JackiB Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Good evening friends. I need a little advice please. I have to sweet boys (5th & 2nd grade) and it seems as though we are schooling ALL DAY LONG!!! It's bringing them down. What subjects do you do everyday? What does your week look like? I'm not asking for specifics, but a general breakdown of your week. Pretty please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 My kids do everything that they are studying every day. (I do better keeping up w/things if it is daily routine.) My typical 2nd graders do about 2- 2 1/2 hrs worth of work daily: reading, copywork (grammar/mechanics instruction from copywork), spelling, math, and some sort of read aloud. My current 5th grader spends about 5-6 hrs daily: Latin, math, writing, spelling, grammar, literature, history, science, religion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2boys030507 Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I have 3 boys in 4th, 2nd, and K. My 4th and 2nd grader do math, grammar, bible (Awana memory work) everyday, my 2nd grader also does Greek. In addition to this they read for 60 min and history, science or geography. (Seems light when writing it out this way) We are typically doing school from 8:30 to 11:30 am. They do all of their reading in the afternoon as well as finishing up anything from the morning that doesn't get completed. So they do about 4 to 4.5 hours of school daily. I work very hard to make sure that we are focused in the morning so they have free time in the afternoon. We do stop everyday at 11:30 pretty much no matter what - by that time they need a break and so do I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 My 3rd grader is doing: Math Grammar Latin Writing Handwriting (learning cursive) Spelling History Science We start our day with math, spending 30-45 minutes. That is daily (5x/week). I alternate Latin and Grammar, since Latin reinforces English grammar. We spend 10-15 minutes on one of those subjects each day. Writing probably takes 15-30 minutes, depending on the day (we use IEW, so the first day of an assignment is much longer than subsequent days). Spelling takes 5-10 minutes. History includes literature (we use Sonlight this year), and his independent reading for that usually takes 5 minutes (he's a fast reader), history reading by me takes about 10-15 minutes, then read-aloud by me takes about 10-15 minutes. Science is library books, interest-led. He reads for about 15-30 minutes. Today, we were done by 1pm, including breaks, teaching my K'er, and general mayhem from my 3 year old. :lol: My K'er has math, reading, and handwriting, plus read-alouds (Sonlight), so his doesn't take much time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 My 4th grader works for about 4 to 4.5 hours 4 days a week, and about 2 hours one day. So, 18-20 hours a week on work I assign. She often pursues projects\reading\documentaries on her own time too. Her subjects include: math, Latin, composition (integrated grammar, spelling, vocabulary), reading (literature and poetry read aloud and independent reading), history, science, art, and geography. She begins at 8 and can be completed by 2 if she takes a few breaks and an hour for lunch on Tue, Thur and Fri. Mon. is co-op from 9-12 then in the afternoon she works for about 1 hour. On Wednesday she has horse riding from 9-11 then in the afternoon works for about 2 hours. Her schedule will be almost the same next year for 5th. Here is the daily breakdown: Mon. - co-op \composition, drama, art - science at home Tue. - math, Latin, composition, reading, geography, science Wed.- math, Latin, reading, art Thur.- math, Latin, composition, reading, geography, history Fri.- math, Latin, composition, reading, geography, history Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I'll skip what my kinder does since your kids are older, and post what my 4th grader does daily. We do WWE copywork/dictation/narration, spelling, math, science daily. Also he reads independently and I read aloud daily. I've passed on a formal grammar program this year, but last year that would have been done about three times a week. Handwriting (cursive) was done daily until the HWT book was completed. Our Bravewriter Lifestyle stuff is done weekly and monthly. History is done about two days a week. Art and music are done once a week. Geography once a week. Random things such as nature study and vocabulary, logic and extra math games etc are inserted into the week as they seem to fit. Any extra projects are done one or two afternoons or even on a weekend afternoon. We're definitely done with out official school stuff before 2. Usually I do basic skills every day and schedule content (science and history) for two or three mornings a week. Official art/music one day a week. Some school subjects just sort of become a part of the day without too much scheduling effort on my part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Blessings Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I am a newbie . . . so this may not mean as much to you. I will post a typical day for ds9 (just turned 9- third grade). We start at 8:30 Board work (random questions) Prayer/family worship Memory work Math Piano (practice, not lessons) Language Arts (the actual curriculum varies by day, but usually still takes about 30-40 mins) Greek Reading- choice and assigned We do take lunch breaks and often walk at some point in the day (or get outside, etc.), but we are done by 2:30 MOST days. On M/T/Th we add in Tapestry of Grace discussions, vocab, geography, writing and that may slow us down. We set aside Wed for science all afternoon. This makes our morning a bit harried, but we like to take our time in science. All this to say that we typically school all day long, too. Even dd7 spends much of her day working on school. