RainbowSprinkles Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I'm interested to know what the focus subject is in your homeschool. I know it probably changes depending on the ages and different stages dc go through. My dd ( almost 10) started violin lessons 2 weeks ago, obviously it's not the most important subject we do, but I do require daily practice. She loves it so far, so getting her to practice is not an issue. Anyway, I definitely think this is one of the more important things as we continue on. Her other two daily subjects are Math and Writing. We always get to them even if nothing else gets done. The other thing I'd like to get to daily (but haven't achieved it yet) is studying German. DD loves it.We did great for awhile, but these last few weeks we have just been reviewing what she has learned so far. For my DS7, the focus is definitely on reading and Math. We do these two things daily,even if nothing else gets done. He also just started piano lessons and loves it! I do want make this a daily requirement. So I guess our focus is at the skill-based subjects. Tell me what's most important to you! :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 We do Math, writing, phonics, grammar, reading, piano, and religion daily. We do all of it, so I guess SKILLS is our focus. Things I'm really having a hard time getting to that I had planned to do this year: history, science, a read-aloud, greek myths, poetry, and art study. :( The fun stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math. We do other things, too, but that's the heart of the whole enterprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Hmmmm....Math gets done very regularly but so does History as per our SL core. Science slips for sure as does Art and Spelling gets overlooked also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 We only have a few subjects my kids consider school. Piano, math, Handwriting without tears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missouri Okie Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Like you, since we practice every day, violin seems to get the most attention. However, I feel that math and reading are the most important. My son is 7 and it feels like we have been focused on reading for a long time. So much, that math took a back seat until last year when I finally woke up and decided we needed to get with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math. For us the only subject where structured, systematic, daily work is required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hadassah Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) Foreign language, definitely. We also do math, Bible, reading/writing, and musical instrument practice every day, but these don't seem to be the focus. Edited January 19, 2012 by Hadassah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math, LA, PE, and foreign language. Science gets a good dose of time, but it isn't necessarily everyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Ours changes from year to year and child to child. Dd14 - Latin, Literature (next year - Latin, Greek) Dd12 - Music, Math (next year - Music, Latin) Dd8 - Latin, Math (next year - Latin, Math) Ds6 - Reading (next year - Reading, Math) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math, followed closely by writing - strong subject and (physically) weak subject, respectively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moniksca Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math, reading, and writing are always completed daily here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math, Latin and Writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 P.E. Sigh. I joke about it. Well, I used to joke about it. Now I just kind of admit it. My 14 and 11 year olds are competitive athletes; 20 hours/week in the gym for one, and 8 swim practices of 1.5 to 2 hours each, for the other. The mom of one of my swimmer daughter's friends asked me just this week what we do for P.E. Our daughters were in the pool right in front of us when she asked this. I just laughed, pointed and said, "That." After P.E., math and science are probably our priorities, because no one (in our house) cries over math or science. I'm big on playing to our strengths. ;) Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Jen* Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Since I have young ones Reading/Phonics and Math are the main focus of our day. Ds is almost finished with OPG and is cruising through ETC at a nice pace so hopefully this spring/summer we can finally cut back on that and enjoy some time doing history and science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math and grammar get done everyday without fail. We love history, but we don't always get to it. Performing arts/PE get a lot of time. Gymnastics 1 day, dance 2 days, and theatre 1-2 days. I hope to add piano back in next year, after the baby is born. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingmama Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Well my focus is skills - so the basics are well covered. Art would be my focus for my DD -she lives for it. I haven't started HS DS4 yet apart from ETC -so no focus for him yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math and History. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 TORAH! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaffodilDreams Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Science - she's all about science so we spend a lot of time with that subject. But reading, writing, spelling, and math are daily subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math is the focus of our homeschool. