Haiku Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 We are not getting what I consider to be enough school done. My kids play hockey, which takes up three evenings a week and both weekend days. I am fine with that. We are a hockey family. My son is in tutoring for dyslexia twice a week in the early afternoon. Also fine with that ... it has to be done! He is just about to graduate from speech therapy (after 8 years!!), so that will free up some time one morning a week. The non-hockey elective activities include: *volunteering once a week at a nature center (4 hrs, including travel time). Aside from hockey, this is the kids' #1 activity. *weekly homeschool group meeting (3 hours including travel) *archery (son only - 2.5 hours including travel) *book clubs (2, once per month each). One is through our homeschool group and one is with dd's good friend. She joined specifically so she could have reliable time with this close friend, who lives a bit far away (between 1.5 and 3.5 hours each, including travel) *science club at the library (once per month, 2.5 hours including travel; I grocery shop while the kids are at the club) *stop-motion animation club (ad hoc, no real scheduled time but probably 4-6 hours per month) I homeschool so that my kids can have a wide range of activities and interests and not be tied to a desk all day. But at the end of the week there is ALWAYS something we didn't get to schoolwise. For the most part we are keeping to the informal schedule of progress I have, but I feel rushed and wish we had a more regular schedule to our day. Because of our outside commitments, each day is different. So I guess my question is ... should I worry about the schoolwork, or should I be glad my kids have the opportunity to do so many things? Each of their outside activities is valuable, and we would be sad to see it go, but on the other hand, we can't do everything that comes along that seems like fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Any car schooling opportunities since it seems you are in the car a lot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 We are not getting what I consider to be enough school done. Can you finish up over the summer if you don't get to everything during the year? If your kids aren't complaining about being over-scheduled, or about not doing enough school work, I might be tempted to work past June. If YOU need a break, then cut out whatever is most inconvenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 I school year round partly to make room for multiple extracurricular activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 We do school year-round. The kids aren't complaining. I would love to cut out archery. I'm not super-satisfied with the coach, but ds really enjoys it and likes being there with a friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Can you keep all the activities but reduce the frequency of some of them? For example, cut the nature center to 1-2x per month and cut the archery on the weeks you have nature center volunteering or science club? Can he practice archery on his own in between? My kids are also pretty busy, so I understand why that feels right. We get "enough" school stuff done, but sometimes I wonder if the kids ought to have more unscheduled time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Assuming these are your kids aged 11 & 12, so 5th-6th grade? If it were me, I'd make sure to keep up with math first. I think that in a few years many of the activities will either become too "young" for your kids, or some of them will require a higher level of commitment forcing at least one of the other activities out of the schedule. Around here, I don't know anyone polder than 6th grade who does library book clubs or science clubs. There might be a teen book club, but it is at the main city library- the smaller local branches just don't get enough interest for teens. What is the homeschool group? Play time, lab classes? Mom support meeting? I have found that the longer I homeschooled the less I needed homeschool groups for socializing- my kids needed friends with common interests beyond just being homeschooled. If your weekly schedule is fairly regular, plan your school around that. For SweetChild, (10th grade) Tuesday is when she volunteers at the library and has a voice lesson, plus worship team/Bible study in the evening. She only has 3.5 hours for regular school, so I only schedule Math, Language Arts, and either History or Science for Tuesdays. Wednesdays she has no outside commitments, so that is her catch-up and do-every-subject-day. Monday and Thursday she has to be finished with school in time to go to dance classes. 10 Fridays fall/spring we have co-op- she does Spanish & science, plus Yearbook and other classes through that, and I don;t schedule other school on co-op days. I also schedule lighter workloads during ecember (show choir performances) and Spring Musical- mostly March. I vote to keep as many outside interests as is reasonable to *your family*. Our primary reason for homeschooling is for flexibility and individual pacing. But we also gotta "do school" and sometimes I forget that. Oh yeah- something I do in planning my school year- I take the table of contents from any textbook I'm using and mark out any lessons/chapters that we can skip or condense- maybe they already covered this last year or will learn it it greater depth next year. That way, we know what to skip if needed and we're never "behind" struggling to get through a book and never getting to the last few pages every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 All your activities sound great, a nice mix, individual, not just the standard activities. I am with pp -- is there anything you can do to make car time more productive? Since your ds's archery and dd's book club are with close friends, would be reluctant to cut them out. Gosh, the animation and the science club are cutting edge. The nature center volunteering sounds wonderful. What is the 'homeschool group?' