Structure and Schedule for 1st Grader

[MusicMama]

My daughter reads well, (Magic Treehouse Books, Amelia Bedelia etc) and I would like to have her be more independent this year.  There are a lot of Littles underfoot, and I would like to get some reading time with my 3yo, and play games with my 4yo, while juggling the infant twins, and 1st grade work for Odd.  Whew.

 

I really, really, want to end the "Now what, Mommy?" questions, and "when are we going to paint/do piano/read aloud?" (...get to the fun stuff)  I am AWFUL with schedules, and thrive more with routines, but she seems to crave more structure.

 

Here is what I am envisioning for her: 

 

Math: Miquon Red-30 minutes a day, supplementing with games.  Her current favorite is Go to the Dump.

 

Language Arts: FLL 2, WWE 1, AAS 2

 

Arts: Rotate between Getty Dubay Book B, Piano Lessons with me, and Artistic Pursuits Book 1.  

So...Monday: Piano Tues: HW  Wed: HW Thurs: Art 

 

Science: RS4K Chemistry Pre-level 1, also using Library resources.  I'm planning on doing 2 weeks per chapter topic.

 

History: SOTW 1  We all listen to the CD's in the car. We are currently in our second time through and have had them 1 month.  I plan on adding in activities when feasible, maybe every other week?  She is loving her "Stories" right now!

 

She also has a weekly homeschool tumbling class.

 

For my 4.5 yo son, plans are to do about 5-10 minutes of phonics, play with C rods and UNO, color in an activity/maze/dot to dot book etc.  He listens in on History and science, and participates in Art.   

 

School needs to be done from 9-12, Monday through Thursday.  I am schooling year round in order to have a four day week, and I start teaching piano at 1:00.  I only teach 6.5 hours a weeks, but lesson are sprinkled from 1:00-7:00 Tuesdays (3 hrs hours), Wednesdays (1.5 hrs), and Thursdays (2 hrs).  I can't start school any earlier, by the time basic chores are done, everyone is fed, diapers changed, kids dressed, and breakfast cleared it takes a solid 2.5 hours.  :(  

 

Most of her subjects still involve me at some level of participation.  She eats this up, being an extremely lovable extrovert.  But I NEED her to have alone time so I can read aloud and play with the boys.  I have set up three baskets, one with art supplies, one with geoboards and puzzles, and one with activity books.  I want to schedule basket time during the day, and use that time to be helping to LO's.  Is there a planner I could make or buy, to show her when those times will be?  Maybe a sticker chart, or dry erase schedule, just something that I don't have to help her oversee.  I want her to be able to pull it out in the morning, and see the daily routine.  I'm just so worn and stretched for time, I don't want it to turn into something else I have to keep up with.  Or is this too much to ask from her?    

 

Can you have burn out before the school year even starts?   :leaving:    

 

  

 

[MusicMama]

bump

[MerryAtHope]

Have you considered workboxes? With these, you don't have to have a defined schedule, but it's very concrete and helps end the "now what?" questions. Child goes on to the next box. If a box needs to be done with mom, and mom isn't available, child skips it & goes to the next until mom is. Your "basket items" could actually be in a box, or you could put a card in a box that says, "now it's basket time!"

 

You can put some of those crafty things in there too, and just teach her how to clean up her materials, I did that when my kids were in the 5-7 range. Puzzles, play dough, manipulatives, a card saying it's time to practice piano, readers, whatever you want can be put in a box. Here's pictures and a description  of mine. My kids are older, but there are tons of things you can put in for younger kids--if you google you'll find all kinds of things. It really helps add structure to the day I find.

 

When my kids were little, I found it worked best to start the oldest on something independent while I spent 20-30 minutes with the youngest, then got her set up on something independent while I moved on to the oldest. She was more content to play for a bit if I spent time with her first, and it kept me from putting off time with her too. (She used to love standing on a chair at the sink with a spoon, bowls/cups and a sinkful of water, and just dumping and stirring, LOL!)

 

Your schedule does look pretty full--I think you could easily spend 3 hours with her and not get to the others much. You might consider doing either FLL OR WWE, rather than both. If she reads independently for 30 minutes, does AAS for 20, and does one of the other two, that's easily an hour or more of LA--probably plenty for first grade. Plus handwriting practice.

