If anything, my 9 yo has a longer school day than his sisters did at his age. That's where my experience has led me.

[lovelaughs_times_three]

I was time a good average is 1 hour for every year of school. First grade - one hour, second grade - two hours, etc. I do spelling, phones, math, grammar and handwriting with my first grade daily. We do science twice a week and history three times a week.

 

Does that mean a 12th grader needs to do 12 hours? At what point does this level off? I am wondering about this, but from the opposite side. I am wondering why it takes us so long to do school. I am wondering how much is too much.

[Food4Thought]

Yes, but historical fiction read-alouds can be done daily...that's both literature and history. And science can be just a walk outside plus two days of more formal class.

 

I see you have 6 kids, like the OP. When you had wee littles in the house, did you take daily nature walks with them and read novels every day?

 

I think the original question had a little tinge of judgment, which is why the OP is getting some feedback. Yes, some of us take a lot longer to homeschool (not me, I take about two hours a day, but I *do* have science, history, Spanish, art, handwriting and geography in addition to Math and Language Arts). But I think, considering the OP's current life situation (adding a newborn to a house full of littles), she is allowed some leeway to only hit the basics right now. I would hope for the same grace for myself, at least.

[WiseOwlKnits]

Those are the only 2 subjects we've been working on so far, we will start science this weekend and history will be random (I will have them listen to SOTW and we'll read books). But we wouldn't be doing science each day, anyway.

 

I do not feel that any other subjects, at their ages, are necessary or even useful (I think they'd forget most of the things they'd study). I guess we could do history every day but I don't think they'd remember most of it in a year. What am I doing wrong here?

 

Our day takes so long because we do a lot more than you. My 2nd grader does English, math, science, and history every day. She also has independent reading and we do a read-a-loud daily. We also do art, Sign Language, and Latin 2-3 times a week. With projects and activities for all those subjects, it takes us 3-4 hours a day.

 

My experience has been that DD remembers a LOT about what we've learned in history and science. We heard that Tutankhamun is going to be in Houston this winter and she asked if we could go see it, reminding me of details from SOTW 1 about him that I'd even forgotten. :)

 

And we studied Biology last year and she remembers TONS that we talked about. Just last week, DS was freaking out because he'd gotten a scrape that was bleeding (he doesn't "do" blood, LOL!) and she was telling him that his platelets were coming to the rescue to stop the bleeding.

 

So I'd personally kick up the history and science expectations a few notches. I think you'd be surprised with how much they remember, especially the 4th grader. :)

[EKS]

I do school from 8:00-3:00 but that is because I work with my younger son from 8-12 and with the older one from 12:30-3. Give or take.

[Renee in NC]

I see you have 6 kids, like the OP. When you had wee littles in the house, did you take daily nature walks with them and read novels every day?

 

I think the original question had a little tinge of judgment, which is why the OP is getting some feedback. Yes, some of us take a lot longer to homeschool (not me, I take about two hours a day, but I *do* have science, history, Spanish, art, handwriting and geography in addition to Math and Language Arts). But I think, considering the OP's current life situation (adding a newborn to a house full of littles), she is allowed some leeway to only hit the basics right now. I would hope for the same grace for myself, at least.

 

I had more time for other things when they were all younger. Now that I have 5 school-aged dc, basic schoolwork takes so long that we don't have time to do those things.:glare:

[Embassy]

 

I do not feel that any other subjects, at their ages, are necessary or even useful (I think they'd forget most of the things they'd study). I guess we could do history every day but I don't think they'd remember most of it in a year. What am I doing wrong here?

 

At least for my kids it would depend on how history was approached. We go in depth adding in books, documentaries, and projects. I think we spent 6 months learning about ancient Egypt last school year. They learn well that way. If I used a textbook method I'm pretty sure my kids wouldn't learn nearly as much. But there is joy in the journey of learning. So even if they forget the material they may take away the idea that history is interesting and fun to learn.

 

We spend 6 or so hours a day on school. We do many subjects (see signature). At my son's request I increased our science time to about 3.5 hours a week this year. He wants more, but he does that on his time. My kids prefer a long day over a short one that covers the basics. Seat work time is limited though.

[Mom0012]

I guess I am clearly doing something wrong.

 

I see some others with children around my children's ages (I have a 4th grader, a 1st grader and a couple preschoolers this year) saying they spend virtually all day doing school. How does this happen? We are doing CLE math with my 4th grader and Singapore math with my 1st grader. My 4th grader spends about 30-45 minutes on her math for the day, my 1st grader even less time than that. Then I have my 1st grader do handwriting (HWT), which takes him about 20 minutes. My 4th grader then will do her English, so another 30-40 minutes for that.

 

That's about one hour total for 2 subjects. :confused:

 

Those are the only 2 subjects we've been working on so far, we will start science this weekend and history will be random (I will have them listen to SOTW and we'll read books). But we wouldn't be doing science each day, anyway.

