Catwoman Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I'm trying to finalize this year's school schedule for ds12, and I'm wondering if you will share approximately how many hours of school you do each day, as well as what subjects you're teaching. (I guess this question would be mainly for those who have kids aged between 11 and 14.) Thanks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I'm trying to finalize this year's school schedule for ds12, and I'm wondering if you will share approximately how many hours of school you do each day, as well as what subjects you're teaching. Luke is 12, starting 7th grade, and should spend about the same amount of time with school as his two older brothers did at this point. I'd guesstimate it's 5-6 hours. He'll cover the following subjects: Math (Intro to Algebra) LA (Spelling/Vocab, Grammar, Composition) Latin (nothing major...this is an extra for us) German (just Rosetta Stone) History (Sonlight Core H) Science (Rainbow) Logic (Art of Argument) Art History (picture study sort of thing) He also takes piano lessons elsewhere, and will participate in soccer & track through the middle school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaOz Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 My 12yo is doing: Math: Saxon 76 LA: Spelling/Vocab, English (includes grammar, comprehension skills, writing), Bravewriter copywork, dictation, and occassional writing assignment. Free writing. Literature: Reading through the SL Core 5 books. Keeping a reading journal. History: Mystery of History Ancient Times Science: Apologia Astronomy, Story of Inventions Geography: covering Australian states and territories via a workbook. Music: Violin and Piano PE: running, games, etc. We live next to a park so that about covers it ;) Art: good intentions :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 My son is 12 and in 7th grade. He works between 30 and 35 hours per week. This does not include reading literature. He has 4 full classes (5-6 hours per week): Geometry Chemistry English Violin And 4 half classes (2-3 hours per week) Mandarin History Logic Techicraft at local school (shop and home ec mix) I do not count PE: swimming, win tsun, and sailing Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakersDozen Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 My 9yo and 12yo have the same schedule (she's advanced, he's average): Seat work (Spelling, Pathways, Horizons (we use this for review), Bible): 1h15m (the extra 15 minutes is for their benefit - usually they don't need it and so get free time) Math: 1 hour Literature: 30 minutes Science: 1.5 hours (they felt too rushed with just 1 hour) History: 1 hour Grammar/Latin: 20 minutes Writing: 45 minutes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie4 Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 My dd is 12 & in 8th grade. We just started & these classes are taking about 5 hours per day, which does not include Lit reading. Alg 1/2 History Latin Vocab/grammar/writing Logic Science-physics Art/classical music (once per week each) Bible/catechism Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somo_chickenlady Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 We just started, and we don't have all of our curriculum yet, so our days are a bit shorter atm. Once we get everything, it will be a bit longer. I don't have a specific time set for each subject, though. I just have specific things he needs to do for each subject every day and he works until it is finished. Some days it takes longer than others. For example, on Monday he worked 6.5hrs but yesterday it only took 4.5hrs to get through everything. Right now we have Science, History, Language Arts, and Spelling. Our math is ordered and on the way, and I ordered his first novel and that should be here soon, so he will have reading every day also. We will probably add in art and foreign language after Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 My boys are 11 and 12, 6th and 7th grade. We have 3 long days and 2 shorter days (to leave time for volunteering at the food pantry). The long days are between 7-8 hours and the short days are 3-4 hours so on the longest week they do about 32 hours of work or about 6 hours a day. Logic Grammar Math Memory Work Vocab Art/Music history Drawing/Guitar Writing Science History Spanish Typing (the younger has spelling too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 For my 7th grader, he works typically 5 hours. Some days are longer than others due to labs or writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durriyyah Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 My 7th grader does about 4-5 hours of actual work each day, outside of the homeschool co-op classes (art and science). Still, it takes about 6-7 hours to complete with lunch and playing with her little sis. :) All the courses we are doing right now are in my siggy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvnlattes Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Last year my then 12yo did about 5 hours of work daily. He had: Pre-algebra History Geography Literature Writing Grammar Science Logic Vocabulary Spelling Bible He also did art and music weekly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Between 6-7 hours a day. I think he did 6 hours a day in 6th grade and this year is looking like more work. We could be inching up on 8 We don't do every subject every day and some get more focus that others. Latin and Spanish 'share' a time slot. We alternate which one we do on a given day. Math Language Arts: vocabulary, grammar, composition, and literature Science History: Year 3 in a 4 year cycle Foreign language: Latin and Spanish Logic Music: Piano, french horn, and chorus. He is also a 5th year ballet student, so I figure that counts as pe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 My middle school aged kids (6th-8th grades) spend between 6-8 hrs/day and 5th graders ~5 hrs. (though my current 8th grader