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghee Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Good evening friends. I need a little advice please. I have to sweet boys (5th & 2nd grade) and it seems as though we are schooling ALL DAY LONG!!! It's bringing them down. What subjects do you do everyday? What does your week look like? I'm not asking for specifics, but a general breakdown of your week. Pretty please? Everyday for my older 2 (ages 10 and 13) - Literature and Summary of what they read (writing/grammar), Spelling and Vocabulary, Math Rotating through the week - Ancient History/Mythology, Science, two studies that I put together of 1. The Presidents and 2. The States. My younger child works on (daily) reading story and a project based on the story, math, a phonics game. He sits in and does lower leveled things for what we rotate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBanjoClown Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 My 2nd grader does language arts (Primary Language Lessons and Spelling on MWF/Easy Grammar (3 lessons) and reading comprehension on Tues./Thurs.), math, handwriting, history, and our Bible time (I read to them.) in the mornings. It usually takes about 3 hours. After lunch we have science. We do foreign language next, alternating Latin and Spanish (one per day). Next he reads silently for 30 minutes and then practices his violin. He is also taking a history class online through VP, so he will work on that in the afternoon also. Depending on what we have going on, we finish anywhere between 1:30 and 4:00. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccolopy Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Whether it's too much or not will depend on your kids, but I would think that any more than 3 hours would be pushing it for a 2nd grader and 6 hours would be my limit for 5th grade. Mine are in 3rd and 6th right now and we do each subject daily, but we don't hit every part of English every day. DD 3rd does English (grammar, vocab, writing, literature), history, science, math and French with me every morning. This takes about 3 hours. After lunch, she does spelling, handwriting and geography on her own, which takes 30-45 minutes. She reads for 30 minutes and is finished by 2. ~4 hours total, including reading. DS 6th does Arabic, math, science and history in the morning, then English and French with me after lunch. He finishes before 3, but has a little assigned reading after that. ~6 hours, including reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackiB Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 Thanks so much for sharing everyone. I'm hoping to take some time after bedtime and dig into this a little deeper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I first determine what hours we are going to do school and mesh that with what I want the kids to accomplish over a year. I spend about 5-6 solid hours schooling the kids between my oldest three ~ 30 min with Ker, 2 hours with 3rd grader, and the rest with my 5th grader. Our routine is to start with a literature read aloud somewhere around 9:00am and move into schoolwork with a break between 11:00 and 11:30 so I can fix lunch, feed the crew, and fly through some housework. We resume at 1:00ish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebacabunch Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 We school from about 10am to 2:30. We start with math and work for about 1.5 hours. We then do Language arts (all writing, spelling, latin, and grammar) for about an hour to an hour and a half. We then do science on mondays and thursdays for the rest of the time until we leave for swim practice at 2:45. On tuesday and friday we do history in the same timeslot as science. We do art projects on wednesday afternoons. My 6th grader reads in the evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I have to sweet boys (5th & 2nd grade) and it seems as though we are schooling ALL DAY LONG!!! It's bringing them down. What subjects do you do everyday? Hi, my 2nd grader spends about an hour to an hour and a half on schoolwork. I've had several late bloomers (and a boy!), so I've really become laid back at that age. My 2nd grader still spends hours playing with the 5 yro. When it's time for the 2nd grader to start schoolwork, I give her a warning about when we're starting. Also, the ENTIRE time is just hers. The other kids know to stay away, because the 2nd grader is going to get my undivided attention. Afterwards, she can run off and play "pink ponies visits the Pokemon castle" or whatever. Here's what we cover in that time: Language Arts: all about spelling, primary language lessons, a handwriting page Math: either an exercise in Singapore or a living math book and Life of Fred, 2 minutes with flash cards Bible: read a story in Beginner's Bible Science: read a little bit of Apologia Swimming Creatures and she fills out a notebooking page (she chose this, so I guess it is interest-led) A page from Map Skills 2 (it's a workbook) Independent reading 3 times a week, she does Artistic Pursuits with the older kids and I also read to her and the 5 yro at night (as they're getting into bed). I also have a 5th grader. She probably spends an average of 4 hours a day on schoolwork. Is this your first year homeschooling? If it is, it really takes a year or two to find your groove. Our first year was a disaster (with my son crying every time we sat down for schoolwork). :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I also have a 5th grader and a 2nd grader, both boys. :) Our day typically runs from