Prep time for middle school

[Cosmos]

How much time do you spend preparing to teach your middle-schooler? I'm finding I need to set aside a good chunk of time each week to get myself prepared for the week.

 

In the past, when we did more things together, I could often just "open and go". But now, we have transitioned to more of a seminar model for many subjects. Ds reads the material on his own and we come together to discuss/review/practice/etc. So while our time together has reduced, my prep time has increased because I need to pre-read, digest the material, decide on the main points to highlight, etc.

 

As I'm sitting here on a Sunday morning, I decided to write down a list of what I need to do instead of actually doing it. :lol: Here's roughly what I need to do each week:

 

Math (Singapore NEM): Look over the upcoming sections and roughly plan what to teach on each day. I don't strictly have to do this, but math is my favorite subject so I do anyway. Also select problem solving problems to work on. Time = 1/2 hour

 

Writing (WWS): Read the lesson for the week in the student pages. I mentally go through the outlining and composition process in my head to see what might give my ds trouble. Then I go back and read the teacher pages. I also consider whether ds will need additional background on the topic and look for resources. For example, this week he'll be writing about the life cycle of a star, so I'm going to look for a documentary on stars for us to watch tonight. Time = 1/2-1 hour

 

Latin (LNM): Read the chapter and do all the translations myself mentally. LNM comes with an enormous teacher's manual filled with all sorts of extra enrichment activities and background information. I find it very busy visually, so as I preread the chapter, I mark with pencil the things I want to cover with ds during our Latin time. Time = 1/2-1 hour

 

Science (Conceptual Physics): Read the chapter sections we'll be covering. I'm using this book to teach ds how to take notes from a textbook, so I have to think through that aspect of it. I also select exercises from the text for him to work. Time = 1 hour

 

History (Human Odyssey plus misc. resources): I don't do much prep for history because we still do this together. It's mostly on the fly. I plan roughly what readings we will do, and I look through the HO student pages to see what activities they suggest and see if I want to use them. Time = 1/2 hour

 

Literature: This is the biggie. Ds spends 45 minutes a day reading literature, and his reading speed is about the same as mine. I find it really hard to keep up with him. (Selfishly, I have my own books I want to read.) In fact, I fail miserably. What ends up happening is that I read only about half of the books that he does and we discuss those. The others I just ask him to tell me a little about it.

 

Logic, French, Grammar: No prep.

 

So that's maybe 4 hours of prep for the week, plus 3-4 hours of literature reading. I only have one child, so I can work on these things while he's doing independent work. I don't like to save it for Sunday, as I did this week! But most homeschoolers have more than one student. How do you fit in those hours of prep? Or do you not find you need that kind of time?

 

What do you do to prep for teaching your middle school student(s)?

[8filltheheart]

I take a different approach. I spend the summer selecting materials and reviewing them. Then I write lesson plans about every 6 wks and spend ~ 1 wk writing them (for all my kids, not just 1). During my planning wk, I form a mental plan of approx. what all I need to cover and by when.

 

FWIW, I have described elsewhere how I have been inspired by the Jesuit method of prelection and have adapted it to meet my needs as a homeschooler. Here is a link to an article about prelection: http://web.archive.org/web/20100414225419/http://school.jhssac.org/faculty/cheneym/documents/Section_13__FOUR_HALLMARKS_OF_JESUIT_EDUCATION.pdf

 

If you search the forum, there have been several interesting discussions about prepping to teach.

[Cosmos]

I take a different approach. I spend the summer selecting materials and reviewing them. Then I write lesson plans about every 6 wks and spend ~ 1 wk writing them (for all my kids, not just 1). During my planning wk, I form a mental plan of approx. what all I need to cover and by when.

 

Yeah, I thought people with many children were sure to have a different approach. :)

 

I actually do have all my lessons planned (scheduled). I have a syllabus written for the entire semester. But what I find is that I need time to prepare to teach the lessons.

