It really does take a full "work day" to do school

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

Yep. I have a K, 2nd, and 4th grader this year with a baby mixed in. The youngest boy doesn't do a full day of school, but it takes all. day. with the other boys to do what I think we need to be doing for a rigorous education, especially with piano, swim practice, and library trips (which are on my necessary list). Not that we actually *do* a full day every day, but we're working on it...

[Classically Minded]

I can only imagine how long it takes with more than one child, I just have my daughter and it takes us about 3 hours. However, its longer on those days she has a hard time focusing and gets distracted easily. Since starting a few weeks ago, my house is visibly suffering and yes I have the laundry piles too! I highly doubt that in 20 years from now I will regret not having a clean house, but I won't regret having spent time with my daughter! ;)

[Thia]

This thread is good for the heart. I'm doing 1st, K, and preschool and I have a 1 year old too. We start at 9, have a one hour break for lunch, end at 2. It's not enough. I end up rushing through stuff, rushing them, and not doing stuff. I know that as time goes on, some of the science stuff will take longer. So I'm thinking I need to allow another hour of the day for school stuff, knowing that some days we won't need it, but that it's there in case we do.

Meanwhile...the house is looking worse. I've had to let the house go completely some days because there are some paperwork/financial matters I have had to deal with.

I can't do it all.

[NancyNellen]

My days are full, long days. However, over the yrs I have also learned how to multi-task and juggle multiple things at one time. I am always in the general area where my kids are doing their work. I fold laundry while calling out dictation. I clean the kitchen/cook while someone is working on math nearby. I discuss lit and history w/my high schooler while we go for daily walks. (oh, and the crock pot is my best friend.)

 

:iagree:

 

We take a 90-minute break for lunch, and generally school from 8:30 to 4PM. Generally speaking, though, my house is clean and my laundry gets done, so it can be done. I am just too much of a clean freak to be able to function otherwise.

 

We finish all memory work at mealtimes and my children have significant chores morning and evening. I correct work while sitting and overseeing math. I have my older kids check over my younger kids' work.

 

I am going to have to steal the above idea about discussions while taking walks. That one is brilliant!

[Mom-ninja.]

It takes me all day. By the time we get everything for 5th and 2nd grade done with plenty of interruptions from the almost three yr old....yep, all day.

[Mommy22alyns]

Starting this year, it's really taking us a full day too. We're taking a regular lunch break and working quite hard on both sides of it.

[sagira]

I hear ya on the laundry! Seems like I've always got several baskets waiting to be put away.

 

And it takes us all day as well. From 9-3, with an hour break, every day. It really is a full time job. When we're done it's time for dishes & vacuuming and grocery shopping and dinner. Ugh!

 

Three children is all we disorganized people can have. It truly stretches me to my limit. Youngest is 8 months, and ds is energetic, imaginative, and talks all day too :grin:

 

I'm so tired after teaching (ds is highly distractible, and I always need all the brainpower I can use as I am distractible and have trouble organizing as well). I prepare food for him and baby girl all day long too, especially for him. He's growing. Then I have to remember to eat, lol. Fix myself something. Getting out of the house is another mission, as we're either picking up little sister from VPK after 3 hours, or driving off to either dance, Taekwondo, or piano. Keep reminding ds things all day long. Explaining why school is important. Answering questions like, why isn't there a five-day weekend along with five days for work for balance? Hearing about aliens and hypothetical situations all day. Dealing with dawdling and arguing. No time or inclination for cleaning. By the time I come back home, I'm exhausted mentally and emotionally. Then dh and I fix dinner, we lounge around, sometimes I send emails for him, do hs related research, acquire books from the library, do laundry, organize clothes, nurse baby (forgot to mention I nurse baby all day on cue too), bathe baby, feed baby solid food, change baby, play with baby, supervise kids and baby, listen to dd ramble (lol), working on dd's character, ds' too.. On and on and on. Once in a while dh needs me too- I have admit that the man is very patient and independent. The Well Trained Mind, a page from a book, and a Words with Friends move are my oasis. Phew.

 

Not a cleaning person. During the weekend we all work together for a few hours. Dh is trying to reinstitute 10 minute tidies daily. Dh is my equal partner. He's exhausted at the end of the day too, after taking dd to preschool, working out every weekday morning, working full time, taking care of dd at his workplace, getting her ready for ballet, etc. He comes home, either helps me cook dinner, cooks it all himself or brings food, cleans and organizes the kitchen, truly watches baby, spends good time with the children, teaches art and works with ds through The Dangerous Book for Boys, and works some more at home too. We're both exhausted.

