We're drowning in school, need help w/ schedule ideas

[lovelaughs_times_three]

OH MY GOSH! THIS TURNED OUT SO LONG!!!!!!!! ACK! IF YOU ARE SO KIND TO READ ALL OF THESE RAMBLINGS, YOU ARE A HERO!!!!! (sorry!)

 

I am stumped. Tired. Burning out quickly. I need your help to figure out a different way of doing things. I am probably too close to the situation and I can't see the obvious, but I really need a new perspective.

 

Here's the situation. Last year (and actually every other year I have homeschooled) I spent most of my time on what I consider the "basics" - Math and all things Language - Spelling, Handwriting, Vocabulary, Reading, Reading Comp/Literary Analysis, Creative Writing, Essay/Formal Writing, Grammar, etc. By the end of the year I am always discouraged by how little I feel we accomplished in Science and History. Also, there is always a big stack of books I have purchased for my kids to read, and we're lucky to get through half of them. (actually, sometimes even less than half). To give some idea of what takes our time, I do Singapore Math but I supplement it with Abeka Math. We do A Reason for Spelling & Handwriting, various Vocabulary programs, Sonlight's reading lists, etc, etc. (I'm not sure if you need what I'm doing for each subject. If you do, let me know).

 

Ok....so to remedy my frustration, this year I decided to try something new. I felt like I could buy an independent History and Science program. I would still teach these subjects, but they would also have an independent schedule they followed. That way, whenever I did get to teaching History/Science, whatever I taught would be enrichment. They would be getting the basic exposure to topics from their independent work, and I'd be the deeper, "let's delve into it" version. For example, in Science I really like to teach from Real Science 4 Kids. We started on Chemistry last year. We only made it half way through. :sad: I want to continue with that this year. So, that will be my teaching time. But I bought Sonlight's Science program for each child to work on independently as well. (It works great for this because it involves a lot of reading, has worksheets to fill out that show what they've read, and has a video showing the experiments).

 

For History, I LOVE teaching from WinterPromise. But MAN! That is a very involved program. It takes us at least 2 years to get through their one year program. So, on the side, I'm having them read Abeka's history textbook and answer their comprehension questions.

 

For literature, I decided to let Sonlight be the "bad guy" that tells them what to read each day, rather than me assigning them. I thought this would help us get through more of that big stack of literature books.

 

 

HERE'S THE PROBLEM: (so, so, so sorry this is so long. I think in way too many details, and when I'm stumped I don't always know which details to include and which to leave out).

 

It is taking us WAYYYYY TOOOOOO LONG to do school, and I haven't even added the teaching I wanted to do. I timed my oldest dd. I actually sat by her side the entire time to be sure she was being focused and not getting distracted. It took her 6 hours to do Math, independent Science, independent History, Literature, an assignment in Daily Language Review, Junior Analytical Grammar, and Spelling! That's 6 hours and I still have vocabulary and writing I need to add, and I haven't taught history or science.

 

What I first thought was that I could alternate the days that I'm teaching each subject. You know, Writing one day, History one day, Science one day.

 

I really want to delve into the Civil War and Slavery with them. I want to read aloud from books and use Progeny Press to discuss those books. I want to do Science experiments with them.

 

And, I want them to not do school all. day. long. We've had school days that go until 9:00 at night! (granted, that is a day where things got in the way a lot).

 

I timed my son (4th grade). It takes him 4 hours to do the above. (Sonlight and other programs expect less reading/work at his level).

 

If I leave it at the independent work, I don't like the level of teaching they are getting. If I only do my teaching, we never get through enough Science and History.

 

The other problem, besides time, is my tired head! By the time I teach Singapore Math (which, because it is a different approach to Math than what I learned is really challenging to me), some Abeka Math, grade and discuss Daily Language Review, do Spelling work, and teach Grammar and Phonics to my youngest 2 - I'm pooped! This all can take as long as 3 + hours. And when you add in the time I get interrupted by questions (because independent work doesn't mean they still don't need my help), wow. The idea of adding the teaching I want to seems so tiring.

 

Ok. Let me summarize (if I can) my question: It seems to me that I need to limit or schedule their independent work better. It should not be taking that long and keeping us from read-alouds, me teaching Creative Writing, Essay Writing, WinterPromise history, and Real Science 4 Kids Science. My dd12 should not feel like, no matter how hard she works, she has 6+ hours of work AND the 2 hours of teaching I want to give her.