 

I haven't been very successful at doing prep far ahead of time. I guess my memory isn't good enough! I read several chapters of the physics book over the summer, for example, but I found I still needed to review them before teaching my ds. I couldn't remember what was in each chapter, so I ended up needing to spend the weekly time anyway. So I'm back to just doing it week by week. And I definitely need to have the literature fresh in my mind for discussion.

 

FWIW, I have described elsewhere how I have been inspired by the Jesuit method of prelection and have adapted it to meet my needs as a homeschooler. Here is a link to an article about prelection: http://web.archive.org/web/20100414225419/http://school.jhssac.org/faculty/cheneym/documents/Section_13__FOUR_HALLMARKS_OF_JESUIT_EDUCATION.pdf

Looks interesting. Thank you!

[Chrysalis Academy]

I take a different approach. I spend the summer selecting materials and reviewing them. Then I write lesson plans about every 6 wks and spend ~ 1 wk writing them (for all my kids, not just 1). During my planning wk, I form a mental plan of approx. what all I need to cover and by when.

 

FWIW, I have described elsewhere how I have been inspired by the Jesuit method of prelection and have adapted it to meet my needs as a homeschooler. Here is a link to an article about prelection: http://web.archive.org/web/20100414225419/http://school.jhssac.org/faculty/cheneym/documents/Section_13__FOUR_HALLMARKS_OF_JESUIT_EDUCATION.pdf

 

If you search the forum, there have been several interesting discussions about prepping to teach.

 

 

Thank you for posting this article - it is fascinating. I've only finished the section on prelection and already see many ways to incorporate this technique into day-to-day schooling, and its relation to my prep time. Can't wait to read the rest of the article - after I finish prepping for next week! ;)

[kalanamak]

How much time do you spend preparing to teach your middle-schooler? I'm finding I need to set aside a good chunk of time each week to get myself prepared for the week.

 

In the past, when we did more things together, I could often just "open and go". But now, we have transitioned to more of a seminar model for many subjects. Ds reads the material on his own and we come together to discuss/review/practice/etc. So while our time together has reduced, my prep time has increased because I need to pre-read, digest the material, decide on the main points to highlight, etc.

 

I am not only doing this, but kiddo isn't ready to read much of the material on his own (i.e. his thinking is above his reading level, and we are working at his thinking level, plus doing reading lessons....) so I find I have MORE time with him than in the earlier years. 5th grade has been a real challenge, and I'm afraid our long happy sojourns into art and music are going to be suspended for awhile.

 

I'd like to read the pdf posted, but my computer says it is corrupted ....

[Woodland Mist Academy]

The hours set aside for studies in our home are just that--hours set aside for studies. This includes both my dd and myself. I don't teach anything. I try to be actively studying the same subjects she is--either with the same resources or different ones.

 

If I need to plan ahead for a subject I try to do it while she is working on that subject.

 

I have noticed I never plan, yet I'm planning all.the.time. I have a loop going on in my head which allows me to be constantly evaluating level of content, skill work, attitude and engagement with materials etc. Evaluating on a constant basis works much better here than detailed planning weeks in advance. I have overall plans and goals, but details remain fluid.

 

ETA: So much depends on the student, though. I would do things much differently if more direct teaching was needed. We spend lots of time interacting and discussing, but there is little direct teaching from me.

Edited October 15, 2012 by Hilltop Academy

[AimeeM]

That is awesome. Love it. When we were with Kolbe Academy I noticed similar articles in their welcome packet. Think I'll dig them out again.

I take a different approach. I spend the summer selecting materials and reviewing them. Then I write lesson plans about every 6 wks and spend ~ 1 wk writing them (for all my kids, not just 1). During my planning wk, I form a mental plan of approx. what all I need to cover and by when.

 

FWIW, I have described elsewhere how I have been inspired by the Jesuit method of prelection and have adapted it to meet my needs as a homeschooler. Here is a link to an article about prelection: http://web.archive.org/web/20100414225419/http://school.jhssac.org/faculty/cheneym/documents/Section_13__FOUR_HALLMARKS_OF_JESUIT_EDUCATION.pdf

 

If you search the forum, there have been several interesting discussions about prepping to teach.