 

Science--you could consider doing it 2X a week instead of daily.

 

It IS a lot to ask a child under 8 to do much independently, other than things like puzzles, playing with manipulatives etc...  I don't think it's asking too much to have her do the basket things independently though--it's just a matter of introducing her to the routine. I find it helps to start things gradually--introduce one or two things a day, and then gradually add on more until you are at full schedule.

 

If you are feeling burnt out before you start, you may be trying to squeeze too much in.  You could take a look at what your priority items are--start with those, and then see how much time you have for lesser priorities. I usually start with too much and pare down, LOL!

 

HTH some! Merry :-)

 

[MusicMama]

I like the idea of the workboxes.  I already keep all of my ODD books in a shallow dish pan, I could put the velcro circles along the sides.  Your suggestion of adapting the workbox system to our existing framework was a good one.  When I had heard about workboxes earlier, it seemed that a lot of prep work went into setting up for the next day.  Your way seems much more streamlined.

 

Is three hours a day too much for a first grader?  She is my first, my guinea pig.  :)  

 

Here's what I was thinking:

 

Math: 30 minutes/ ODS and YDS play with c rods

Art box: 15 minutes/Read to YDS/Puzzle box ODS

FLL 2/WWE 1/AAS 2 45 minutes-Free play for the boys

Puzzle box: 15 minutes/ Phonics with ODS/ Art box YDS

Arts: 30 min on Monday and Wednesday for Piano and Art, 5 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday for Handwriting

Science: 15 minutes on Monday and Wednesday-ODS join in 

History: 30 min on Tuesday (activity) and Thursday, (map blobbing)- ODS join in

 

Total time:

Monday and Wednesday: 2:30

Tuesday and Thursday: 2:20

 

That leaves an additional 30-40 minutes for a snack break while I feed the babies.  Are my time estimates correct?  Or am I way off?

 

Thanks for your help!

[jessj]

Workboxes is a good idea.  Personally, they don't work for me.  I don't want to prep them constantly. 

 

I started writing out weekly assignment sheets.  I found a free printable one somewhere... maybe Homeschool Creations.  Some of the boxes will say "see Mom" or something similar if they need to do that work with me.  You could come up with some type of assignment sheet or checklist that works for you and then laminate it and she could check it off.  It can be as simple or as complicated as you would like it to be. 

Your time estimates look feasible, but very efficient.  It depends on how willing and eager your child is.  One of my children could do that.  The other would take more time. Also, I would spend more time on science and history, but you don't really need to for 1st grade. 

[MerryAtHope]

For first grade, we did more like 2 hours, sometimes even a bit less.  It's not so much that 3 hours would be too much though, as I wasn't sure that really left you any time to spend with your youngers, since your piano lessons start after that. You mentioned reading etc... to them, and that can work if part of her 2.5-3 hours is independent. I just couldn't quite tell that part from what you listed. My 1st graders needed me pretty much all the time!

 

Merry :-)

[Ellie]

I like the idea of the workboxes.  I already keep all of my ODD books in a shallow dish pan, I could put the velcro circles along the sides.  Your suggestion of adapting the workbox system to our existing framework was a good one.  When I had heard about workboxes earlier, it seemed that a lot of prep work went into setting up for the next day.  Your way seems much more streamlined.

 

Is three hours a day too much for a first grader?  She is my first, my guinea pig.   :)

 

Here's what I was thinking:

 

Math: 30 minutes/ ODS and YDS play with c rods

Art box: 15 minutes/Read to YDS/Puzzle box ODS

FLL 2/WWE 1/AAS 2 45 minutes-Free play for the boys

Puzzle box: 15 minutes/ Phonics with ODS/ Art box YDS

Arts: 30 min on Monday and Wednesday for Piano and Art, 5 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday for Handwriting

Science: 15 minutes on Monday and Wednesday-ODS join in 

History: 30 min on Tuesday (activity) and Thursday, (map blobbing)- ODS join in

 

Total time:

Monday and Wednesday: 2:30

Tuesday and Thursday: 2:20

 

That leaves an additional 30-40 minutes for a snack break while I feed the babies.  Are my time estimates correct?  Or am I way off?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Well, aren't FLL/WWE/AAS pretty parent-directed? Do you have to do all three of them? For a 6yo, is WWE really necessary? And really, is AAS necessary?