 

So, it seems maybe I need to not have them do independent Science, History AND literature every day. But which do I give up? I really wanted to get to the end of this year and see that they each had COMPLETED (or nearly completed) an entire year of Sonlight literature, Abeka textbook History and Sonlight Science. I envisioned feeling finally like a successful homeschool teacher! Of course, I envisioned this completion being on top of all the Science work, History DVDs, Historical fiction, wonderful creative writing assignments.....etc.....etc that I was going to teach them.

 

Are you spinning yet from the circles I'm typing? :willy_nilly:

 

I thought about doing literature every day and alternating independent science and history, but with only 5 days a week, who gets the short end of the stick? History 3 days, Science 2? And, if we do this, we'll only get through half of the curriculum. Again, another end of the year *sigh*.

 

Any fresh perspective ideas on how to pull this all together and schedule it better?

 

(p.s. I usually edit my work before I post. After another long day of school, (it's 6:45 here and my kids are still working on their work), I'm just too mentally tired to fix it.

[cara]

One thing I would do is drop one of the maths, you don't need 2, 1 is more than enough.

 

The younger two do not need spelling, phonics, and grammar. That's just a bit of overkill. If your doing spelling, find a spelling program that also teaches phonics and drop the phonics.

 

Block scheduling is your friend, you don't have to do it all in one day everyday. For me that is the quickest way for me to get burned out. We had started this year like that and a month in I was ready to quit. I went to a 2 week block schedule (basics for 2 weeks - math and LA; and then extras for 2 weeks - science / history ). It worked good on the basics' weeks but not so much on the extras weeks.

 

Now we are trying this schedule

 

M- F - handwriting, spelling and vocabulary ( we use Soaring with Spelling and Vocabulary and it combines the two)

M, W, F - copywork / writing, literature, math, grammar

Tues / Thurs - science / history / geography

 

This gives us about 6 subjects a day and about 3-4 hours total. My goal is to have most of the seat work done by lunch so we can spend the afternoon doing field trips, exploring nature, and other hands on projects.

[Ria]

Honestly, to me it sounds like you researched curricula endlessly, tried to pick the absolute best from everything out there, and are trying to use bits and pieces from all sources to get the best education possible. To be blunt: it's not going to work for you.

 

I'd drop everything - EVERYTHING - except Sonlight. You already use parts of it. Just ditch the rest and follow their TM for everything. Your kids will get a fantastic education and you'll have some peace.

 

Seriously. What you are attempting to do is not working for you. Whether it's you, your kids, both...it doesn't matter. What does matter is that it's taking you two years to do a one year program (mentioned near the top of your post) and you are doing way too many dribs and drabs of various programs. Pick ONE all-encompasing program. Do that.

Edited September 10, 2011 by Ria

[Carrie12345]

One math program and block scheduling.

 

My kids are about the same ages. We were sinking without a set time schedule. I still can't bring myself to be a slave to one, but we're sticking pretty close to it.

 

And, unfortunately, you have to let some things go. You can't follow every rabbit hole every year. It's a sad truth. Cover the important things, and supply plenty of materials for fun free reading that they won't look at as school work.

[Pretty in Pink]

Okay. If I forget something please forgive me. That was a long post!

 

My 8th grader spends 45 minutes to an hour per day on math. We use Saxon, but I would think that most any math program would not exceed an hour per day in middle school.

 

He spends 30 to 45 minutes on Mondays working on vocabulary. We use Vocabulary from Classical Roots. The other four days of the week he spends 5 minutes reviewing the roots.

 

We spend 15 to 30 minutes, 2x per week, on Grammar. We work through Winston Grammar together.

 

He spends 45 minutes to an hour, 3-4 days a week, on writing. This includes any instructional time with me. We are working through Write Shop this school year.

 

He spends about an hour to 90 minutes, 3x per week, on history. This includes all reading (he is a really fast reader), all outlining, worksheets, etc. We use Tapestry of Grace for history. He does the history core and in-depth reading, the literature selection, and the fine arts selection. He completes the map each week, answers the review questions, and does a lit. worksheet.

