What is your 7th grader's shool day like?

[bnbacademy]

What if a 7th grader has become successful in self-motivation to independently work on school and is done within a few hours? This is a good thing... so how do I graciously add assignments to challenge him toward doing more?

 

I work part-time, so I have often encouraged both dc toward doing as much as they can independently. Well, lately, my 7th grader has been successful at completing tasks in such a timely manner that he is done by mid-morning! BTW, he does the work well, he likes to do a good job.

 

A typical day/week is as follows:

 

Critical thinking- logic puzzle/game

MUS Prealgebra- 1 unit/week (he will complete in 3 weeks, then we will do LOF)

Grammar- R&S English 7- 1 lesson/day

Wordly Wise grade 10- 1 unit/week

IEW middle ages themed lessons - 1 lesson/week

Caught Ya for Middle School- every other day

Spelling wisdom dictation- every other day

Rosetta Stone Spanish - 20-30 min/day

Bible- Royal Ranger tracClub + memorizations

Fridays- SCM inductive Bible study

Science- WP Human Body- 2 days/week

Discovery Streaming videos thrown in to the mix

History- WP QMA as per schedule, added weekly written reports,quests/projects on Fridays

Added SOTW volume 2 reading

Independent Reading - 45 min/day

Read Aloud

Piano practice- 30 min/day

 

He will be going out to High School by 9th grade, so I want to prepare him well.

 

Break it to me gently... Is this too light? I told him today that we may need to do more writing as narration of what he reads. He took it well, but commented that it feels like a punishment.

 

TIA,

Edited February 9, 2012 by bnbacademy

[5LittleMonkeys]

What time does he start? When you say done in a couple hours do you mean he is finishing in about 2 hours? If so I would think he either isn't doing the work properly (which you said he does) or that it wasn't challenging enough.

 

Last year my very motivated, self starting oldest took about 5 hours to complete all of her work. She had math, Latin, grammar, writing, science, history, and literature. She doesn't dawdle or waste time at all so I know that that was time spent actually working (I also know that because I was checking in on her during each subject). This year (8th) is taking her about 6 hours.

 

I know, in the past, I've given this dd work that she seems to be able to complete in a ridiculously small amount of time. It always turned out to be work that was just far to easy for her intellectually or work that was too easily done without having to think at all (just noticing the pattern and mindlessly filling in the blanks).

 

I think, in your situation, I would be sitting down and taking a really hard look at the programs he is using and determining if they are truly expanding his knowledge and thinking or if they are simply busywork.

[bnbacademy]

He starts at 0730. He does all the subjects he can do independently, ie: math, IEW writing, history writing/ notebooking, critical thinking, history reading assignments, science reading assignments, WW, Bible, Spanish in about 3 hours, then we do the subjects that involve the teacher and read/do some history and science all together. This gets done before lunch. In the pm, he does his reading, piano, household chores, plans and teaches Ranger Kids every week, and plays football whenever he can.

 

I think, at the least, we will add another history text and keyboarding, maybe art.

 

Where does one find out what is rigorous for 7th grade?

[5LittleMonkeys]

Well, your first post made it sound like he was done with everything in just a couple hours. From the extra info in your second post it sounds more reasonable. He is starting at 0730 and working for 3 hours then doing more work finishing a bit before lunch, so I'm guessing, without you indicating exactly what time he finishes that he is getting in between 4 and 5 hours of work each day. I don't think that's unreasonable for a 7th grader. If you're wanting him to be prepared for ps in 9th then perhaps you could contact the school and ask them what the typical workload for students is at school and at home. I personally know many 9th grade ps students who spend close to 4 hours a night on homework, not including time spent on the weekends on longer projects. I know that isn't the same for all ps 9th graders, but I don't think it's that uncommon either.

 

As far as what is rigorous...well, that is so subjective I don't think you will ever find a definitive answer. For ME rigorous in middle school requires about 6 to 7 hours a day of academic work in which my students are stretched in their thinking and understanding, and in which their skill set has improved in some way. Rigorous to me means that their work is not easy and that they are not able to blow through it without giving it much thought. A good indicator for my older dc is if at the end of the academic day they are calm and quiet and mentally tired (not exhausted). However, rigorous for dd14 looks completely different than it does for dd12. It all depends on the dc.

 

I hope you get more responses as I'm curious to see if others have middle school students completing their work in 4 hours or less. My two would start a revolt if they thought that was the norm...which it may be and I'm just a hard-nose!