 

Conversely, 10 minutes a week for handwriting doesn't seem like nearly enough time. (And I'd include it with English skills, not "arts." That's puzzling to me.) What if you did five minutes or so of instruction (which doesn't seem like nearly enough time anyway) and then had her write a list of spelling words as penmanship practice?

 

[MusicMama]

I thought WWE was a first grade program...is it designed for older students, or do you think that the material is too advanced for 1st graders?  And the same questions about AAS, I thought it was needed to have a spelling program in first grade.  It sounds like you would recommend Math, FLL, Penmanship (with more time needed) and the biweekly science and history.  Is this right?  I'm still trying to figure all this out, I appreciate the advice from moms who have been there-done that already!

 

I had planned to do WWE everyday, and alternate days of AAS and FLL. 

 

Handwriting is put with the Arts catagory because I see it as a beautiful skill to learn.  I think that learning to type and use a word processor is now essential to communicating effectively.  Kids in my Dh's high school classes can't even READ cursive much less write in it.   :(  It's sad, really.  That's why I feel that cursive (though she is still learning print) is an art form.  

 

Thanks!!!

 

 

[SilverMoon]

My first graders weren't ready to be independent in school at all, but their nose to paper seatwork didn't last much more than an hour. I didn't provide gobs of entertainment after school was done either. Sometimes you just have to work through their bored antics until they take care of matters and find something to do. :001_smile:

 

 

Math: Miquon Red-30 minutes a day, supplementing with games.  Her current favorite is Go to the Dump. Sounds good.

 

Language Arts: FLL 2, WWE 1, AAS 2 - These are all very parent dependent, and stay that way through their series. That probably doesn't help your overwhelmed feeling. 

 

Arts: Rotate between Getty Dubay Book B, Piano Lessons with me, and Artistic Pursuits Book 1.  That penmanship book... I'd either shove it to the daily language arts block, or consider blending it into WWE. WWE will require daily pencil to paper. If DC already knows how to form the letters correctly, only accept her best handwriting for WWE, and require her to erase and rewrite any sloppy letters. This works better if she's doing WWE at your elbow, and you have an eraser in hand. Just quickly erase anything messy as you see it happening. 

So...Monday: Piano Tues: HW  Wed: HW Thurs: Art 

 

Science: RS4K Chemistry Pre-level 1, also using Library resources.  I'm planning on doing 2 weeks per chapter topic. This sounds parent led as well. If she's already reading that well, you could just do library readers for this year.

 

History: SOTW 1  We all listen to the CD's in the car. We are currently in our second time through and have had them 1 month.  I plan on adding in activities when feasible, maybe every other week?  She is loving her "Stories" right now! Sounds good to me.

[Ellie]

I thought WWE was a first grade program...is it designed for older students, or do you think that the material is too advanced for 1st graders?  And the same questions about AAS, I thought it was needed to have a spelling program in first grade.  It sounds like you would recommend Math, FLL, Penmanship (with more time needed) and the biweekly science and history.  Is this right?  I'm still trying to figure all this out, I appreciate the advice from moms who have been there-done that already!

 

I had planned to do WWE everyday, and alternate days of AAS and FLL. 

 

Handwriting is put with the Arts category because I see it as a beautiful skill to learn.  I think that learning to type and use a word processor is now essential to communicating effectively.  Kids in my Dh's high school classes can't even READ cursive much less write in it.   :(  It's sad, really.  That's why I feel that cursive (though she is still learning print) is an art form.  

 

Thanks!!!

 

No, you don't *need* to do anything formal for spelling for a 6yo, IMHO.

 

I don't think it's vital to do formal composition instruction with a 6yo. Also, since you were concerned about how much time you were spending, and all of the things you've chosen for English skills require more face time from you, I'd drop those (WWE and AAS) right away.

 

Although you may think of penmanship as being a "beautiful skill to learn," penmanship is still related to literacy, and IMHO, it is still valuable for communicating effectively; IOW, good penmanship would come first, and typing/word processing would be the add-ons.