Edited October 9, 2011 by sagira

[taffnus]

Ok....I'm entering this phase. My oldest is 3rd grade and we're finally moving into the afternoon BUT......I can't seem to get her motivated after lunch. She just wants to play. If I leave it, math doesn't get done. If I force her, she sits staring blankly and will hardly try. How do you guys make that transition from lunch to school?

[Nestof3]

Not a cleaning person. During the weekend we all work together for a few hours. Dh is trying to reinstitute 10 minute tidies daily. Dh is my equal partner. He's exhausted at the end of the day too, after taking dd to preschool, working out every weekday morning, working full time, taking care of dd at his workplace, getting her ready for ballet, etc. He comes home, either helps me cook dinner, cooks it all himself or brings food, cleans and organizes the kitchen, truly watches baby, spends good time with the children, teaches art and works with ds through The Dangerous Book for Boys, and works some more at home too. We're both exhausted.

 

You are a lucky woman. My husband has a physically laborious job, so he is quite tired when he comes home, but even when he doesn't work, there's very little difference. I hear about how relieved moms are when their husbands return from a business trip or something because the load is lightened so much. Honestly, I feel the total opposite.

[sweetstitches]

Ok....I'm entering this phase. My oldest is 3rd grade and we're finally moving into the afternoon BUT......I can't seem to get her motivated after lunch. She just wants to play. If I leave it, math doesn't get done. If I force her, she sits staring blankly and will hardly try. How do you guys make that transition from lunch to school?

 

We do math first thing in the morning, after prayers/Bible & circle time, when they are still fresh. We usually do a read-aloud after lunch to give them a chance to start back to school a little slower.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Laundry, nope! Vacuuming, heck nope! I have about 5 loads of clean laundry in baskets in my bedroom. They will have to wait until after co-op on Friday, or Saturday.

 

Yeah, I've had 3 basket of clean laundry sitting up in the hallway all week long. Now they are a mess from being rifled through by kids trying to find something to wear. Sigh. I guess I should log off and go take care of the laundry. :glare:

[JenniferB]

Hello full-day-schoolers, I folded & put away about 7 loads of laundry yesterday. I still have about 5 more to clean & put away today. That makes me a full-weekend-launderer too. :) After this weekend my reality check has kicked in fully, and I think I'll be smarter about my other domestic duties, and stay on top of the laundry. Adjustments...

[Nestof3]

Hello full-day-schoolers, I folded & put away about 7 loads of laundry yesterday. I still have about 5 more to clean & put away today. That makes me a full-weekend-launderer too. :) After this weekend my reality check has kicked in fully, and I think I'll be smarter about my other domestic duties, and stay on top of the laundry. Adjustments...

 

Wow! I wouldn't have the space to store that much laundry. LOL Our washer/dryer are in the kitchen, and we have one hamper. If I don't do a load each night (stuff from that day), my dh won't have work pants. I dry in the morning, and he only has two pairs of work pants. I've tried to get him to buy more.

[Colleen in NS]

How do you guys make that transition from lunch to school?

 

I do the very essentials in the mornings - the things that require one-on-one time with each child. Their independent work spills over into the afternoon. But, we have nap/quiet time after lunch first.

[Cynful]

This thread is perfect timing for me. I've been super stressed out about this lately. It should be getting better, I have a ds14 and dd11 year old but now with a BUSY, CRABBY 10 month old in the mix, I'm losing my mind. My ds has delays and dyslexia, so most lessons need to be with me. My dd can do alot by herself but misses momma to help or she's taking the baby while I work with DS. Reading about Susan's days on her page was great as well as reading about everyone else's here. Thanks for the reminder that this IS a full-time but well rewarding job... Right? ;)

[Perogi]

It's really encouraging to see other people with elementary aged kids needing to go into the afternoon. Dd is in 3rd grade and this is the first year that I really don't feel like we can get it all done in the morning. We've been schooling for a month now and I still don't have the rhythm down.

[zenjenn]

It's really encouraging to see other people with elementary aged kids needing to go into the afternoon. Dd is in 3rd grade and this is the first year that I really don't feel like we can get it all done in the morning.

 

Yup, same here. My solution, is all core in the morning. After lunch, read-alouds and things like science labs or SotW reading & activities. In theory I don't consider us all-day schoolers, but if you count P.E. class, carschooling, library trips, extra reading (because my kids like me to read to them), then yes, we are.

[phathui5]

Thank you for the reminder that it does take work and putting in time!

[mindygz]

I really kept hoping this year we could be all done by 2 or so. I made a nice schedule that seemed do-able on paper, but it didn't happen like I'd planned. I'd thought we could have two subjects, then recess, then two more subjects, then lunch, then finish up what dd9 needs to do after lunch. Instead it usually seemed that after two subjects, it was nearly lunch time, so the "recess" has turned into lunch. Then two more subjects and it's time for ds2 to take his nap (which requires about 20 minutes of me time). Then dd9 still has a couple more things to do to finish up.