[Dina in Oklahoma]

Thanks 8!

[ChiMomNP]

How much time do you spend preparing to teach your middle-schooler? I'm finding I need to set aside a good chunk of time each week to get myself prepared for the week.

 

 

 

A few hours a week. My DH handles math and science(I help with teaching note-taking). My son handles programming/web design on his own, and I handle the rest. We work as a team. I tend to spend my time writing reviews and study guides for him to work on related to the comprehensive exams he will take in November, March and June.

[Hoot]

I spend zero time prepping and planning for my 8th grader during the week. :001_huh:

 

Over the summer I set up our lesson plans on Scholaric so that we would both have our framework for the year. It is working SO. WELL.

 

The work itself is relatively independent for DS. He is doing:

 

Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1 - 100% independent; once weekly co-op and 30 min. private tutoring session to work out anything he's struggling with.

 

Apologia General Science - DS reads the text himself or listens to it on audio and follows along, then answers the OYO questions independently. Once weekly co-op for labs.

 

Streams of Civilization 1 - He spends a week reading and outlining the chapter, a week studying, doing vocab., a crossword for review and taking the chapter test, and a week doing a writing or other type of related project. It seems like a lot of time for each chapter but they are quite meaty. History is his strongest subject so he's really enjoying the week-long projects. I field questions and we look up things if he has questions, but it's nothing I could even plan for even if I wanted to.

Total Language Plus Lit. - He reads and does the worksheets in the lesson book. Honestly, I'm not super thrilled with TLP and probably won't choose it again. Actually, that's kind of an understatement. :tongue_smilie: He doesn't need help with this at all though since it's quite simple.

 

IEW - Teaching is 100% at co-op with a weekly writing project. I help with this, but it's basically like helping him with homework. No prep.

 

The only thing I could potentially prep and plan for would be WWS but it has taken a bit of a backseat. I'm trying to find a place to fit it back in.

[lewelma]

So that's maybe 4 hours of prep for the week, plus 3-4 hours of literature reading.

Me too.

 

AoPS geometry: 2 hours per week (I apparently have forgotten everything I ever knew about proofs)

 

Chemistry: 2 hours per week. I am using this class to teach study skills which my ds needs taught explicitly. So I am pretending to study and thinking about how I take notes, make study materials, etc. Plus I am trying to understand how the IGCSE exams work.:tongue_smilie: Once I am done with Chemistry, I will start Physics, because I am sure that my ds will blow me out of the water so I need a major head start.

 

WWS2: 45 min per week (read over student and teacher manual and think about things)

 

Literature: I listen to all the books he reads (thanks librivox), so listen about 7 hours per week while doing dishes

 

I kind of like it. :001_smile:

 

Ruth in NZ

[angela in ohio]

I spent more time in prep during the middle school years than at any other point in my homeschooling. And now that my dds are in high school, I am so glad I did. :D Keep up the good work!!!!!

[PeterPan]

I'm spending probably 5-7 hours a week. I don't keep track or tally, just faint.

 

BJU pre-algebra--I go through it and check the chunks to make sure the amounts will work out for each day. I try to limit our time together in it to 15-20 minutes, so I'm putting down how much we can do in each session based on how the previous week went. I have it all pre-chunked in my ipad for tallying purposes, but I still go through and do a reality check. The sessions have to stay that short, so I have to go through each page of the math and mentally determine which problems we'll probably do, how long that will take her, etc. --1/2 hour?