is spending more like 9 hrs b/c she has made the decision to take 3 foreign languages (all at high school level equivalencies) this yr.:tongue_smilie:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLC Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 My ds 12, grade 7, spends 6.5 - 7 hours daily. He's taking pre-algebra, life science, English (including grammer, composition, spelling, vocabulary, speech), literature, logic, ancient history (textbook & independent readings), geography, intro. to technology (including typing), health, and Bible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoyceTWTM Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 How many hours did he do last year? Was that hours on task, or clock hours? I would start there and then see whether he will tolerate a bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 dd 7th grade - 9 hours (but she admits to being a rather slow worker) math - 1.5 hrs science - 1.5 hrs history - 1.5 hrs English/Lit - 1.5 hrs Spanish - 1 hr music history/theory - 1 hr guitar/keyboard practice - 1 hr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 22, 2012 Author Share Posted August 22, 2012 Thank you so much for all of the responses -- keep 'em coming!!! :hurray: So far, you have all confirmed my fears -- we're not spending enough time on school, and Joyce's questions got me thinking about the way I've been scheduling things. I have been scheduling school with a lesson-based system. Ds would know what he had to accomplish for the day, and when he was done, he was done. I was basically scheduling one lesson for each subject every day. BUT... ds can whip through the lessons very quickly, so I don't think his entire school day ever lasted more than 2 hours or so -- and 2 hours was rare (including the requisite daily whining and "I HATE THIS" Dramatic Complaining Time. :tongue_smilie:) Early on, I would set a certain amount of time per subject, but we were going through entire years' worth of curriculum within a few months, and he was advancing far too quickly. I know some people would say I shouldn't have help him back, but at a certain point, some of the themes seemed too mature, and he would have been learning things and thinking about things that I didn't think he should be dealing with at his age. I mean, it's great that he was intelligent enough to handle advanced concepts, but he was still a little kid, and I wanted him to stay that way. It was never my goal to have a 10 year-old college student, and believe me, we were heading in that direction. He was also so far ahead in his school subjects that it was hard for him to relate to other kids his age, and I thought that was a problem, too. SO... I backed off on the heavy academics and let him relax. He was still getting the necessary subjects, but we worked at a lesson-a-day pace, which slowed him down a lot. I think we're at the point now where if he's doing high school level stuff, along with some middle school stuff, that's fine. BUT... now my problem is going to be getting him back on a longer school day. Basically, I let him relax too much, and now I know I'm going to pay for it. :eek: That's why I was asking about your subject choices and time schedules. I wanted to try to figure out what constitutes "normal" at my ds's age, and your posts have been incredibly helpful to me. Except for the part where I realized I've been way too lax in my approach. I wasn't too excited about hearing that. ;) But it's exactly what I needed to know, so I'm thankful for it. :001_smile: I think I might switch to a "30 minutes of X subject" approach this year, rather than a "one lesson of X subject" type of schedule. I think ds needs more discipline in terms of learning to work for a longer period of time each day, and I'm OK with him working ahead in his subjects if that's how things turn out, because I think he's old enough to deal with more mature themes. I would even be fine with a shorter school year if he finishes everything early, and that might actually give him some incentive to do the work. If I get really energetic, I might split the year into 3 or 4 semesters, and once he finishes the assigned work for a given semester, he gets a little vacation time or something like that. (Clearly, I'm still in the Clueless-But-Trying stage of all of this! :tongue_smilie:) Anyway, please keep your ideas and suggestions coming. I can't begin to tell you how much you are helping me as I try to get things together for fall. (We're starting school around September 15th or so.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 My 11 year old dd is in 6th grade. She spends 6 hours each weekday on her lessons, including time spent reading. She is studying the following subjects: Math English Science History Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 (edited) Thank you so much for all of the responses -- keep 'em coming!!! :hurray: So far, you have all confirmed my fears -- we're not spending enough time on school, and Joyce's questions got me thinking about the way I've been scheduling things. I have been scheduling school with a lesson-based system. Ds would know what he had to accomplish for the day, and when he was done, he was done. I was basically scheduling one lesson for each subject every day. BUT... ds can whip through the lessons very quickly, so I don't think his entire school day ever lasted more than 2 hours or so -- and 2 hours was rare (including the requisite daily whining and "I HATE THIS" Dramatic Complaining Time. :tongue_smilie:) Early on, I would set a certain amount of time per subject, but we were going through entire years' worth of curriculum within a few months, and he was advancing far too quickly. I know some people would say I shouldn't have help him back, but at a certain point, some of the themes seemed too mature, and he would have been learning things and thinking about things that I didn't think he should be dealing with at his age. I mean, it's great that he was intelligent enough to