 

I need to tweak our written schedule now, as dd9 doing her piano practice while ds2 is napping just doesn't work. :tongue_smilie: Ds6 is finished earlier. One thing that has been good this year, though, is that I have found computer-based learning stuff for the kids to work on while I do more me-intensive lessons with the other one. Such as Rosetta Stone, Mark Kistler 3D art lessons, Dreambox Math, Typing Instructor... That way they don't usually need my help when I'm trying to focus on the other one.

[Perogi]

I really kept hoping this year we could be all done by 2 or so. I made a nice schedule that seemed do-able on paper, but it didn't happen like I'd planned. I'd thought we could have two subjects, then recess, then two more subjects, then lunch, then finish up what dd9 needs to do after lunch. Instead it usually seemed that after two subjects, it was nearly lunch time, so the "recess" has turned into lunch. Then two more subjects and it's time for ds2 to take his nap (which requires about 20 minutes of me time). Then dd9 still has a couple more things to do to finish up.

 

I need to tweak our written schedule now, as dd9 doing her piano practice while ds2 is napping just doesn't work. :tongue_smilie: Ds6 is finished earlier. One thing that has been good this year, though, is that I have found computer-based learning stuff for the kids to work on while I do more me-intensive lessons with the other one. Such as Rosetta Stone, Mark Kistler 3D art lessons, Dreambox Math, Typing Instructor... That way they don't usually need my help when I'm trying to focus on the other one.

 

Yup - my plan on paper was really pretty too. :D I really expected this to be a very smooth school year. Then we actually started and I found that my schedule does not reflect reality!! :lol: I'm also using the computer to try and fill some gaps and give me time with another student - but it's very distracting!

[TechWife]

What he doesn't quite understand is how distracting he himself can be, when he's home during the day.

 

We have the exact same problem here!

[TXMary2]

Thank you for starting this thread! We work from about 8:30 to 4:30 with a break for lunch and one or two breaks for fresh air. In my circle of friends, sometimes I feel like I do too much or am looked upon as a*al for doing so much.

[melissel]

Count me among the group who's glad to see this thread! Our days are long here too, and I've been stressing (and posting!) over how to shorten them. I just don't think I'll be able to without sacrificing anything I consider important. In fact, I'm not getting to everything that I wanted to this year :lol: But I'm starting to accept a few realities about our new school year: I do need to shorten our math lessons a bit, even if it means going longer for the year. DD9 is burning out on the intensity of RS Math at this part of the level :( And I need to learn to multi-task better. But I think this is our new normal, and that's a little unnerving.

 

We do math first thing in the morning, after prayers/Bible & circle time, when they are still fresh. We usually do a read-aloud after lunch to give them a chance to start back to school a little slower.

 

:iagree: The subjects requiring the most focus (here, those are math and Latin) are done first thing. The after-lunch work includes things they enjoy doing no matter what (history, science), the easier, shorter things (WWE, grammar), and the computer-based things that can be done at their leisure (typing practice, logic games).

[Homemama2]

Once, while I was in the middle of grammar and writing with my kids, he sat down at the table and literally PASSED A NOTE to my 8yo. :banghead: True story

 

:lol: Yup. Dh is the biggest troublemaker in our school, too. Once I was trying to teach and my kids kept giggling. Finally, I turned to see Dh making FACES behind my back. :glare:

 

This thread has been encouraging. I have never figured out how people can get done at noon with older kids. We school from 8-3 with an hour break at lunch and a 15min snack break 4 days a week. Weds. we have co-op 8:30-12:30. I think in my case, I have some teacher intensive programs. But I like what we're using, so to me it's worth it. It helped me when I finally accepted that, instead of feeling bad that we weren't getting done as quickly as some of my friends.

 

I'm not even doing everything I'd like to be doing, either! I've tried for the last 2 years to figure out how to fit in a foreign language but still haven't worked that in yet. I want to do Spanish and Latin NOW with the hopes of adding in French in high school. :D Ooh! And maybe Greek! See, that's the problem! When you figure out how to get the subjects you're currently doing accomplished more quickly, there's always something more add! :lol:

Edited October 10, 2011 by Homemama2

[JenniferB]

I updated my blog last night. Can you believe I found the time to do that? Well, it only took 20 minutes or so, and it wasn't 11 PM yet, so I squeezed it out. If anyone wants to see what this full day looks like, or if you just want to read up on what we are doing, here's my blog address: http://www.asmartstart.com.

