When the school day gets longer...

[athena1277]

When the school day gets longer, because your kids are getting older, how do you adjust? Dd started 4th grade this year (and ds started K) and I am so frustrated by the length of our school day. Ds is done by 10am each day, so that's not a problem, but dd's schoolwork takes all day! For instance, today she started her work about 8:30, took a 1 hour break for lunch (and to play a bit) and a 1 hour break for quiet time. She finished at 3:45.:glare: She even worked on correcting some of her earlier work during quiet time (her choice). I wish she could be done by our 2pm quiet time each day, but it's just not happening. I don't think she's playing around, it just takes longer because the lessons are longer and/or more difficult. However, I end up feeling like school lasts forever, ever single day. I feel like I've lost a lot of the flexibility in our schedule.

 

How have you adjusted to the increased amount of schoolwork as your kids get older?

[AK_Mom4]

This year, DD's school day started lengthening like that (she was 5th grade). I decided to see what was taking all the time, so I timed her for a couple of days. What I found was that she was poking through her afternoon subjects - her brain slowed down after lunch (I understand - mine does too). I shuffled her schedule around - work that requires brain activity (math, English, piano) has to be finished BEFORE she gets to eat lunch. Then, if she wants to work slowly on history and science after lunch, that's up to her, but it eats into her free time (not mine) and she can finish that stuff in the evening if she needs because it doesn't require my help.

 

It worked - most days she was totally finished by 2pm (we start at 9) unless she was fiddling with some art project for history. I think she jsut needed to tackle the tougher stuff while her brain was fresh.

[Closeacademy]

One thing that really helped me is that I moved all the instruction time to the front of the day so I was done early but had them work on the worksheets, reading, etc. on their own at the end. This meant that I was done by 11 or so but they may take until 3 but most times until 1 or 2.

 

I didn't feel as tied down. I am still available to answer questions but I am also free to do housework or hobbies while they work on school.

 

:001_smile:

[PIE!]

This year, DD's school day started lengthening like that (she was 5th grade). I decided to see what was taking all the time, so I timed her for a couple of days. What I found was that she was poking through her afternoon subjects - her brain slowed down after lunch (I understand - mine does too). I shuffled her schedule around - work that requires brain activity (math, English, piano) has to be finished BEFORE she gets to eat lunch. Then, if she wants to work slowly on history and science after lunch, that's up to her, but it eats into her free time (not mine) and she can finish that stuff in the evening if she needs because it doesn't require my help.

 

It worked - most days she was totally finished by 2pm (we start at 9) unless she was fiddling with some art project for history. I think she jsut needed to tackle the tougher stuff while her brain was fresh.

 

One thing that really helped me is that I moved all the instruction time to the front of the day so I was done early but had them work on the worksheets, reading, etc. on their own at the end. This meant that I was done by 11 or so but they may take until 3 but most times until 1 or 2.

 

I didn't feel as tied down. I am still available to answer questions but I am also free to do housework or hobbies while they work on school.

 

:001_smile:

 

I've been having the same problem.

I love both these ideas and will be using them this school year. Thanks!

[Beth S]

And as they get into junior high, and preparing for high school, much of their work is self-taught or self-study. I am nearby to answer questions, grade the work, but I do have more time for my 4th grader now that my 8th and 10th graders work more independently.

 

I would still endeavor to make efficient use of your children's school time, so that they are not doing busy work. We get an early start, school year-round and do push college prep, but grade school here finishes usually by noon and high school by 2:30pm. Though, of course, YMMV. (And some days just take longer than others!)

[athena1277]

I do have her do reading and math in the morning, as well as handwriting and spelling. All of those she does mostly independently. It seems backwards, but the subjects she needs me for are grammar, writing (WWE), science and history. We just started Spanish too, but she does it with ds after lunch. I have her do independent work in the morning so that I can do K with ds. I may try having her do handwriting and spelling (although they don't take long) in the afternoon, so that we can get at least one thing she needs me for done in the morning.

[Kelly1730]

:bigear::bigear: This will be our situation this year as well. Any BTDT advice?

[EKS]

I noticed you said that "she started her work," "she finished," and "I don't think she's playing around." Is she doing everything independently? If so, I'd change it so that you present the lessons and then have her work under your supervision on anything that needs to be done independently. That way you can control the ending time more closely.

[Night Elf]

Does the lunch break and quiet time have to be one hour each? I know it must be nice to have such a long break, but your day is obviously stretched out.

 

Is she doing a lot of her work independently? Has she been trained how to do that and how to stay focused? Working independently is a skill.

[GoVanGogh]

I really felt it last year when we started 4th grade.

 

I don't think I have any great suggestions, but I did find a few more books/programs DS can do independently or with me in a neighboring room so I don't feel so tied down.

 

We school year-round and I try to get 185-190 days in, a bit more than required in most regulated states. I know those are good solid days of education. But I use those few extra days to get in some extracurricular studies that might get brushed off otherwise.

 

I am also finding that, as DS gets older, I can tell him at 5 p.m, "Hey, we didn't get as much grammar done as I would have liked, go grab your schoolbook." He is mature enough now that I can grab that extra time in later afternoon or even on the weekends.

[athena1277]

I noticed you said that "she started her work," "she finished," and "I don't think she's playing around." Is she doing everything independently? If so, I'd change it so that you present the lessons and then have her work under your supervision on anything that needs to be done independently. That way you can control the ending time more closely.

 

She works independantly in her room in the mornings. She would love to work at the table near me and ds, but I know that she would be constantly paying attention to what we were doing, instead of her own work. She very often worries/wonders about what everyone else is doing. I think she's afraid she'll miss something fun.

[AK_Mom4]

She works independantly in her room in the mornings. She would love to work at the table near me and ds, but I know that she would be constantly paying attention to what we were doing, instead of her own work. She very often worries/wonders about what everyone else is doing. I think she's afraid she'll miss something fun.

 

Ahhhh....4th grade, so maybe about age 9 (ish?). DD11 works very independently, but if she was off doing it alone in her room I would expect it to take ALL.DAY.LONG - if it ever got done.

 

You would probably find that her work would take her half the time (or less!) if you were watching while she worked. When I was homeschooling two, it took about a week for the novelty of working near each other to wear off. After that, they pretty much just ignored each other or used headphones/music when the other was working with me.