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Right now I would say it's Math & Reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenmama2 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Violin, math and science. Which seems to be somewhat of a variation on a theme in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Spelling and math. DD is a weak speller, so she needs daily practice. English is just below that, though if we're really short on time and the lesson is going to take awhile, like a writing assignment, I'll put it off until the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Written language, both reading and writing, because DS1 has really struggled with it. I think it will always need to be a focus area for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloggermom Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 We are Latin-centered so I guess Latin is our MAJOR focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKNG Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Bible Math Reading/LA Science Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 #1 Goal: Imparting hope, life, joy, peace, wonder, and the character to live a God-honoring life Accomplished through Bible storytelling, Christian doctrine, hymns & worship songs, Scripture & poetry memory work, children's literature, and the power of the Holy Spirit #2 Goal: Learning and practicing basic academic skills Achieved through phonics, reading, handwriting, spelling, copywork, dictation, grammar, narration, composition, math, and the power of patient, persistent, daily practice #3 Goal: Growing in our understanding of the world and how it works Attempted through music lessons, world language exposure (aka "French" ;)), Geography RAs & activities, History RAs & activities, Science RAs & activities, nature walks & outdoor time, field trips, travel, friendships, family time, daily chores, and the power of time to ripen the fruit to maturity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne J Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 For ds, we focus on math, Latin and writing. It's not school if we don't do these. We hit the other subjects regularly, but if we only do those three I call it a school day. For dd, it is phonics and math. Once she is reading fluently, we will move focus to math, Latin, and writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheilaZ Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math, grammar/reading, and science. In that order. Everything else is gravy. DH is an engineer. I'm a biologist. And, Im embarrassed to admit it on *this* forum...history is one of our very last subjects. Usually, it's part of the "reading" portion of our day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math. After that, math. Then math. Then arithmetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgialee Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math, reading, spelling/writing/phonics (SWR) and grammar are done every day. History is done most days (at least touched on for review). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 None, this year. This year we have an excellent balance going because my son is using Calvert and my dd is combined into several of his "extras." That's why I LOVE CALVERT. When I homeschool eclectically, I tend to be very literature and history-heavy, because that is what I like. I tend to completely neglect Science and the Arts. However, we have always made math the number one priority, meaning that when we take off from school, we often do math. Math is the first subject of the day; when our minds are fresh. We also advance our students or do extra review more often with math, paying more attention to their exact needs. But I do this, not because we are math-focused but because I am so NOT math-focused, that I overcompensate my natural proclivity to overlook math (which is super important to me, unlike Science and the arts) and therefore I made a very conscientious decision to treat math in this manner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 For my 5th grader: math and science my 2nd grader: lego :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math. After that, math. Then math. Then arithmetic. Sounds a bit like our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Another one for math, here. I've noticed that math is the one subject that slides backwards the most if not tackled regularly. So, if we only get one thing done on a particular day, it's math. If we get two things done, it's math and piano. When they were very little, reading came first, but now that they have a strong foundation there and do it voluntarily on their own, math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allearia Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 For both, math, writing, history, science, piano. I really want to fit in more language, art, and literature. For my older ds it is ancient Greek by his choice, that is very time consuming and covers a lot of language skills, grammar, vocab, etc. so that is a lot of the rest of LA for him besides writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceful Isle Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 We do math and reading every day, and then english, spelling and writing about 3 days on average, give or take. Science and History about 2 times a week, but we spend a while on those days to dig deep :) Im just happy that I do the basics, honestly, with a little 9 month old keeping me on my toes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganClassicalPrep Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Right now, our focus is language. Learning to read and write English and learning to speak French. Next year our focus will be language, (English, French and Spanish) and (much as I hate this term...) "social studies": history, geography, and world cultures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go_go_gadget Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Since mine are very young, our strongest foci right now are mechanics: reading, writing (both the physical act of penmanship and the mechanics of composition and grammar), and math. It's a very rare day that those are the only subjects we cover, but when it does happen that we have a day with limited school time, those are the ones we do. Reading is foundational to everything else, so until my kids are reading on about a fourth-grade level (checkmark for the six year-old, not yet for the five year-old), that's the top priority. It's difficult to write a good essay if you can't write a good paragraph, difficult to write a good paragraph if you can't write a good sentence, and difficult to write a good sentence if you have to focus on penmanship in addition to composition and grammar, so until penmanship is effortless and tidy, that's also a daily endeavor. Math, of course, is also a foundational subject and is likewise covered five days a week (three longer lessons/discovery sessions, and two very short days with math software to increase speed once a concept is thoroughly mastered). But again, it's a very rare that those are the only subjects covered. We also do grammar, writing, history, art (history and making of), science, logic, spanish, spelling, ballet, and jujitsu, some more frequently than others, but never less than once a week. Those numbers will change as the kids get older and some subjects are completed. I'm hoping to have Spanish fluent