 

I do not feel that any other subjects, at their ages, are necessary or even useful (I think they'd forget most of the things they'd study). I guess we could do history every day but I don't think they'd remember most of it in a year. What am I doing wrong here?

 

My current 4th grader had a very light schedule in K, 1st and 2nd. Her day became a little longer, but she was always done by lunch in 3rd. Fourth grade is taking longer for a number of reasons. We are doing Spanish, SL 5, Apologia science, a writing program, typing and poetry memorization. I guess we could drop all but the writing if we really wanted to go bare bones academically, but she enjoys everything we are doing. She also does piano practice and independent reading during the school day. I would not feel comfortable just having her do math and grammar in 4th grade.

 

While I think you are right that many kids won't remember a lot of history that is read to them in the very young years, I feel spending a significant amount of time reading aloud to children is very important for developing their vocabulary and comprehension, as well as for adding a real enjoyment factor to school.

 

Lisa

Edited September 10, 2011 by LisaTheresa

[I.Dup.]

I see you have 6 kids, like the OP. When you had wee littles in the house, did you take daily nature walks with them and read novels every day? ...But I think, considering the OP's current life situation (adding a newborn to a house full of littles), she is allowed some leeway to only hit the basics right now. I would hope for the same grace for myself, at least.

 

Thank you for saying this.

 

 

I think the original question had a little tinge of judgment, which is why the OP is getting some feedback.

 

I apologize as this is not what I intended at ALL. I was truly just thinking out loud. If anything, I am nodding my head and thankful for (most of) the replies, taking notes as to where we can change. I would truly LIKE to add more subjects in, and think it's great when families choose to have a longer school day. I'm sure it would be beneficial.

 

If anything, I'm feeling more insecure than ever, esp. after reading the more snarky replies, but I guess I was asking for it.

 

I had more time for other things when they were all younger. Now that I have 5 school-aged dc, basic schoolwork takes so long that we don't have time to do those things.:glare:

 

I do agree we have time for things, however the logistics of working it all out is absolutely mind boggling and overwhelming when there is some sort of crisis just about every second around here. Baby is needing to nurse, the phone is ringing, someone smeared poop on the wall, someone is waiting in the bathroom to be wiped, the 3yo dumped a container of flour all over the kitchen, dd is talking a million miles a minute trying to tell me every detail of something she is doing, and on and on. It practically takes the special forces just to figure out how to get out the door and go grocery shopping let alone conduct science experiments and figure out how to keep everyone quiet and contained long enough for several hours worth of seat work. But I am determined to figure it out as I REALLY want to give my kids a high quality education, I have faith that I have been already seeing as to how they are thriving, and I hope that I will be able to do so even more.

 

Thank you to those who have posted with grace and understanding!! I am def. taking notes. :001_smile:

[2squared]

I see you have 6 kids, like the OP. When you had wee littles in the house, did you take daily nature walks with them and read novels every day?

 

I don't know about the OP, but my 5 dc aged 9yo & under are physically exhausting. Nothing happens exactly as planned, and my day can easily melt away with nothing to show for it except a mess.

 

Our science is primarily based on CM's nature study philosophy, but in a very unscheduled fashion. They spend hours outside on our acreage most days, and I fill in with random read alouds. This year my 4th grader is starting to buddy read history and literature with me. Until this point, history has been either via random read alouds or her independent reading. Even though it looks (and sometimes feels) very relaxed, their test scores show them "ahead" of their grade levels, so I think our methods are working.

 

With our family situation, I can honestly say that I don't facilitate projects and experiments. I give my dc ideas and tools, and then they take it from there. I don't have the time, energy, or patience to organize projects for my older kids while wrangling toddlers and babies.

 

I am hoping that my baby train has stopped, and I can see a different homeschooling season coming. If we were planning on continuing to have babies at this fast pace, I would need to have a plan so I could "do it all" despite having babies and toddlers underfoot.

 

ETA: It would be fun to have a discussion about how homeschooling really looks for various families like ours - families with a handful of littles and all the associated chaos. What do others do? How do they do it? What do they give up? What are their musts-do, like-to-do, and never-get-to-dos? Etc....

Edited September 10, 2011 by 2squared

[smilesonly]

We are all entitled to school the way we want. Thank God for that.;)

 

A nice benefit to hsing is that we don't need to school all.day.long.

 

IMHO, it is overkill to spend 2 hours doing LA with a 4th grader.:001_huh: Unless, this is an hour for reading and the other LA components make up the other hour.

