mommymilkies Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 I hear block scheduling referred to often. But there are so many types: One subject a day Basics plus one other subject (like Biology) per week Basics plus one other subject (like Biology) per 2 weeks Basics plus one other subject (like Biology) per month Three subjects a semester/quarter then switch One subject a month etc. I hear negative things more about the block scheduling done in some schools: a few subjects a semester, then switch to entirely new ones next semester. And less negativity about rotating schedules. So if you use a block schedule, or have experience with them, which do you prefer? I need to change ours up and my kids said basics plus one extra subject a day (chemistry, American History, Computers, etc.) rotating every day-like a loop. But I think that doing more of a Waldorf block scheduling fits our personalities more. We've gotten more done, learned more, and gotten more in depth that way. But I do tend to freak out about leaving some subjects behind for periods of time. We always do the basics plus the block, like a unit study, in a way, but I can't help but look at my stack of what I want to use and freak out a little. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter's Moon Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 You could also just alternate days during the week for certain subjects like is done at college. MWF and TTH schedules. You could still do the necessities daily (Math and English) and then alternate Science and History and other subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 I hear block scheduling referred to often. But there are so many types: One subject a day Basics plus one other subject (like Biology) per week Basics plus one other subject (like Biology) per 2 weeks Basics plus one other subject (like Biology) per month Three subjects a semester/quarter then switch One subject a month etc. I hear negative things more about the block scheduling done in some schools: a few subjects a semester, then switch to entirely new ones next semester. And less negativity about rotating schedules. So if you use a block schedule, or have experience with them, which do you prefer? I need to change ours up and my kids said basics plus one extra subject a day (chemistry, American History, Computers, etc.) rotating every day-like a loop. But I think that doing more of a Waldorf block scheduling fits our personalities more. We've gotten more done, learned more, and gotten more in depth that way. But I do tend to freak out about leaving some subjects behind for periods of time. We always do the basics plus the block, like a unit study, in a way, but I can't help but look at my stack of what I want to use and freak out a little. :lol: I have been trying to figure out something similar. I have littles so getting so many things done every day is impossible. I like the idea of having science week or logic week or whatever. I just am not sure about the retention if say science week is only once per month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 We do the alternate subjects like college method for science and history and then electives are on a semester rotation. So science is T/R and history is M/W. dd12 is taking typing this semester and logic next semester. All kiddos do math, LA, and reading everyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 When I was in high school we used block scheduling (not like you are describing). 4 classes one day, then a different 4 the next. one week we'd have math mwf then the next t/h. I loved it. It allowed us ample tine for math and labs. We block history and science here. One subject every other day. assume weeks we have lots that we want to cover in science so it gets mwf, other weeks it's history. Everything else we do daily. HOWEVER, I'm giving serious thought to block scheduling next semester. Everythingbut math. But maybe that too... I like being able to spend more time on one subject vs. more lessons that are shorter.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 You could also just alternate days during the week for certain subjects like is done at college. MWF and TTH schedules. You could still do the necessities daily (Math and English) and then alternate Science and History and other subjects. This is what we're doing this year. Then we rotate them every week. For instance we have A and B days. Week one is ABABA Week two is BABAB It doesn't work perfectly because of our own issues, yet it helps me feel less stressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 I hear block scheduling referred to often. But there are so many types: One subject a day Basics plus one other subject (like Biology) per week Basics plus one other subject (like Biology) per 2 weeks Basics plus one other subject (like Biology) per month Three subjects a semester/quarter then switch One subject a month etc. I hear negative things more about the block scheduling done in some schools: a few subjects a semester, then switch to entirely new ones next semester. And less negativity about rotating schedules. So if you use a block schedule, or have experience with them, which do you prefer? I need to change ours up and my kids said basics plus one extra subject a day (chemistry, American History, Computers, etc.) rotating every day-like a loop. But I think that doing more of a Waldorf block scheduling fits our personalities more. We've gotten more done, learned more, and gotten more in depth that way. But I do tend to freak out about leaving some subjects behind for periods of time. We always do the basics plus the block, like a unit study, in a way, but I can't help but look at my stack of what I want to use and freak out a little. :lol: I'm curious- what does Waldorf block sceduling look like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted November 2, 2013 Author Share Posted November 2, 2013 Waldorf block scheduling is usually (for older grades) where you have 1-3 daily practice subjects, like math, music, whatever. And then you focus heavily on one other subject for 1-6 weeks at a time. Usually you'll have 1-2 other subjects you also hit once or twice a week in there. Such as: M- math, handwriting (copywork), music, Roman History, French T- math, handwriting (copywork), music, Roman History, extra art W- math, handwriting (copywork), music, Roman History, PE R- math, handwriting (copywork), music, Roman History, French F- math, handwriting (copywork), music, Roman History, PE And then that would change after the 1-6 week block. Usually it is more like a unit study that incorporates other subjects, like writing or science/history in that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 We do semester block scheduling for some classes. The exceptions have been math and foreign languages. We did it for the first time last year and liked it so well we did it again. Last year we did everything except math and foreign language in semester blocks. This year we actually have fewer classes in semester blocks, but we still like it. I'll use dd this year as an example of how that works here: 1st Semester: Geometry 1 hour/day Biology 2 hours/day Language Arts 2 hours/day Health 1 hour/day 2nd Semester: Geometry 1 hour/day History 2 hours/day Sports Medicine 1 hours/day Health 1 hour/day Driver's Ed 1 hour/day I thought Health was going to be 1/2 credit done 1 semester and it turned out to be more than that, so I pushed the other elective I had planned back to next year and spread health