How "strict" of a homeschooler are you?

[jenniferp8]

How strict are you in giving your kids assignments and making sure they complete them (ie - what are the consequences if they don't) or do you sit back and let them make the calls? It seems sometimes with homeschooling we lose the accountability factor that they would get in a brick and mortar school because they aren't going to get a bad grade if they don't do the work... not that I totally believe in grades, because I don't, but how have you handled that?

 

My oldest ds age 13 went to a local charter school this year and really has done well. I am pleased with the school and the teachers so I have no complaints there. I would have loved to have had him at home longer but he wasn't willing to branch out past a very narrow band of interests and did not want to spend his time doing things he didn't totally enjoy (like writing and some math - really anything besides his narrow band of interests) even though he knew he should. He says it's better for him to be at school because it makes him do it.

 

I'd love your thoughts...

 

After receiving a few responses, I'm clarifying my situation a little more. My son wasn't avoiding "schoolwork" because he would rather play or watch TV (we don't have one for TV and watch very few movies). I saw most of his activities as totally worthwhile and he learned a lot from the projects he was doing and reading (he reads a ton of non-fiction), they just didn't all look like "school" and I could see there were some skills he was beginning to neglect. I had bought into the "student directed learning" philosophy a little too much and now I realize I should have just required a certain amount of school time basics and not budged on that. I wanted him to love learning and when he hated math and writing, I let it go for awhile thinking that eventually he'd come back around to it. Maybe he would, maybe not. He got a little bit in with the projects he was doing but it took going back to school to really get him to want to do the work.

 

I guess maybe my question could include: How far do you go in letting your child work on learning what he/she likes - how much are you letting them decide and how much are you scheduling and deciding for them? And now, I'd answer it saying that basics should be required, regardless. Agree???

Edited March 6, 2012 by jenniferp8
more information

[lillehei]

We are strict. The kids have a weekly agenda and they have to highlight what they have finished. If we have an appointment, friends coming over, etc, we let them do it but they have to finish that agenda by Sunday night. I haven't had a problem getting them to comply because I check all their work. I want my kids to know how to motivate themselves and they seem to be able to do it very well. They love to see their agenda with everything highlighted and will make up things on the weekend without my asking.

 

It could change, though, when they are teenagers. If they are going to have a bad attitude or not doing their work, they will lose privileges.

[2_girls_mommy]

I am strict about our hsing. I have always looked at it as my job. We have assigned time periods (a written schedule) of which subjects are being worked on each hour. If math isn't finished in that given hour, then it is finished during a homework hour later in the day.

 

I don't give punishments for work not done. But it gets done. The T.V. doesn't go on if the work hasn't been done, even if it the night of our favorite show that we all look forward to. DDs will be doing their math at a girl scout meeting before they can participate if it wasn't done (this rarely happens, but it has.) We work on the weekend if we don't finish. This past Sunday night had dd9 and I working on a geography worksheet of the Balkans. It was an extra SOTW4 project that I felt was worthy of our time, and we don't have a time period during the week for extras. So it was homework. Friday night after co-op dd7 took her English test she didn't get to on Thurs, and dd9 finished her math.

 

I don't look at it as punishment, just as homework. It is the same as if they went to P.S. They would have homework there too.

[maizeydaizey]

I too look at this as my job, our family priority. However, each week offers a different schedule due to various activities we might participate in with friends. I do try to accomplish a weeks worth of work in that week still. I write our plan for the week and we do pretty good with it.

 

While DD is too young for full on 'homework' style projects/assignments we will be experiencing some of this next year I think. So far we are pretty guided, hands on with her. That being said, we do a workbox method and she is very indapendent with it and a self starter so I can see it being pretty smooth down the road, she prefers to get going on her own.

 

After all of this is typed up, I wanted to share that we are also fairly open to being outdoors and experiencing nature. That is a big part of our family values so often times we make shifts to get outdoors or bring school work outdoors with us.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I never thought of it as strict. If I ask it for school it's just like when I ask them to do chores or anything else. I expect it to be done. They might whinge a bit but it will be done.