 

OP-you are doing an amazing job!!:grouphug:

 

This is one of those threads that scare off new hsers, and put fear and self-doubt in a veteran hser's mind.:lol:

 

:auto::auto:

[at the beach]

Your approach may be just right for your family. I think it can be a very bad thing to get into a mindset where you are constantly freaking out that you aren't doing enough. Don't fall into that trap. Reading, writing, arithmetic at their level of readiness. If you do those things, you are fine right now. You said in one post that your kid's test scores show adequate progress, but even if they did not, I still wouldn't necessarily pin it on you not doing enough. Others may spend more time on formal academics because they wish to but it doesn't necessarily mean it's better for your family to do that, too. One size doesn't fit all.

 

Two books I'll recommend: Homeschooling: A Family's Journey by the Millmans and The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook by the Moores.

 

Also, have you looked at Ambleside Online or Mater Amabalis (Catholic)? A wealth of information on how to educate your kids at home gently and rigorously using a Charlotte Mason approach. A high quality education can include lots of play time and free time.

 

Enjoy your precious little ones. Here's a poem that I've always loved. If you haven't read it before, perhaps you will enjoy it and give yourself permission to take it easy for a while.

 

Song for a Fifth Child

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

 

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing and butter the bread,

Sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew

And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo

But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

 

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

[WeeBeaks]

I do agree we have time for things, however the logistics of working it all out is absolutely mind boggling and overwhelming when there is some sort of crisis just about every second around here. Baby is needing to nurse, the phone is ringing, someone smeared poop on the wall, someone is waiting in the bathroom to be wiped, the 3yo dumped a container of flour all over the kitchen, dd is talking a million miles a minute trying to tell me every detail of something she is doing, and on and on. It practically takes the special forces just to figure out how to get out the door and go grocery shopping let alone conduct science experiments and figure out how to keep everyone quiet and contained long enough for several hours worth of seat work. But I am determined to figure it out as I REALLY want to give my kids a high quality education, I have faith that I have been already seeing as to how they are thriving, and I hope that I will be able to do so even more.

 

 

What about online choices or videos? I'm just coming more into this the present year, and feeling a little guilty. I am transitioning from that guilt some after talking to friends. I believe strongly in limited screen time. But I also see how incredibly well the kids remember things from video or computer. I feel guilty that I'm not reading some nice quality book to them one on one, yet frankly some times I can't do all I really want to do. Why not utilize some quality online or video materials? I'm thinking out loud my own thoughts as well as addressing your question here...

 

So we have Learn360 (learn360.com) this year. Great content so far IMHO. I preview it and cue it up into lesson plans, one plan each kid of what I want them working on. It is working GREAT. And I even had time to can some tomatoes yesterday.

 

Oldest DS uses Powerspeak online for Spanish. Truly ideal? No. But we aren't doing an in person class this year for Spanish. I just can't in our schedule. DS and I both have several years of Spanish, and we can hear Spanish locally in the community pretty much every park or grocery store we go to. So year 1 of Spanish on the computer is better than zero and he can hear the accent properly locally and practice a little.

 

We also are using Netflix streaming for the first time this year. I planned for "Sid the Science Kid" today. We did a little book science too, but I augmented with some videos. They love it, they retain it ... it's good.

 

With my first and second we read and read for hours. I have four now, ages 9 to 1. What our day looks like has changed. It's me that is more inflexible than the kids. They are learning and doing well.

[catz]

IMHO, it is overkill to spend 2 hours doing LA with a 4th grader.:001_huh: Unless, this is an hour for reading and the other LA components make up the other hour.

 

I agree. My son does read for at least an hour a day independently and actually my younger is coming up to that too. So, if you can assign or encourage independent exploration and reading, that can fill a hole too. My kids are most interested and passionate about things they pick to explore. I also have a rule that from wake up to 3 pm we do not watch TV or play video games. So they do have some time to fill!

 

I also think that you should go easy on yourself with all the littles! Brainpop has been a great independent thing my kids do and discovery streaming (subscribed through G3). xtra math is free if your kids need some math drill https://www.xtramath.org/

 

Good luck! :001_smile:

[I.Dup.]

 

OP-you are doing an amazing job!!:grouphug:

 

 

I cannot tell you how nice this is to hear, like water for my soul. :001_smile: Thank you.

 

Your approach may be just right for your family. I think it can be a very bad thing to get into a mindset where you are constantly freaking out that you aren't doing enough. Don't fall into that trap. Reading, writing, arithmetic at their level of readiness. If you do those things, you are fine right now. You said in one post that your kid's test scores show adequate progress, but even if they did not, I still wouldn't necessarily pin it on you not doing enough. Others may spend more time on formal academics because they wish to but it doesn't necessarily mean it's better for your family to do that, too. One size doesn't fit all.

 

Two books I'll recommend: Homeschooling: A Family's Journey by the Millmans and The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook by the Moores.

 

Also, have you looked at Ambleside Online or Mater Amabalis (Catholic)? A wealth of information on how to educate your kids at home gently and rigorously using a Charlotte Mason approach. A high quality education can include lots of play time and free time.