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 The kids are in 6th and 7th grades. I honestly don't see them losing interest in their activities. The science club goes through 8th grade, and they love it and the instructor. They volunteered with him this summer teaching what they had learned during the year to kids at libraries in low-income areas. Homeschool group is a combo of play time and educational events. They really enjoy seeing their friends there. I do schedule some days lighter than others, but as dd is now working on high school credits (Latin, logic, and soon Algebra), I feel like she has to make solid progress in these as well as moving forward with other stuff (lit, writing, history/science, her online programming class). I can't hit on a schedule that I feel gives enough time to each subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 Oh, and the nature center is a weekly thing. They care for rehab animals, and both of them express an interest in wild animal-related careers. Dd wants to work with big cats (when she's not playing in the NHL) and ds wants to work with wild birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 I'm not sure about carschooling. Dd gets violently carsick very easily (and has since infanthood; we used to have to avoid visiting SIL because she lives on a curvy, hilly road). Mostly she sits with her eyes closed while we listen to fiction audiobooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Could you save some things for the summer? With more time in the rest of the year, might you be able to get school done and not have to school year round? (If it's for academic reasons, could you do a reduced sched in the summer, to fit in more extra-curriculars?) Could you cut back a little during the year, also? For example, could you: Cut down nature center to 2X a month (once every two weeks) during the year, and weekly in the summer? (or if not in the summer, then one semester cut back and one semester full-force, or something like that...because I could see summer being a time when there might be more kids, mostly non-homeschooled, who would fill up the summer slots). That alone would free up a lot of time--what could you do with 4 hours on one day? AND nix book club and science club until the summer--make it a camp, even. Practice archery at home and go to an archery camp in the summer or for a week in the spring. Or reduce by half. Do your grocery shopping on a weekday evening. All of that would save, what, about 10 hours a month? So over two hours a week? Would that be enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Princess and the Jedi Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Maybe take a break from one activity per month (except hockey and tutoring of course). So this month no science club, next month no book clubs, then no archery, and so forth to open up a few blocks of time to catch up. You could also pick a couple of subjects, like grammar and spelling, to stretch out over two years. You could easily take an 8th grade grammar book and do it over the course of 7th and 8th grade since the content is the same but it increases in difficulty year after year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Princess and the Jedi Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Edited: or you can move a subject to summer school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 You may have already done this but at the ages of your kids I would ask them what they think. Talk about activities, ask them how they are feeling about it all, if they feel stressed, etc. My oldest is in 6th grade this year and I decided to approach middle school as a time to do a lot of extra activities and field trips and extra stuff. I know that once we start doing high school work it will become more difficult. The minimum for him is to do Math, Latin and some kind of writing every day. I figure if he does solid work in those and reads a ton (which he does on his own) everything else he gets from all the extras even if we aren't "getting"to it as part of school. If you think our oldest needs to get done more I'd let her know that and then brainstorm with the kids what things they might want to give up or how they might be able to work more to get more done. I'm often surprised by what my kids choose to give up when we have had to make these kinds of choices. Or with what solutions they come up with that I wouldn't have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I have a really busy schedule, like you, and what I'm finding to have a bigger impact that simply not enough time for school, is that neither the dc nor myself have enough energy for school. And if someone gets sick, the schedule collapses like a card house. It's really tough, because everything seems so good and provides an enriching educational experience balanced with some fun and social time. Maybe you can organize the yearly schedule into "semesters" where you can alternate between a busy semester and a light semester with less outside-the-house activities. Does hockey have a lighter period? How about the wildlife centre - does it slow down in the winter, then pick up again in the spring? Maybe you can drop the volunteering there for a few months? Or drop one or activities that fulfilled the "social" aspect, knowing