 

He spends an hour to 90 minutes, 2x per week, on science. We are working through a Thames & Kosmos physics kit and using the Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia and a few other books for background info. and outlining. We also borrow corresponding titles from the library to supplement our reading. He reads those books independently throughout the week.

 

This is 4-5 hours of work per day, any given day of the week. Perhaps you could narrow your literature list down to something more managable and have the kids work on those books during their free reading time. Perhaps you don't need to do multiple math or science programs. Perhaps you don't need to do grammar/vocab every day of the week -- how about doing one 3x per week and the other 2x per week?

 

Is there really a reason that you can't do history and science on different days. Doesn't TWTM recommed 3x history and 2x science, 90 minutes per session? Are your programs that involved? If so, I'd be looking to pare them down to the bare minimum or looking at different programs. In fact, I'd probably try that with my whole schedule and then work on adding things back in as time allowed.

[lovelaughs_times_three]

Honestly, to me it sounds like you researched curricula endlessly, tried to pick the absolute best from everything out there, and are trying to use bits and pieces from all sources to get the best education possible. To be blunt: it's not going to work for you.

 

 

 

That is me! You nailed it right on the head!

[lovelaughs_times_three]

One math program and block scheduling.

 

 

 

You are the 2nd one to suggest this, but I am not familiar with this term. What is "block scheduling"? Sounds so promising! :001_smile:

[Ria]

That is me! You nailed it right on the head!

 

LOL. I do get some points for having survived 16 years of homeschooling! :) Sit down and figure out what you want, and try to simplify. You'll get there.

[threeofakind]

I agree with what others have said here and you have great advice. Sorry if I missed something but I also agree choosing one program would be the easiest way to figure this problem out. Having 2 math, science and history sounds like a lot. Looking at the ages of your kids, and maybe I read it wrong but I would look at only doing one program for the 9 and 7 year old- and perhaps your older one can choose if she wants to something independently which will it be- science or history? And you choose science or history to do together if you really want to. And you could just say we will all do science together and that's what you teach and your oldest does history on her own (independent work seems important) and you do history with your younger 2? All in all- aligning them together more and focusing on one program for each subject will help along with the block scheduling! Good luck!

[lovelaughs_times_three]

Cara, Ria, Carrie1234, Pretty in Pink, and Threeofakind......you all are angels! :Angel_anim::Angel_anim::Angel_anim: You gave me such great advice! And, you were so kind as to read that horribly long post. You deserve wings and halos today. Thank you, Thank you!

 

 

Okay. If I forget something please forgive me. That was a long post!

 

 

 

 

I know!!!! That's why I think you all are such angels!

[Carrie12345]

You are the 2nd one to suggest this, but I am not familiar with this term. What is "block scheduling"? Sounds so promising! :001_smile:

 

We have a MWF schedule and a TTh schedule. The kids have 4-5 subjects/day, but 7-8 subjects in total. (Though, for us, that includes splitting components of Language Arts for the younger two).

 

There's no way we'd ever get it all done every. Single. Day.

[delaney]

Honestly, to me it sounds like you researched curricula endlessly, tried to pick the absolute best from everything out there, and are trying to use bits and pieces from all sources to get the best education possible. To be blunt: it's not going to work for you.

 

I'd drop everything - EVERYTHING - except Sonlight. You already use parts of it. Just ditch the rest and follow their TM for everything. Your kids will get a fantastic education and you'll have some peace.

 

Seriously. What you are attempting to do is not working for you. Whether it's you, your kids, both...it doesn't matter. What does matter is that it's taking you two years to do a one year program (mentioned near the top of your post) and you are doing way too many dribs and drabs of various programs. Pick ONE all-encompasing program. Do that.

This is me! How did you get in my brain??? I have a curriculum problem and literally tried to merge 4 science programs into one!!!

Thank you for suggesting this to the OP. I am about to dump a WHOLE lot!:001_smile:

[Carrie12345]

Oh, I should add... In the past, I"ve had DS do history for half the year and Science for the other half. It "worked" just fine, but he missed each one in the "off" semester.

[UnsinkableKristen]

Block scheduling.....

 

You all have my wheels turning with interest :)

[Greta Lea]

Getting a little dab of this and a little dab of that makes me *full*, but I don't leave the meal *satisfied*.

 

Have you ever read the book titled, "Schoolproof" by Mary Pride? She talks about how "educational clutter" ends up paralyzing our homeschooling instead of giving it vigor.

