Jean in Newcastle Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 What we have done so far is to give ds15 a weekly schedule of assignments. Three of them he reads and completes on his own. For two subjects he meets with a teacher once a week. For one subject he meets with his teacher (me) daily. And for one subject he meet with the teacher (again me) only occasionally for discussion. He's done ok. He's doing well in his classes and is learning. But I'm dissatisfied. There are things that are being swept under the rug even if his grades don't reflect that. There isn't enough of me to stretch between his academically high need sister and him and I feel like he's getting short shrift. Is there a way that we could meet perhaps 3x a week in more of a seminar approach for all but the daily class? The daily class is Latin and seems to need my intense participation. I tried before to give him at least a ten minute check in on each class but that was too choppy and ended up interrupting my time with his sister too much. I think I could meet with him for an hour or possibly more 3x a week if I schedule her differently. At this point I would benefit from some brainstorming for ways to approach all of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 (edited) Yes! My high schoolers and I have a meeting once a week...in the evening....at Panera Bread or Starbucks or the veggie restaurant in Woodstock. We go over whatever papers they are writing that week. We go over them, edit, discuss ideas etc. With one ds, and my oldest dd we did night school, because I was busy with infants and toddlers during the day. When they went to bed, I would make us a pot of tea....and a snack....and we would hit the books. They loved doing school in the evening....seemed that was when they were the most attuned to their studies ( weird teen internal clock), and they had my undivided attention. I plan to do the same with my 14 yo dd.....once a week at a coffee house or restaurant for a light meal....and evening school for undivided attention. If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to discuss this. Homeschooling, for us, happens in the way that best suits us. We have schooled on weekends, evenings....during typical break times. I plan to have a pretty weird schedule this year too....Andy, my kids do not all have the same schedule. For some kids, I have different days, for some I have even schooled on a completely different schedule than their siblings. Edited August 17, 2012 by Mommyfaithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 That's about what I do. I teach each class like a college class, with a meeting 1-3 times a week for returning and reviewing graded work, discussion, instruction, etc. Then the syllabus has assignments to do before the next class. I do different classes on different days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KelliNC Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 That's about what I do. I teach each class like a college class, with a meeting 1-3 times a week for returning and reviewing graded work, discussion, instruction, etc. Then the syllabus has assignments to do before the next class. I do different classes on different days. I am trying to figure out this year, only my second for my 16 yo son. Last year was not a great experience. I want to do it more like college classes to help prepare him for the discipline and organization that is so important. TIA Kelli now in AK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 An awesome, awesome intermediary step between total daily supervision and the college lecture model is to use a shared blog. I've been doing this for my tutored student all summer and I'm now using it for my teens who actually live in the home with me, because it just works so well. I use it to post assignments, give a written record of detailed instructions, share videos, photos, and websites, and more. The student does his work in Word, Paint, and Excel, and uploads to Google docs. Then he adds the link to each doc on the blog. He can also post his photos and videos of stuff I'll need to evaluate (but that doesn't necessarily need my attention at the moment he's doing it), like guitar lessons, non-difficult science experiments, and history projects. It doesn't mean I ignore them all week and only communicate through email and blog. They each get a daily session with me for direct instruction and discussion. It does mean that I can check everything they did for the day on my own time AND give feedback, usually after they go to bed or while they are doing activities. I can take the laptop to TKD, for instance, and edit an essay in Google docs or watch a science demonstration while my kid is having his class. It's really working. I wish I could share my tutored student's blog to show you how we're using it, but of course it has to be private. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 Great ideas! This is really helping me to think outside the box. Until now I felt trapped inside the box. . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Great ideas! This is really helping me to think outside the box. Until now I felt trapped inside the box. . . . I hate that flippin' box! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I hate that flippin' box! :lol: That's awesome! :lol: Now I picture a mime trapped in a box... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 I am trying to figure out this year, only my second for my 16 yo son. Last year was not a great experience. I want to do it more like college classes to help prepare him for the discipline and organization that is so important. TIA Kelli now in AK Instead of scheduling everything out in one plan like I do for elementary, for junior high and high school, I make a syllabus for each subject. It looks just like one for college: materials, schedule, grading policy, etc. Once I have done this at the beginning of the year, it is easy to keep things organized, because dc know what they need to do. They schedule individual days in their own planners any way they want, just knowing that the work is due when they sit down with me during class. This teaches them to avoid the "homeschool weakness" :D (lack of attention to deadlines,) and it keeps us both accountable. I have a copy of each syllabus, and so I can see what I need to read, teach, or prepare to discuss each week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy in Australia Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 An awesome, awesome intermediary step between total daily supervision and the college lecture model is to use a shared blog.I've been doing this for my tutored student all summer and I'm now using it for my teens who actually live in the home with me, because it just works so well. What a great idea! Thank you for sharing this; I definitely would not have thought of something like this on my own. I think it will work very well for my 16yr old, giving him a bit of "space" rather than me hovering constantly to see that he's on track. Thanks again! :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vritz Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Yes! My high schoolers and I have a meeting once a week...in the evening....at Panera Bread or Starbucks or the veggie restaurant in Woodstock. We go over whatever papers they are writing that week. We go over them, edit, discuss ideas etc. With one ds, and my oldest dd we did night school, because I was busy with infants and toddlers during the day. When they went to bed, I would make us a pot of tea....and a snack....and we would hit the books. They loved doing school in the evening....seemed that was when they were the most attuned to their studies ( weird teen internal clock), and they had my undivided attention. I plan to do the same with my 14 yo dd.....once a week at a coffee house or restaurant for a light meal....and evening school for undivided attention. If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to discuss this. Homeschooling, for us, happens in the way that best suits us. We have schooled on weekends, evenings....during typical break times. I plan to have a pretty weird schedule this year too....Andy, my kids do not all have the same schedule. For some kids, I have different days, for some I have even schooled on a completely different schedule than their siblings. I like the idea of using evenings more and using a different venue. I was just putting our schedule into a spreadsheet and wondering how I was going to get to everyone. I have to be out driving kids around a lot, so if a sibling and I could get a light dinner or dessert while working uninterrupted, it would feel more like a treat than a chore. I think I would be much less stressed trying to get it all done during the day if I knew I had that window in the evening. The kids are old enough for this to be a possibility now. Thanks for sharing your ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 18, 2012 Author Share Posted August 18, 2012 Thanks so much, everyone. This has been really helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yslek Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Thanks so much, everyone. This has been really helpful. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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