Help me plan these subjects!

[3girls4me]

Hi ladies,

We just finished our first day of school. My takeaway - it was TOO MUCH!!! And my science curriculum hasn't even arrived yet. I tried implementing some morning time and it took an hour and a half. I think it will take about an hour in the future but I was explaining a lot. Math is math. History worked nicely. But help me sort out language arts and Latin. If I hadn't already bought things, I would order ELTL right now!!!!

Here's what I have:

 

CLE language arts - grammar, spelling and HW all in one.

 

CLE reading/literature with study guides - rotating these every 2-3 weeks

 

W&R with occasional writing workshops

 

Beginning reading and reasoning - CAP

 

Song school Latin

 

How would you schedule all of this out so it won't take 2 1/2 hours for just these?

 

Thanks for any tips!!!

[Space station]

What are the ages of the kids? It looks to me like you have about 2.5 hours of work there, which may or may not be appropriate, depending on the age of the kids. For my middle school age kids, 2.5 hours for Language Arts, Latin, and Logic would be about what I would expect. However. I can see it being a bit much for younger kids.

[kiana]

Why do two reading programs? I think I'd pick just one.

[3girls4me]

It's for 4th and 1st. Well, not logic for the first grader and she is using a combo of WWE and EIW for writing. But I don't worry as much about slowing it down for her.

So for the 4th grader, would you do reading/literature, writing and language arts (grammar, HW and spelling) each day? I am only planning to do Latin 2-3 days and beginning reading and reasoning once or twice a week.

[3girls4me]

I got the CLE program because I heard it was good. And I like that it has vocabulary built in and other "perks." But I have a wonderful little series I got at a convention with guides and want to do that. And I want to so some of Narnia with them. And we are going to dabble with Ready Readers throughout the year. So while I don't anticipate finishing the CLE program, I just liked it but also didn't want to forego reading wonderful literature with them and diving into great discussions about what we read. So I just thought i would go back and forth.

[PeachyDoodle]

I don't know how much time it would save you, but does your 4th grader still really need the formal handwriting practice (not sure what that looks like in CLE)? My rising 4th grader has nice penmanship and gets plenty of handwriting practice with her other writing assignments, so we've dropped formal penmanship/copywork. This year I'm requiring all assignments to be done in cursive, which will give her plenty of opportunity to practice.

 

I definitely wouldn't use two different reading programs on the same day. I'm not really familiar with what you're using, but could you do, say, 2-3 weeks of CLE lit, followed by a week with CAP? How much writing/narration is involved with the CLE study guides? Could that take the place of W&R on some days?

 

Also, as you all get used to the routine, some things may begin to move more quickly. It often does for us, especially as dd is able to be more independent with some subjects. You might just need to give it a week or two. Good luck!

[Sherry in OH]

I don't know how much time it would save you, but does your 4th grader still really need the formal handwriting practice (not sure what that looks like in CLE)? My rising 4th grader has nice penmanship and gets plenty of handwriting practice with her other writing assignments, so we've dropped formal penmanship/copywork. This year I'm requiring all assignments to be done in cursive, which will give her plenty of opportunity to practice.

 

I definitely wouldn't use two different reading programs on the same day. I'm not really familiar with what you're using, but could you do, say, 2-3 weeks of CLE lit, followed by a week with CAP? How much writing/narration is involved with the CLE study guides? Could that take the place of W&R on some days?

 

Also, as you all get used to the routine, some things may begin to move more quickly. It often does for us, especially as dd is able to be more independent with some subjects. You might just need to give it a week or two. Good luck!

 

I agree.  I don’t think the amount of time lessons take on the first day of the school year is a good indicator of how long they will typically take.  Especially if the children have had an extensive break from seat work.  They need some time to switch out of summer mode.  If the resources are new, that also requires some adjusting.  How much time do you think your children should spend doing general language arts?  Reading, Latin, and logic?

 

I would allocate the time first.  Then look at the lessons.  How much of CLE Language Arts do you think your child should be able to complete in that amount of time?  Is there anything in it that your child could do orally (takes less time than writing) or that could be skipped? For example, does your 4^th grader need handwriting practice? Set a timer for the amount of time you want the lesson to take.  However far the child gets in the lesson is what gets done that day.  Pick up at that point the next day.  Continue in this manner for a few weeks, then assess the situation.  If the child is not progressing as quickly as you would like is it because of dawdling, because the child needs more time, or because the program isn't a good fit.  If more time is needed, either the school day gets longer or plan not to complete the entire program in a school year.  If the program isn't a good fit, can you make it work?  If not, find a different resource. 

 

For reading and literature, pick the program you like the best.  Use that program for a set period of time – one book or one quarter.  At the end of the book/quarter, decide whether you want to switch to one of your other programs or continue with the first program.   Just read some titles.  Read and discuss selected others.

 

I would alternate Latin and logic.  Perhaps Latin Monday-Wednesday-Friday, and Logic Tuesday-Thursday.  I would keep the lessons short. 10-15 minutes per session of SSL should have you completing a lesson per week.  Review by listening to the CD in the car.