[ErinE]

I'm strict: no extras until school is done. I have an agenda for each child. The youngest works with me so we check off her items together. My eldest and I work together in certain subjects and I supervise the rest. He checks off his own agenda. He has a tendency to get distracted by free reading books. Right now, I'm to the point of taking away library privileges for free reading because he'll spend hours reading and not doing his school work. I add in additional privileges like computer time or a video to get him to complete his work, but he's very stubborn. Any work not done carries over to the next day and into the weekend if necessary. He doesn't like explaining to his father why he's still doing school work so Friday, usually a light day, can be a scramble for him.

[Gentlemommy]

I never thought of it as strict. If I ask it for school it's just like when I ask them to do chores or anything else. I expect it to be done. They might whinge a bit but it will be done.

 

This. I don't punish, but school/chores/and now vision therapy comes before play/tv/entertainment.

[Rosie]

I don't know if I'd call myself strict or not. The kids each have an assignment sheet that I print on Sunday nights and put in their folder. Each morning, while I read to the 4yo, they do the first thing on their list. From there, they can go in any order, but they have to work with me when I am available for them. So that means they may have to stop whatever independent work/play they are doing and come back to it later. They use a highlighter to mark off what they've completed.

 

I make sure they complete everything, even if that means I'm sitting right next to them helping them the entire time - and, really, I kind of expect to have to spend a good amount of time doing that since they are only 8 and 6yrs old.

 

If they throw a fit, we work through it. Lots of hugs, talking together, finding solutions together, breaking it down into simpler pieces, etc. Most of the time they just don't want to do the mental work needed, but sometimes it is actually too hard for them. If that's the case, then I make sure to not plan that same type of thing for a while and help them work up to the place where they can do it without a break down.

 

For instance, I tried straight dictation (no looking first) with my 6 yo today and wanted to see if she could hold a whole sentence in her head. She really had a hard time and was crying and whining. She was so upset that she really wasn't even trying. So we took a break, she spent some time chilling in her room, and we came back to it later. I ended up just having her do it as copywork. Next time we will do it as copywork one day and dictation the next. Or I'll only do several words at a time instead of a whole sentence. We'll slowly work up to holding longer sentences in mind.

 

Now, if they don't complete their work because they are being lazy or got distracted or some similar reason, the rule is they can't play until it is done. BUT they take breaks throughout the day to play between subjects so I don't know if that's the best rule! LOL! So far it hasn't been a problem. They just know they need to get it done. I think it's because by now they just know what to expect each day. We do Bible, Math, LA, and sometimes Art, Spanish, Typing in the morning. And we do read-aloud time together after lunch and then they do silent reading and finish up the rest of their list.

 

One thing that I think helps is that I let them do handstands and cartwheels while they do their work if at all possible (we do it orally and I write down math answers, for instance). Also, we cuddle up on the couch and do seatwork sometimes instead of working at the table.

 

And if I'm seeing continuos complaining I try to evaluate whether my expectations are appropriate or whether something needs to be changed up. I now let my 8yo help me plan our week so that she feels more ownership in her schooling. I have veto power, but she really enjoys having a say in what she'd like to do. That way both of us get our needs met.

 

We don't give grades. I agree with Alfie Kohn on that issue!

 

I found that making out a weekly chart for them has kept me accountable. If it was just a list for me, it would be much easier to let things slide, but since I know they are looking at it and using it then we finish it because I don't want to start a bad habit in them. I think I just feel such a strong sense of responsibility to make sure they "turn out OK" that it keeps me accountable…..

[SunnyDays]

I'd have to say I'm flexible with our schedule, but strict that everything gets done. Only having one child, that's probably easier. For instance, if DS wants to take a snack break, or do things in a different order, or whatever, no problem. But assignments must be done before non-educational things. I do the same as others mentioned... I print out our daily task list each weekend for the coming week, and DS checks them off as we go.

[CupOCoffee]

Semi-strict. They each have a planner that gets filled out by me, in 4 week stretches (we school year round, 4 weeks on, one week off). Oldest works within guidelines: get chapter 3 in Biology read this week/do all activity sheets this week. Younger has specifics written in for just about everything. They are required to work an hour on Khan, and I track them -- sometimes I have to remind them to look at their knowledge map and review exercises that have gone red on them.