 

I'd start off by dropping one of the maths. Your 12yo ds doesn't need daily language review *and* JAG. Drop one. Honestly, you'd really be OK to not do either of them. JAG could even wait a year or so.

 

It sounds like you have Sonlight on hand, so that's what I'd do for history. I'd do ONE level with them all and just give them age appropriate SL readers.

 

For science, I can't remember if you said you have SL or Real Science for Kids (?). I'd pick one and do it all together.

 

Have the older one do written narrations and do Jump In Writing a couple of times a week.

 

My motto is Keep It Simple. VERY simple:)

[lovelaughs_times_three]

Getting a little dab of this and a little dab of that makes me *full*, but I don't leave the meal *satisfied*.

 

Have you ever read the book titled, "Schoolproof" by Mary Pride? She talks about how "educational clutter" ends up paralyzing our homeschooling instead of giving it vigor.

 

 

Oh my! Sounds like I need that book!

[lovelaughs_times_three]

This is me! How did you get in my brain??? I have a curriculum problem and literally tried to merge 4 science programs into one!!!

Thank you for suggesting this to the OP. I am about to dump a WHOLE lot!:001_smile:

 

Yes, me too! I need to dump a WHOLE lot! But "parting is such sweet sorrow"! These curriculum picks are all so wonderful! It is so sad to let some of them go. Like unfulfilled plans and dreams. :crying:

 

 

Ok! lol! Over-the-top dramatic! But seriously, it hurts a bit to let it go. And which one do I send away? :001_huh:

[Lolly]

Yes, me too! I need to dump a WHOLE lot! But "parting is such sweet sorrow"! These curriculum picks are all so wonderful! It is so sad to let some of them go. Like unfulfilled plans and dreams. :crying:

 

 

Ok! lol! Over-the-top dramatic! But seriously, it hurts a bit to let it go. And which one do I send away? :001_huh:

 

Keep the Sonlight and send the others away. It has it all planned out. Everything right there. Take it and run. Their science and history I have used are fabulous.

[lovelaughs_times_three]

Keep the Sonlight and send the others away. It has it all planned out. Everything right there. Take it and run. Their science and history I have used are fabulous.

 

Sounds good. The problem is, Sonlight is one of the most intensive programs I have! Do you do Sonlight for all your kids? It has so much reading! It's one of the hardest ones to keep up with. Especially if you are following their History, Science and Language!

[Coffeemama]

What I did to fit literature and history into my 4 day school week (we do co-op on Mondays) without short-changing them was to schedule additional evening hours: Tues & Wed one hour of history during the day and Thursday & Friday one hour of literature during the day ...Plus another hour of literature on Tue nights and an hour of history on Thurs nights. I don't feel bad adding in the evening hours for my DD10 b/c she is typically done with her work before 2:00 including a decent mid-day break from 11:00-12:30.

 

Just something to consider. My DD likes it this way as opposed to having longer school days.

[veggiegal]

I'm not sure if this will help you, but my best time saving advice comes from an expression an experienced homeschooler told me when I was just starting out: teach the child, not the curriculum. In other words, if your child has the concept / material down and there's still more questions / pages to cover, skip them and move on. I routinely 'edit' the curriculum this way, requiring only enough work out of my boys to show me they have mastered the material. In some subjects (like math and grammar) this saves oodles of time--and gives me the extra time I need when they hit a concept that is more challenging for them. Or more time for the fun stuff. :D

[sassenach]

Sounds good. The problem is, Sonlight is one of the most intensive programs I have! Do you do Sonlight for all your kids? It has so much reading! It's one of the hardest ones to keep up with. Especially if you are following their History, Science and Language!

 

I agree with you, SL is a lot to keep up with. It doesn't have to be SL, but it does have to be LESS. In every category that you are using 2 programs, pick one and move on. Either make peace with not getting through history and science at full pace or move completely over to workbooks. Stop doing both. IMO, WP is an over-scheduled mess. I really hated our WP year. SL was also heavy, but I love the books. I use SL as a reading list. I have a set time for reading each day and they just read as much as they can in that time. When they finish one book, they move onto the next.

 

Hth!

[lovelaughs_times_three]

I'm not sure if this will help you, but my best time saving advice comes from an expression an experienced homeschooler told me when I was just starting out: teach the child, not the curriculum.