about 930 am until 2:30 pm, but I have recently found that it is okay for us to take breaks to run errands and go to classes, as my older doesnt have a big problem working in the late afternoon to finish things up. My younger typically does math for 30 minutes, writing for 20, grammar on alternating days for 15, Latin daily for 20, Spanish twice or three times a week for 20 minutes, and science or history 2-3 a week for 30-60 minutes each time. His day runs about 2-3 hours on average, but he also will read on his own for 2 hours happily from a wide variety of books, mostly science and Harry Potter. We also try to get to memory work but that has been slipping for us the last couple of weeks. He likes logic so he does workbooks a couple of times a week, and he does Draw Squad whenever he feels like it, which is pretty often. My older's day is longer. Daily he does math for 45 minutes, Latin for 30 minutes, Writing for 30 minutes, Grammar for 20 minutes, science and history 2-3 times a week each for an hour at a time, spanish same as his brother. He also reads for an hour or so daily, but this isnt really included in our totals. Lately I have tried to be a bit more relaxed with him, not pushing him as hard to get so much done, but rather embed himself more deeply in the material he IS doing. It has worked well, although sometimes I worry that we are not covering as much in terms of sheer quantity. We have begun using Fridays as our project days (a la Lori Pickert's book Project Based Learning). This week, my older wants to make a variety of muffins from recipes he found online, and younger wants to perfect something in his Minecraft world. Last week, younger made beaded necklaces and older created a hockey-themed clipboard. We also do geography coop every other week, which runs abuot an hour and a half. I hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lots of boys Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Good evening friends. I need a little advice please. I have to sweet boys (5th & 2nd grade) and it seems as though we are schooling ALL DAY LONG!!! It's bringing them down. What subjects do you do everyday? What does your week look like? I'm not asking for specifics, but a general breakdown of your week. Pretty please? Hi , with my boys (pre-K, 1st, and 3rd). We do all of our Language arts and Math in the morning (writing, reading, spelling, grammar, phonics for the two younger ones, and math). This takes us the full morning because I do a lot one-on-one with them. In the afternoons we only work for about an hour (typically 1pm - 2pm each day) and alternate subjects each day. We do History one day, Geography the next, Music lessons, Science, and then a catch up afternoon for whatever we missed all week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) More than 2.5-3 hours/day for 2nd grade, and more than 4.5-5 hours/day for 5th grade would have been too much here for our DSs. Below are some ideas for taming your schedule. BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D. - When you schedule certain topics can make a difference in work flow. For example, some students concentrate better by getting the hardest subjects (math, writing, etc.) done first thing in the morning while fresh, and then doing the more enjoyable subjects (perhaps history, science, reading/read alouds, etc.) later in the day. If you have a student with a learning issue, however, having to do their hardest subject first may drain all their mental "battery" and then they have nothing left for the rest of the subjects; these students may do much better by saving the hardest subject for last, so they know nothing more will be required of them. - Some subjects do not have to be done *every* day: * spelling = if DC don't struggle with spelling, try 4x/week * grammar = works great at 3x/week * vocabulary = works great at 2-3x/week * geography = works fine at about 2x/week * logic/critical thinking, art, music = unless learning an instrument, work well at just 1-2x/week - Consider a rotating schedule, with one subject dropped each day. Example: if you have 6 core subjects: * Monday = do 1-5, dropping 6 * Tuesday = do 2-6, dropping 1 * Wednesday = do 1 and 3-6, dropping 2 * Thursday = do 1-2 and 4-6, dropping 3 * Friday = do 1-3 and 5-6, dropping 4 * Monday = do 1-4 and 6, dropping 5 * Tuesday = do 1-5, dropping 6 -- repeat cycle - On a separate index card for each, write the name of each school subject you do and put into a hat (jar, bowl, bag, whatever); let DC draw out one card. That is the subject you skip that day. Set the card aside. The NEXT day, draw one card from the remaining cards and skip that subject. Repeat until all cards have been picked. (A homeschooling friend of mine did this when her DC were younger and it worked well for time and for attitudes. ;)) - Plan for a slightly longer school year (say, 38 or 40 weeks, rather than 36), and schedule one day a week or every other week just as catch up. OR, just schedule less per day and stretch out the school work into those extra weeks to finish up. - Do family read-aloud at lunch or dinner, or in the evenings, or at bedtime. - If it's taking too much time because one or both DC have special learning needs, or can't work independently yet, or are day-dreamers / time-wasters, etc., there are lots of past threads on these topics, so you could look for specific tips and helps through some searches. Edited November 6, 2012 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackiB Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 Y'all have no idea just how much I appreciate your responses. I'm going to be able to pull from all of your suggestions. Lori D......Thank you so very much for the outline. We will definitely be dropping something. Looks like I'm hitting the planner for a little (or a lot) of revamping. Thanks a million!