 

I try very hard to meet with each of them EVERY day, after dinner; doesn't always happen. If they have had an issue with anything that day -- usually happens in math -- then we make sure to at least meet about that.

 

All work must be done before they get any free time. I ask, they answer; if it's not done, they know they have to continue on till it is -- my kids HATE doing school (well their part) once I get home from work because I usually want to do something FUN...so they are really good about getting it done.

 

I do give them off for random days: today DH has a medical treatment that lasts 4 hours, away from the house; my ILs are with the kids, and of *course* it's way more fun to do things with Pop-pop and Grand-mom than do school...yesterday, we spent the day together celebrating DH's birthday and our 25th wedding anniversary -- NO school.

 

And no, I don't get uptight over missing 2 days this week...tomorrow they will just move on to the next day of work in their planner.

 

~coffee~

[kristinannie]

I am not that strict now, but my oldest is 5. :lol: I will be much stricter when they get older, especially in high school. They need to learn how to work with a schedule before they get to college.

[nov05mama]

Somewhere in the middle? I guess, LOL!

 

He understands that the expectation is to do his school work each day M-F. I am flexible with that though, since if we decide we just aren't feeling school on a Tuesday, we will just shift everything by a day (Tuesday's work completed Wednesday, finish the 'week' on Saturday).

 

We typically don't even start working until late morning. He has the morning free for play and sometimes even his favorite PBS shows. We eat breakfast and then get started usually around 11ish. On co-op days, we try to get all the work done before afternoon co-op, but if not, we will finish up as soon as we return home.

 

I have a plan book with all the plans for each day written down, however, he pretty much knows the routine since most things are "do the next thing" in the book. Once we start schoolwork, we try not to have a break between it...I tell him to get it all done so it's done and he can move on to whatever he wants. Thankfully, we rarely have days when it's a struggle...but sometimes on those days, I will either just say we totally walk away from trying to work that day or in very rare occasions, he may lose privileges (if it's a behavior issue, not a focus issue).

[ThreeBlessings]

I never thought of it as strict. If I ask it for school it's just like when I ask them to do chores or anything else. I expect it to be done. They might whinge a bit but it will be done.

 

:iagree:

[russiantwins]

We are strict, unless some one is sick or we have an appointment. I have a plan and check things off. We finish everything for that week before moving on to the next week, even if it takes longer.

[MerryAtHope]

I've never thought of it as strict, LOL, but I do expect that almost always, they will do what is assigned. We use workboxes, which has built-in accountability. If your boxes aren't done, you don't play or watch TV or have free time or go to a friend's house--same way you would work things for a child who has homework.

 

I do take into account extenuating circumstances, but I've seen schools do that too, either for a child or a class. It's not the norm there or here, but better a child or class learn the material than just get a poor grade.

 

Merry :-)

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

I give my kids their planner with assignments daily. There is no extended period of play or free time of any kind until its finished.

 

My dd3rd grade likes to have me set a timer and then earn breaks if she completes a subject in time. This helps her to work quickly without dawdling.

 

What I wonder about, is long term assignments. When my kids get older my plan is to give long term assignments, give few remindes and then then a consequence if the assignment is not turned in on time. But I think that will be more challenging than just requiring daily work to be finished.

[jenniferp8]

After receiving a few responses, I'm clarifying my situation a little more. My son wasn't avoiding "schoolwork" because he would rather play or watch TV (we don't have one for TV and watch very few movies). I saw most of his activities as totally worthwhile and he learned a lot from the projects he was doing and reading (he reads a ton of non-fiction), they just didn't all look like "school" and I could see there were some skills he was beginning to neglect. I had bought into the "student directed learning" philosophy a little too much and now I realize I should have just required a certain amount of school time basics and not budged on that. I wanted him to love learning and when he hated math and writing, I let it go for awhile thinking that eventually he'd come back around to it. Maybe he would, maybe not. He got a little bit in with the projects he was doing but it took going back to school to really get him to want to do the work.

 

I guess maybe my question could include: How far do you go in letting your child work on learning what he/she likes - how much are you letting them decide and how much are you scheduling and deciding for them? And now, I'd answer it saying that basics should be required, regardless. Agree???

