3rd grd schedule question

[bbcooker]

How does your 3rd grader spend their day? 

 

How much school (hours)?  How much reading (and is it alone, assigned, free-chosen, aloud to a parent, or listening to parent read aloud)?  How much time spent on math?  What other subjects does your 3rd grader do and how much time is spent on this? 

 

How much time does your 3rd grader spend doing chores around the house or personal responsibilities? 

 

How much outside time?  And how is this outside time divided:  in nature study, free-play, organized/assigned activity, chores, or physical exercise?

 

How much free time do they have for art, crafts, games?

 

And how much do they watch non-educational (primarily just for fun) TV, videos, or computer activities on school days? 

 

Thanks a bunch!!

[Soror]

Ds could have been considered 3rd last year or this year so I'll give amounts for both years, if only 1 time is listed it has been the same  (due to his b-day and local cut-offs). He is currently 9.  

 

Reading- Varies wildly- from 30 ish minutes to multiple hrs a day, generally avg at least 1 hr a day. Since he took off w/ reading on his own last year I haven't done as many read-alouds but have probably avg'd 30ish minutes this year and would like that to be at least an hr, using audiobooks if nothing else. I see this as a deficit in our schooling right now.

 

Math- Has been 1ish hr a day but I recently cut this back and we are going to try and do just 30-45 ish minutes

 

Writing, Grammar, Spelling etc- Last year was about 45m-1hr  total, this yr 1hr-1h45m total-avg 1hr 30 min

 

Content- Science - History etc- Last year it was interest led- library books, lots of shows and documentaries- I'm really not sure how long we averaged, we did a lot of Science- not so much history

 

This year we've done McHenry's Elements, some GEMS, rocketry, robotics, microscope work, lots of library books, documentaries and lots of other things. Now we are doing Physics II from Noeo I'd say we average at least 4 hrs a week when I count everything w/ 2-3 being focused school time science

 

This year for History we've done a bit of a hodge podge that I put together of Middle Ages, now using SoTW2 as a spine, average is a couple hrs a week focused time, reading SoTW and/or various other books. I try to find at least one documentary or history show each week as well and that is 30-1hr or so.

 

Art/Music etc - not much done last year, this year I have a few different resources, on good weeks this is a few hrs or so, some weeks it doesn't happen. It isn't a big interest for ds.

 

Chores- I've never counted from 30 m to 1.5 hrs maybe? His main responsibilities are his room, trash, setting the supper table, help w/ laundry and master bath. He also helps unload the dishwasher and vacuum some days. Lots of things are done as needed. It is hard for me to think of everything as I keep adding to the list, everyone chips in on most things.

 

TV- on school days 1ish hrs, computer time varies- maybe around 30ish minutes avg. I let him have pretty much free reign on looking up things for learning but games are limited. Both depend on how well I'm feeling, they were allowed more last year after the baby was born. Now, I let them pick a short show each in the afternoon most days- which is 20ish minutes. However, that doesn't always happen, sometimes we get busy doing this or that. 

 

Nearly any other time left he is free to do whatever he wants, he spends plenty building legos or other things or playing around outside or w/ his nose in a book.

[Farrar]

I have young side for grade fourth graders.  Our schedule varies a lot, but I'll give some estimates...

 

School total...  4 hours a day (all your basics - English, history, math, science, a bit of logic, art, music, etc. - we don't do Latin or a foreign language)

 

Reading for school...  1 hour or less

 

Reading for pleasure...  1 hour or less

 

Chores...  1/2 hour or less (my boys don't have formal chores, but help around the house routinely - not sure what other "personal responsibilities" should be included)

 

Outside time... 2-3 hours a day? (this is hard to estimate - when the weather is good, many more hours, when it's bad, maybe an hour or less)  We have done nature study, but aren't doing it now, and we have soccer in spring and fall, but no other formal outdoor activities.  Mostly I send them out to the park when there's a chance and we go for walks in the woods and so forth when we can.  When we're at friends' homes, the kids usually play in the yard a lot.  It's mostly "free" time.

 

Free time... 2 hours a day? (again, varies a lot - we have activities so some days almost none, other days a lot more)

 

Screen time... 1 and 1/2 hours (recreational screens are allowed to start in the evening here - creative screens for movie making, drawing, programming, etc. are allowed during any free time and I don't consider that the same).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SemiSweet]

We probably spend 4-5 hours a day on school.  We read aloud anywhere from 30-60 minutes, she hasn't really found her love of reading yet so I only require 15 minutes at this point.  

 

Chores - maybe 30-45 minutes.  We do morning chores (bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming, lanai- one area each day) together and then she's responsible for her room, her laundry, and taking out the trash.

 

She's very social so when school is over or kids come home from school she's usually outside playing, we also take a walk almost every day.