 

Yes, I'm suggesting math, FLL, penmanship, and science and history. :-)

[coralloyd]

Well my advice is to not stress. 1st grade does not need to take 3 hours imo. Has she finished phonics/reading instruction? If not that should be top on your list. If she has, there should be set aside plenty of time for her to read aloud to you.

 

I think 30 min. for math is too long, again just my opinion. 10-15 is more than enough.

 

Some sort of handwriting/copywork is needed. Narration is also important. WWE could cover handwriting and narration. Grammar and spelling are not nessisary until a child is a strong reader. Finally read, read, read, to her. Read story, history, and science books. No need for these things to be more structured right now.

 

The priorites are: math, phonics/her reading to you, you reading to her, and handwriting. Everything else is gravy.

 

You have many little ones right now. So don't put too much on your plate. Make it doable for yourself. If your dd wants more thing to do, provide things that she can do on her own. Work books, craft supplies, stories on cd and small cd player, etc.

[MusicMama]

Thanks for all the input.  I want this year to be a success, meaning, I want school to be accomplished!  It sounds like I may be trying to do to much...that's par for the course!  :)  

I made a cd of all the memory work I want my kids to learn.  It has poems, scripture verses, and historical facts on the CD.  I play it in the car, while we do chores, or while they have quiet time/nap time.  Since she has already finished AAS 1, and I just bought the AAS 2 kit, I may also record myself reading the spelling rules located on the key cards and the sound cards.  Then she could independantly learn the spelling rules, and I could help her apply them in her other subjects.  I'm loving my voice recorder!    

 

You are all right about penmanship needing more attention from me.  She will form the letters correctly in the workbook, but continue to use her own made up way of forming the letters when writing on her own.  

 

I bought the WWE text, not the workbooks.  So, what if I plan to alternate Narration with Science, Copywork with History, Copywork with Science, Narration with History?  That way it isn't a separate subject, but is used to flesh out the science/history text.  

 

So:
Math 30 min

15 minute break: Activity box (coloring or puzzles) while I read to YDS

Language: FLL 2 (incorporating supervised penmanship in her copy work) 15 minutes

Science: 2x a week 15 minutes

30 minute Snack Time while I nurse babies

15 minute Break: Activity box (coloring or puzzles) while I do phonics with ODS

History: 2x a week 30 minutes

Art and Piano: one time a week each, for 30 minutes

 

Total time on academics would be 1:30, then 2:00 on days when she has Art or Piano.  Overall school time, including snack time and breaks, would take 2:30-3:00 depending on the day  

 

Memory work and Spelling rules on Audio CD/iPod playlist for casual listening

Spanish show while I fix lunch

Read Aloud time in the evening

 

Does this sound more feasible and age appropriate?

 

Thank you ladies!  I appreciate your help so much!!!

 

Total time: 1:30 for academics alone, 2x a week, it would be 2:00 to include Art and Music

 

 

[pehp]

I do think it sounds like a lot. The revised version sounds a bit better. I personally would drop science at this age, or just do it sometimes (unscheduled).

 

Our first grade plan is more streamlined: 15ish mins reading lesson, 15ish Miquon math, 15ish or less handwriting. K12 history 2x/week and an outsourced drawing lesson once a week. About 30-60 minutes per day, tops, but my first grader is a boy. Science, geography, Bible all happen during the course of living life.

 

Is the piano once a week for an actual lesson? Because you'd need to factor in daily practice time too.

 

At this stage of life I think minimalism is your friend. (Mine too ;))

[jessj]

Your revised schedule sounds much better!  That sounds doable! 

I think you are going to get a large variety of responses on how much a 1st grader can handle.  1st graders can vary a LOT.  What my YDD did last year, was completely different from what my EDD did.  YDD did WAY more.  It really depends on their temperament and development. 

My personal philosophy on spelling is to start it when finished with phonics/reading well alone.  Phonics is learning about words in one direction, and spelling is learning about them from the other direction.  I started AAS last year with my 3rd grader.  I think ideally, she would have been ready for level 1 starting in 2nd grade.  But it was fine to wait until 3rd.  It just means you move a little faster through the first few levels.  My daughters are both strong readers.  If your child is taking a little slower route to reading, spelling might come later. 