[CM-MAMA]

I'd have to say "not so much" on being strict. I like to see them enthusiastic about their lessons and I want to encourage a real love of learning. I'm pretty involved and enthusiastic myself so maybe that helps? I think we all have up and down times and days and subjects. I try to make our lessons as applicable to life as possible and make them hands on fun when possible too. I always remind myself that I can not make anyone learn. I can make them keep the information for a while and spit it out but if that's all I do then what's the point? I want them to embrace new knowledge. If that means that they don't focus or "get" every subject out there then so be it. No one does that ... we all end up specializing and reteaching and continuing to learn throughout life/jobs/circumstances.

[dragons in the flower bed]

I would have loved to have had him at home longer but he wasn't willing <SNIP> He says it's better for him to be at school because it makes him do it.

 

Maybe I am a strict homeschooler because at my home, it wouldn't be a matter of whether or not you are willing. This is your work; you will do it.

 

It freaks me out a little when teachers are able to get kids to do things parents can't. Aren't parents supposed to be in charge?

[Mandylubug]

We are not that strict at all. I do expect "school" atleast four days a week. We attempt to finish by two every day but if its gorgeous out; we will postpone and just be outside together as a family. Today, the clutter has gotten to me and I have declared it clean up the house/do the laundry day... Tomorrow, we will pick back up with no guilt of today's detour :)

 

ETA: I will say when we are doing our work; I expect them to work whole heartedly for the scheduled amount of time. I do not typically assign pages but length of time to work. If I catch them lollygagging around, I will add time to their timer but after that happened one time; they all typically put forth the effort. IF I find that they rush through work and it is unsatisfactory and they are capable of more; I make them redo it right then and there... now if that is strict; I don't know. I always tell them this phrase and they are sick with it but it works " The lazy person does double the work!"

Edited March 6, 2012 by Mandylubug

[TheApprentice]

The word strict seems pretty strong, but they do have assignments that need to be done according to their schedule. I have come across some incomplete assignments, which they then have to do, at.that.time. Doing what they are suppose to do is part of their lives, not just the homeschooling component.

[Halcyon]

Strict. The work gets done, and done well, or it is (re)done as homework. I have high expectations.

[Dmmetler]

I'm strict with DD as far as her completing assignments, but if I can tell she's having a rough day, or if we have a lot to do, I'll adjust the day accordingly so that she's not pushed into a meltdown out of sheer exhaustion, and if she's having a day where she's really into Math, I'm going to lighten up or even skip some of the other subjects so she's not penalized for spending extra time on math. So far, I haven't had assignments that take more than a day to complete that I don't have divided into daily sub-topics, which I think is appropriate for DD's age at this point, and I'm trying not to hover while she does the assignments-more like the "Work on something else at the other side of the room until she requests help" that she'd get if she were in PS, as opposed to "stand over her and check each step as she does it", which I freely admit I can easily fall into if I'm not careful.

 

Given that my FB this morning was filled with pics of DD's former ps classmates dressed up as their favorite CANDY for "Class distinction day" (and they'll have a full week of special activities, leading up to Spring break next week), I don't feel guilty for the occasional light day-and I also don't feel guilty for not putting her through the penguin project, involving filling out a booklet about your favorite penguin, illustrating it, and building a 3D model of a penguin, due Wednesday, that one of the other parents I know from a different school is trying to get her 7 yr old son to complete (after a full school day) this week.

[In2why]

After receiving a few responses, I'm clarifying my situation a little more. My son wasn't avoiding "schoolwork" because he would rather play or watch TV (we don't have one for TV and watch very few movies). I saw most of his activities as totally worthwhile and he learned a lot from the projects he was doing and reading (he reads a ton of non-fiction), they just didn't all look like "school" and I could see there were some skills he was beginning to neglect. I had bought into the "student directed learning" philosophy a little too much and now I realize I should have just required a certain amount of school time basics and not budged on that. I wanted him to love learning and when he hated math and writing, I let it go for awhile thinking that eventually he'd come back around to it. Maybe he would, maybe not. He got a little bit in with the projects he was doing but it took going back to school to really get him to want to do the work.

 

I guess maybe my question could include: How far do you go in letting your child work on learning what he/she likes - how much are you letting them decide and how much are you scheduling and deciding for them? And now, I'd answer it saying that basics should be required, regardless. Agree???