that hockey and archery also fulfill socializing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 We're struggling with this too and I wish I had some wisdom. For us it's also the lack of energy that Wintermom just named, not so much the time frame. But we love all our activities and chose them for good reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 could you car pool with the archery friend? If his parent could take your son too, then there's 2ish hours you could work with your other child, 1 on 1, before pick up. Otherwise drop archery and organise an archery range free shoot play date once a month with said friend? Can one of the book clubs be dropped, or moved to longer time apart or online? Are your kids doing their hockey stuff at the same time? Could you bring their work and complete some of it during siblings practice? I get your dilemma but I hate being busy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Oh, and I'd only do the homeschool group fortnightly. I might consider going on an off week as a reward for my kids having finished their work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 We are not getting what I consider to be enough school done. My kids play hockey, which takes up three evenings a week and both weekend days. I am fine with that. We are a hockey family. My son is in tutoring for dyslexia twice a week in the early afternoon. Also fine with that ... it has to be done! He is just about to graduate from speech therapy (after 8 years!!), so that will free up some time one morning a week. The non-hockey elective activities include: *volunteering once a week at a nature center (4 hrs, including travel time). Aside from hockey, this is the kids' #1 activity. *weekly homeschool group meeting (3 hours including travel). This would go. I know you said they enjoy their friends there, but they have friends in other places, too, yes? Sometimes you just can't have it all. *archery (son only - 2.5 hours including travel): This would go. *book clubs (2, once per month each). One is through our homeschool group and one is with dd's good friend. She joined specifically so she could have reliable time with this close friend, who lives a bit far away (between 1.5 and 3.5 hours each, including travel): I'd drop the one that's through the homeschool group. That would be one activity for your ds, one for your dd. *science club at the library (once per month, 2.5 hours including travel; I grocery shop while the kids are at the club) *stop-motion animation club (ad hoc, no real scheduled time but probably 4-6 hours per month): Gone. I homeschool so that my kids can have a wide range of activities and interests and not be tied to a desk all day. But at the end of the week there is ALWAYS something we didn't get to schoolwise. For the most part we are keeping to the informal schedule of progress I have, but I feel rushed and wish we had a more regular schedule to our day. Because of our outside commitments, each day is different. So I guess my question is ... should I worry about the schoolwork, or should I be glad my kids have the opportunity to do so many things? Each of their outside activities is valuable, and we would be sad to see it go, but on the other hand, we can't do everything that comes along that seems like fun. Relaxed homeschooler that I am, I still think there needs to be some schoolwork for children as old as yours, even though the outside activities are valuable. Because you're talking about up to 15-20 hours a week of activities outside your home, not counting the hockey. That's just way too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marynamo Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Just a suggestion. There is a free course on Coursera.com now called Together Teacher. It really helps getting organized. Perphaps look at doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 Relaxed homeschooler that I am, I still think there needs to be some schoolwork for children as old as yours, even though the outside activities are valuable. Because you're talking about up to 15-20 hours a week of activities outside your home, not counting the hockey. That's just way too much. We are doing schoolwork. Dd is doing history, science, math, Latin, writing, programming, logic, and literature. Ds does history, science, math, word roots, writing, grammar, spelling, and logic. They both do memory work. Most stuff gets done. We're not out of the house 15-20 hours weekly (unless you count hockey, including weekends). Its more like 8, because not everything happens every week. Maybe it's more of an ideal of doing our schoolwork in the mornings and our activities in the afternoons that I seek, and our schedule doesn't work that way. My kids' closest friends are in the homeschool group. They have known these kids since they were 3 and 4. Those are their main friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space station Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 We are doing schoolwork. Dd is doing history, science, math, Latin, writing, programming, logic, and literature. Ds does history, science, math, word roots, writing, grammar, spelling, and logic. They both do memory work. Most stuff gets done. We're not out of the house 15-20 hours weekly (unless you count hockey, including weekends). Its more like 8, because not everything happens every week. Maybe it's more of an ideal of doing our schoolwork in the mornings and our activities in the afternoons that I seek, and our schedule doesn't work that way. My kids' closest friends are in the homeschool group. They have known these kids since they were 3 and 4. Those are their main