JumpyTheFrog Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 We've recently realized that every Monday is especially terrible with our 8 year old. He often gives me a hard time about school and chores, but Mondays and the first day after a week off are downright miserable. Has anyone else tried switching to doing school 6-7 days per week to deal with this? I'm thinking of trying it and keeping the same amount of weekly work, just spreading it out over more days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 We have a half-day on Friday (morning work only) and then another half-day Saturday morning. Middle Girl likes this better, and it lets dh teach her programing and help her with her Greek homework. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Yes, T always has homework to do for her online classes and weekends are the best time to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 We've recently realized that every Monday is especially terrible with our 8 year old. He often gives me a hard time about school and chores, but Mondays and the first day after a week off are downright miserable. Has anyone else tried switching to doing school 6-7 days per week to deal with this? I'm thinking of trying it and keeping the same amount of weekly work, just spreading it out over more days. Mondays are horrid around here, but I need the break the weekend provides & so do the kids. It is hard to get back into the groove, but Saturdays is when we clean (both our house & our volunteer duties at our church), spend time with friends, watch movies, and relax without having assigned school work. Sundays are church, mandatory rest time (for us parents), more games, and my "get ready for the next week of school" (filing, grading, checking to make sure the next week of assignments is ready to go). More power to you if you don't need the break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 We do seven days a week. My kids has German class on Saturday mornings and we do 2hrs of school on Sunday. My kids find it easier to do LA and Math everyday even if it is just 30mins of each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 We school Monday through Friday (ps for DD13 and DS11, and homeschool for twins). They have Hebrew school Saturdays 9:15 to 12:15, then I try to sneak in an extra Saxon lesson with all 4 DC. Sundays are for homework. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 My girls do their co-op work on the weekends. My dh used to do science with them while I worked on Saturdays, and we found that ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 We school Sunday through Friday. If not, Mondays are terrible and Sundays aren't much fun either -- the child needs structure and keeping his head full makes for a happy fellow (happy in his playtime, not happy to do school!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted September 12, 2014 Author Share Posted September 12, 2014 More power to you if you don't need the break. I like the break, but Tigger can't seem to handle it. Having the weekend off seems to give him the idea that the entire day is free time and that asking him to do anything like school or cleaning up after himself is me cutting into "his" time. I'm beginning to think he may need the structure of doing school nearly every day. It can't possibly make him more difficult than he already is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 We do. Out of necessity since I work so much. It means shorter amounts of work when do school but more days. It is the only way for us to get things done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 We school 6 days/week, 50 weeks/year because of this sort of issue. If we did not have such a constistant and packed Sunday we'd go 7 days/week. (when you've got a family member on staff at a church Sunday is not the family down day!) Back in the day when I was still trying to homeschool my imaginary children instead of the ones I have been gifted with, we took off a week every few months and the entire months of April and September were spent enjoying the good weather. What I learned was that when I break, even a week, it can take 2-3 to re-establish routine. Punk NEEDS routine to function well. I miss those breaks. But it is kind to my child and, in the long run, easier on me to keep the momentum flowing. Since this child also has frequent meltdowns that can necessitate shorter lessons/sessions anyway, for us it is a case of slow and steady wins the race. *she says as a prayerful hope* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted September 12, 2014 Author Share Posted September 12, 2014 We school 6 days/week, 50 weeks/year because of this sort of issue. .... What I learned was that when I break, even a week, it can take 2-3 to re-establish a routine. Yes, going on vacation, going to day camp, or having Grandma visit also means 2-3 weeks of readjustment. I already do school 1/3 - 1/2 the days on vacation to stay in a bit of routine and it's still tough. How long were you on the new schedule before you knew you had made the right decision? Also, if you need to count days, do you count each day or are some more like half days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted September 12, 2014 Author Share Posted September 12, 2014 BLA5, does Punk also have problems if he has more than a little free time? I'm starting to realize that Tigger is happier on the rare occasions I tell him to sit and do X fun thing than when he is in charge of himself. He can have lots of fun, but eventually it seems to lead to a bad attitude and being a bad brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Yes, going on vacation, going to day camp, or having Grandma visit also means 2-3 weeks of readjustment. I already do school 1/3 - 1/2 the days on vacation to stay in a bit of routine and it's still tough. How long were you on the new schedule before you knew you had made the right decision? Also, if you need to count days, do you count each day or are some more like half days? It took several months before I knew it was going to be better. We are required to complete 180 days of instruction. I just count them all. (We don't have anyone formally checking up on the days.) I figure if we had a situation where someone was looking more closely at our homeschool plans I could show them the total number of days, the documentation of the issues we are addressing, and show them the amount of material we are covering each week. BLA5, does Punk also have problems if he has more than a little free time? I'm starting to realize that Tigger is happier on the rare occasions I tell him to sit and do X fun thing than when he is in charge of himself. He can have lots of fun, but eventually it seems to lead to a bad attitude and being a bad brother. Yes and no. He cannot stand for me to tell him what to play. But......if he is playing in an unstructured way I can count down the minutes until he has a negative interaction with a sibling. He does best with a strong, reliable routine. Ex: So if we don't