 

Happy full-day-schooling everyone! :grouphug:

[Brooketopia]

I am also so happy to see this thread! I get so tired of hearing everyone talking about how they're done with school by lunch!

 

I have a 2nd grader and a K-er, so not too much going on just yet. The school day has been getting a little bit longer each year and I fully expect it to grow to a full-day length within the next two years as we 1.) add Latin next year, and 2.) add in a third student in the year after that.

 

It's nice to read about others who are schooling past lunch on a normal day. Thank you for helping me to not feel like a loser when I look at what's going on in our homeschool.

 

I usually want to ask just what people are teaching their kids if they're able to finish before lunch because it just doesn't seem like you could get a lot done in that time. But then again, I push my kids and will advance them up if things are too easy for them. If they repeatedly finished up everything before lunch, I'd think they needed more challenging work. Why waste the awesome one-on-one teaching to only do a sufficient job? We're shooting for supremely excellent 'round here. Otherwise I'd just send them to school. But I wouldn't really say that IRL because I assume folks would think I felt superior and the like...which I really don't, I just don't understand the mindset of choosing "good enough" when "best" is an option.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

What a refreshing thread! I am homeschooling one child and we work from 9am-5pm with 1 1/2 hours for breaks. (1 hour lunch, 15 min each for elevenses and tea.) It's good to see others have similar schedules.

[Critterfixer]

I’m still thinking about the notion of homeschooling taking all day. Somehow the question has turned into the classic two-horned dilemma, both horns of which seem fixed in an uncomfortable place for me.

 

Prong 1-If my boys went to a private school where the teacher was trying to teach, clean the uniforms, sweep and mop the school, cook in the cafeteria, and (in my case) paint the school I would not be too happy about that. Even if they insisted that the teacher did this “in between lessons” or “in her spare time” I would wonder why on earth she would tolerate a clear work-place abuse situation.

 

Prong 2-Not doing the laundry, dishes, sweeping, mopping, cooking, cleaning of bathrooms and general home upkeep is NOT AN OPTION. There is no one but me doing it during the week, and that situation is not going to change. And I despise crock-pots. (Please, I do not intend to start a crock-pot war. I happen to love my cast iron dutch oven, and employ it to the same advantage more or less. But I don't care for the throw it in and go approach to cooking. Yes, I'm a kitchen snob.)

 

So far the solution presented (and I assumed that there was only one) is trying to strike a balance between the two. One would need to achieve max efficiency in both areas to lower the time spent in both arenas, and that would be a challenge because of the variable in the first—the kids, and the second—housework does sidetrack now and then.

 

Is there another way to turn around, take the bull by the horns and single-handedly wrestle it into submission? Is there a way to completely integrate the two, where teaching and housework become synchronous? The goal would not necessarily be to shorten the day, but to create a situation where one would be at peace.

 

Why do I get the feeling I’m going to be reading CM on habit training tonight? Again.

Edited October 11, 2011 by Critterfixer
To avert the wrath of the crock-pot warriors

[angela in ohio]

What a refreshing thread topic! :thumbup1:

 

No doubt!! :D

 

When people ask me how much time it takes me to homeschool, I honestly say, "all of it." I get a break here and there to hang out with dh, but other than that, it's homeschooling and parenting and learning 24/7.

[TheAutumnOak]

I’m still thinking about the notion of homeschooling taking all day. Somehow the question has turned into the classic two-horned dilemma, both horns of which seem fixed in an uncomfortable place for me.

 

Prong 1-If my boys went to a private school where the teacher was trying to teach, clean the uniforms, sweep and mop the school, cook in the cafeteria, and (in my case) paint the school I would not be too happy about that. Even if they insisted that the teacher did this “in between lessons†or “in her spare time†I would wonder why on earth she would tolerate a clear work-place abuse situation.

 

Prong 2-Not doing the laundry, dishes, sweeping, mopping, cooking, cleaning of bathrooms and general home upkeep is NOT AN OPTION. There is no one but me doing it during the week, and that situation is not going to change. And I despise crock-pots. (Please, I do not intend to start a crock-pot war. I happen to love my cast iron dutch oven, and employ it to the same advantage more or less. But I don't care for the throw it in and go approach to cooking. Yes, I'm a kitchen snob.)

 

So far the solution presented (and I assumed that there was only one) is trying to strike a balance between the two. One would need to achieve max efficiency in both areas to lower the time spent in both arenas, and that would be a challenge because of the variable in the first—the kids, and the second—housework does sidetrack now and then.