 

I wish my kids wanted to learn worthwhile projects on their own, but they didn't and I didn't trust unschooling enough to let fit unfold naturally. So with that said I decided what was worthwhile, and for us that includes quite a few of the things suggested in TWTM. There are certain things that they must do each day to meet our goals. I am strict that those get done every day. But if something is making my child miserable or not working then I change to other materials that still cover our goals.

[ErinE]

I guess maybe my question could include: How far do you go in letting your child work on learning what he/she likes - how much are you letting them decide and how much are you scheduling and deciding for them? And now, I'd answer it saying that basics should be required, regardless. Agree???

 

My kids do what is assigned in the core subjects of language arts, math, and foreign language. If a fit is thrown, i give them time to calm down and when we get back together to work, we'll have a brief discussion on why we study fractions or read certain books. I also try to accommodate our family needs. When I select curriculum, my emphasis is on rigor but not intensity. I don't expect my kids to put in seat time for me to feel good about their schoolwork.

 

I have spines to guide our history and science, but I have no problem with rabbit trails. Ds has spent weeks on airplanes and the Red Tail Flyers; dd is fascinated by animals. Since my oldest is only 9, most days he has only 2.5-3 hours of mommy required work, leaving plenty of time for his own interests. We make weekly trips to the library where they are required to check out a book about something new, but not required to give me a report. We watch little tv and limit electronics so there's plenty of time for the kids to pursue their interest and also complete their school work.

[sewingmama]

Not very strict - I'm totally flexible - but my oldest is 5 - plenty of time for strict later.

 

We do school work most days but if something more interesting comes up we do that instead :tongue_smilie:

 

DD is a night owl so we generally don't start till after lunch. Yesterday I declared "teacher planning day " and DD played all day and then we did her schoolwork at 8pm :001_smile:

 

I always hated deadlines when I was at school because it made me feel rushed and like I couldn't put in my best effort because I didn't have the time. So when we get to start doing projects and things I will give her a set time frame and as long as I can see she is working consistantly on it I will extend if she wants more time. When she reaches highschool age I will tighten the negotiations on due dates.

 

I don't do the "no play time till you do your work" because it doesn't work for my DD -she is too stubborn and nothing gets done and we both end up angry and shouting. So we just take our time through the day and whatever scholwork is left over at the end of the day she happily does without complaint before bedtime in an effort to stay up later :lol: She NEVER falls asleep before 10 pm (even as a newborn or toddler) and she is more alert then then when she is before lunch so I'm easy on letting her do her own thing all day and then doing the work at night.

 

My DD is very self -motivated as well. The more I back off the more work she does. Last night I went into her room and found 2 pages of copywork on her bed that she had done without my knowledge. Now if I had asked her to do it I wouldn't even have gotten one sentance out of her without a fight but on her own initiative she had copied almost an entire book about Starfish :lol:

 

My 4yo would willingly do school all day long if I let him -so I don't have to be strict with him - he never dawdles -just gets in and does it without reminders or prompting :hurray:

[mytwomonkeys]

semi strict here. when we are doing school, i expect it all to get done and without whining. but then there are times like today where i had fully planned to do school as usual, but the weather is just too beautiful! we haven't done anything yet. i'm just letting them play like crazy. it's only 2:00 here, so i will still squeeze the 3 R's in, but all the extras we will nix today & i'm okay with that. as long as we're on track, we'll blow off school every now and again with no regrets.

[EMS83]

Right now, if they are disruptive, they stand in the corner. If they are feeling less than motivated, I remind them that they may play for a bit--as soon as they are finished doing what I require them to do. They are wasting their own time if they continue to fool around. Right now, our days alternate the structured and free times, so if they waste all their free time dawdling over the structured part, it does not encroach upon the next structured activity (meals count as a structured activity). So if they are asked to do a 15 minute activity and then may play for 30 minutes before coming to snack, and they choose to waste all 45 minutes over that activity, they stay right at the table for snack and they have themselves to blame.