 

She has plenty of free time and easy access to crafts in our school room.  Sometimes she just likes to draw on the whiteboard or make cards for people (if she's not outside playing)

 

During the week we try to limit non-education tv and video games to after baths and dinner, so it works out to maybe an hour each day.

 

She also takes piano and jazz, and will be starting hula and water sports class at the end of January, all weekly classes.

[Berta]

I have a third grade daughter.

 

Chores: We do all of our chores and run errands in the morning.

 

Free time: Once our chores are done she is allowed to do what ever she wants... play, tv, read etc. until lunch time, which is around 11am.

 

Outside time is usually included with doing our chores. She helps feed the chickens and collect eggs. She loves to play with them and the dogs. Depending on the weather and time of year, outside time for pleasure varies. We have long, very hot summers so that is why we don't usually start school work until 11am. That gives us the morning to be outside before it gets too hot.

 

We have lunch and then start school work. It takes about 3 hours, some days close to 4 hours.

 

Reading: I'm very lucky that my 3rd grader loves to read. She will often choose to read over playing. She has Literature and Creative Writing that she does daily for school work. My older daughter was much more difficult. She is a proficient reader, but will not read on her own.

 

Math: This subject takes her the longest, probably 25-30 mins per lesson.

 

Once our school work is done I get dinner started and then we head out to her karate class at 4pm. All school work needs to be completed by 3:30 or she will miss karate. We get home from karate by 6:30 and have dinner.

 

Free time: She is free to do what she wants after the table is cleared. The latest creative phase is creating with model clay and pipe cleaners. Santa brought her books on how to make animals etc, she loves it. She spent at least 3 hours making stuff yesterday!

[tjlcc]

How does your 3rd grader spend their day? 

 

How much school (hours)?  How much reading (and is it alone, assigned, free-chosen, aloud to a parent, or listening to parent read aloud)?  How much time spent on math?  What other subjects does your 3rd grader do and how much time is spent on this? 

 

2-4 school hours.  Math is working for 30 minutes, then making any necessary corrections.  My current 3rd grader reads to me every day for about 10 min. or so.  His daily subjects are Bible, Math, Grammar, Cursive copywork, and Language Arts (each day varies with dictation, narration, etc.).  Content subjects are spread throughout the week and consist of Art, History, Science, Logic, etc.

 

How much time does your 3rd grader spend doing chores around the house or personal responsibilities? 

 

We have a morning chore time of about 30 min. - 1 hr. depending on the day.  Everyone is working together.  We also all work together after each meal for cleanup.  He washes his own laundry once per week and hangs it up to dry.  He is learning how to cook/bake and prepares breakfast once per week (baked oatmeal).

 

How much outside time?  And how is this outside time divided:  in nature study, free-play, organized/assigned activity, chores, or physical exercise?

 

Outside time varies.  Anywhere from 1 - 5 hours per day, depending on weather.  Free play, which includes physical exercise.

 

How much free time do they have for art, crafts, games?

 

For free time he loves lego, drawing, audio books/stories, piano, TaeKwon Do, and board games.  He probably has 3 hours of free time. Just guessing here.

 

And how much do they watch non-educational (primarily just for fun) TV, videos, or computer activities on school days? 

 

If I'm in the first trimester of pregnancy or the weather is yucky, he may watch a show/movie in the afternoon.  Otherwise no "screens" during the week.  But we are very strict with screens.  Just our personal preference.

 

 

 

Thanks a bunch!!

 

[ScoutTN]

I have an 8yo girl.

 

We do 2-4 hours of school work 5 days a week.

Math - 30 minutes to an hour. We are working on math facts and word problems in addition to regular lessons, so we lean toward the longer time, but don't do all three things at one time or in a row.

 

Language arts (Writing, Grammar, Spelling) - 45 minutes to a hour.

Reading - anywhere from 30 minutes to hours and hours. She reads well and is a bookworm. In the context of various subjects, I do have her practice reading aloud a few times each week. We do Read Alouds at lunch - I read for about 30 minutes while they eat.

 

Other subjects: Bible 15 minutes 5x a week, Memory work (poems, Bible, catechism, history, geography, science etc.) 15 minutes 5x a week, penmanship 10 minutes 5x a week, Latin 15 miuntes 3x a week, plus CDs in the car, Geography 10 minutes 4x a week, Artist/Composer Stud 30 minutes 1x a week.

 

Music - piano lessons and choir

Art and Drama - tutorial one morning a week.

 

Chores - about 30 minutes daily, less on Sunday, more on Saturday.

Outside - every day if the weather is at all permitting, which is most days. Mostly free play, some nature study and some gardening. 

 

Free time - 2-5 hours a day.

 

Screens - TV extremely little. Maybe 2 hours a week. Movies for fun or school related - one a week, unless we are stuck indoors, someone is sick or we found a particularly good series. Video games -none. She does math facts drill on xtramath.com and sometimes reads on educational websites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LMD]

My DD pretty much just finished up 3rd (we school Jan - Dec).  She was young for third though.  We didn't have the greatest year as I was pregnant/had a newborn and also took on some work.