handle advanced concepts, but he was still a little kid, and I wanted him to stay that way. It was never my goal to have a 10 year-old college student, and believe me, we were heading in that direction. He was also so far ahead in his school subjects that it was hard for him to relate to other kids his age, and I thought that was a problem, too. SO... I backed off on the heavy academics and let him relax. He was still getting the necessary subjects, but we worked at a lesson-a-day pace, which slowed him down a lot. I think we're at the point now where if he's doing high school level stuff, along with some middle school stuff, that's fine. BUT... now my problem is going to be getting him back on a longer school day. Basically, I let him relax too much, and now I know I'm going to pay for it. :eek: That's why I was asking about your subject choices and time schedules. I wanted to try to figure out what constitutes "normal" at my ds's age, and your posts have been incredibly helpful to me. Except for the part where I realized I've been way too lax in my approach. I wasn't too excited about hearing that. ;) But it's exactly what I needed to know, so I'm thankful for it. :001_smile: I think I might switch to a "30 minutes of X subject" approach this year, rather than a "one lesson of X subject" type of schedule. I think ds needs more discipline in terms of learning to work for a longer period of time each day, and I'm OK with him working ahead in his subjects if that's how things turn out, because I think he's old enough to deal with more mature themes. I would even be fine with a shorter school year if he finishes everything early, and that might actually give him some incentive to do the work. If I get really energetic, I might split the year into 3 or 4 semesters, and once he finishes the assigned work for a given semester, he gets a little vacation time or something like that. (Clearly, I'm still in the Clueless-But-Trying stage of all of this! :tongue_smilie:) Anyway, please keep your ideas and suggestions coming. I can't begin to tell you how much you are helping me as I try to get things together for fall. (We're starting school around September 15th or so.) You haven't shared **what** you have been using, so it is hard to offer any suggestions in that regard, but if I had a middle schooler (I'm assuming 7th grade??) finishing math in 30 minutes, I would assume the level was too easy. Over all, I do not use pre-packed/pre-planned curriculum, so my children have no concept of "a lesson." They do what they are assigned by me. What I assign is generated by what I know to be their capabilities and the estimated time required to complete the assignment. To give an example of what my advanced dd did last yr for 7th grade, this would be an approx. daily schedule: Literature--between 1 to 2 hrs (depended on the day) writing/grammar/spelling--~1hr algebra 1- ~1 hr French 2- ~45 mins - 1 hr Latin 1- ~ 45 mins- 1 hr science-- ~ 45 mins history--~ 1 hr FWIW, whole books might be a way to introduce longer times for subjects w/o having it appear as if you are unduly increasing times. For example, you could assign historical biographies or science non-fiction books to read that would be assessed via time and yet the content wouldn't necessarily seem like it should be multiple lessons to a child used to 30 mins and done. Edited August 22, 2012 by 8FillTheHeart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 As for scheduling, my ds works from 8:30 to 1 on M-H for Geometry, Chemistry, and English (1.5 hours each). On Friday's he has technicraft from 8 to 1:30 including travel time (he takes the train by himself across the city!) At night he does "m&m" (music and mandarin) from 5 to 6 and my dh does history read alouds from 7 to 8 for both boys on most nights. Logic with me, Mandarin with the tutor, and 3 hours of violin lessons are done on the weekend and during two afternoon classes. A student does not need to be sitting at a desk from 8 until 4, 5 days per week to get in 30 to 35 hours. That type of schedule would never work for my ds. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 22, 2012 Author Share Posted August 22, 2012 You haven't shared **what** you have been using, so it is hard to offer any suggestions in that regard, but if I had a middle schooler (I'm assuming 7th grade??) finishing math in 30 minutes, I would assume the level was too easy. As an example, we're using Teaching Textbooks for Algebra, and when ds wants to work ahead a bit, he has no problem finishing 4 of the lessons in an hour. (He only watches the actual lesson presentation when he has trouble with the practice problems.) FWIW, whole books might be a way to introduce longer times for subjects w/o having it appear as if you are unduly increasing times. For example, you could assign historical biographies or science non-fiction books to read that would be assessed via time and yet the content wouldn't necessarily seem like it should be multiple lessons to a child used to 30 mins and done. That is an excellent idea -- I do that with science (because he reads science books for fun, anyway,) but I haven't been doing it with historical biographies (although I bought a bunch of them at a used book sale a while back and completely forgot about them until you mentioned using them!