7th Grade More Independently

[janie_ranae]

I think my 12 year-old ds would benefit from a schedule that allows him to complete his work independently. He would rather verbally debate how much school he really needs to do, than do school. I wish he enjoyed it. Honestly, I wish I could give him responsibilities like choring calves, feeding pigs, etc. as he enjoys farming with his cousin when possible. I think he would thrive with an environment like that where he could be productive and use some of his energy before the school day even begins. I think a part of his "restlessness" is the maturing process - wanting more than book study. Alas, we have 1.5 acres, so we can't do that. Sports is his favourite past time. He also likes to sell things e.g. selling sweet corn door-to-door in the fall. He is a people person and fairly confident. I would love to hear your input and suggestions on his current schedule. Am I expecting too much, or too little? How can I make science, math, writing and grammar independent?

30" History 3x/week - Mystery of History (read 1 day, 5 sentence written narration the next)
30" Geography 2x/week - study a different province each month (we are Canadians)
30" Bible daily - Pilgrim's Progress by Answers in Genesis
15" Penmanship daily - A Reason for handwriting
15" Grammar daily - Rod & Staff 6
20" Spelling daily - Apples & Pears
15" Phys Ed. daily - he is much more active as he plays hockey, but he wanted it scheduled in the school day :)
40" Math daily - started Singapore math 5A Standard this year. Previously we used Horizons grade 1 - 3, then MM grade 4,5, and completed part of 6 last year along with some Life of Fred. He has done Pet Store and Sports Store math & loved it!
25" Science daily - we struggle with this one every year. Tried BJU textbooks last year, then changed to Exploring the World of ... This year he's completed the book Food and Nutrition for Every Kid by Janice van Cleave. He enjoyed the book, but I don't know where to go from here. He said he would like to learn about muscles, anyone have ideas on how to pursue that?
25" Writing daily - Igniting Your Writing. It's not fanning "I love to write!" flames, but it's getting done. We used IEW B and IEW Canadian History the last two years. He doesn't like to write, unfortunately he doesn't like school. I am hoping that if his work is more independent he will take more ownership and enjoy school more. I don't want him hating school.
20" McGuffey Reader 3x/week - use to be Getting Started with Latin but he wanted a change, since he enjoys reading I switched subjects to this reader.
20" Mind Benders 2x/week
40" Reading 4x/week - Heart of Dakota. He has enjoyed nearly all the book selections. His workbook writing is pretty brief.
40" Home Ec 1x/week

About 4' 35" daily.

Thanks for listening! â¤ï¸

[Chrysalis Academy]

Well, it doesn't seem too much to me in terms of total time.  In fact, depending on your goals (i.e. when do you want him to be ready for Algebra?) I might bump the math time up a bit.  I'm not familiar with everything you are using, so I can't comment on most of it specifically.  One thing I notices is it is a lot of short things, and if he doesn't do transitions smoothly that can make things feel kind of choppy, constantly switching gears.  Is he ready for more of a block schedule where he can focus on one thing for a little longer, and do fewer things each day?  Maybe you already do that, i see that a number of your items are 2, 3, or 4 times a week. 

 

What I have done with my 7th grader this year is give her a list in two columns: independent work on one side, and together work on the other side.  She works all morning on her independent work while I work with her sister, and then we work together after lunch.  I've found that more and more things can be shifted over to the independent side, and that I can do a quick check in with her on those and then dig into discussion/together work in the afternoon.  Do you give him his own checklist that he is responsible for? Then you aren't having to discuss/negotiate between every topic - it's just: here's the expectation, get 'er done.  

 

I've found that having an interesting afternoon activity works wonders for efficiency - here is what you need to get done before you go to horseback riding.  Boom! It gets done.  Can some kind of positive motivation like that help?

 

We have also really benefitted from some of the study techniques we learned in A Mind for Numbers.  When there is something that takes focus work, and is longish, she will set the timer for 30 minutes and work in a focused way, and then take a break, then work for another 30 minutes.  Having that plan, to switch between focused work and a break, can really help your brain focus when you ask it to.