 

Enjoy your precious little ones. Here's a poem that I've always loved. If you haven't read it before, perhaps you will enjoy it and give yourself permission to take it easy for a while.

 

Song for a Fifth Child

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

 

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing and butter the bread,

Sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew

And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo

But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

 

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

 

I have loved that poem for quite awhile, and yes, that goes along more with my personal philosophy. Thank you so much. :001_smile:

[littleWMN]

Well, I think you are doing a good job. I liked some of the other suggestions mentioned too, if you are interested.

 

But, I mainly wanted to post this:

 

http://www.schoolofabraham.com/babylesson.htm

[Lawana]

Okay, this helps. Adding all of this in would take a lot of extra time, I guess I just felt it would be a waste since I didn't think they'd remember most of it. I barely remember ANYthing that I studied all throughout school in the lower grades (and even much of high school, where was I? lol) Maybe I am underestimating them.

That was my thought, too. Even now, with a 12yo and 14yo, I am regretting it. I am often surprised by what they don't know, that I took for granted at those ages. It's embarrassing.

 

If nothing else, I would add read alouds about a variety of subjects.

[Renee in NC]

I do agree we have time for things, however the logistics of working it all out is absolutely mind boggling and overwhelming when there is some sort of crisis just about every second around here. Baby is needing to nurse, the phone is ringing, someone smeared poop on the wall, someone is waiting in the bathroom to be wiped, the 3yo dumped a container of flour all over the kitchen, dd is talking a million miles a minute trying to tell me every detail of something she is doing, and on and on. It practically takes the special forces just to figure out how to get out the door and go grocery shopping let alone conduct science experiments and figure out how to keep everyone quiet and contained long enough for several hours worth of seat work. But I am determined to figure it out as I REALLY want to give my kids a high quality education, I have faith that I have been already seeing as to how they are thriving, and I hope that I will be able to do so even more.

 

Thank you to those who have posted with grace and understanding!! I am def. taking notes. :001_smile:

 

I totally understand that - when #7 was born, I had 5 dc 7 and under (much the same ages as yours.) It's rough! At the same time, you can't compare yourself to others. *I* was able to do more nature walks, read alouds, etc. when everyone was younger, but that doesn't mean that you could. Others may do a lot of seatwork with their younger dc because it's easier for them than read alouds and nature walks. I have an 8yo who is doing very little formal schoolwork roght now because I can't figure out how to do it for him - he can't read and his particular issues make it so he is unable to do much on his own. Everyone has their struggles.

 

Have you tried corraling everyone in one room. (sorry, no question mark) Or corraling the younger ones in one room and doing school in a nearby room.

 

SOTW comes in audio. Play it for them and give them the coloring pages. Spend 5 minutes discussing it afterwards. Voila - history is covered. This is what I am doing with mine as I can't fit it in otherwise.

 

Naptime. After dh gets home. Early in the A.M. while younger ones are stuck at the table with you (high chairs)

 

Or, remember that this too shall pass. Someday they will no longer be young and then you get a whole new set of issues!

[weyland]

Okay, this helps. Adding all of this in would take a lot of extra time, I guess I just felt it would be a waste since I didn't think they'd remember most of it. I barely remember ANYthing that I studied all throughout school in the lower grades (and even much of high school, where was I? lol) Maybe I am underestimating them.

 

My 6th grade DD *still* remembers most of what she learned doing SotW in Kindergarten... I wasn't even going to have her do it, but her 2nd grade brother was and she wanted in on the action. They both remember all the important bits...

and really, it isn't about remembering all the things, anyway, it is about becoming familiar. Knowledge builds upon knowledge, and all those pegs help them learn down the road.

 

For instance, several years ago (oldest were 1st and 3rd grade) the oldest drew a narration card out of the jar that said to make a song of the reading, which was about the death of Vortigern. His song was "Burn Vortigern, castle inferno" to the tune of Disco Inferno. Now, the kids always remembered this, even though my 1st grader didn't quite remember who Vortigern was, she remembered how he died, and when she read about him again 4 years later it *really* stuck.

 

The kids also have a Book of Centuries they put in pictures they've drawn, quotes, clippings, etc into which serves as their personal timeline of things they've learned. They go through it often and they really remember everything that is in there because they revisit it often, and show it to every person who visits us LOL.

 

Most kids don't remember what they learn in elementary school because of how it is taught and learned. It is dry, boring, and pretty worthless to the child. Make it interesting, relevant, and memorable and you'll be surprised with how much they'll keep with them!

[giftof6]

I didn't read all the replies, but for us:

 

1) We have 6 kids. It just takes longer to get to everyone.