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackiB Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 We have begun using Fridays as our project days (a la Lori Pickert's book Project Based Learning). This week, my older wants to make a variety of muffins from recipes he found online, and younger wants to perfect something in his Minecraft world. Last week, younger made beaded necklaces and older created a hockey-themed clipboard. How has this been working for you? This seems like something my boys would really enjoy. What is Minecraft? Our neighborhood is all abuzz with this....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 How has this been working for you? This seems like something my boys would really enjoy. What is Minecraft? Our neighborhood is all abuzz with this....... Doing Project Based Learni g is very hard for me, because I am not in control :lol: but i am working hard to let go and my boys ADORE Fridays because they know that they get to take the lead. Minecraft is a building game online,sorta like lego if it were online. Ideally, my boys. would be doing longer more intense projects (i think this is what Lori had in mind) but we are starting small. It has only been a few wweeks but so far so good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 We have school from 8:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. 8-9:30 a.m. Math Grammar (9:30-10:00 Break) 10:00-11:00 Writing Spelling +/-Typing or Foreign Language for the last 10-15 minutes (11:00 - 11:45 a.m. Lunch and break) 11:45 a.m-12:30 p.m. Reading aloud with me Workbooks (Handwriting, Vocab, Grammar review, Reading comprehension or Logic) (12:30-1:00 p.m. break) 1:00-2:30 p.m. Memory work A Beka Oral Language Exercises History reading Lapbook activity Special (Mon Music, Tues Science, Wed Civics, Thurs Geography, Fri Art) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 We cut back a lot this year! My DC are in 5th, 2nd, and K. We do 7 family subjects each day (Bible, history, science, art, poetry, music, etc.). Some subjects are done each day and some are done once a week. If we don't have extra projects, it takes 1-2 hours. For 3 Rs, my older two do 4 subjects each (K'er does 1-2). These 4 subjects are slightly different each day...like with the family subjects, some are done each day and some are done 2-3 times a week. This takes another 1-2 hours (depending on how many distractions I have). In addition to this, we spend the rest of the day doing fun projects, playing outside, laundry, housework, etc. Some days we do light school and I'll either do family subjects or 3Rs. My goal is to get through 15 full days each month (year-round). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAM Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 We have been in a process of simplifying for some time now. I have a 6th, 4th, 2nd, and 4 y.o. We do 3 hours of school a day. I follow a loop schedule, where I basically list out my subjects and then just loop through them. My loop plan is here. We often start with math, then move on to the next subject on the list. When 11:30 hits, we are done for the day (we start at 8:30). Next morning, we start with math, then pick up wherever we left off on the list. It's working for us. Actually this week, we have been keeping math properly in the loop and I think that may work too. There are downsides to this way of doing things. I think we will have to go to more of a year-round schedule to get everything done, and we don't usually hit every subject every day. But the shorter days are soooo much more relaxing for me, it's easier to take care of everything else that needs doing, and the kids of course love it. They are much more efficient if they know we will be done before lunch :D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 (edited) Good evening friends. I need a little advice please. I have to sweet boys (5th & 2nd grade) and it seems as though we are schooling ALL DAY LONG!!! It's bringing them down. What subjects do you do everyday? What does your week look like? I'm not asking for specifics, but a general breakdown of your week. Pretty please? short thought -- DH was just talking about this, and mentioned that "too much" would cause the littles to not thrive. We do daily: recorder AO poems Singapore Math Sprints Latin cursive Singapore or MEP lesson spelling grammar -- GWG or MCT at least one paired reading session, 10-15 minutes at least one read-aloud (not the before bed one), 10 - 20 minutes Winning With Writing (eek!!! I forgot this today!!!) oral math drills (we miss this about 1 day/week) PM snack poems -- Silverstein for Button We work most of the morning, with FREQUENT breaks, and often have a small chunk to do in the afternoon. The boys have, a la my Ambleside Online goals, a couple of hours outside most days and hours of unstructured play each day (meaning 3-4 hours I'd guess, including the outside time). I do use video, iPad, and when necessary Crib Confinement with the tot to get things done. At the moment the boys are thriving, more or less ;). I did drop Spanish (as in, yesterday) because it felt like too much and we don't NEED Spanish this year -- Button had requested it but wasn't really enjoying it. Also I've dropped some time-intensive programs (AAS) for quick and largely independent ones (Evan-Moor Spelling). now off to read upthread! ETA: Mrs. Twain, thank you for writing your schedule out. I really like the look of it. Edited November 7, 2012 by serendipitous journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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