 

That is very wise advice. I need to print that out and stick it to my mirror! Thanks for sharing it! :001_smile:

[lovelaughs_times_three]

I agree with you, SL is a lot to keep up with. It doesn't have to be SL, but it does have to be LESS. In every category that you are using 2 programs, pick one and move on. Either make peace with not getting through history and science at full pace or move completely over to workbooks. Stop doing both. IMO, WP is an over-scheduled mess. I really hated our WP year. SL was also heavy, but I love the books. I use SL as a reading list. I have a set time for reading each day and they just read as much as they can in that time. When they finish one book, they move onto the next.

 

Hth!

 

It DOES help!!! You really helped me to clear the fog. Oh, it is so hard to let go of good stuff! But I think you are so right. I need to just pick one or the other. I like the idea of a reading time. We could all read, and that way I can be sure they are focused. (instead of off in another room daydreaming instead of reading while I'm trying to teach Math to a sibling). If I knew they were focused and really reading, then I could feel good that whatever they could get done in that set time would be just the amount they needed. As a previous poster said, I need to teach the child, not the curriculum. I'm thinking now that maybe I have let WP and SL have too much power in the dictation of how much is enough.

Thanks so much for the advice. I soooooo appreciate everyone who has been kind enough to help! :) As I said before, you are all :Angel_anim:s in my book!

[silliness7]

Wow!! I can so relate to your post. For several years I tried to take the best out of several programs only to accomplish far less than I had intended. What has helped me not to get overrun by my good intentions is to divide the day into 20 min. time slots. Math gets so many, language gets so many, science, history, etc. When we're out of time slots we're out of time. There is no squeezing something in. Well, if I feel compelled to squeeze something in I can look at the schedule and visually see that it must replace something else.

 

I know other people who do this even set a timer and when the time is up, regardless of what has been accomplished, they move on. I don't like to do it quite like that because I have some serious dawdlers. I do have assignments that I assign to the slots. But I"m getting pretty good at guesstimating how much time a certain assignment will take.

 

:grouphug: I hope you find a good solution!

[gaillardia]

Over the summer I read a lot of WTM regarding science and history for elementary and middle grades. It helped me to understand that I don't need to be in depth with it. I'm tired and getting over being sick our first week of school, so my memory isn't helping me right now.

I really like the way SWB recommends doing science and history. Last year we used SOTW but this year we are using the library and the Kingfisher Encyclopedias.

I agree, one math program.

Take a look at SWB's suggested schedule. Once you get the schedule shortened, consider having the 12yo check over the other two kiddos' math. It can save you time.

It sounds like you have a recipe for a complete burnout within 2 months!

And yes, teach the child, not the book.

I have thought of having science for 6 weeks, history for 6, etc., but we're going to try history and art Tuesdays and Thursdays, science and music Mondays and Wednesdays.

Definitely break up your language arts. Don't have the dc doing all the L.A. every day. Again, I urge you to read what Susan wrote in the WTM about schedules for the ages of your children.

It sounds like you're going to have to rethink what you're doing and I sympathize. I have had a rough time trying to get it together this year but I feel like I finally GET IT! Peace to you.:001_smile:

[lovelaughs_times_three]

Thanks! I do have a lot of re-thinking to do. *sigh* I thought I did all of that thinking last Spring when I bought all this stuff for school. I guess it is just a process of constantly re-looking at what you are doing and changing what isn't working. This doesn't come easy for me. I tend to be a perfectionist in this area. I invest HOURS AND HOURS of time researching curriculum and planning. To realize, now, that it is too much and that I have to re-think it all..... Well, let me just say, that pill doesn't go down so smooth!;)

 

But, it must be done. And I do know there will be more peace on the other side - AND more enjoyment of school again. I can already see that, if I stay on this path, it will be that enjoyment that suffers most!

[lovelaughs_times_three]

Wow!! I can so relate to your post. For several years I tried to take the best out of several programs only to accomplish far less than I had intended. What has helped me not to get overrun by my good intentions is to divide the day into 20 min. time slots. Math gets so many, language gets so many, science, history, etc. When we're out of time slots we're out of time. There is no squeezing something in. Well, if I feel compelled to squeeze something in I can look at the schedule and visually see that it must replace something else.