 

Is there another way to turn around, take the bull by the horns and single-handedly wrestle it into submission? Is there a way to completely integrate the two, where teaching and housework become synchronous? The goal would not necessarily be to shorten the day, but to create a situation where one would be at peace.

 

Why do I get the feeling I’m going to be reading CM on habit training tonight? Again.

 

A possible answer is to do things at different times...While you are teaching the children only do that and do housework and cooking at another time during the day...I school the boys from 9 to 3 and do housework at other times during the day...I wish I had more time to do housework, but when I had to go to work outside the home, I was gone for more than the 6 hours I spend with the boys and I still had to prepare meals and clean the house...I try and look at it that way...

 

Achieving max efficiency in both areas would help also :tongue_smilie:

[...................]

Last year I felt so bad about not being able to get school finished by noon. But I'm ok with it now. This year we start at 9 and finish around 2:00 with a lunch break.

 

Now, if my elementary-aged kids were not finishing up until 5:00 I would have drop something from my list. Growing up until I was 12 in the country and after that, in a beach town, I very much believe in

Children having free time every day, unstructured, preferably outdoors, especially when they are little. :)

 

We just have to do what we believe is best for our kids, and our whole family. It's ok if we go later than noon. It's ok for others to go later than my 2:00. The point is to do what's right for your own family and children.

 

:)

[JenniferB]

Yes, thinking of it as a full-time job is so helpful. I used to work outside of the home 8-9 hrs. per day. I cleaned on the weekend, and winged it for dinner, and the dishes and laundry piled up. It's just the way it was, and dh knew it, because he worked the same hours. It was a team effort to get everything done in the evenings and on the weekends. When we had days off for vacation and what-not, we spent them on home maintenance.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Now, if my elementary-aged kids were not finishing up until 5:00 I would have drop something from my list. Growing up until I was 12 in the country and after that, in a beach town, I very much believe in

Children having free time every day, unstructured, preferably outdoors, especially when they are little. :)

 

:)

 

We school until 5:00pm, live in the country and still get free time outside everyday--before 9am, noontide and after 5pm on the nights we don't have activities away from home. Today we schooled from 9am-5pm and around 5:10 we were at the pond examining tadpoles and finding 2 types of frogs, a dragonfly, and other pond critters. After dinner there was free play outside before coming in for practice, a few chores, yoga and bed.

 

It's doable. :)

[Alte Veste Academy]

A possible answer is to do things at different times...While you are teaching the children only do that and do housework and cooking at another time during the day...I school the boys from 9 to 3 and do housework at other times during the day...I wish I had more time to do housework, but when I had to go to work outside the home, I was gone for more than the 6 hours I spend with the boys and I still had to prepare meals and clean the house...I try and look at it that way...

Achieving max efficiency in both areas would help also :tongue_smilie:

 

:iagree:

 

This is exactly how I'm starting to feel. The key for me this year has been accepting and embracing homeschooling as a job. Because keeping house on top of that can be a great deal of work and drudgery, I strive to make my workplace environment as relaxing as possible. Tea parties and lots of cuddles and reading help with that. :D Also, we're averaging about one documentary a day (for history or science), during which I can have a teacher planning period, read these boards, or "run home" to fit in some chores. :tongue_smilie:

 

As far as max efficiency, I clean like the devil for a half hour in the morning and a half hour in the late afternoon (and the kids clean for part of this time too). Planning everything, our schedule, library trips/lists, meals, chores, etc., is the biggest help in making sure I don't lose my mind.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

 

This is exactly how I'm starting to feel. The key for me this year has been accepting and embracing homeschooling as a job.......

..........Planning everything, our schedule, library trips/lists, meals, chores, etc., is the biggest help in making sure I don't lose my mind.

 

:iagree:

 

Not only do routine days go more smoothly with planning, but ironically I feel we can be more spontaneous when a great opportunity presents itself. I know exactly what we're giving up to take advantage of the opportunity and how to make sure nothing important falls through the cracks while doing so.

[Kirch]

I am also so happy to see this thread! I get so tired of hearing everyone talking about how they're done with school by lunch!

 

I have a 2nd grader and a K-er, so not too much going on just yet. The school day has been getting a little bit longer each year and I fully expect it to grow to a full-day length within the next two years as we 1.) add Latin next year, and 2.) add in a third student in the year after that.

 

It's nice to read about others who are schooling past lunch on a normal day. Thank you for helping me to not feel like a loser when I look at what's going on in our homeschool.

 

I usually want to ask just what people are teaching their kids if they're able to finish before lunch because it just doesn't seem like you could get a lot done in that time. But then again, I push my kids and will advance them up if things are too easy for them. If they repeatedly finished up everything before lunch, I'd think they needed more challenging work. Why waste the awesome one-on-one teaching to only do a sufficient job? We're shooting for supremely excellent 'round here. Otherwise I'd just send them to school. But I wouldn't really say that IRL because I assume folks would think I felt superior and the like...which I really don't, I just don't understand the mindset of choosing "good enough" when "best" is an option.