 

2) Our state requires we do school a certain number of hours a year. So if your kid can do their math lesson in 20 minutes, it's actually not a good thing. So stupid. :glare:

Edited September 14, 2011 by giftof6
correction

[weyland]

 

 

 

I do agree we have time for things, however the logistics of working it all out is absolutely mind boggling and overwhelming when there is some sort of crisis just about every second around here. Baby is needing to nurse, the phone is ringing, someone smeared poop on the wall, someone is waiting in the bathroom to be wiped, the 3yo dumped a container of flour all over the kitchen, dd is talking a million miles a minute trying to tell me every detail of something she is doing, and on and on. It practically takes the special forces just to figure out how to get out the door and go grocery shopping let alone conduct science experiments and figure out how to keep everyone quiet and contained long enough for several hours worth of seat work. But I am determined to figure it out as I REALLY want to give my kids a high quality education, I have faith that I have been already seeing as to how they are thriving, and I hope that I will be able to do so even more.

 

I so know how this is, and I only have 4 kids.

 

The first year after my last baby was born my older kids pretty much unschooled. The year after that, when my husband was unemployed and we moved across the country, well, we didn't accomplish much that year either.

 

And it is ok. Neither of them are "behind" in anything, DD was behind in math a little, but then we just got her up to speed (math gets earlier to learn as they get older, I have noticed). Cooking and some living math books, as well as khan academy was enough to keep her at just about grade level. Khan Academy actually allowed my oldest to rocket ahead to be going into Algebra in 7th grade. He was "behind" in math for a couple of years and I asked him to do 45 minutes of Khan Academy a day for a few months before summer. He entered school this year and placed in Algebra, because he was ready and it was easy for him once he was ready. DH was military for 6 years and we had a lot of ebbs and flow to homeschooling because of all the moves and long-distance visiting the kids had to do to see their natural father. It worked fine. I worried a lot, but it all worked fine. No matter what I do, the kids learn :)

 

I will say that I found it easier to get outside for nature walks when I had a baby... because I felt like I *needed* diversions in order to stay sane and keep the kids under control. I also do read a novel aloud every day, but I don't have as many littles as you. I find a natural "quiet" time, something after a big activity, after coming home from an errand, what have you, and read aloud. Because I NEED some quiet calm, and this is how I am able to get it LOL. I know it doesn't work like that for everyone, but we all do what we need to survive the day sometimes when there are little ones in the house, and that is one thing that I found worked for me to help me center myself.

 

Another thing that I found helped a lot is routine and ritual. Every day at a certain time I would sing a certain song and then I'd have snack ready. Or I would read a book. No matter what else was happening, no matter if the baby was screaming and the dog was peeing on the rug... I tried REally really hard to adhere to 2-3 times for certain things every day. As the kids get older I add another thing. It makes our days so much smoother because the kids are "trained" to expect this thing, whatever it may be, and one thing is that much easier to get through that day :) It is hard at first, but eventually it helps far more than the initial work involved.

 

I haven't read all the replies, but wanted to let you know not to worry :)

[alpidarkomama]

For instance, several years ago (oldest were 1st and 3rd grade) the oldest drew a narration card out of the jar that said to make a song of the reading, which was about the death of Vortigern. His song was "Burn Vortigern, castle inferno" to the tune of Disco Inferno

 

What other narration cards are in the jar?? That sounds like fun!

[LucyStoner]

We have an 8 year old. We spend a longer day. For my son, 1 hour a day only would be a problem. We don't do every subject everyday but over the course of a week, we do all of the things in my signature. I definitely think that it is benefiting him and he is enjoying it all. There is more to learning than math, reading and handwriting. Learning to speak other languages, learning to write, learning to persue topics that interest you. We all need to do what works for our kids.

 

I would dispute that kids can't remember what they learn when they are young. If they can learn math and spelling, they can learn history facts and Spanish grammar. I most definitely recall things I learned before the 5th grade.

Edited September 14, 2011 by kijipt

[Virg]

I wish school didn't take so long at my house! Bible class takes an hour because everyone will be devastated if we don't sing one more worship song (or three!) and I still haven't found a way to tell kids who just really want to worship, "No." Plus they all really want to discuss the Bible story to death, which I feel like I should be thankful for, but deep down I want them to HURRY. Two have ADHD and spend more time staring out the window at the birds or a random leaf than listening to me. Anytime there is individual work I have to remind them every few minutes to look at their paper. One can't read due to speech and language processing disorders and both stepchildren have a really low IQ due to prenatal exposure. None of them can ever find anything- who knows why they only have 2 pee chees for the day's work and it is all clearly labeled and organized. Copywork and dictation of one sentence takes twenty minutes, literally.