 

I know other people who do this even set a timer and when the time is up, regardless of what has been accomplished, they move on. I don't like to do it quite like that because I have some serious dawdlers. I do have assignments that I assign to the slots. But I"m getting pretty good at guesstimating how much time a certain assignment will take.

 

:grouphug: I hope you find a good solution!

 

Rebecca, this is a great idea! I have thought about using the timer before. Especially for Math. I get going in Math with the lesson, flashcards, speed drills, going over homework problems missed....and soon an hour has passed! Then they still have 30 min. of homework on top of that! Yikes! In the b&m schools they have a bell that forces Math to end and make room for other subjects. I'm thinking you are right. I need this "bell" in my school!

[Lolly]

Sounds good. The problem is, Sonlight is one of the most intensive programs I have! Do you do Sonlight for all your kids? It has so much reading! It's one of the hardest ones to keep up with. Especially if you are following their History, Science and Language!

 

Fortunately, when I used Sonlight, I had already learned not to be a slave to the curriculum.;) I used their history and science only. We did most of the reading but skipped some of it. I used Rod and Staff for English (grammar/writing) and math. The school day at that point lasted about 5-6 hours for the kids. For me, it was longer. The kids had free time while I would work one on one with the others. The youngest took less time because he was doing less in each subject. The kids didn't mind too much because I was doing some of the reading which broke up their work.

 

Plus, an aside, you have a 12 yo dc. School hours ARE going to get long. Middle and, especially, high school take a lot of time. My high schoolers normally work from 8 until 3 with a 30 minute lunch break. Then, they have homework to do and swim practice (takes 5-9 hours a day including drive time). They have very, very little free time. Of course, they don't have to do the swimming; it is their choice.)

Edited September 10, 2011 by Lolly

[TXMomof4]

I'm not sure if this will help you, but my best time saving advice comes from an expression an experienced homeschooler told me when I was just starting out: teach the child, not the curriculum. In other words, if your child has the concept / material down and there's still more questions / pages to cover, skip them and move on. I routinely 'edit' the curriculum this way, requiring only enough work out of my boys to show me they have mastered the material. In some subjects (like math and grammar) this saves oodles of time--and gives me the extra time I need when they hit a concept that is more challenging for them. Or more time for the fun stuff. :D

 

This was the advice given to me by a PS teacher last year! My older two are good at vocab and spelling. So rather than spend 5 days doing spelling practice for a big test, give a pre-test and if they do fine, go on to the next chapter. Same thing for vocab - go over the words together, do a little quiz and call it good. HUGE timesaver.

[cara]

Block Scheduling - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_scheduling

 

Basically it's fewer classes a day, but for a longer period of time. So instead of doing 8 classes every day, you do 4 one day and 4 the next. There are some classes we do everyday like spelling, and some we do twice a week like science and history, some we do three times a week like math and grammar. A lot of schools have gone to this type of scheduling it has been working for them. It works for me, because I don't have to do everything every day, and I don't feel the pressure to do so either.

 

Even if you choose Sonlight you don't have to do everything the Teacher's Manual says. You can do what works for your family, and leave the rest behind. We are moving to Oak Meadow next year and I already know that I won't be doing everything that the manual says to do. Just use the manual as a guide. Make it work for you, don't work for it.

 

And I just looked at the ages of your children, I would do one history and science lesson for all 3 and have them do age appropriate worksheets , projects, experiments etc.

[lovelaughs_times_three]

Block Scheduling - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_scheduling

 

Basically it's fewer classes a day, but for a longer period of time. So instead of doing 8 classes every day, you do 4 one day and 4 the next. There are some classes we do everyday like spelling, and some we do twice a week like science and history, some we do three times a week like math and grammar. A lot of schools have gone to this type of scheduling it has been working for them. It works for me, because I don't have to do everything every day, and I don't feel the pressure to do so either.

 

Even if you choose Sonlight you don't have to do everything the Teacher's Manual says. You can do what works for your family, and leave the rest behind. We are moving to Oak Meadow next year and I already know that I won't be doing everything that the manual says to do. Just use the manual as a guide. Make it work for you, don't work for it.

 

And I just looked at the ages of your children, I would do one history and science lesson for all 3 and have them do age appropriate worksheets , projects, experiments etc.