 

BJU Lit 9-Again, I go through my ipad compiled lesson plans and reality check. I've been clumping a bit to accelerate. --10 min

 

WWS1--My ipad notes are by day, so I have to write out all the page numbers than go through and highlight.--1/2 hour

 

Vocab--no prep

 

BJU Grammar 9--Again, my ipad has the lessons chunked, but I go through and do a reality check. Some of the amounts they suggest in the tm (what I put into my ipad) are IDIOTIC. --10 min

 

BJU World History--If I haven't finished making outline notes for the chapter, then I have to do the remaining sections for that. I outline every section of the chapter, type out the review questions, everything, so she can pick the textbook up and use it independently and get out of it what I want her to. This typically takes me at least an hour a section, so that's 4 hours (at least, I get weary) per chapter. We've been doing a chapter every 3 weeks or so. When I'm not typing notes for new chapters, I'm researching books or videos to go with the topics, requesting them from the library, etc. Then I chunk everything up and put it on the checklist. So plan 3 hours a week as an *average*. That's 1 hour some weeks and 4-5 other weeks.

 

TT Alg. 1--no prep

 

BJU Physical Science--I spent hours upon hours upon hours this summer breaking up all the labs from the BJU and PH CIA books into 36 weeks. That work is all done for me, and of course there were more hours into buying the lab equipment. That was pre prep work. Now I'm reading the chapters to make outlines to help her read the BJU PS text. It's shades of horrible to read, frankly, and the weeks it makes me vomit, it makes her spasm and turn comatose. Those weeks we do videos, lol. This week's reading was easier, so hopefully she used the notes and did it today. (I still ahve to go check!) Whether she reads it or ends up watching videos on the topic, the fact is *I* don't know the material well enough to help her until *I* have gone through the text. So it's 2 hours of prep for the text and another several hours trying to decipher the labs. That's a good week. If it's a bad week, add another 3 hours of stress to that where I flip out about how I can't even understand the labs, blah blah, and make the time higher.

 

misc. subjects and prep-15 min. total (mark pages in opera books, scan next chapter in AoA, etc.) This week I was typing up the comma rules from AG to let her use while editing her papers. It's little stuff like that.

 

So YES, this grade is the hardest I've ever done. I'm working my BUTT off trying to help her connect with the material. So far things are pretty peaceful, and it's worth the effort. However I'm being extra nice to myself, buying myself treats, and my dh has been kicking in doing more dishes, etc. When you outline a history text for 4-5 hours straight on a Saturday afternoon and you're NOT a history person, it sort of has this way of frying your brain and ruining your weekend. But she's enjoying what we're doing and it's actually working. And I'm confident she's learning the skills she needs to to have a foundation to move forward. I've chosen to put my time, not into me regurgitating, but into helping her develop the types of skills *she* will need (maybe not someone else but her) to move forward into her goals successfully. She can't achieve her goals without the level of structure I'm creating, so I'm creating it.

 

It takes me another hour then (on a good day, sometimes more, sometimes less) to get that all into her weekly checklist and get it all beautified and glorified, and reality-checked and compared to our plans for the week. And once all that is done, we hit print, punch and put in the binder, tidy the books that got torn out, and voila! Sounds insane, but we're having our best year ever. (Well except for K5, but I can't get that back, lol. I keep trying. :D )

Edited October 17, 2012 by OhElizabeth

[Embassy]

I spend most of my summer preparing for the school year. Putting my own things together helps because I study as I prepare. Some subjects my ds does on his own. I pick some of the harder books to read and discuss. I listen to some on CD. The rest I don't read. For math I have assignments listed chronologically and we just continue down the list. I don't prepare ahead of time, but I suspect the further we go the more I will need to do that. With languages I have certain goals in mind and we work toward those together. It is more a collaborative effort since ds's skills are ahead of my own. With writing I try to review his work every couple days and maybe have a conference going over his work in WWS about once every 1-2 weeks. With the science textbook I read and plan the labs ahead of time, but I don't read the chapters.

 

I don't have much time during the school day for prep. I work at night so I don't have much time there either. So summers are quite busy and I fit in what I can the rest of the time. For my oldest I probably spent about an hour a week on prep.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Sounds insane, but we're having our best year ever. (Well except for K5, but I can't get that back, lol. I keep trying. :D )

 

LOL!