friends. Ok, so it sounds like none of the activities are ones you are willing to let go of. Then just acknowledge that all the school work won't get done and be ok with it. Your oldest is fine, ahead of traditional expectations, and your younger is getting the tutoring he needs most, and covering a lot of material as well. Something has to give, and if it can't be the activities, then it has to be the schoolwork. There are only so many hours in the week, and it is not realistic to expect to do all of these activities and such a full load of middle school work. Programming is logic, so have dd drop logic. Can you use a more streamlined LA program for ds? Or drop logic for him, too, at least until he is finished with speech therapy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I mean if you guys are hitting the core (which it sounds like you are), you find the activities you are engaging, worthwhile and not too stressful (seems like a yes) then I think I would just keep it as is and acknowledge that right now formal schoolwork is for the basics and your non-core work will primarily be in electives and activities that you are doing. It sounds to me like your kids have some great opportunites and your able to provide them with the chance to do them, sounds wonderful to me, as long as it works for you. I don't think I would stress too much until you hit highschool at the earliest but if you getting grade level progression with your schedule it just seems that your just personalizing their education and as we hs'ers know part of the beauty is doing just that. We're not that busy here but I've drastically increased our extra-curricular's this year and I do see it as worthwhile and if we had some of those opportunities I'd be glad to ditch formal science or history in the middle years to do those activities. I know as a kid which I'd rather do. The only big consideration is whether or not it is is too much for you guys physically or mentally and since it seems to be ok for you then it seems fine for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardinalAlt Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Could you put some of the academics on a looping schedule, so you can know you're making progress, but give yourself permission to slow down a bit? Decide bare minimums and go from there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Probably you already do this - Does your academic science build on your outside activities, science club and nature center work? Perhaps those activities could be "science" with just a little additional supplementing to round out the topics touched on there. Similarly, any chance literature and writing can spring board off the book clubs? In both cases, you MAY be changing your ideal of what the academic focus and accomplishments would be, but it would allow more peace with the activities you all obviously find so enjoyable. Of course, if you already do this, then I'm no help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 Ok, so it sounds like none of the activities are ones you are willing to let go of. I'm actually willing to let go of archery and stop-motion, although stop-motion doesn't really have a scheduled time. The kids have groups, and they work it out amongst themselves when to meet to work on their projects. Last night I made up a schedule on the whiteboard of our week (M-F) and that showed what we are trying to do every day. I just about had a stroke looking at it. I told the kids this morning that I can't keep up this pace and that we are going to have to make some changes. I said that over the next few days we will be discussing our schedule, what I want, what they want, and what we can do to make sure everyone is getting a reasonable approximation of what they want. Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions. Lots to ponder. I don't want to be one of those posters who refutes every suggestion made. I am thinking about and considering all your comments. I am willing to make changes, not just complain about it. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Ok, so it sounds like none of the activities are ones you are willing to let go of. Then just acknowledge that all the school work won't get done and be ok with it. Your oldest is fine, ahead of traditional expectations, and your younger is getting the tutoring he needs most, and covering a lot of material as well. Something has to give, and if it can't be the activities, then it has to be the schoolwork. There are only so many hours in the week, and it is not realistic to expect to do all of these activities and such a full load of middle school work. Programming is logic, so have dd drop logic. Can you use a more streamlined LA program for ds? Or drop logic for him, too, at least until he is finished with speech therapy? The bolded is what came to my mind as well. Have you tried doing a time map? Use a spreadsheet, an online time map, or a sheet of paper and write in times by the hour, half hour, or quarter hour (depending on how hard core/serious/neurotic you are. ;) ) Do this for all 24 hours in a day, then fill in a typical schedule. Be sure to include sleep, meals, hygiene, making beds, specific subjects in schools, etc. - everything you do in a day. Ideally you would repeat the process for a week's worth of days. If you don't know how long things take - time them. People often are terrible at knowing how long tasks take. They underestimate or overestimate and then wonder why they don't have enough time for everything. The OPs posts seem to contradict each other. It's either working or it's not. Schoolwork is getting done or it isn't. If everything truly is all