Birdwinglips Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Hi everyone, this is something I have been wondering about. Now that my littlest is in public Kinder, I have been able to really focus on my 2 fourth graders intently....BUT I am afraid of burning them out. Over all we have about 10 subjects to cover..Math, Science, History (and Geography), Vocab, Grammar, Spelling, Typing, Cursive, Bible and Reading. How many subjects do you cover on an average day? Today we did a new lesson in math and practice pages, read a library book for history, did an oral writing lesson and they are now both doing quiet reading. Both will also do a typing lesson today then it's off to ballet for my DD. Thurs. are our 'short' day. I don't expect to do ALL subjects every day, but was wondering what you all average on an average day...not the sports/lessons/sick kids sort of days. Remember these are 4th graders. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 My 10 yro is in 4th grade (if we followed the public school schedule). She does: Math Language Arts Latin German Art History History Science Logic Religion It looks like we have 9 subjects. :glare: I just can't narrow it down any farther. This is the first semester we've done stuff like Religion, Logic and Art History and my daughter is just in love with Art History. She's also able to work on her own for alot of stuff...and that makes a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Well, every day is a sports day for us, so we need to work everything in around skating. :) This is for my 5th grader, but the subjects are the same as last year. Daily subjects: math (AoPS pre-algebra), spelling, vocabulary, writing (WWE), grammar, literature, religion 4x a week: Classical studies (Memoria Press), Latin (First Form Latin) 2x a week: K12 Science 5 He skates four days out of the school week, and one day on the weekend. He tends to sit in on his sisters' science/math, but we drop the ball on art and music. They just aren't priorities for us this year. In previous years, we've done music and art history maybe once a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdwinglips Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Do you do all of them each day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Every day we do Math, Piano, Assigned Reading, Writing, Latin, Memory Work. Tue Wed Thur we follow a loop schedule incorporating Test Prep, Geography, Spanish, Grammar, Yoga & Meditation, Daily Editing, Composer Studies, Mythology and Weekly Reader (a news magazine for kids that I like him to read and discuss). Mondays afternoons are devoted to History and Friday afternoons are devoted to Science (about 2-4 hours). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Every day, we do Math, writing, grammar, Latin, and some form of assigned reading (in addition to free reading). Science, history (which includes art & musics app/history), logic, and literature discussion usually happen twice a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Do you do all of them each day? No way! :lol: Everyday, she does math and we read our Lit selections. We rotate thru the other subjects on a loop schedule. She's starting to spend a really long time on certain subjects, so we are probably finishing about 3-5 subjects a day. Yesterday, she and her brother spent 2 hours on science. Today, she probably spent an hour and a half on Art History and Latin Prep. This semester, I'm trying to finish with school by 1 pm (this is our nice weather season in Texas). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 3 days a week my 3/4th grader does Singapore Story problems, Math Made Easy; R & S lesson, works on IEW assignment, handwriting, memory work, lit read-aloud, history and VP cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enough Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) My 4th grader does outdoor time/free play (yes, I put these up front for a reason- I think they're important ;)), math, grammar, writing, and reading (nothing assigned, but I limit twaddle, and he generally reads for at least 2 hours) every day. Shakespeare 1 x week, 3 hours Chemistry 1x week, 2 hours. Italics 2x week, 20 min. each History we do 'organically' in that we follow our hearts... some weeks we gorge on books/field trips/movies etc and some weeks we do just a few hours of reading. There's nothing wrong with having a simple schedule when they're young, as long as you're covering those basics well. IMO quality is much more important than quantity. :) Edited February 16, 2012 by Enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 My 4th grader does outdoor time/free play (yes, I put these up front for a reason- I think they're important ;) Yeah, I agree with that one. My kids just spent an hour playing basketball. Sometimes, we'll ride bikes before school or go for a walk. It helps them focus when we come back inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcross222 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 My 4th grade son does math, grammar, spelling, writing, reading daily. Then 3 days a week, on alternating days, he does history, science and geography. In general, he has 5-6 subjects per day plus reading time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I've learned that when you pile it on too thick, kids start pacing themselves, and less gets done instead of more. It's like they start moving in slooooow motion. I recently was playing around with some numbers and looking at what is required for high school diplomas. I realized that in many states, to earn a general diploma in 