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 My 12, rising 7th, will take the following. I'll let you know how long it takes. :) Daily Math -- Saxon Language Arts (Megawords spelling, Rod and Staff English for grammar, Daily Grams, IEW Student Writing Intensive) Latin Logic Science (The Elements and ACS Middle School Chemistry) History (History of US Books 1-5 with discussion, handouts and essays) Literature focus first semester with be for National Mythology Exam Piano practice Once a week Poetry -- I'll read aloud every day; boys will practice writing poetry once a week) Artist study Composer study Piano lesson Beautiful Feet Geography (three times a week) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Math takes my son about 30-40 minutes. He does about 15 review problems in the morning with his independent work. Later in the day, I teach his new lesson, and he does several practice problems. He's starting Algebra 1/2, so that may change, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 22, 2012 Author Share Posted August 22, 2012 Dawn -- How does your ds like Megawords? We've been using Spelling Power, but it's incredibly boring, and I have to admit that I often have no idea why some of the words are grouped together. Prior to using SP, we used BJU Spelling on DVD, which pretty much sucked the life right out of our day. :ack2: It was a fun DVD class when ds was younger, but eventually ds just dreaded it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heliconian Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 We work through a charter, so we get guidelines from the state. Our guidelines require 54,000 minutes per year in grades 4-8, which works out to slightly more than 5 hours a day. We spend about an hour on math every day, and another on grammar and writing. About 30 minutes on music daily. Everything else flexes, as we work on different thing at different times. Science is usually two blocks a week for a total of 3 or 4 hours, and history is the same. We have literature or poetry for an hour or two per week. When we kick in to high gear, we do either Latin or Spanish for about an hour four days a week. When you add in classes that they take (another nine hours or so of class time), we have our time more than covered. And that doesn't even count independent reading or things that I would consider "homework." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 He's not excited about it. In fact, he gets excited about very little besides history. :lol: But, I do like how the words are grouped, and I think it is a solid program. I have stayed with this spelling longer than any other I'd used. ;) Dawn -- How does your ds like Megawords? We've been using Spelling Power, but it's incredibly boring, and I have to admit that I often have no idea why some of the words are grouped together. Prior to using SP, we used BJU Spelling on DVD, which pretty much sucked the life right out of our day. :ack2: It was a fun DVD class when ds was younger, but eventually ds just dreaded it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 22, 2012 Author Share Posted August 22, 2012 He's not excited about it. In fact, he gets excited about very little besides history. :lol: But, I do like how the words are grouped, and I think it is a solid program. I have stayed with this spelling longer than any other I'd used. ;) Thanks -- I think I'll check it out for my ds. I seriously doubt I will ever find a spelling program that he really likes, so I have lowered my personal standards to finding "something he doesn't hate." :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 [ As an example, we're using Teaching Textbooks for Algebra, and when ds wants to work ahead a bit, he has no problem finishing 4 of the lessons in an hour. (He only watches the actual lesson presentation when he has trouble with the practice problems.) Have you thought about using a more comprehensive alg program? Foersters, Jacobs, Dolciani, etc might require him to put in more effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 22, 2012 Author Share Posted August 22, 2012 Have you thought about using a more comprehensive alg program? Foersters, Jacobs, Dolciani, etc might require him to put in more effort. I think that's a great idea, but the main reason I haven't done exactly that, is because my ds seems to click with the Teaching Textbook format, and since we've already switched our math curriculum a few times over the years, I'm a bit reluctant to change what seems to be working for us. I am planning to stick with TT through Geometry, and then re-evaluate what we're doing for Algebra 2. I agree that you're right about him needing more challenge, though. I'm just concerned that if I change to something else and he hates it, I'll find myself flip-flopping around again. I'm thinking that, for this year, I'll do what others seem to do, which is to set an amount of "math time" each day, and let ds work at his own pace within that time frame. This way, he will at least move through the TT lessons at a quicker pace than if I only require a lesson a day, yet if he gets to a point where he finds something challenging, he'll be in a position to use his daily time to work more slowly and carefully. I hope this works. :tongue_smilie: When ds was little, I loved planning the school year. Now, as he's getting older, I'm getting more paranoid about being sure he will be prepared for college and SATs and AP exams when the time comes. Right now, I think we're in good shape, but that doesn't stop me from waking up at night, worrying about what I'm missing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwjx2khsmj Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 For my dd13 Bible – Explorer’s Bible Study – Quest: God’s Perfect Plan - daily - 30 minutes Logic - 3 hours weekly – The Art of the Argument Language - spelling -15 minutes - Spelling Power reading - 40 minutes grammar - 40 minutes - Analytical Grammar memory work - 10 minutes fun reading - 60 minutes Writing - friendly letters - once every two weeks dictation - 2-3 days per week writing program - 20-30 minutes daily - The New Oxford Guide to Writing, Elements of Style Math - 60 minutes daily – Algebra – The Great Courses Algebra 1, Jacobs Algebra History - 3 hours weekly - read - outline - timeline - map - one composition each week - Story of the World: The Modern Age Oral history interviews monthly Science - 3 hours weekly – Physics – NEOE Physics Latin - 45 minutes daily – First Form Latin Art - 1-2 hours weekly - Great Artists Music - 1-2 hours weekly - flute Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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