getting done, then a time map might be reassuring. You can look at it and see that even though you might not have a typical school in the morning, activities in the evening schedule, you have a time for everything and everything is getting done. If everything is not getting done, a time map with accurate times for all activities may help you see the need to prioritize. Many activities have value - that doesn't mean they all have equal value. We have a family rule that one tries never to ask: Would this be fun? Would this be educational? Is this activity valuable? Those questions are irrelevant. The questions need to be: Would this be more fun than anything else I could be doing? Is this the best educational activity we could spend our time doing? Does the value of this activity surpass everything we are giving up to do it? ETA: Sometime being specific helps: Is book club more important than staying on track with history? Is park day more important than staying on track with math? It's wise to budget money. Budgeting time is of no less importance. (Julie Morgenstern discusses time maps in Time Management from the Inside Out. http://www.juliemorgenstern.com/Products_Books_TMIO.php ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 The OPs posts seem to contradict each other. It's either working or it's not. Schoolwork is getting done or it isn't. Lots of school is getting done. Just not ALL the school I plan every week. Someone always has math corrections left over to make, or we didn't discuss the logic discussion questions, or the history work didn't quite get finished. Not everything, every week, just something, every week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Lots of school is getting done. Just not ALL the school I plan every week. Someone always has math corrections left over to make, or we didn't discuss the logic discussion questions, or the history work didn't quite get finished. Not everything, every week, just something, every week. So it sounds like it's just one or two things. That might be a matter of buckling down and just doing it or accepting that everything will not get done and be OK with it. If it's important to you that everything you plan gets done - the former will happen. If it isn't - the latter will. Only you can make that call. :) I've been there over and over...it's tough... :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I do wonder though....why is the thread titled Schedule too crammed.... Upon further reflection, do you feel it isn't? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Are all of your activities year-round? If you are schooling year-round but some activities only run during the school year or are seasonal, you could ramp up academics during times when extracurricular slow down, and cut back during your busiest times. My dd11 is doing fairly minimal school right now because she is gearing up for regional competition in her primary extracurricular, and that alone is taking 20+ hours per week. But competition will be over in four weeks, and her outside time commitments will return to more reasonable levels. We'll up the academic focus then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I'm actually willing to let go of archery and stop-motion, although stop-motion doesn't really have a scheduled time. The kids have groups, and they work it out amongst themselves when to meet to work on their projects. Last night I made up a schedule on the whiteboard of our week (M-F) and that showed what we are trying to do every day. I just about had a stroke looking at it. I told the kids this morning that I can't keep up this pace and that we are going to have to make some changes. I said that over the next few days we will be discussing our schedule, what I want, what they want, and what we can do to make sure everyone is getting a reasonable approximation of what they want. Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions. Lots to ponder. I don't want to be one of those posters who refutes every suggestion made. I am thinking about and considering all your comments. I am willing to make changes, not just complain about it. ;) We cross-posted! I didn't see this until now! Looks like you have already done a time map of sorts! :thumbup1: Sounds like you have a good plan to work through this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 We are doing schoolwork. Dd is doing history, science, math, Latin, writing, programming, logic, and literature. Ds does history, science, math, word roots, writing, grammar, spelling, and logic. They both do memory work. Most stuff gets done. We're not out of the house 15-20 hours weekly (unless you count hockey, including weekends). Its more like 8, because not everything happens every week. Maybe it's more of an ideal of doing our schoolwork in the mornings and our activities in the afternoons that I seek, and our schedule doesn't work that way. My kids' closest friends are in the homeschool group. They have known these kids since they were 3 and 4. Those are their main friends. Yes, but you said you weren't satisfied with how things were going, right? So something has to go, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 I do wonder though....why is the thread titled Schedule too crammed.... Upon further reflection, do you feel it isn't? Yes, I feel it is. The kids say they do, too (when asked; they hadn't complained before). I feel like we are always trying to shoehorn everything in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I found my dc dropped some activities without trouble. It bothered me more than it did them. Good luck with your planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 