 

All that to say I think you are doing great. Cuddle your little ones :grouphug: and add in more if you can but maybe just be glad that it doesn't take you all day. Once more of your children are joining in on lessons it will take longer and you will wish for these days! :001_smile:

[joannqn]

When my kids were younger, and now that I'm folding my younger set into our day, I'd do a lot of fun things and call it school:

 

LA: With younger kids (say 8/9 and under), I've done fine motor skills development like giving each kid a cookie sheet with shaving cream, pudding, finger paint, salt, etc. in it to draw with their fingers. 4-6 year olds can practice writing letters, numbers, words, etc. in it. It will create a mess so I plan that into my time (ie. 10 minutes of play means 30 minutes total to count for clean up).

 

MATH/SCIENCE: Done calendar and weather daily. We count the number of days up to today, and the day's helper puts the current day on the calendar. We read through the days of the week and change the weather pointer to the proper picture.

 

FINE ARTS: Done art. My older kids follow the project directions (we get projects from artprojectsforkids.org) while the younger kids color/scribble with the supplies. I might draw the basic picture for them and lead them through using the oil pastels, chalks, water colors, etc. Where the older kids color entire sections, the younger might choose a color and scribble inside a section with it.

 

HISTORY: Done history projects from SOTW AG. My kids loved making sugar cube pyramids. The olders were 7 and 9 and did a 10 story pyramid. I helped my then 2 year old build a 3 story pyramid. Then they painted them. They also loved and remember a lot about mummies because we mummified a chicken. My 9 year old knows more about history and some science topics than I do.

 

HISTORY/SCIENCE: Go on field trips to the zoo, science center, living history, children's museums, etc.

 

HISTORY/SCIENCE: Read a lot of books. I choose most of our reading, even now, from the SOTW AG. This year, I get my younger kids books about a social studies topic (ie. community helper or holiday) while the older kids are getting books that go with their history topic. Littles get books about various animals.

 

SCIENCE: Raise critters. We've done caterpillars, triops, and gold fish. We tried to do frogs, but our eggs may have been salamander eggs, which are hard to hatch. Whichever kind we got, they didn't. We've also kept grasshoppers, slugs, pillbugs, ladybugs, crane flies, spiders, harvesters, and moths in a plastic aquarium for a short time to observe. All ages love this!

 

SCIENCE: Built a marble run with the olders (they need a lot of help to follow the directions), but the youngers love watching it.

 

MATH/LA/SCIENCE: Glue, measure, weigh, pour beans/lentils/rice, etc. Again, count clean up time in your schedule. We recently glued various legumes to block letter outlines.

 

HOME EC/PE(motor skills): Have them "help" with chores. My 2 and 4 year olds love to push the wet clothes into the dryer. I put them on the door for them. Give them a water bottle and a cloth. Home Ec is a valid school subject.

 

MATH: Count...everything. Sort...everything.

 

The possibilities are endless. For sanity sake, I try to combine ages as much as possible. Even with a 7th and 5th grader, many of their subjects are still combined. While I have my 2 year old work with my 4 year old on preschool/kindy skills. Of course the 2 year old isn't working at quite the same level as my 4 year old, but it is fun for her and she is learning some.

[IsabelC]

Decide on 30 minutes of math for eldest child.

Locate relevant kid and get kid to present himself for math time - 1 to 10 minutes (if he happens to be up the back paddock with no shoes and need chook poop washed off).

Wait while kid has a potty break, fixes a snack to stave off imminent starvation, and decides to change outfits - anything up to 30 minutes.

Get kid set up with correct materials, including finding the only pencil that is acceptable to him and debating about where it's allowable to sit - 1 to 10 minutes.

Deal with screaming tantrum that 3yo has thrown in the meantime, while simultaneously fielding questions about reproduction or the meaning of life from other sibling - up to 20 minutes.

Return to first child and get him to disengage from working on his latest invention that he's started while waiting for mother to explain math assignment - 2 minutes, but 10 minutes if he has Aspergers.

Explain math work, tell child that yes he does know how to do it, no he can't use the calculator, not even if he uses it while hiding in his room - several minutes.

Tell other children that they may not hold a disco in the room where their brother is trying to do schoolwork. Set them up with another activity. Return and demand to know why first child hasn't done anything except sketch engineering designs on worksheet - at least five minutes.

First subject finally done, for one child. Rinse, repeat with other children.

Realise laundry isn't started, have no idea what's for dinner and oh drat forgot promised husband to work on business website today, tell kids to get outside and unschool for a while.

[joannqn]

I wish school didn't take so long at my house! Bible class takes an hour because everyone will be devastated if we don't sing one more worship song (or three!) and I still haven't found a way to tell kids who just really want to worship, "No." Plus they all really want to discuss the Bible story to death, which I feel like I should be thankful for, but deep down I want them to HURRY.

 

Please tell me how you manage this. I've never managed to do Bible on a regular basis. It's sooooo boring that it gets dropped pretty quickly. I even have difficulty doing personal Bible study because it puts me to sleep faster than a sleeping pill.