 

I think maybe you're my long-lost twin! :D

[Embassy]

I think maybe you're my long-lost twin! :D

 

I love your blog!!

[melissel]

Prong 1-If my boys went to a private school where the teacher was trying to teach, clean the uniforms, sweep and mop the school, cook in the cafeteria, and (in my case) paint the school I would not be too happy about that. Even if they insisted that the teacher did this “in between lessons†or “in her spare time†I would wonder why on earth she would tolerate a clear work-place abuse situation.

 

I hear what you're saying, but this does not bother me. Yes, I'd be unhappy if a private school teacher had to find a way to fill all roles when she should be attending her students, but I don't have 20-some students who need me. I have two, and only one needs much of my attention.

 

I don't see our homeschool within a private-school paradigm, and I have no desire to. This is not a private school--it's our way of life. Learning happens--even intense learning--within the framework of the rest of our real lives. My primary focus is on the schooling, but that does not exclude the other necessities of our real lives. I hope it never does.

 

Why do I get the feeling I’m going to be reading CM on habit training tonight? Again.

 

Share titles, please? :D

[8filltheheart]

I hear what you're saying, but this does not bother me. Yes, I'd be unhappy if a private school teacher had to find a way to fill all roles when she should be attending her students, but I don't have 20-some students who need me. I have two, and only one needs much of my attention.

 

I don't see our homeschool within a private-school paradigm, and I have no desire to. This is not a private school--it's our way of life. Learning happens--even intense learning--within the framework of the rest of our real lives. My primary focus is on the schooling, but that does not exclude the other necessities of our real lives. I hope it never does.

 

 

:iagree: Even though I have had 7 needing me at one time, I couldn't homeschool if I couldn't multi-task in order to get everything done. It really isn't all that difficult to fold laundry while calling out dictation or ask lit questions while cleaning the kitchen. Being prepared BEFORE the assignment is the key for me. As long as I don't have to figure out what we need to be doing, why we are doing it, what is the "big" objective of this assignment, etc, then all I have to do is pull on the knowledge I have from when I generated the assignment in the first place to move through it. So pre-planning allows me to multi-task and still teach efficiently.

 

If I couldn't deal with distractions or multiple issues, I would have to throw in the towel b/c my toddlers are more distracting than all my other duties combined. ;)

[heritageofthelord]

Honestly this thread is making me nervous that I am missing something. We don't always start at the same time but generally school from about 9-1 breaking for a late lunch after we are done. Is there something I am missing?

My 6th grader does Saxon 6/5, Lightning Literature, IEW Writing, AAS, Growing with Grammar, Critical Thinking Skills, Caesers English I, Latina Christiana

The 2nd and 3rd grader do Saxon 2 and 3, XtraMath, MCT Literature, WWE 3, Handwriting with a reason, FLL 3, AAS and ETC

We do together Story of the World 4, Geography and God's Design for Chemistry. They go to a Co-Op on Fridays and do Art, Music, Science Labs, etc.

So maybe I am just having a terrified, paranoid, "maybe I am missing something here" moment but am I missing something? Or maybe I am just not doing as much of everything every day as everyone else? Leave it to pessimistic me to think that if I am getting done early I must not be doing it right, lol.

Edited October 12, 2011 by heritageofthelord

[Leav97]

Not every child moves at the same speed. Not every program has the same teacher intensity.

[...................]

For you. For me that would not be ideal to get our free time after dinner, because for us, that's family time where we play board games with my dh. :)

 

I still can't imAgine my kids doing 8 hours of school every day at age 10. But obviously people are doing what each feels is best. :)

[Julie Smith]

I usually want to ask just what people are teaching their kids if they're able to finish before lunch because it just doesn't seem like you could get a lot done in that time. But then again, I push my kids and will advance them up if things are too easy for them. If they repeatedly finished up everything before lunch, I'd think they needed more challenging work. Why waste the awesome one-on-one teaching to only do a sufficient job? We're shooting for supremely excellent 'round here. Otherwise I'd just send them to school. But I wouldn't really say that IRL because I assume folks would think I felt superior and the like...which I really don't, I just don't understand the mindset of choosing "good enough" when "best" is an option.

 

We are schooling after lunch. But that is because we sometimes don't start till lunch. I assume I would be included in the group that you feels needs more challenging work.

 

The reason we don't school more is I feel at the ages of my kids they don't need more school. For my kids right now I feel more school would take away from other things that are more important than school.