 

For your son, perhaps he needs to do x subject he doesn't like and then he may do y subject he does like. Or have school time, free time, then chore time (enough time for him to complete each task), and let him know that school and chores are not negotiable, but his free time is. That's how it works in the real world. I don't plan on grading, necessarily, but I do plan to review their work and have them correct all errors. Another way to self-motivate. We're not at that stage yet, though, so take all this for what you will.

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

 

I guess maybe my question could include: How far do you go in letting your child work on learning what he/she likes - how much are you letting them decide and how much are you scheduling and deciding for them? And now, I'd answer it saying that basics should be required, regardless. Agree???

 

I am tailoring my children's education to them a bit. My son needs time to pursue computer programming and other computer interests. So Koine Greek will be his only foreign language. I keep history short and sweet and Science short too. So while I have scaled back on some things, I do require the basics.

 

My dd loves to do crafts but hasn't stuck with or pursued one skill for long. She also quit piano. So there is more time in the day for her and I plan to add more formal lessons for her.

[regentrude]

I am very relaxed until 8th grade. With the exception of math which has to be done daily, DS is free to work on whatever subject fro however long, using the selected materials; he just has to put in a total of 4.5 hours. We have no agenda or schedule, and he chooses his topics for writing assignments and presentations.

Come 8th grade, we will impose more structure to prepare for high school.

High school: I am very strict about content expectations, but not about scheduling.

[smgwynn]

Semi-strict. They each have a planner that gets filled out by me, in 4 week stretches (we school year round, 4 weeks on, one week off).

 

OOh, I'm loving that idea! I've been playing around with taking one week a month and doing the fun things. i.e. science, art, field trips. 4 on, 1 off...love it!

[Ester Maria]

I have clearly spelled out content / coverage expectations. They self-schedule when they are older so they can meet those at their own pace, in times of the day they find they learn the best - so they have a lot of freedom within the structure. A few times a week we have discussion sessions and go over things together.

[NotAVampireLvr]

Strict - I try to be flexible, but the day isn't over until we've completed our assigned tasks.

[nov05mama]

Basics are required, but I feel like there is more than one way to do things so if my sons proposed something else that would achieve the same thing I would let them do it. My kids are not that old so that doesn't come up so much yet. My 10 year old has started proposing alternatives and I've allowed some of them.

 

I give the biggest freedom with reading selections. I do have some required selections, but not many. I haven't found it to be necessary because both of my boys enjoy reading and read a wide variety of books.

 

:iagree: Basics are required no matter what. We take our rabbit trails with other subjects happily, but the 3R's are not up for change. I have found material that he works best with, and in doing so, it's a non-issue really, but there's not a time when he can choose to NOT do math, if that makes sense. He can decide that he'd rather study space than the animal kingdom this month, and we totally roll with it and even let him lead a good bit (I have spines to work from). Math, reading and writing are non-negotiable though, to answer your second question! Reading has some flexibility though, like the quoted post mentioned above.

[abrightmom]

I am strict about our hsing. I have always looked at it as my job. We have assigned time periods (a written schedule) of which subjects are being worked on each hour. If math isn't finished in that given hour, then it is finished during a homework hour later in the day.

 

I don't give punishments for work not done. But it gets done. The T.V. doesn't go on if the work hasn't been done, even if it the night of our favorite show that we all look forward to. DDs will be doing their math at a girl scout meeting before they can participate if it wasn't done (this rarely happens, but it has.) We work on the weekend if we don't finish. This past Sunday night had dd9 and I working on a geography worksheet of the Balkans. It was an extra SOTW4 project that I felt was worthy of our time, and we don't have a time period during the week for extras. So it was homework. Friday night after co-op dd7 took her English test she didn't get to on Thurs, and dd9 finished her math.

 

I don't look at it as punishment, just as homework. It is the same as if they went to P.S. They would have homework there too.

 

This is how I'd like to run our homeschool and is what I'm working toward. Thanks for sharing this. Great work! I think your approach is Very Balanced and contains a high level of accountability with a thread of grace running through the home. :001_smile:

 

In theory, I believe in a more strict, structured homeschool but in practice I have been wishy-washy. To my shame.

Edited March 7, 2012 by abrightmom

[Pamela H in Texas]

Well, I would want to make sure my kids always have time for their interests and just being kids. However, like you, I think I was a bit loose with my big kids so am re-centering and changing our balance with my little kids.