[KidsHappen]

My kids took two hours per day until high school. That was heavy in language arts, regular amount of math, science and history and then light on Latin. Independent reading, art and music was not included in that amount of time. The middle two are in college now and carrying fairly heavy loads with excellent grades. The high schooler is in PS now and taking three honors courses with A's. The middle schooler is also in PS and while she is only in regular classes she is getting A's as well. The youngest two had learning difficulties that sometimes required breaks but actual work time was only two hours. I always wonder what people who are spending significantly more time are doing. Four hours is the required amount of time per day for homeschoolers (ETA: in the state of TN) and I would say anymore than that is really too much work for children younger than high school. Even if your children are intelligent enough to do the work, they are not developmentally ready for extended amounts of seat work. They may be capable but I don't think it is a good idea. I fully believe that even older children need free time to play both physically and mentally.

Edited September 14, 2011 by KidsHappen

[Jenny in Florida]

Even if your children are intelligent enough to do the work, they are not developmentally ready for extended amounts of seat work. They may be capable but I don't think it is a good idea. I fully believe that even older children need free time to play both physically and mentally.

 

As always, it depends on the kid.

 

I happen to have two who get bored and unhappy without enough to occupy their brains. Each of them, once they hit a certain age, simply starts doing more.

 

For my daughter, that was at about nine. She looked at me one day, asked what I was doing to prepare her for college and then started piling on the work. For my son, this didn't really kick in until sometime last year (when he was 12-ish).

 

We started the year with this plan for my son, which I assumed would be a struggle to complete:

 

- Math and English were planned by me.

- Spanish was to be taken online.

- Science, Geography, History and World Religions were student driven, within some guidelines.

 

That was it.

 

Since the beginning of the year, he has made the following changes:

 

- He joined a Lego First League team that takes up most of one school day, meaning he is now needing to finish everything else in three days. The team also assigns homework every week, which adds to his academic load.

- He added art and self-taught piano.

- He applied to volunteer at the local science center, which will take up another half day each week.

- He auditioned for a youth production last weekend.

- Earlier this week, he asked me when I thought he would be ready to go to college. He wanted to know if next year would be too soon.

 

He's just a lot happier when he's busy.

[Stacy in NJ]

you do formal history and science in the grammar stage.

 

What are your kids doing when not doing school work? What are they doing with the other 12 hours in the day? If they're playing with toys, playing outside, reading, creating some type of art, practicing a musical instrument - than whether or not history or science is getting done is moot. If they're sitting in front of a screen for a large chunk of the day - well, that's a problem.

 

Rather than worry about how much time you're spending doing school, or whether or not more formal content subjects are getting done, invest some thought in the overall educational environment of your home. And that really begins with how you're spending your free time. If you're curious and engaged than they'll probably be curious and engaged. It is difficult when you've got littles running around underfoot and loads of housework to be in the present for all your kidlets, but that is the challenge of home education.

 

I see you have 6 kids, like the OP. When you had wee littles in the house, did you take daily nature walks with them and read novels every day?

 

I think the original question had a little tinge of judgment, which is why the OP is getting some feedback. Yes, some of us take a lot longer to homeschool (not me, I take about two hours a day, but I *do* have science, history, Spanish, art, handwriting and geography in addition to Math and Language Arts). But I think, considering the OP's current life situation (adding a newborn to a house full of littles), she is allowed some leeway to only hit the basics right now. I would hope for the same grace for myself, at least.

[JulieH]

you do formal history and science in the grammar stage.

 

What are your kids doing when not doing school work? What are they doing with the other 12 hours in the day? If they're playing with toys, playing outside, reading, creating some type of art, practicing a musical instrument - than whether or not history or science is getting done is moot. If they're sitting in front of a screen for a large chunk of the day - well, that's a problem.

 

Rather than worry about how much time you're spending doing school, or whether or not more formal content subjects are getting done, invest some thought in the overall educational environment of your home. And that really begins with how you're spending your free time. If you're curious and engaged than they'll probably be curious and engaged. It is difficult when you've got littles running around underfoot and loads of housework to be in the present for all your kidlets, but that is the challenge of home education.

 

Thanks so much for posting this. It has given me a lot to think about!

[Mommee & Baba]

For me doing school with 2 and a totboy in the mix our days vary by how long we're in session for school.

 

If we get up and get started right away then we're done by lunch-time. If we don't get started first thing and wait a little bit we're not done until around 2-3pm. We set our own pace.

 

Somedays we'll get started right off and be on a good roll and totboy wakes up and decides he's not having us do school and would rather fuss and demand mommy to himself, causing our school session to be put on hold and not getting done until he lys down for a nap in the afternoon.

 

We spend about 4-5hrs doing school each day. Mon & Wed are longer by an hour. Tues & Thurs are our 4hr days. Friday is our 1 hour day unless we have anything that needs to be worked on our made up from the week.

[Stacy in NJ]

This tell us next to nothing about the how and the why.