 

For example this morning it's almost 11am, and we haven't started school. Last night my eldest wanted to play 'bowling' but he couldn't. I told him he could bowl as much as he wanted this morning. So I made him some bowling score sheets last night. This morning before I even got out of bed he was bowling.

 

Some rounds are 3 games, some are up to 6 rounds. It's 5 pin bowling, but he keeps track of the score using pencil and paper. Doubling strikes and spares when appropriate. ... The last game had a final score of 107 to 156.

 

When his younger brother played with him he got his little brother to add up his score per round. (This pin is worth 5 and it gets double because of your spare previous round, now add that to this 3 you got, and this 2 you got... what's your score little brother)

 

I find with my boys those sorts of things happen all the time. But they wouldn't happen as often if I had them in 'school' all the time.

 

Before that they were making up character cards for Descent.

 

For me, I don't include a subject as school unless I think it's important enough to take away from there play, or after learning said subject will add to there play. As in you can't play bowling if you don't know how to write down your numbers. Or learning about History is important to me, and it can also lead to interesting games. :)

 

So last week my kids found two baby mice in the basement. They took them out of the basement. Feed them, made a home for them. I got them books on mice and rats from the library. They had Daddy read them, so they could make a better home and feed them food that would work better for them.

 

After listening to books by Laura Ingalls Wilder they dug cardboard out of the recycling and using duct tape made shanty homes. ... and spaceships, and rat homes....

 

I consider all the time they have to come up with these things more important than school. For me it's a balance, and right now 2 hours of school in total for both boys is a good balance. (This doesn't include listening to read alouds in the evening)

 

That is why I think, that for us the amount of school we do is not just good enough, but best.

 

.... and they are still bowling.

[Halcyon]

We have full days too. We school from 8:30 until somewhere between 2:00 and 4:30 most every day. We take a 45 minute break in the middle, and a couple of the days we have piano or sports for an hour and a half in the middle of the day. This isn't all workbooks. In fact, I find when we just are doing our workbook stuff, the day flies by. The time-consuming part of our day is usually projects, science experiments, complex math problems which my older and I work on together, and Latin discussions.

[melissel]

For you. For me that would not be ideal to get our free time after dinner, because for us, that's family time where we play board games with my dh. :)

 

I still can't imAgine my kids doing 8 hours of school every day at age 10. But obviously people are doing what each feels is best. :)

 

Here, we seem to end up schooling from 10 to 4-4:30. However, I'm the one working straight through that time. DD9 takes up the bulk of that, but she gets periodic breaks--when her sister is working with me, when I need some downtime, etc. DD6 gets far more playtime than D9 simply because she is younger. Even then, she often chooses to sit in on my lessons with DD9. She's been walking around singing Latin chants the last few days :lol: So for us, there is playtime built in and around our school day; I'm the one with the full-time job of it.

 

Also, my kids don't tend to play "educational" play on their own. I'm not sure why. They play with dolls and Littlest Pets. They use every piece of furniture in my house to play Shipwreck. DD9 does puzzles and crosswords and thinking games at bedtime, and she has plenty of time for that. We have plenty of playtime on our days off. We school year-round, so we have entire weeks off, and three weeks at Christmas. Plenty of creative pursuits still happen. I can vouch for that because I'm usually the one cleaning up the messes left over from them :lol:

 

ETA: It took me awhile to write this post due to interruptions, so I think I ended up half responding to you and half addressing Julie Smith's post. Sorry!

[Woodland Mist Academy]

For you. For me that would not be ideal to get our free time after dinner, because for us, that's family time where we play board games with my dh. :)

 

 

:iagree:

I guess that was my point. It's not necessarily schooling until 5 that is at issue, but a combination of life choices. From your post it seemed you meant that it is impossible to "do school" 9-5 and still have free time outside. (Those were the only two activities you mentioned.) Now if you mean you couldn't do schoolwork until 5 and still do everything else you want to do--such as free time outside AND board games etc. then I totally agree. There are so many ways to spend our lives --there is no way to do it all each day. You just mentioned 9-5 schooling and outside time and I was pointing out they aren't mutually exclusive.

 

I still can't imAgine my kids doing 8 hours of school every day at age 10. But obviously people are doing what each feels is best. :)

 

:iagree: in the reverse with the first sentence--I can't imagine not having them. (Although it's not truly 8 hours--we have breaks.)

 

My daughter pulls out her books on her free time and thrives with full academic days.

 

I agree with the second sentence as well. :)

[melissel]

We're shooting for supremely excellent 'round here. Otherwise I'd just send them to school. But I wouldn't really say that IRL because I assume folks would think I felt superior and the like...which I really don't, I just don't understand the mindset of choosing "good enough" when "best" is an option.