leave the house one Mon, Tue, Fri I would post schedule A for those days and then for Wed, Thur, Sat I would post schedule B. Sunday would get a schedule as well. (I do not label the home and away schedules with days because if a week is odd I can throw up the schedule we need and not have him upset that we have a schedule labeled Tuesday on a Thursday!) I have lists every.where. Lists of what snacks are acceptable during the afternoon. Lists of what foods are allowed for breakfast. Lists of what must be done for school before video games may be played. Lists of personal hygiene items that MUST BE DONE daily. Lists of acceptable free time activities would actually be good one to add.......... Posted schedules and lists allow me to lower the drama level. You want cookies for breakfast? Sorry dear, that does sound yummy, but it is not on the list. The trick for us has been to be super consistent and to allow some input from everyone on the options offered. All that being said, I do try to challenge him to develop flexibility. But I do it in a way that stretches him without overwhelming him. I figure life throws us enough true curveballs that force him to majorly adjust. I just need to keep lobbing him balls that he just has to strech a little for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceful Isle Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Nope, I school Monday through Friday. I use Saturday to clean and recharge, and Sunday is church and fellowship. :) I like it like that. I will also take a day off here and there for "field trips" lol Why don't you school Tuesday through Saturday ? You could have Sunday and Monday and your weekend. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGHEALTHYMOM Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Monday through Friday. Monday is very rough though... I am considering some work on Saturday and Sunday right now as our family dynamics have changed and nights are so busy getting supper, the floors cleaned, and laundry done. Also dd14 has homework almost every night and needs to study more in Algebra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Nope, we all need a break by Friday afternoon. We do take a nature walk or field trip sometimes on the weekend, but it's never labeled as school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted September 12, 2014 Author Share Posted September 12, 2014 Having Sundays and Mondays off would probably mean that Tuesday would be the worst day of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyGirl Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Things are much more smooth here if we school seven days a week. We need to get back to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 She does work every day but we do not "school" every day. I need the break! She likes to spread things out because of her scary ballet schedule. (For those who don't see signatures, I have a ninth grader.) It works for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 I guess is depends on what is defined as "school." If it's the subjects that I teach the dc, then it's only Monday - Friday. The dc used to have Spanish classes Saturday morning through a program, which I considered part of our school courses. I VERY happily took Saturday mornings to do what I wanted, as the dc were pretty young and it was my only daytime break. During the spring/summer/ fall, the dc have had soccer Saturday mornings, which I also consider part of our school courses. I was not the soccer coach. Sundays the whole family has church and religious studies/ministries. Again, this I consider part of our school courses. The only problems I've had with Monday school, is being too tired from the Sunday activities. We usually keep Mondays for a light-load day, then get back up to speed for Tuesday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Oh, the horrors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbeym Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 We do. Every other Sunday is a half day, with mom-time squished in over the lunch hours between church in the morning and student leadership program/youth group in the late afternoon/evening. Monday is a half day because DS has choir practice and is gone from 11-6. He does school Tue-Fri whenever he wants as long as due dates are met. Tue/Thu/Sat nights are the only times I really have to sit down for more than a few minutes to discuss readings or give writing help. We don't normally school on Saturday b/c it's the Sabbath. ETA that every 7th week is a formal break b/c we both need a rest. If DS has outstanding assignments then they have to be finished during break week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 We do. Every day is assumed to be a school day, though generally Monday is just piano practice and a page of math and last year Tuesday was usually a day off from school, but if our Tuesday activities were canceled, we would do school usually. We do take off at random and we often do "light" days where school is just a few things instead of a lot. Of course, the reason there's so little school on Mondays is that's co-op all day and then ballet all evening... so those are educational things too. It's weird to explain to people as it makes us sound so very rigid and unfun. But the reality is that we assume every day as a school day so that whenever something else comes up - like a fun field trip, a day with beautiful weather we just want to take advantage of, a day we're really beat - whatever - we can just take the day off and not worry about getting behind. Or if the day is going badly, it's easier to bag it and say, well, let's stop and pick up tomorrow when we're all in a different head space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegularMom Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 We are starting to work on the weekends this year because we're trying out a couple of enrichment programs that meet during the week, plus an archery class that meets during the week as well. It all adds up to almost two full days outside the house during the week, so we need to work on the weekends to make sure the work I assign gets done. I'm also going to minimize the field trips we take during the academic year and save our museum trips and such for summer time. We'll see how it goes. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Mertz Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 I'm tweaking our schedule a bit. We do full school days Tuesday through Saturday. But due to his voice lessons, drum lessons, and choir rehearsals, plus the fact that he is insistent on studying three languages at a time (which makes my head hurt), we are going to try to do a Spanish lesson on Sundays and a Latin lesson on Mondays to ease the schedule during the rest of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy_of_4 Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 We do about every other weekend when DH is gone. If DH is here we don't do school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.