 

How does your 3rd grader spend their day? 

 

How much school (hours)?  How much reading (and is it alone, assigned, free-chosen, aloud to a parent, or listening to parent read aloud)?  How much time spent on math?  What other subjects does your 3rd grader do and how much time is spent on this? 

I'd block an hour for each of math and language arts (we don't necessarily use the whole hour).  Half an hour for 'reading time' where I'd assign a certain number of pages from their current assigned literature book, then free reading.  We'd do read alouds (me read to them) over lunch - but I'm not great at it so it was fairly hit and miss this last year.

I'd block half an hour every day for - violin practice, russian, history.

I'd block half an hour a few times a week for - science & art.

About 4 hours a day all up.

 

How much time does your 3rd grader spend doing chores around the house or personal responsibilities? 

Not enough, I'm too soft!  The ideal is about an hours worth split over the day.  Morning chores (tidy room, put on a load of laundry, empty dishwasher) and afternoon chores (put away clean laundry, general tidy up).

I try to cook with her often but it didn't happen as regularly as I'd have liked this year.

 

How much outside time?  And how is this outside time divided:  in nature study, free-play, organized/assigned activity, chores, or physical exercise?

I try to have us doing some exercise every morning, about 20 mins of intentional physical activity (walk or bike ride, or xbox game - like a workout dvd - if weather is bad) then about another half an hour of free outside play (ie, once we've walked/biked to the park).

In reality this only happens about 3 times a week.  Probably an hour or so of other outside free-play during the day.  Nature study and organised outdoor activities are more 'field-trip day' things, not everyday.  

 

How much free time do they have for art, crafts, games?

My DD loves art/crafts so is always squeezing it in!  She has siblings that are always up for a game.  A couple hours a day I'd guess.

 

And how much do they watch non-educational (primarily just for fun) TV, videos, or computer activities on school days? 

Too much - I'm bad on this point!  Probably upwards of 2 hours everyday... they watch some in the morning (I'm not a morning person), some after 5, and some by express permission during the day.  

[bbcooker]

Thank you so much.  This helps me picture other 3rd graders.

 

Farrar, I like how you distinguish between recreational screen time and "creative" screen time.

[Roadrunner]

We do about 5 hours of school. This time includes 1 hour on foreign language and 45 minutes of reading (literature). Kids read in the evening according to their interests, but I don't require any reading beyond what they do during school time. We spend about an hour on math.

DS 8 practices piano one hour every day (after dark to maximize play time outside). When thay aren't "in school," my boys are in the backyard playing soccer, so at least 3 hours of outside time (double that in the summer).

We don't give any chores to kids other than hauling garbage cans, which takes five minutes of their time per week.

[MinivanMom]

I have a young 3rd grade boy.

 

Math: 1 hr

Other subjects: 1 1/2 hrs (this includes spelling, copywork, writing, French, literature read aloud, history, science & art - but not everything everyday)

Total Daily Schoolwork: 2 1/2 hrs

Assigned reading: none

Free reading: 1-3 hrs daily

 

Piano Practice: 1 hr daily

Chores: 1/2 hr daily (then an additional 1-2 hrs on cleaning day)

 

Outside free play: 2-ish hrs daily

Organized outside time (like sports practices): 2-4 hrs per week

 

Free play for games: 1-3 hrs daily

TV, videos, computer activities: None . . . ever

[CourtneyBrooke]

I have twin 3rd grade boys (they wont' turn 9 until the end of the school year). I don't consider myself an unschooler but I do practice the Moore's recommendations of limited official school before age 9-10.

 

The one thing I try to do every day is Math. Not only to learn the concepts, but also to do something sitting still for a long period of time. We are doing Saxon 54 and a lesson takes 30-60 minutes per day, depending on their desire to focus or not.

 

They LOVE to read. As in, I have to force them to stop reading. We have a designated reading time every day (when Im putting their sister down for a nap) where they read a chapter of the Bible, work on their scripture memorization, and then read their chapter books (some school, some their choice) for about 2 hours.

 

We read History (MOH) every morning after Devotions, plus biographies read and watched . Science is about once a week for the textbook and a chapter text; the rest is done by free reading and LOTS of museum visits.

 

They go outside all day in the summer (free play), but maybe an hour in the fall and none in the winter. Too cold ;(

 

They practice piano for 15+ minutes a day.

 

Screen time is ONLY at 7:30-8:30. 90% of the time this is Minecraft. We don't allow TV except for a neighborhood movie night once a week.

 

They aren't really into arts and crafts. We play family board games several times a week.

 

We're big on chores. This is probably an hour a day. They empty and load dishwasher, set and clear table, clean their room/ the main floor of the house, fold and put away laundry, and occasionally help cook. At this age I feel its just as important to teach hard work and responsibility as it is to teach educational topics.