4 years, a student is required to put in less than 3.6 hours a day (18 hours a week) on task. This was the number of hours per week per subject I came up with: Bible: 2 hours Foreign Language: 1 hour Math and Finances: 3 hours English: 2 hours Literature: 2 hours Social Studies: 2 hours Science: 2 hours Practical Arts: 1 hour Performing/Dramatic Arts: 1 hour Computer/Research/Study Skills: 1 hour PE Health: 1 hour Remember these numbers are ON TASK and making a serious effort to make progress through the material being presented. Now I know that many parents preparing students for a selective 4 year college are going to require more of their 7 year old than the PS requires out of a 17 year old, but...I think it's helpful to see these numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Hi everyone, this is something I have been wondering about. Now that my littlest is in public Kinder, I have been able to really focus on my 2 fourth graders intently....BUT I am afraid of burning them out. Over all we have about 10 subjects to cover..Math, Science, History (and Geography), Vocab, Grammar, Spelling, Typing, Cursive, Bible and Reading. How many subjects do you cover on an average day? Today we did a new lesson in math and practice pages, read a library book for history, did an oral writing lesson and they are now both doing quiet reading. Both will also do a typing lesson today then it's off to ballet for my DD. Thurs. are our 'short' day. I don't expect to do ALL subjects every day, but was wondering what you all average on an average day...not the sports/lessons/sick kids sort of days. Remember these are 4th graders. Thanks! So going from your subjects I would say Math daily about 30 minutes or so. If you get done early you could add in flashcards, games, ecttt. Spelling daily about 15 minutes with flashcards, games, and writing sentences. Grammar about 20 minutes (MCT) 2X per week. Same with Vocab, Typing, and cursive. We did History 3-4X week(30 minutes). But you could do it as little as 2X per week.... depends on what curriculum you're using. Geography was part of History. Science was done 3 times a week. 2 days of reading (30 minutes)1 of "lab"(about an hour). Reading daily for 30 minutes. I tried to get them to summerize but that didn't work out so well. We're not religious so no idea about the bible thing. We're doing things very differently this year, less book work more hands on out in the world stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Daily: Math, Writing, Grammar, Spelling, Reading M -Th: Science M/Wed: Geography Tu/Th: History Fri: We just cover the "daily" stuff because my husband is off and it's family day. We do other things too, but these subjects are scheduled. She has cheer practice, co-op, etc. Bible is daily, but it's not part of "school work" for us. We will start a second language in 6th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyto4 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Every day -- math, french, writing, violin, spelling, reading 3 days a week -- grammar 2 days a week -- science, history, Bible, typing We have a coop (covers some science, history, geography, art) that we have to prepare a presentation for, and he also has music theory homework he needs to do. It does seem like a lot of subjects, but they all need doing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 My little man 9yo, 3rd/4th grade does religious studies, poetry, memory work, violin, T4L, Spectrum Grade 5 phonics, additional maths, additional history books, and literature. Until a couple weeks ago he was doing CC Essentials (EEL and IEW), but we dropped it. Our CC group has 2 Essentials classes. I couldn't be with him, because I am tutoring the older group. So, I have backed way off. He has been doing the Scholastic Writing Grade 3 workbook and next week we will begin Killagallon. He often has several books going, but I limit the number of lines on his to do list to 9-12. Even though T4L has 5 components, it gets 1 line. However, I do count phonics, reading, and writing as 3 different lines. If you are counting the different components of LA separately, I don't think that 9-12 items on a to do list is too many for 4th grade. Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I've learned that when you pile it on too thick, kids start pacing themselves, and less gets done instead of more. It's like they start moving in slooooow motion. I recently was playing around with some numbers and looking at what is required for high school diplomas. I realized that in many states, to earn a general diploma in 4 years, a student is required to put in less than 3.6 hours a day (18 hours a week) on task. This was the number of hours per week per subject I came up with: Bible: 2 hours Foreign Language: 1 hour Math and Finances: 3 hours English: 2 hours Literature: 2 hours Social Studies: 2 hours Science: 2 hours Practical Arts: 1 hour Performing/Dramatic Arts: 1 hour Computer/Research/Study Skills: 1 hour PE Health: 1 hour Remember these numbers are ON TASK and making a serious effort to make progress through the material being presented. Now I know that many parents preparing students for a selective 4 year college are going to require more of their 7 year old than the PS requires out of a 17 year old, but...I think it's helpful to see these numbers. How did you determine "on task" hours vs. the amount of hours usually done, ie. "non on task hours"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 We have changed things several times this year. Currently we have daily: reading, instrument practice, Bible reading (no curriculum right now, just reading and discussion), math, writing (narrations, dictations, and we just started WWS at about 2/3 pace), spelling. Latin is three days per week. We will move to 4-5 days when we start Galore Park this summer. Memory work is usually 3 days per week. Grammar is currently 1-2 days per week, working through FLL4 2+ lessons at a time, which is mostly review. Then we will take a grammar break for a couple of months before starting R&S. History and science right now are together only one day each per week, a couple of hours each time. For the history day we do map work, read aloud and discussion, timeline. The science day is discussion and projects/"experiments". However, he has an ongoing reading list for both science and history, and he reads from both most days of the week. Once each week, he will write a narration from each. And we often have a daily read aloud going that relates to history studies. Art and art history is supposed to be once per week. I don't want to think about how often it actually happens. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 My fourth grader does Bible, language arts, spelling and math every day. He also does Social studies, history, typing, science and health on various days. I usually say he's done by 2 p.m. unless he's been really dawdling which is rare. Usually he gets between 2 and 4 of the extra subjects in per day. And yes, he gets breaks and lunch in as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 This year we used Calvert which scheduled multiple subjects each day. My husband assigned a programming book. I also assigned typing, because my ds really really needs to learn to type, and then my son also takes Greek which requires daily practice and work in his workbook. Adding it all up, a typical day is normally 9 subjects!! On days when he has a composition to write, school takes us from 9am to 3:00 pm, (which does include a little read-aloud and Bible time and a 45 minute lunch break)...but it's just too long. Next year, the only subjects he will have every day are Math, English, Spelling and Greek, and one other subject, alternating between Science, typing, programming, and Map Skills, and handwriting. He will have to study more pages per day in Science this way, but I think that is easier on him than stretching out the school day from one thing to another. I'll have him do Science on Mondays and Tuesdays when we are all fresh and perky. This way, total, He will only have 5 subjects per day. And if we don't finish Map Skills or handwriting by the end of the year, so be it. Giving him time for outdoor play and his own interests is so important to me, that I want to be done school much earlier, maybe even by a late lunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 My fourth grader doesn't do a lot of subjects in one day. Today was typical for a Friday... BREAKFAST Chores History - 1 hr (Medieval -- art history focus.... today she finished taking notes on saints and their attributes, she chose two and drew a picture and wrote a few sentences about each in her portfolio. Math - 1 1/2 hr (watched a video, did a lesson and a half in SM5a on fractions) LUNCH English - 15 min. (Finished a section in excavating English.) Science - 1/2 hr (finished watching a documentary, answered some questions) Music - 1/2 hr piano practice Painting - 1 1/2 hr (at school) That's probably about 4 hours... Math, English, Science, History, Music, Painting. Also, once a week we do a writing lesson, twice a week we do Latin. We do handwriting whenever I remember. She also does ballet 4 days/week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 How did you determine "on task" hours vs. the amount of hours usually done, ie. "non on task hours"? Different people will define "on task" differently. At one end of the spectrum it would mean trips to the bathroom don't count. At the other end of the spectrum even free reading and edutainment wouldn't count. I'd say I run pretty much down the middle of the spectrum, but lean towards pretty strict. I certainly don't count bathroom trips or time looking for school supplies, but I do count a carefully chosen documentary that I picked and watched with the child and discussed with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 My 4th grader does: Daily: - math - LA (rotating through dictation, spelling, writing, cursive, grammer) - history (includes geography) - music - reading - religion 2-4 x/wk: - physical activity (skating, skiing, Taekwon-do) - science - Spanish Art in the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdwinglips Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 It has been wonderful going through your responses. I loved seeing the flexibility as well as the structure in your days. Such a broad range!! I feel a lot better about how I have been trying to plan things. Before it was quite frustrating because there were a lot of skipping/get to later moments when littler really delayed or got in the way of things, etc. Now I plan to go back to my original schedule (which I know now is not TOO much) and to be a bit more intentional about getting our days finished. Looking over what I have been doing, on average we had been completing 3-6 subjects a day depending on other activities/distractions. I think with them being able to do more independent work without distraction, my expectations are realistic. Yay! Thanks again!! I've said it before and will continue to say it....this board is invaluable!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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