[bnbacademy]

To summarize... he starts at 0730 at his own discretion until 0900, when I start supervising + checking work. I toggle b/t the 2 boys, he does work while younger needs me and vice versa. When each completes the basic studies or close to a stopping point, we move into History and/or Science together, depending on day of week. This takes us close to 1200, with one 15-20 min break. Younger ds then continues after lunch until school completed, protesting all the way.... We use a workbox system to organize assignments. So a total of about 4 hrs, which seems MUCH too little for me...

[MamaReads]

It sounds like he is using his free time well and working at grade level. Maybe if you were able to work some daily time in to discuss, apply, or debate what he is learning it would flesh out his schedule. I feel like the rigor comes from the depth of thought, not the quantity of boxes checked.

 

Good luck!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

What if a 7th grader has become successful in self-motivation to independently work on school and is done within a few hours? This is a good thing... so how do I graciously add assignments to challenge him toward doing more?

 

I work part-time, so I have often encouraged both dc toward doing as much as they can independently. Well, lately, my 7th grader has been successful at completing tasks in such a timely manner that he is done by mid-morning! BTW, he does the work well, he likes to do a good job.

 

A typical day/week is as follows:

 

Critical thinking- logic puzzle/game

MUS Prealgebra- 1 unit/week (he will complete in 3 weeks, then we will do LOF)

Grammar- R&S English 7- 1 lesson/day

Wordly Wise grade 10- 1 unit/week

IEW middle ages themed lessons - 1 lesson/week

Caught Ya for Middle School- every other day

Spelling wisdom dictation- every other day

Rosetta Stone Spanish - 20-30 min/day

Bible- Royal Ranger tracClub + memorizations

Fridays- SCM inductive Bible study

Science- WP Human Body- 2 days/week

History- WP QMA as per schedule, added weekly written reports,quests/projects on Fridays

Added SOTW volume 2 reading

Independent Reading - 45 min/day

Read Aloud

Piano practice- 30 min/day

 

He will be going out to High School by 9th grade, so I want to prepare him well.

 

Break it to me gently... Is this too light? I told him today that we may need to do more writing as narration of what he reads. He took it well, but commented that it feels like a punishment.

 

TIA,

 

I hesitate to say that something is too light or too hard. There are so many variables within a family and for a student. But the fact that you are asking the question suggests that you think he's ready to up his game some.

 

I would suggest more science relate non-fiction, historical related fiction/non-fiction and maybe checking the difficulty level of his math to see if he ought be placed into something a little more challenging.

 

This is a great time to start him on producing good written work. If he thinks it's punishment now, he should consider how much better it will feel to gradually improve his paragraphs and essays over having to squash it into a tighter learning curve when high school looms.

 

I started hitting writing much harder about two years ago. DS #2 mentioned it this afternoon as he was finishing up a WWS assignment. He asked if I remembered how bad his first Egypt paragraph was. Uh, yep. And I'm so glad that we've stuck to improving that writing.

[regentrude]

My 7th grader has to work for 4.5 hours daily. During that time, he can choose what he wants to work on for how long, with the exception of math: 45-60 minutes must be done daily. He finished algebra 1 and is currently taking a break and doing AoPS counting and probability.

For history, we have historic fiction, non-fiction, encyclopedia, Universal History of the World and lots of documentaries. For science he reads independently as well. We add literature and German literature. Geography at his discretion, usually by online game. Art and music we do as part of our lives, not as a school subject. He writes for several hours each day, he is writing a novel.

So I guess we are very relaxed homeschoolers at that age. I'll up the output requirements when it gets closer to high school; right now this suits us just fine.

[bnbacademy]

It sounds like he is using his free time well and working at grade level. Maybe if you were able to work some daily time in to discuss, apply, or debate what he is learning it would flesh out his schedule. I feel like the rigor comes from the depth of thought, not the quantity of boxes checked.

 

Good luck!

 

Thank you for sharing your perspective. We do an oral discussion/ sometimes narration after the history text reading. I recently started asking for a written narration everyday, either history or science.

[bnbacademy]

I hesitate to say that something is too light or too hard. There are so many variables within a family and for a student. But the fact that you are asking the question suggests that you think he's ready to up his game some.

 

I would suggest more science relate non-fiction, historical related fiction/non-fiction and maybe checking the difficulty level of his math to see if he ought be placed into something a little more challenging.

 

This is a great time to start him on producing good written work. If he thinks it's punishment now, he should consider how much better it will feel to gradually improve his paragraphs and essays over having to squash it into a tighter learning curve when high school looms.

 

I started hitting writing much harder about two years ago. DS #2 mentioned it this afternoon as he was finishing up a WWS assignment. He asked if I remembered how bad his first Egypt paragraph was. Uh, yep. And I'm so glad that we've stuck to improving that writing.

 

Thank you. I have recently asked him to do a written narration on history or science, everyday. Of course, he protests at first and then diligently puts pen to paper. By the time he is done, he has invested thought and energy into it. He is then proud to put it in his notebook.