 

I didn't see this earlier and wanted to address this. We are shooting for supremely excellent too. But not everyone is oriented toward "supremely excellent"--some people are satisfied with "sufficient" combined with the added benefits of a homeschooling lifestyle. Some people believe the added benefits of the homeschooling lifestyle--extra time for creativity and play, extra closeness as a family, extra time for physical activity and hobbies, simply more down time, more space for organic learning rather than drilled or "forced" learning, etc.--are MORE important than the "supremely excellent." I think that's the difference. I'm completely OK with that. I try not to think poorly of other people's educational choices, because it rankles very much when people question mine.

[Julie Smith]

Here, we seem to end up schooling from 10 to 4-4:30. However, I'm the one working straight through that time. DD9 takes up the bulk of that, but she gets periodic breaks--when her sister is working with me, when I need some downtime, etc. DD6 gets far more playtime than D9 simply because she is younger. Even then, she often chooses to sit in on my lessons with DD9. She's been walking around singing Latin chants the last few days :lol: So for us, there is playtime built in and around our school day; I'm the one with the full-time job of it.

 

Also, my kids don't tend to play "educational" play on their own. I'm not sure why. They play with dolls and Littlest Pets. They use every piece of furniture in my house to play Shipwreck. DD9 does puzzles and crosswords and thinking games at bedtime, and she has plenty of time for that. We have plenty of playtime on our days off. We school year-round, so we have entire weeks off, and three weeks at Christmas. Plenty of creative pursuits still happen. I can vouch for that because I'm usually the one cleaning up the messes left over from them :lol:

 

ETA: It took me awhile to write this post due to interruptions, so I think I ended up half responding to you and half addressing Julie Smith's post. Sorry!

 

That is what homeschooling is about. Finding a balance that is right for your family.

[8filltheheart]

Honestly this thread is making me nervous that I am missing something. We don't always start at the same time but generally school from about 9-1 breaking for a late lunch after we are done. Is there something I am missing?

 

So maybe I am just having a terrified, paranoid, "maybe I am missing something here" moment but am I missing something? Or maybe I am just not doing as much of everything every day as everyone else? Leave it to pessimistic me to think that if I am getting done early I must not be doing it right, lol.

 

Many of the posters on this thread, me included, have long days b/c of teaching multiple children on multiple grade levels, some of us including high school. If I only had younger kids, no, my days would not take that long. My Ker finishes all of her school work in under an hr.

 

 

I usually want to ask just what people are teaching their kids if they're able to finish before lunch because it just doesn't seem like you could get a lot done in that time. But then again, I push my kids and will advance them up if things are too easy for them. If they repeatedly finished up everything before lunch, I'd think they needed more challenging work. Why waste the awesome one-on-one teaching to only do a sufficient job? We're shooting for supremely excellent 'round here. Otherwise I'd just send them to school. But I wouldn't really say that IRL because I assume folks would think I felt superior and the like...which I really don't, I just don't understand the mindset of choosing "good enough" when "best" is an option.

 

You are presenting a false dichotomy. I aim for excellence. Actually, I have done more than aim, I believe that I have managed to achieve my definition of excellence w/multiple children. ;) What is my definition of excellence? Having each child reach their fullest potential. None of my children have finished high school in the same place. However, they have all finished at levels appropriate for their personal abilities.

 

Anyway, long hrs on the K-8 board do not equate 1-on-1 with excellence in education. More is not always better. Sometimes it is simply more.

Edited October 12, 2011 by 8FillTheHeart

[angela in ohio]

Anyway, long hrs on the K-8 board do not equate 1-on-1 with excellence in education. More is not always better. Sometimes it is simply more.

 

Exactly. This is how I end up at odds with the very few self-proclaimed rigorous homeschoolers I come across IRL. When they hear through the grapevine that I am "intimidating" and "over-the-top" (real quotes,) they expect a certain thing, and they assume that I will agree when they brag about the reams of paper their elementary age dc fill out each day. Then I don't follow their thought, they think I'm crazy, and I end up wondering if I fit in anywhere at all? :crying:

 

I've met plenty of homeschoolers (and I've shared this here before) who produce a great volume of paper and projects and spend all day doing school. But it is all at a low level, and they are still using elementary techniques in high school. You can't assume that more will guarantee better. My dc who spent an hour a day on first grade (at most :D) are now doing advanced subjects and long hours in high school. The reason this works, though, is because of our lifestyle (intellectually rich.) So if you don't know what the rest of someone's day or home life looks like, you can't really tell much just based on how many hours they spend on school.