 

As for "consequences"....We have always parented with natural and logical consequences based on our values, real life, etc. One of those is "work before play." The logical consequence that is built in is that once you do X, you may do Y. For example, when I had my friend's son for 1st grade, we always did two certain parts of the curriculum then went for a long walk/run/scooter/tadpole-hunt/etc. He knew that he could take 20 minutes to do the work or 2 hours, but that time wasn't going to come until he finished what was set before him. Then we had the next bit of curriculum and then the next. In order to do the FLL and spelling bouncing on the balance ball, he had to finish the WWE copywork or whatever.

 

Also, I'm very "strict" in those sorts of ways with everything so my kids knew I meant business. I generally didn't spend a lot of time telling them what to do when; but they knew that when I *did* tell them what to do, that I was a brick wall and it wasn't worth fighting.

 

I do think that we need to work on weaknesses just as much as strengths. You can enjoy strengths more, do them more, take them deeper/further/faster; but the weaker areas do need addressing.

 

Of course, we were pretty child-centered, probably all but unschooling much of the time. I see some real weaknesses in that and will be able to keep those thoughts in my head "pushing" my littles from the get-go whether it is learning to count to 10 or doing algebra at 7 or 15 years old. There just needs to be a better balance than letting them slide, imo.

[CupOCoffee]

Semi-strict. They each have a planner that gets filled out by me, in 4 week stretches (we school year round, 4 weeks on, one week off).

 

OOh, I'm loving that idea! I've been playing around with taking one week a month and doing the fun things. i.e. science, art, field trips. 4 on, 1 off...love it!

 

I should clarify that the one week off is OFF, totally. No school work, unless they want to. They play, they read, DD writes, they goof off with Dad...well more than they usually do!

 

~coffee~

[NASDAQ]

My oldest is five :lol:

 

But once I tell a child to do something, they'll do it, come hell or high water. It's just a personality thing I guess. I don't give her work if I'm not willing to go to the mat on it. I could definitely stand to be more flexible, really.

[reign]

My oldest is five :lol:

 

But once I tell a child to do something, they'll do it, come hell or high water. It's just a personality thing I guess. I don't give her work if I'm not willing to go to the mat on it. I could definitely stand to be more flexible, really.

 

This is me too!

[Mommy22alyns]

I think I'm pretty strict. We have things to do and they will get done. No playing until everything has been completed. Except for maybe some gorgeous spring days when the girls just need to get outside for a while... ;)

[TracyR]

Semi strict. I have my daughter write her goals for each day. She works with CLE and ACE so she is able to see and write down what needs to be done each day.

I'm not being strict enough with her writing though. Sigh. She gets working on it and something seems to distract her, even though its written down on her goal sheet.

No play time until things are done. They do get two breaks , one in the morning and the last for lunch.

I think in the past I wasn't strict enough but then I think we weren't working with curriculum that was working well either at the time and were getting burned out.

[Shellers]

With my DS11 I'm extremely strict. I have to be or nothing would get done. He has dyslexia and is still learning to read. I plan on being strict with him all the way through high school.

 

With DD16, I'm not strict at all. She's taking a college class at the community college, and she loves reading all day long. This is okay by me. She rarely watches TV. This summer she's hoping to take anther college class or two, and in the fall she's hoping to take at least three or four classes.

[Running the race]

I'm strict. We stick to the schedule 95% of the time. There has to be a very good reason to deviate.

[mamajag]

The basics are not negotiable here. We are never going to walk away from those. Part of raising productive kids imo is teaching them to do things that don't excite them. I meet my kids where they are as far as their ability and expect things that are in line with that. If one were having difficulties with math and progressing slowly, as long as they were working to potential I would be okay with that.

 

However, we did recently stumble across How the Universe was made on Netflix, and that really ignited an interest in astronomy that has lead into extra books and a unit study and probably a whole year of earth and space science instead of doing plant studies in biology. We can cover that lightly while gardening.

 

As far as schedule, we school year round and try to make sure we have 4 days a week of school. We're all sick at the moment so it's on hold, and last week DH and I made a weekend trip to New Orleans. We take off for educational opportunities and call learning the constellations part of school. However, once I declare the day a school day, they know to buckle down.