jgoodal08 Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 This is my first year homeschooling... And I'm so worried about not finishing everything by the beginning of the summer. I definitely do not want to do school work in the summer. I'm only homeschooling 1 of my 4 kids so the summer is time for us to all be together and do fun stuff. When I've told a few non homeschoolers that I only spend an hour and a half to two hours a day doing school work they seem astonished. Which makes me feel like Maybe it isn't enough time. My son is in 3rd grade...and so far he's picking up things quickly and retaining the info. Then my ex husband took my son away for a few days for a mini vacation..so we missed three days of work which is making me think I need to do school work over the weekend or double up for a few days. Am I crazy? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 The great thing about homeschooling is that you don't have to worry about staying on someone else's pace. Time spent with family or doing outside activities isn't wasted time--even though it's not academic. Relax and enjoy! If you know your son is doing well, don't sweat the opinions of other people :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 The great thing about homeschooling is that you don't have to worry about staying on someone else's pace. Time spent with family or doing outside activities isn't wasted time--even though it's not academic. Relax and enjoy! If you know your son is doing well, don't sweat the opinions of other people :001_smile: Georgiana is right. If this is your first year, it'll take you some time to get confident and find your groove. You don't want to push to much, but at the same time, you don't want to slack and let him (and you) get lazy/behind. Don't stress too much; so long as you *care*, chances are you'll do just fine. Try to relax a little and enjoy the fun of homeschooling. :001_smile: Don't tell 'other people' how long you spend each day on 'school'. It's none of their beeswax anyway, LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabrizia Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I spend maybe 30 minutes a day on seat work with my Kindergartener, and yes it seems like far too little time, but really if he is getting all the subjects you are doing done in 90 minutes to 2 hours then he is doing enough. Remember you don't have to deal with any of the classroom management stuff that a regular classroom would, you are just teaching him, at his level what he needs to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 This is my first year homeschooling... And I'm so worried about not finishing everything by the beginning of the summer. This is why some people lay out a rough schedule for the whole year, knowing their start and end dates. If you know you have 36 weeks to finish, you divide each subject by 36 and you'll know that you have to cover at least that weekly amount each week. However, kids move at their own pace. You son may go quickly in one subject, doing 2 weeks worth of work in 1 week, or he may find the subject difficult and may not finish all of the work in the allotted time. Personally, I don't see the big deal. Public schools don't finish textbooks either. There is simply way too much information for them to truly cover in 36 weeks. You're new at this. My first year was nerve wracking. The second year was better. It wasn't until the 3rd year that I felt confident in all aspects of our lifestyle. When I've told a few non homeschoolers that I only spend an hour and a half to two hours a day doing school work they seem astonished. Which makes me feel like Maybe it isn't enough time. So you're talking to people who are used to a public school schedule? Wrong, wrong, wrong. They'll only make you doubt yourself. If the teachers in the public schools could work with each child on a one-to-one basis, they would move through the day at the same pace you're doing right now. Your son isn't experiencing all of the extra stuff like busy work, wasted time while the teacher explains things again and again to the kids who need extra help, wasted time while the teacher disciplines the kids who are negatively affecting the class, and possibly wasted time preparing for standardized tests. Here in GA they spend WEEKS skipping regular school stuff to practice the upcoming tests. My son is in 3rd grade...and so far he's picking up things quickly and retaining the info. Then my ex husband took my son away for a few days for a mini vacation..so we missed three days of work which is making me think I need to do school work over the weekend or double up for a few days. Am I crazy? :) Crazy isn't the word. Worried, yes. Have you mapped out a plan for the year? Also, you may be taking little time if you aren't covering a lot of material in one day, which for homeschooling makes perfect sense. I'm making the assumption, and forgive me if this is wrong, that you are using The Well-Trained Mind as your guide. Are you covering all of the recommended subjects? FWIW, my kids have always worked quickly. We never spent hours of our day doing schoolwork and my kids have always been on par with their peers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgoodal08 Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Thanks ladies:) I guess because I pulled him out of ps and there isn't alot of homeschoolers around here people are shocked when they find out and curious so they ask me a bunch of questions... It's a toss up what kind of reaction I get back from people. I'm hoping now that everyone had a chance to ask their questions they will leave me alone:) Is it a good idea to look over all the books around Christmas and see how much is left at that point and make a plan to get it all done by June? One of the things that freaks me out is Math. I'm doing Math In Focus with him. Although he is in 3rd grade and great at math I started him at level/grade 2 because there was alot in that level thy they did not teach him In second grade such as multiplication and division. So part of me wants to complete levels 2 & 3 his year so he can start at level 4 next year where he is supposed to be but at the same time I realize that's an unrealtistic goal and if I had to put him back in ps he wouldn't be behind those kids because my daughter is in 4th grade in ps and I see what she's working on but I still want him to be where he is supposed to be by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgoodal08 Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Beth you are SO right... We are in CT and they spend 3/4 of the year preparing for the CT Mastery Tests (standardized tests) It is such a waste of time and probably the reason why he at a level/grade 2 in math. They teach these kids nothing!! They are supposed to start using some state wide core knowledge math program next year because it finally dawned on them that these kids are so far behind!!! They spend 3/4 of the year teaching writing prompts and how to write stories!!! I don't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 So part of me wants to complete levels 2 & 3 his year so he can start at level 4 next year where he is supposed to be but at the same time I realize that's an unrealtistic goal and if I had to put him back in ps he wouldn't be behind those kids because my daughter is in 4th grade in ps and I see what she's working on but I still want him to be where he is supposed to be by now. One thing you can do is not spend time on the concepts he knows well. In other words, don't focus on pages in the book simply because they are next in line. Do a quick assessment of the lesson and if he knows the material, move on to the next lesson. You won't get bogged down in the program that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I don't know about Math in Focus, but I know in Singapore math we were able to go through 2nd and 3rd grade in one year. There is a lot of review in 3rd grade, though we had to slow down for new concepts (multiplying two digit numbers). I agree to not feel that you have to do it all, especially if some things are already mastered. Sometimes I would circle every third problem or the ones that looked the most difficult if I thought that ds knew the material pretty well but needed a bit more practice. In general, I agree that it is nice to have a loose schedule per week or month so you have an idea of where you would like to be. Then you can reassess in Dec/Jan and see what you need to do by the end of the year for your goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Yes, you're crazy. :D You honestly and truly do not need to complete every last lesson in order to consider your school year complete. How many public schools actually get to the end of the textbooks before the end of the year? It really isn't a big deal to take time off here and there. You don't have to make it up on the weekend or double up on your lessons. It's not a race. The most important thing you can possibly do this year is to get yourself and your son comfortable with homeschooling, and to develop a basic routine -- but also to realize that your schedule doesn't have to be cast in stone. Many of us started homeschooling, wanting to cross every T and dot every I, worried that our kids would suffer terribly if we didn't do a full day of school every day, and teach our kids everything there was to know about everything, RIGHT NOW. I think it's common, and I think it is absolutely normal. In time, you'll look back and laugh at how worried you were in the beginning, and you'll wonder why you were so hard on yourself. :001_smile: 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.