across the whole year. Dd is a competitive gymnast, plays in worship band and takes drum lessons. She doesn't have a lot of free time and doesn't have a super heavy schedule. Ds's schedule this year is: 1st Semester: Algebra 2 1+ hours/day Creative Writing 1+ hour/day Forensic Science 2 hours/day Logic 1 hour/day (half credit) Japanese 2 days a week at State U 2nd Semester: Algebra 2 1+ hours/day Creative Writing 1+ hour/day American History 2 hours/day Language Arts 2 hours/day Japanese 2 days a week at State U Ds loves to read and write. He is typically spending 2 hours/day on creative writing and will do that much or more all year. I couldn't put that in one semester or he wouldn't have had time to do anything else :001_rolleyes:. He is getting 2 credits for the 2 semesters of Japanese. I guess the only classes we broke into a semester each for him this year are American History/Forensic Science. Both of my kids have enjoyed the 2 hour blocks. They get more involved, have more time for labs, feel like they can dig deeper. We only do unit tests, never chapter tests in classes we do for one semester, so they have fewer tests covering more information. Obviously this system much more closely mirrors college classes. The most common complaint I hear about semester block scheduling in ps (one nearby uses it) are that Math and foreign language classes are typically only taken every other semester leaving a lot of time to forget! The other one is that classes like band or choir can't be taken all 4 years or there isn't enough time to get in all the subjects students need. By doing a mixed block schedule we've avoided both of these issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abba12 Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 My preferred schedule as a homeschool high schooler was either of the following Subject days M - math, foreign lang, LA & writing T - math, foreign lang, science W - math, foreign lang, history T - math, foreign lang, health & PE F - math, foreign lang, LA & lit Subject half-semesters. Every day - math, foreign lang, LA First 9 weeks of semester, every day science and health/PE Second 9 weeks of semester, every day history and technology Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 I did the one a day or alternating days for most of Elem. I still do it to a degree. I only teach it on those specific days, but the kids may have reading or work to do as follow up on their own w/the subjects throughout the week. Mon: Art Tues/Thurs: History Wed: Science Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2OandE Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 I'm planning to do block next year by quarters. 1st: art, science, math, reading, grammar 2nd: ancient Egypt (incl art and science of), math, reading/beyond the book report, writing 3rd: above except Ancient Greece 4th: Ancient Rome I'm going to set goals for each term with approximate end dates. Once our goals are reached we will take two weeks off (less if we fall to far behind). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Waldorf block scheduling is usually (for older grades) where you have 1-3 daily practice subjects, like math, music, whatever. And then you focus heavily on one other subject for 1-6 weeks at a time. Usually you'll have 1-2 other subjects you also hit once or twice a week in there. Such as: M- math, handwriting (copywork), music, Roman History, French T- math, handwriting (copywork), music, Roman History, extra art W- math, handwriting (copywork), music, Roman History, PE R- math, handwriting (copywork), music, Roman History, French F- math, handwriting (copywork), music, Roman History, PE And then that would change after the 1-6 week block. Usually it is more like a unit study that incorporates other subjects, like writing or science/history in that. We've tried a couple of forms of block scheduling here. We tried the basics + an extra subject for each day of the week, and found that if we missed a day due to extenuating circumstances, we felt really behind. So, we're switching to a more Waldorf-y method. The next 4 weeks (approximately) will be daily math and reading/writing, plus sciences based on The Magic of Reality (Richard Dawkins). Then we'll switch out the Dawkins book for something else, maybe mythology (Greek to start, including some Greek history), or geography.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemongoose Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 We do basics every day with another subject added on (More subjects on days we have less outside of the home activities)...looks like this: Monday: Math, Phonics, Handwriting, Spanish, Science, Logic, Literature Tuesday: Math, Phonics, Handwriting, Geography, Spanish, Science, History Core Wednesday: Math, Phonics, Handwriting, History in Depth Thursday: Math, Phonics, Handwriting, Art History, Worldview/Bible Friday: Math, Phonics, Handwriting, Spanish, Science, Logic, Literature Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 We are just trying this now. Basics each day plus one content subject. I'm using ACE for content, so we're doing 1 PACE until done (around 1 week since its the only content subjection the plate) then starting a new PACE in a different subject. Makes it a bit more unit study feeling actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I think there are some subjects, like math, foreign language, and musical instrument practice, which really benefit from even a little bit every day. Skipping days (or even worse, many weeks) would really hurt. Then, there are other subjects, like lab sciences, and art, which really benefit from a single big hunk of time to sit down and work through a project. They don't need this big block of time every day, perhaps weekly would be good enough. The key to "block" scheduling is to match the subjects to the time patterns that best fit them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendybern Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 We are doing block scheduling this year and love it so far. Dd is in 10th grade. Math and music happen every day. Her other 4 credits we are doing in four eight-week blocks -- 8 weeks of biology, 8 of English, 8 of government/economics, and 8 of something else, probably another science or dual-enrolled foreign language. We have time for in-depth projects and documentaries and field trips. Also, Since dd gets excited when we start a new class but tends to fizzle out near the end of the year, this schedule lets us finish a subject while she is still interested, and have "new" four times a year. So far, perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 We alternate: 2 week unit of History, then 2 week unit of Science, roughly working through the chronological sequence in the WTM. All other subjects are the same each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbeym Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 We sort of do a basic + method of block scheduling. I'd like math, writing, grammar, and ASL are supposed to be done daily but this usually doesn't happen. DS happily reported last night that he was done with math for the week; I just rolled my eyes and sighed. As long as he does well on his tests I'm not going to make it a hill to die on. His schedule may look like something like this, but it varies week to week: M - WWS, math T - WWS, history W - WWS, science Th - WWS, english, grammar, ASL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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