 

You can do Math 3 days a week and get it done? I LOVE and NEED that idea, but to be honest, it sounds too good to be true. Math seems like one of those things that has to be done every day. It is the one regulator I use as an indicator to me if I am "keeping up" or "falling woefully behind." My dd12 is using Abeka's Math on DVD. It is supposed to be a 50 min. program/day. She has to pause it though to catch up with them as they go. Then there is homework on top of that. I timed her (and watched her to be sure she was honestly staying on task). It took her 2 hours to do her Math! I teach my other two. I'm sure I'm doing way too much, but I'm not good at seeing what I can leave out. It takes 30 min. - 1 hr. to teach each kid, and then they have about 30 min. of homework after that.

 

I really do feel like Math is important. But to be honest, it seems like it is getting a disproportionate amount of focus to how important I see other subjects, or the direction in life it seems my children are heading. I only have one child (my dd7) who is the Math/Science kind of kid. My oldest two are much more language/ideas/creativity oriented. To spend 1 1/2 hrs - 2 hrs EVERY day/ 5 days a week when I never get to teach other subjects, just seems out of proportion to its importance. BUT, I don't know how to "tame the beast" so to speak. Math is so (oh shoot! What's that word? You know, how one layer has to be laid before the next can begin?), well, whatever that word is - Math is so that! :tongue_smilie: :D. I want my kids to be "on track". I don't want my dd12 to hit Highschool and not be ready for Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry. Also, Math is one of those things that have a measuring stick. You KNOW if you are at a certain level in Math. In History or Science, if my kids don't know something that a ps student knows, I can just tell myself- or someone else - that we are studying something different in those fields and just haven't gotten there yet. I can't do the same with Math.

 

I would so much rather have 3 days of Math and have the other days to explore Science, Writing, Art, Literature, etc, etc.

 

How do you do it?

[Alison in KY]

Okay, we've got to talk!

[FriedClams]

This is my sixth year homeschooling and just this year Ive come to see that rigor does not need to be all consuming. It doesn't need to take forever. And, homeschooling does not mean school at home on steroids.

 

This year we are doing ONE of everything. ONE math. ONE LA. One science. ONE bible. ONE history. Not one, with three other supplements. Not 3 approaches to grammar (which I've done in the past). One, and one done well is so much better than five disjointed, repetitive approaches with kids who are tired and learn to hate school time.

 

So far changing approaches is giving us time to complete everything, and enjoy our days. We are learnng a ton, and probably retaining more than before. It can sink and settle into their heads, and hearts. We are having fun. My kids work hard for the time we work, and then we play hard. It's so much better than before.

 

I'd encourage you to pick one of everything and do it very consistently. I'm for math and language arts daily, and bible most importantly, and then getting your weekly science and history in during the week. It really does work. It makes it enjoyable, and fun, and helps you focus on what's really important.

[cara]

We do Life of Fred, we do 3 chapters a week. My oldest is 3 grades ahead in math right now, so 3 days a week for us is not a problem. I can see where it would be for some. At 3 days a week, I can slow him down some so we aren't flying through math. Even at this speed we will start Pre-Algebra this year and Algebra in 5th grade and be finish high school math by 9th grade (this scares the crap out of me).

 

2 hours of math, every single day, seems like a ton to me. It really does. Even for a non math kid. I think I would have to ditch the Abeka for another program that is just as good but takes less time, if you want to continue doing it everyday. My mathy kid would have tuned out the lecture 15 minutes into it, 50 minutes seems like complete overkill.

 

If you don't want to drop Abeka and go to math 3 days a week, 3 hours / 3 days a week is better than 2 hours every day, it's only an hour less than you are doing anyway. That's enough time for 2 lessons and bookwork.

[lovelaughs_times_three]

This is my sixth year homeschooling and just this year Ive come to see that rigor does not need to be all consuming. It doesn't need to take forever. And, homeschooling does not mean school at home on steroids.

 

This year we are doing ONE of everything. ONE math. ONE LA. One science. ONE bible. ONE history. Not one, with three other supplements. Not 3 approaches to grammar (which I've done in the past). One, and one done well is so much better than five disjointed, repetitive approaches with kids who are tired and learn to hate school time.

 

So far changing approaches is giving us time to complete everything, and enjoy our days. We are learnng a ton, and probably retaining more than before. It can sink and settle into their heads, and hearts. We are having fun. My kids work hard for the time we work, and then we play hard. It's so much better than before.