Yes, but you said you weren't satisfied with how things were going, right? So something has to go, right? Yup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I like the idea of carpooling with other kids in some of the activities. I notice some of the parents in my kids' sports do this. They will take turns taking 2 or 3 friends to the practices/lessons. I could see it being really good for one's sanity. ;) Do you give them the day off from science / LA when they have book club, science club, nature center? Any other ways to integrate the activities into serious school work? Can you ask the kids to come up with suggestions in this regard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentlemommy Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 We have a busy extra curricular schedule as well. Considering that both Dh and I had successful careers that were 100% due to our extracurricular interests, we are pretty adamant that they recieve lots of support and attention. Our weekly schedule consists of- 10.5 hours of gymnastics 4-5 hours of horseback riding 2 hours of archery 3 hours of art/science/history/theater classes at coop 3-4 hours park day/hiking/forest schooling with or without extra friends from coop 2 hours art once a month They want to add karate and dance soon too. These are offered at their coop, so I might add those next term. We also travel a lot so we can go with DH when he works out of town. I bring school with us, but usually we are put and about exploring the new town! We just do what we can, school year round, cut out 'fluff' or non-essential extras. My kids aren't big on complicated, mom directed projects, so we don't do them...for US they provide very little. We do math and LA, and we read history and science. If THEY decide to go further with an experiment, project, or further research, we welcome it. However, it isn't required. Playing in the forest or visiting a new city or having time to work out at the gym or watch the farrier at the barn is just as important to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 This sounds like our household, and I am offering sympathy straight-up. It's exhausting. I can't offer advice because I can't seem to solve my own dang problems in this area. I know what the answer is, but I am loathe to cut things out of the schedule because they are either very useful or a favorite of the kids. We are not getting what I consider to be enough school done. My kids play hockey, which takes up three evenings a week and both weekend days. I am fine with that. We are a hockey family. My son is in tutoring for dyslexia twice a week in the early afternoon. Also fine with that ... it has to be done! He is just about to graduate from speech therapy (after 8 years!!), so that will free up some time one morning a week. The non-hockey elective activities include: *volunteering once a week at a nature center (4 hrs, including travel time). Aside from hockey, this is the kids' #1 activity. *weekly homeschool group meeting (3 hours including travel) *archery (son only - 2.5 hours including travel) *book clubs (2, once per month each). One is through our homeschool group and one is with dd's good friend. She joined specifically so she could have reliable time with this close friend, who lives a bit far away (between 1.5 and 3.5 hours each, including travel) *science club at the library (once per month, 2.5 hours including travel; I grocery shop while the kids are at the club) *stop-motion animation club (ad hoc, no real scheduled time but probably 4-6 hours per month) I homeschool so that my kids can have a wide range of activities and interests and not be tied to a desk all day. But at the end of the week there is ALWAYS something we didn't get to schoolwise. For the most part we are keeping to the informal schedule of progress I have, but I feel rushed and wish we had a more regular schedule to our day. Because of our outside commitments, each day is different. So I guess my question is ... should I worry about the schoolwork, or should I be glad my kids have the opportunity to do so many things? Each of their outside activities is valuable, and we would be sad to see it go, but on the other hand, we can't do everything that comes along that seems like fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Another way of thinking about time... Random example: 168 hour/ week: -56 hours/ sleep (8 hours x 7 days, obviously this will vary) ------------------------------ 112 hours -40 hours/ studies (more or less depending on the goals and age of student) ------------------------------ 72 hours -7 hours/ exercise (1 hour a day) ----------------------------- 65 hours -7 hours/ hygiene (1 hour/day for showering, dressing, etc. ) ------------------------------- 58 hours -7 hours/ household tasks (caring for animals, making bed, taking out trash, lawn care, etc) ------------------------------ 51 hours -11 hours/ meals (roughly half hour per meal for prep, eating and cleaning up) -------------------------------- 40 hours That leaves us with 40 hours. Notice there is no time allotted for television, computer games, or WTM forum.... ;) So.... 40 hours -5 hours/ commuting (may be much less or much more!) ---------------- 35 hours -7 hours/ extra-curricular activity or friend time (1 hour a day) ----------------- 28 hours. etc etc You get the idea.... There really are many hours in a week. How fortunate we can arrange them however we like! We can take longer to do the above activities or add in additional ones. It's interesting whenever I do this exercise that there are always huge gaps I can't account for...these are probably usually filled with time-wasters. It might be wise to make sure you knock those out before cutting out more important activities! ETA: If there aren't gaps anywhere or you go over the number of actual hours in a week, something isn't going to actually happen... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I don't want to be one of those posters who refutes every suggestion made. I am thinking about and considering all your comments. I am willing to make changes, not just complain about it. ;) I've BTDT with threads asking for advice. It seemed like I went through everything in my head already & there wasn't an answer, so I discounted what people suggested. Then, I would wonder to myself why I even posted? I can't imagine trying to do everything on your list & staying sane, but obviously you are making it work -- except for feeling crammed & dropping one or two school items every week. I wonder if you have each kid drop one thing off the schedule for a couple of weeks to see how everything goes, would that be helpful? Rather than dropping everything except for a couple things, just drop one thing (per kid) at a time. If that gets you less crammed and more able to get everything done, then you are all set. If not, drop one more thing and evaluate after a couple of weeks. By then, you are into the holidays and things are always crazy then. Check again after the first of the year.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Lots of school is getting done. Just not ALL the school I plan every week. Someone always has math corrections left over to make, or we didn't discuss the logic discussion questions, or the history work didn't quite get finished. Not everything, every week, just something, every week. Could that be taken care of by scheduling a weekly "catch-all" time? One evening a week. Or a time block on the weekend. Or the day of the week that is already mostly out of the house. Or, try marking in advance on your schedule what could be dropped if you hit a time crunch. Then you don't feel guilty that you MUST squeeze in what didn't happen, as you made a decision in advance. Freedom for you, if you are a compulsive "must check everything off because it's on the list" type of person. ;) Also, by tracking what can be dropped and what actually does get dropped, you can see if you are scheduling more than what can realistically be accomplished each week. (Homeschoolers have a tendency to have overly-high expectations of what *should* be accomplished in the time available.) Or, you'll be able to see if a particular area is constantly getting shorted and needs to be addressed -- or if a subject is no longer needed, freeing up some time for other truly needed things. More ideas: - Logic questions make great dinner time discussion. - Streamline your subjects -- fewer items that get the work done with no overlap or excess. - Try a modified "block schedule" -- often can get more done (say 2 lessons) in a longer time block. - Where possible, change curricula to items that get more done in less time. - Count the science, book club, and filmmaking AS part of your homeschool. Since those involve academic learning, cross out the equivalent time/material from your homeschool schedule. For example: * science club = no need to also do your homeschool science (or at least the hands-on portion) for that week * book club = your literature/reading/language arts for that week * animation = filmmaking is one of the fine arts; don't double up and try and do other fine arts at home (art, music, theater, etc.), since you are covering fine arts in this way More ideas in this past thread: "Scheduling Questions - How much in a day?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 We are not getting what I consider to be enough school done. My kids play hockey, which takes up three evenings a week and both weekend days. I am fine with that. We are a hockey family. My son is in tutoring for dyslexia twice a week in the early afternoon. Also fine with that ... it has to be done! He is just about to graduate from speech therapy (after 8 years!!), so that will free up some time one morning a week. The non-hockey elective activities include: *volunteering once a week at a nature center (4 hrs, including travel time). Aside from hockey, this is the kids' #1 activity. *weekly homeschool group meeting (3 hours including travel) *archery (son only - 2.5 hours including travel) *book clubs (2, once per month each). One is through our homeschool group and one is with dd's good friend. She joined specifically so she could have reliable time with this close friend, who lives a bit far away (between 1.5 and 3.5 hours each, including travel) *science club at the library (once per month, 2.5 hours including travel; I grocery shop while the kids are at the club) *stop-motion animation club (ad hoc, no real scheduled time but probably 4-6 hours per month) I homeschool so that my kids can have a wide range of activities and interests and not be tied to a desk all day. But at the end of the week there is ALWAYS something we didn't get to schoolwise. For the most part we are keeping to the informal schedule of progress I have, but I feel rushed and wish we had a more regular schedule to our day. Because of our outside commitments, each day is different. So I guess my question is ... should I worry about the schoolwork, or should I be glad my kids have the opportunity to do so many things? Each of their outside activities is valuable, and we would be sad to see it go, but on the other hand, we can't do everything that comes along that seems like fun. Do you have any days of the week that you're just home? We have a lot of activities, many of which