 

WWE is written to start in 1st grade.  But you don't have to!  I think what is done in WWE 1 can be done casually through simple oral narration of whatever you happen to be reading.  It doesn't have to be formal.  Level 2 is where it gets a little more formal.  I felt like it was better to wait until 3rd grade to start WWE2.  That's just the track we were on.  But you might be ready next year.  We didn't start FLL until 1st. 

It looks good!  You are definitely in a very busy season of life!  When all else fails I make sure we do math, and read lots - together and alone.  The rest, is bonus.  Good luck! 

[ondreeuh]

I bought the WWE text, not the workbooks.  So, what if I plan to alternate Narration with Science, Copywork with History, Copywork with Science, Narration with History?  That way it isn't a separate subject, but is used to flesh out the science/history text.  

 

So:

Math 30 min

15 minute break: Activity box (coloring or puzzles) while I read to YDS

Language: FLL 2 (incorporating supervised penmanship in her copy work) 15 minutes

Science: 2x a week 15 minutes

30 minute Snack Time while I nurse babies

15 minute Break: Activity box (coloring or puzzles) while I do phonics with ODS

History: 2x a week 30 minutes

Art and Piano: one time a week each, for 30 minutes

 

Total time on academics would be 1:30, then 2:00 on days when she has Art or Piano.  Overall school time, including snack time and breaks, would take 2:30-3:00 depending on the day  

 

Memory work and Spelling rules on Audio CD/iPod playlist for casual listening

Spanish show while I fix lunch

Read Aloud time in the evening

 

Does this sound more feasible and age appropriate?

 

Thank you ladies!  I appreciate your help so much!!!

 

Total time: 1:30 for academics alone, 2x a week, it would be 2:00 to include Art and Music

 

I will be doing WWE based on history and science - not the workbook. It streamlines things a lot to have penmanship, copywork, and content all wrapped up in one sitting!

 

A suggestion - you can use stories that go along with SOTW as family read-aloud time with your 3 & 4 year olds. Classical House of Learning has a great literature supplement to SOTW. The grammar stage ancients program has lots of myths, folktales, and fairy tales.

 

You can buy the audio supplement for FLL - so if you just do the grammar part of the lesson and use the audio tracks to reinforce, that would streamline as well. Some people don't do the copywork in FLL if they are also doing copywork in other subjects.

 

Audiobooks could be a great way to fit some stories in while you are working with the other kids. She can narrate to you something about the story, and you could even use that for copywork.

 

[duckens]

 

MusicMama asks:

Is three hours a day too much for a first grader?

 

I would worry less about a specific time schedule or amount, and more what is getting done.  Especially with Littles in the house.

 

I would start with older dd (K/1 year) at 9ish in the morning, and we would go until getting ready for afternoon activities at 3pm.  However, I would take a half-hour break to nurse little sis awake.  And there are diaper changes, times that we need to set up activities for little sis, lunch, nursing little sis down for nap, and times that the cat throws up on the living room rug.

[BoZeeCo's Mom]

I think your revised schedule sounds much more do-able, and I think one thing I learned last year, (my first "official" year of homeschooling), is to let go of all of my preconceived notions of what I needed to be doing and how long I needed to be doing it for.  I think it's something every first time homeschool parent learns, and you will be no exception :)  

 

I think reading SOTW books during read aloud time to everyone is great. My 4 year old was totally into them last year, and we ended up mainly just using those books as our history and nothing else.  It was easy for me, and was an activity I could involve them both in while nursing.  I think science can be the same at this age, and I plan to pretty much do this for my son's year this year.  For our family, everyone is altogether when we're at home and I'm doing school with my son, (if I can't see them they are getting into a closet and ripping it to shreds). so I think having things like workboxes for your littler ones will be imperative.  When we're doing Spalding or MEP, that's when I bust out the forrbidden Calico Critter sets, playmobile, art supplies, activity books, etc. I find setting all that up takes a lot more time than getting my almost 7 year old to do his stuff.  I am planning on doing the workboxes webinar in August, for sure.  

 

Good luck!  Really, for me, letting go of what I thought everything should look like was the hardest part of the first year.  Spending an hour-an hour and a half- a day is realistic, and believe me, you will not believe how much they will absorb in such a little amount of time.