 

I'd encourage you to pick one of everything and do it very consistently. I'm for math and language arts daily, and bible most importantly, and then getting your weekly science and history in during the week. It really does work. It makes it enjoyable, and fun, and helps you focus on what's really important.

 

Great post! I think you are right. I think this is exactly what I need to do. It's nice to know that others have been there, done that and have come out on the other side with a better answer.

[lovelaughs_times_three]

We do Life of Fred, we do 3 chapters a week. My oldest is 3 grades ahead in math right now, so 3 days a week for us is not a problem. I can see where it would be for some. At 3 days a week, I can slow him down some so we aren't flying through math. Even at this speed we will start Pre-Algebra this year and Algebra in 5th grade and be finish high school math by 9th grade (this scares the crap out of me).

 

2 hours of math, every single day, seems like a ton to me. It really does. Even for a non math kid. I think I would have to ditch the Abeka for another program that is just as good but takes less time, if you want to continue doing it everyday. My mathy kid would have tuned out the lecture 15 minutes into it, 50 minutes seems like complete overkill.

 

If you don't want to drop Abeka and go to math 3 days a week, 3 hours / 3 days a week is better than 2 hours every day, it's only an hour less than you are doing anyway. That's enough time for 2 lessons and bookwork.

 

Wow! Your oldest is so far ahead!!!! :001_smile: I'm jealous! :001_smile:

 

I think you are right. Two hours is overkill. I just had my good friend, Alison in KY, call me and talk to me about this thread. She pointed out that I am doing so many things in Math EVERY DAY that could be done less often and still have good results. To give you an idea of what I mean, I was doing ALL the flashcards (I have a set that has every single multiplication problem 1 - 12) most days. Then, if my son missed one, it was put in the back of the stack and we'd keep going through the stack until he was done. She recommended that I pick 10 flashcards a day instead of doing the entire stack all the time. There were other things that I was doing as well that just made it too long of a lesson.

 

The Abeka video is killing us. But it is killing me to know that I spent $300 on it and I have to return it by the end of the year. So, if I slow down and don't finish, then what!? Alison gave me some ideas on that too. I think I just need to let good enough, be good enough. I try too hard for complete mastery of EVERY. SINGLE. CONCEPT. OF. EVERY. SINGLE. SUBJECT. Need to change my focus and remember what is really important, and what can be let go of.

 

Thanks so much to Alison and to everyone who posted here. I SOOOOOO needed some perspective. What would I do without wonderful people like you all to give me some! ;) :D

[cara]

Don't be jealous, it's a scary having a kid so far advanced. I was just showing how 3 days a week doesn't hurt us because I'm trying to slow him down some anyway.

 

I agree with your friend, that's too much. We don't do flash card drills, I don't think DS has seen one. Instead we played games, yatzee, monopoly, times attack to learn multiplication facts. I'm not a big fan of drilling facts and he's the type of child that will tune you out if you even tried. I prefer he learn the concept and know ways to find the right answer. Right now I have a multiplication table on the wall away from his desk, he is allowed to get up to look at it and go back to his seat to finish the problem, this makes him repeat the answer to himself all the way back to his seat. There are times when I purposely block it so he can't see it so he doesn't rely on it.

 

I think you need to write down everything you are doing for each subject and see what can be eliminated. This is the beauty of homeschooling -

 

1) if it doesn't work you can change it

 

2) you don't have to do everything every day

[PeterPan]

Kimberly, the other thing you can do is sit down with a grid marked for every 30 minutes and fill in things. It doesn't even matter if it's perfect or the way you'll want to do it. This is just a REALITY CHECK, a time check to see if it's actually POSSIBLE to do what you want to do.

 

As the other said, it looks like you have multiples of things you need to streamline out. You don't need so many categories of independent science, history and lit. They just read for the week from the pile you show them, and you let it all pan out. And you give your olders *due dates* for when their tasks are due.

 

So back to the reality check. You need to assign realistic times to everything and then start plugging it in (with real start times of when you really start, not when you dream of starting) and see what works. The AXE the stuff that can't work.

 

Once the school year starts, your new ideas are for *next* year, not this one. So remember you can put some of those ideas in the "next year" pile too. :)