in two years, French two years after that, and then do two years of Latin so that foreign languages will be done before the high school years. We're beginning a whole-family gradual immersion process to facilitate that. Spelling should be finished as a formal subject for the six year-old by about June (perhaps next January for the five year-old), and grammar should be finished by the end of the middle school years, all of which will open up more time for history, science, and writing to become daily subjects. Reading and math will retain their "daily" status. Logic and art will likely stay at the once-or-twice per week level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 When I was homeschooling my boys it was Bible, math, classical languages in that order, of both importance and scheduling. Bible was...well...a LOT though. Morning worship was always over an hour, and sometimes got picked back up again later for up to 3 hours. We often did Bible based unit studies. So many subjects were included. For my self-study, my SOW unit studies are officially "Bible" but...well, they are also a whole lot more. My seizures have caused some brain damage and I can't divide anymore and I should be attending to that more...I guess...but...since I'm still seizing and frying more brain cells...some days, I figure why bother; I might as well do whatever I want to. So I just do the SOW, and attend mostly to the language arts gaps that have formed. I've lost a lot of ability to organize my writing, and that was never an ultra strong strength anyway. I am all over suffering from lack of organization and lack of context skills, so do best with remedial and multi-age resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmama Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 We do everything except Girl Scouts daily, so general education is our focus right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheApprentice Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 We focus on those 3 R's. So I guess we are skilled based here.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Math. No question. Not that we don't consider, well, *everything* we're doing important . . . but math is the focus because a) it's the reason we started homeschooling how and when we did (bad experiences w/ ps math beginning to color dd's whole attitude to school, learning, her own intelligence, etc. , b) it's the only thing we do every.day. no matter what c) it's the only thing I have 3 different curricula for ;). And each curriculum is to address a distinct aspect of math learning, not just 'cause I can't choose! d) it's the thing *I* spend the majority of my time on - prep time, reading before bed, thinking about how to present lessons, thinking about how to explain conceptually, and making sure I really, really deeply understand it myself. e) it's the only thing I really feel is on a "schedule" in that I want to get to a certain level by a certain time - for test prep purposes, college entrance, etc. Other than that . . . writing is in second place. Writing - either formal writing program, or writing in a subject area - gets done every day. And almost everything else we do in LA is *for* writing, as I always remind DD - we don't study spelling and grammar just to kill time, it's *for* becoming a good writer! So, in terms of time and energy spent, math and writing are it. Interesting question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 TORAH! :001_smile: I can't believe that there have been so few responses for Bible as a priority, and not a single Bible alone, like this torah response :-0 I'm not saying that is wrong. I'm just...VERY surprised! I wonder if this reflects the changing face of homeschooling, or reflects just this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Science! Other big dailies are reading (usually tied in to our science), math, and phonics or spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadsandLilysMom Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 We have our core subjects and electives. We do FIAR, math, phonics and handwriting everyday. We do one elective per day rotating between science, history, geography, music and art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmama Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I can't believe that there have been so few responses for Bible as a priority, and not a single Bible alone, like this torah response :-0 I'm not saying that is wrong. I'm just...VERY surprised! I wonder if this reflects the changing face of homeschooling, or reflects just this forum. I think it does reflect the changing face of homeschoolers - when I was homeschooled as a kid you could pretty much count on a homeschooler being a WASP - white anglo-saxon protestant - and homeschooling for religious reasons for the most part. Now homeschooling has become mainstream, and so much more diverse! As for religion in the home school - right now ours is up in the air, so DD will take a year off from religious studies while I sort out what I really believe religiously and want to pass on to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilacii Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Our son is in Kinder, so we focus on Language Arts and Literature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I think it does reflect the changing face of homeschoolers - when I was homeschooled as a kid you could pretty much count on a homeschooler being a WASP - white anglo-saxon protestant - and homeschooling for religious reasons for the most part. Now homeschooling has become mainstream, and so much more diverse! As for religion in the home school - right now ours is up in the air, so DD will take a year off from religious studies while I sort out what I really believe religiously and want to pass on to her. I don't know what I believe either, but...I don't know how to organize studies without using the Bible as the spine :-0 The same way others here are die hard 4 year history planners, I flounder without starting in Genesis and working my way through. I've realized the CULTURE of Christianity is part of my heritage and...I don't now how to maneuver too far away from it :-0 I stopped knowing what I believe about 7 or 8 years ago and am no closer yet to figuring out what I believe. I keep taking wild forays into alternate religions and then coming right back, like coming home. The house feels empty, but...well...it's still more home than anywhere else, empty or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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