Shelsi Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 This is my first day HSing 2 kids and while it's going well it's also taking forever! My ds and I used to be done by noon. It's noon right now and we're not even close! Dd is in kindy so she can't really do anything on her own. And maybe it was not well thought out on my part but ds's stuff is pretty involved too. He can do his math on his own and that's about it. I'm sure I'll get in the swing of it eventually. How long did it take for it to all fall into place and get "comfortable?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 I'll bet in about two weeks the day will be speeding by. I do want to warn you, though, that with the younger ages like you have, I had to let go of the done-by-noon dream schedule fairly quickly (if you look at my siggy you'll see that it's just a faint dream of the past now - LOL). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Oh my...could be worse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Between one approaching logic stage and one needing my full attention for pretty much everything, I gave up on being done early in the day. We start at 9 with Older working with me for two hours while Younger keeps herself busy. Then Older goes up to complete her independent work while Younger sits with me for lessons. We break for lunch, then we all work together on things that get done together, like science or history. We're never done before 2:30 (more like 4:00, but that's due to dawdling). I've been trying to figure out a better way, but this is the best I can figure out. If someone has a better way (that doesn't involve starting school at 7 a.m.), I'm :bigear:! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 It may be that "juggling" just takes longer. However, I would consider an incentive system if they are easily distracted. Reward if they are ready to start at the appointed time. Reward if they come back from the morning break on time, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 This is my first day HSing 2 kids and while it's going well it's also taking forever! My ds and I used to be done by noon. It's noon right now and we're not even close! Dd is in kindy so she can't really do anything on her own. And maybe it was not well thought out on my part but ds's stuff is pretty involved too. He can do his math on his own and that's about it. I'm sure I'll get in the swing of it eventually. How long did it take for it to all fall into place and get "comfortable?" Done by noon is very short-lived. By the time you get your younger kid efficient and on-board, the older one will be hitting middle school and require longer days. Sorry. It just takes time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Done by noon is very short-lived. By the time you get your younger kid efficient and on-board, the older one will be hitting middle school and require longer days. Sorry. It just takes time. Ayup. It's really a labor of love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 One thing I do is call a break for one child (i.e. "Go read for awhile, please.") when I'm doing something intensive with the other. It ends up being faster overall, and I don't get increasingly flustered with a series of constant (but otherwise valid) interruptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 One thing I do is call a break for one child (i.e. "Go read for awhile, please.") when I'm doing something intensive with the other. It ends up being faster overall, and I don't get increasingly flustered with a series of constant (but otherwise valid) interruptions. Any suggestions for non-readers? I do this sometimes with their audiobooks, but it is such a project to get them going that I don't always want to deal with it for a short 20 minute lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Maybe you could buy yourself a year and redesign K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 (edited) Any suggestions for non-readers? I do this sometimes with their audiobooks, but it is such a project to get them going that I don't always want to deal with it for a short 20 minute lesson.Drawing, an art box, or another pleasurable activity? My 8yo loves to draw on a white board (lap). ETA: Or you could have an audiobook ready to go before starting lessons. Edited August 13, 2012 by nmoira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Any suggestions for non-readers? Any of the thinkfun games are fun. BTW I did not forget about you FairProspects. I'm on it tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 I feel like our school takes forever. But we all seem to get distracted. And I do a lot of read alouds. If we got our act together and didn't dawdle we would be done in a few hours most days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 I can't imagine that we will ever be done with school by noon.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Any of the thinkfun games are fun. BTW I did not forget about you FairProspects. I'm on it tonight. Great, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.Gregg Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Last year I had an 9 yr old and a 5 yr old (K). What worked for me/us was to set up the 9yr old with her independent work first. Math, any worksheets, spelling, reading comp etc and then a 30min break or she would work on a 30 min computer game for math, spelling etc. During that time I had about 90mins to work with the K we would do math, reading and anything else that required "Mommy and Me" lessons where I was sitting next to her. During our 90mins she usually took a 15 min break and I would check in with the 9yr old. Then when we were done with Mommy and me time I'd set her up with her online reading program and an educational game online or on the floor. During that time I'd work with the 9yr old as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelsi Posted August 13, 2012 Author Share Posted August 13, 2012 I'm starting to realize this is kind of like when your kids finally give up taking naps and you think to yourself, "omg, how will I do this without going crazy?" lol but then after a bit you get into the swing of it and it's all good. We were done by 1:30 so not too shabby - we started at 8. First day though so there are plenty of things we didn't get into that will become part of our regular day later on. Now we're going to treat ourselves & go out and buy some ice cream to make shakes :D But wow, I am mentally exhausted! I think the kids actually learned stuff today though so mission-accomplished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 We started last week and my oldest 2 are the same ages. I'm doing just basic work with dd5 though- phonics and writing for now, I plan to add more formal math after the new year(I think I will start her w/ RSB then so she'll have 1.5 years to finish by the end of 1st). It isn't taking all that long though, a few hrs back and forth for the basics and then read aloud time later on, science is done throughout our lives and not formally. Ds can do his spelling and copywork on his own and parts of his Math, dd needs guidance and supervision for her writing and reading work and works on coloring when ds is working on other things. When she gets tired of coloring then she goes and finds the cats or plays with dd 2.5. Dd 2.5 likes to color while everyone works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 One thing I do is call a break for one child (i.e. "Go read for awhile, please.") when I'm doing something intensive with the other. It ends up being faster overall, and I don't get increasingly flustered with a series of constant (but otherwise valid) interruptions. This is how I juggle too. Today we started at 10 and finished by 2 for Sylvia, 2:45 for Rebecca. Other days might be longer because of crafts and experiments though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakersDozen Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Done by noon is very short-lived. By the time you get your younger kid efficient and on-board, the older one will be hitting middle school and require longer days. Sorry. It just takes time. :iagree: Done by noon was done (for us) by the time my oldest started 3rd grade. School - at least the way we do it - takes time and a lot more than a few hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trishat Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 This is my first year homeschooling DS8 and DD6. We also have DS3 and 13-month-old twins What is a reasonable amount of teaching time? Right now, we spend about two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon (during the twins morning and afternoon naps). We're able to do Bible, history, LA, science, math, and an art project on Friday. We barely get it all in and I would love to do some extras, but after chores I feel like they don't have as much time for independent play as I'd like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.