[bnbacademy]

My 7th grader has to work for 4.5 hours daily. During that time, he can choose what he wants to work on for how long, with the exception of math: 45-60 minutes must be done daily. He finished algebra 1 and is currently taking a break and doing AoPS counting and probability.

For history, we have historic fiction, non-fiction, encyclopedia, Universal History of the World and lots of documentaries. For science he reads independently as well. We add literature and German literature. Geography at his discretion, usually by online game. Art and music we do as part of our lives, not as a school subject. He writes for several hours each day, he is writing a novel.

So I guess we are very relaxed homeschoolers at that age. I'll up the output requirements when it gets closer to high school; right now this suits us just fine.

 

Thank you for sharing your day. We have a workbox system, actually, they just move tags when subjects are completed, I don't physically put papers in anymore. They can accomplish school in any order, except we interrupt things so history or science can be done together. We also have Discovery Streaming for educational videos thrown in to the mix. Glad to see others have a relaxed schedule.

Sounds like we are somewhat similar and 4.5 hrs is your average as well.

[Chris in VA]

Sounds okay to me.

If anything, I'd add another 15 min to his daily reading, and add outlining a history encyclo and then choosing a topic to research and write about each week, replacing the history narration.

I'd also go ahead and add art--maybe a light art history w/memorizing or at least familiarizing himself with great artists and their works, if he isn't into producing art himself. Even if you just print out a picture and hang it up every 2 weeks, and then have him research it--this is a great time to teach research skills and finding information.

[bnbacademy]

Sounds okay to me.

If anything, I'd add another 15 min to his daily reading, and add outlining a history encyclo and then choosing a topic to research and write about each week, replacing the history narration.

I'd also go ahead and add art--maybe a light art history w/memorizing or at least familiarizing himself with great artists and their works, if he isn't into producing art himself. Even if you just print out a picture and hang it up every 2 weeks, and then have him research it--this is a great time to teach research skills and finding information.

 

Thank you for your reply. I must have been thinking the same, because we already added 15 min to the reading time. We do the SCM memorizing system for Bible verses and history cards, so I could add in art history.

[missmoe]

Perhaps adding further research to his history or science would add what you are looking for? My seventh-graders pick something from our history and science studies to research further. They then choose a project to produce showing that research.

 

Some of the projects they've done:

political cartoons

family trees (of British royality)

flip books showing gravity

reports

compare/contrast charts

minibooks

maps

posters showing history of weapons through different cultures

powerpoints

mini timeline of a specific event or person.

 

This allows more in-depth study and allows your child to choose what they are interested in pursuing.

Edited February 11, 2012 by missmoe

[bnbacademy]

Perhaps adding further research to his history or science would add what you are looking for? My seventh-graders pick something from our history and science studies to research further. They then choose a project to produce showing that research.

 

Some of the projects they've done:

political cartoons

family trees (of British royality)

flip books showing gravity

reports

compare/contrast charts

minibooks

maps

posters showing history of weapons through different cultures

powerpoints

mini timeline of a specific event or person.

 

This allows more in-depth study and allows your child to choose what they are interested in pursuing.

 

Thank you. Our WP History curriculum includes weekly projects, ie: research, and/or hands-on activities, which we include in our week, often on Friday pm. Are you saying that a written researched report should be a part of each day?

[Chez J]

My 7th grader is spending about six to six and a half hours a day on school work. This includes homework usually. However, when she has a paper or project due, it is taking longer. We go from 8 to 3 most days with a one-hour break at lunch.

 

We are completing math, Apologia General Science, IEW writing Am History Vol II, French, CLE LA and Reading, and BJU American Republic. So, about an hour per subject daily. The subject that often runs over is math. The co-op teacher gives more sections than there are days. So, she often has homework for math.

 

Then she has saxophone practice for 30 minutes daily and AWANA lessons several times a week. She also swims three to four days a week.

[missmoe]

Thank you. Our WP History curriculum includes weekly projects, ie: research, and/or hands-on activities, which we include in our week, often on Friday pm. Are you saying that a written researched report should be a part of each day?

 

I don't think it needs to be done each day. Our projects and research take 4-5 hours to complete which we spread throughout the week. Every day my girls are writing, but small things like outlines, paragraphs, and timelines. We work for about 5-6 hours per day, but we don't work in the evenings. Looks like your work is spread out a bit differently.

[bnbacademy]

Thank you for all the helpful replies. I am leaning toward a 5-6hr day and will evaluate where I can increase the writing projects as written narration/research studies throughout the week. I am considering adding a Logic study as well, something that may be more of interest to him to balance out the increase in writing.