 

As a somewhat experienced homeschooler, one of my regrets is the missed opportunities in how I educated my oldest. He did a pretty full course load in the grammer and early logic stage - doing all the traditional subjects recommended in TWTM. I wish I had spent more time really engaging and lingering with him on those fun and meaningfully subjects like history and science and not worried about just getting it done. My younger son is the beneficiary of my learning curve. He still spends time trudging through the necessary skill subjects (primarily math and writing) but we approach history and science, and other subjects was well, with an eye on what is truly meaningful.

 

Thanks so much for posting this. It has given me a lot to think about!

[Haiku]

What am I doing wrong here?

 

You're not doing anything wrong if what you are doing works for you and your kids. In addition to math and "language arts" (which around here means grammar, writing, and spelling), we also do memory work, Spanish, science, and history. These are all important to me and therefore have become important to my kids. There are other things I would like to be doing (logic, formal music study, Latin) that I have let slide for various reasons (one of which is not wanting to have to cram a bunch of stuff in, another of which is realizing that Latin will be a lot easier if my dd has a solid grounding in English grammar), but the things we do are considered non-negotiable. I don't think that my kids will forget much of what they learn ... in fact, we frequently talk about things my kids learned in science/history in K-1st, and they remember a lot. Their knowledge builds on itself.

 

But ... I don't think a kid who doesn't study a foreign language or huge amounts of science/history in the grammar stage is going to be ruined for life. ;)

 

Tara

[Embassy]

As always, it depends on the kid.

 

I happen to have two who get bored and unhappy without enough to occupy their brains.

 

:iagree: I have a child that wants to be filled up with learning. He is a different child when hungry and when satisfied. He can fill himself somewhat, but enjoys a varied diet that he doesn't know how to prepare all by himself yet.

[Chloe]

Those are the only 2 subjects we've been working on so far, we will start science this weekend and history will be random (I will have them listen to SOTW and we'll read books). But we wouldn't be doing science each day, anyway.

 

I do not feel that any other subjects, at their ages, are necessary or even useful (I think they'd forget most of the things they'd study). I guess we could do history every day but I don't think they'd remember most of it in a year. What am I doing wrong here?

 

:iagree: My third grader only does reading, writing and math. He will start history and science next year, but it will still be pretty casual (reading books, no mapping, timelines or comprehension questions....just casual discussion). Right now he has an interest in knights and castles, so that is where our read-alouds are focused, and we are doing a lapbook. However, it's not required school work. It's for fun. My PK 4yo does a reading lesson each day because she loves it, but that is it for her. Now, my 7th and 8th grader start lessons at about 8:30AM and finish around 3:30PM, taking about an hour for lunch because that's also when I read aloud to them.

[swellmomma]

Our days are long because of many reasons 1. the kids learning issues and attitudes just drag it out, 2. The programs we use are very teacher intensive, filled with livingbooks, projects etc. and 3. the number of subjects covered. Just the core 4 can take all day. We are not a textbook/workbook family for the most part (math is the exception but they have major learning issues in math so even workbook pages take a long time). I can see keeping school to under an hour in 1st grade, but even my non-reading 2nd grader takes longer than that for school, but that is heavy on read alouds, hands on projects, etc in addition to reading, math and phonics. Heck my 3 yr old has a school day longer than 1 hour (though it is by her own wishes) because I incorporate so much stuff into it (fingerplays, poems, crafts, readalouds etc)

[HS Mom in NC]

My 6 year old (times are approximate)

 

Daily

 

Phonics 30 minutes (mix of lesson, review, readers, reading sentences)

Note* My middle child was a late reader so she listened to lots of literature on CDs until she was ready to start Phonics at around 7.5 years old.)

 

Math 30 minutes (mix of lesson and review)

Writing 15 minutes (mix of basic handwriting, word families for Phonics,and dictation. )

Bible Reading 15 minutes

Memorization 15 minutes

Piano 20-30 minutes (mix of solos and accompanied by Mom pieces)

Literature 30-60 minutes (read aloud by mom)

 

Weekly

 

Geography 10 minutes (new areas and review 2-3 times a week)

Heritage Studies 1-2 hours total (She's an international adoptee. Lapbook, crafts, story/picture books, etc. several times a week.)

 

We will add History (SOTW) for the youngest when the older two (15 and 13) finish this rotation of the modern world and begin the Ancients again. (This winter.) Then all 3 will be in the same era for History daily working at different stages. The older two do more of a Living Books unit study approach to History, Literature, Civics, and Economics.

[ktgrok]

At that age science and history are, for me, about developing a love for the subject. If the first time they "do history" it is heavy duty in the middle grades that doesn't encourage a love of history.If they start with stories and movies and making their own coat of arms and mummifying chickens then the really learn to LOVE it, which sustains them when it gets harder later on.