I'm sure people here would advise me to drop- 2 day a week academic co-op, 1 day a week elective co-op, park day, gymnastics, baseball... The thing that makes it doable for me is that it's all shoved into 3 days a week. The other 2, we are home. If I were you, I'd start by looking at the schedule and seeing what can be shoved into the same day. I'd also ask the kids what they would drop if they had to choose one thing to let go of. See how far that gets you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Loop scheduling might work if you are okay with some things taking a little longer to finish over the course of a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black-eyed Suzan Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I don't have suggestions, but I still deal with this as an adult (having lots of activities that are all enjoyable/rewarding in themselves, but overwhelming when taken together with my obligations). I just wanted to offer encouragement to keep working on this actively with your kids, because it is a problem that won't magically get better with age/maturity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea_lpz Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 I don't have suggestions, but I still deal with this as an adult (having lots of activities that are all enjoyable/rewarding in themselves, but overwhelming when taken together with my obligations). I just wanted to offer encouragement to keep working on this actively with your kids, because it is a problem that won't magically get better with age/maturity. I would really cut back. I am going through this right now and feel guilty and relieved too drop some stuff but Black Eyed Susan's right in that this will carry into adulthood so why not help guide your child while they are young to have more balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea_lpz Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 I have heard this before but one thing I am considering is- can I do it at home? Is this a duplicate activity, as in our we already doing something similar already? If so, then we can eliminate it. Then, the mantra the good is the enemy if the best. Yes, the activities are all good but not all at once if it's stressing me out & my kids. Again and again I find when I am burned out but think I need to "do it for the kids" then check in with the kids, and they actually are too. Yep. Every time. Think about what are you missing by doing these activities? Is it family dinner times? Walks? Time for yourself? Do your kids have time for unstructured activities? To get together with friends? Are areas of your life sliding- like paperwork or housework or laundry? Could it be because of all the running around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 I ended up talking to my kids and talking to my husband about this issue. I was surprised by my husband's point of view. He feels that the kids "should" be spending less time on schoolwork than I do. I already felt that my guideline for how much time to spend was on the conservative (lighter) side ... we are not 8-5 schoolers here, and we would all expire if that were the expectation. Suffice to say, dh felt that the kids should spend fewer hours per day on schoolwork than I do simply because he feels that if we are going to homeschool, it should be so that the kids have more time to pursue their own interests. So that was a different perspective for me (I mean, I feel the same way, but I was under the impression ... don't know where I got it ... that dh felt the kids should be doing MORE, not LESS, schoolwork). I mean, I think he's wrong and all ;) and I don't plan to significantly cut back on the amount of schoolwork we do, but at least I know that dh isn't expecting me to crack the whip more. Second, I made up a visual chart for the kids to see what was going on every day, and we talked about how they are spending their time and what was important to them. Dd12 said the most important things for her were "doing my schoolwork so I can get into a good college and get a good job, reading as many books as I can, and spending time with my friends." Ds said his priorities are "doing my schoolwork quickly, seeing my friends, and playing." So what I heard is that the kids want more unstructured social time. With that in mind, we made homeschool group a priority, because that's the prime place they see their friends. They also said that, next to homeschool group, their next prioritized activity was volunteering at the nature center. Neither wanted to cut that out or even reduce the time they are doing it. They really, really enjoy it and get a lot of positive feedback from the nature center for it. We also decided that all our once-a-month activities are worthwhile and should stay. So with that in mind, we axed archery and stop-motion animation club. With ds graduating from speech and letting archery go (at least for now; we may pick it up again after hockey season is over), that frees up an entire morning every week for us. We agreed to get up earlier on the morning of homeschool group to give ourselves an extra hour of schoolwork, and dd agreed to recommit to getting some of her independent work done while ds and I are at tutoring and not getting distracted by drawing and reading and all the other things she gets distracted by. So I do feel we have gotten our schedule more under control while still retaining the activities that are important to the kids. Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Fantastic solution! Thanks for recapping it for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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