 

Those are just general comments.  It's hard to get a sense from your list of how your day flows, what he does independently and what he doesn't, and where you feel the choke points are.

 

As far as independent work, specifically:

math - does he not do that independently? What kind of help/involvement do you have that you would like to change? How do you want that to look?

Science - this can be quite independent if you choose books together that he is to read, and then you can have him summarize, outline, or discuss with you.  You can have him choose topics he would like to learn about - like muscles - take him to the library and have him check out books and then write you a report.  Now you are covering science and writing together! You will definitely have to check in with him daily, but a ratio of 40 minutes independent reading/writing to 10 minutes checking in/discussing seems doable.

Writing - this will not ever be totally independent, I don't think.  Writers need readers, they need to bounce their ideas off someone, especially at this age they need someone to help them learn to coherently organize their thoughts.  I don't know your writing program, so I don't know how it is set up.  If it is engagement and ownership you are looking for, though, then maybe reports on subjects of his interest would help with that.

Grammar - again, I don't know the program.  What does he need your help with?

[MerryAtHope]

Workboxes  really helped us to transition to more independent work. It works like a 3-D schedule, so there's no discussion or arguing over what to do--open your box and do what's in it. Some boxes are "do the next lesson" (like, read the next lesson in history, or do the next lesson in math). I do a 20-30 minute "tutoring time" with each child to go over previous day's work and any unique instructions, and then the kids would do their boxes. If something needs to be done with mom, they come to me when they get to that box (and if I'm not available, they go on to the next box until I am). 

 

Even though you are not on a farm, could you come up with some kind of chore for him to do outside first thing--even something for 15 minutes that gets him into the fresh air?

 

Or, could he do PE first--again to get outside and use those muscles? 

 

Do you need more hands on in science--something to break up the "books?" 

 

Does he really need Penmanship in 7th grade?

 

Is there a hands-on project he could do with history or in response to reading in another subject instead of a report (maybe there are ways to vary the types of output he does more?)

 

 

[Momling]

I think if you both like the materials he's using and the timing, I'd stick with it and totally ignore the following ;-).

 

 

But, if this were my schedule, I'd find it kind of choppy and complicated and would want to simplify it. I'd do something like this:

- accelerate the math and extend to at least 60 minutes

- extend history to an hour. Supplement with outside reading, documentaries, outlining, essays.

-extend science to an hour. If you want more independent work, use a textbook/workbook (Power basics? Galore park?) or online (Derek Owens?)

- consolidate language arts into a 90 minute period. Continue with daily skills work if needed (penmanship, spelling, grammar), but drop when mastered. Alternate literature unit studies and an academic writing focus monthly.

- along with the four main subjects, let him choose one elective to work on each semester (foreign language? Geography? Logic? Computer science? Music? Art?) and spend 30-60 minutes per day on it.

 

- take home ec and PE and reading time out of your school day and make them part of life

- take out the readers and worksheets and mind benders.

[SweetandSimple]

Can you get chickens? We love ours! They would provide some farm chores, and your son could start an egg-selling business!

[Mommy to monkeys]

Workboxes  really helped us to transition to more independent work. It works like a 3-D schedule, so there's no discussion or arguing over what to do--open your box and do what's in it. Some boxes are "do the next lesson" (like, read the next lesson in history, or do the next lesson in math). I do a 20-30 minute "tutoring time" with each child to go over previous day's work and any unique instructions, and then the kids would do their boxes. If something needs to be done with mom, they come to me when they get to that box (and if I'm not available, they go on to the next box until I am). 

 

 

Oh my goodness. MerryAtHope, your posts on Workboxes are Fantastic!

[janie_ranae]

Thanks for the suggestions! Monday we will start spending more time on less subjects and see how that goes. He does have a checklist he uses for each day's subjects, so I'll just tweak that. I'll try the phys ed first thing in the morning as you suggested MerryAtHope - good idea to get the blood flowing! He usually does something active during lunch break, so that breaks up the school day.

 

Something to look forward to later in the afternoon, great idea...I'll give that some thought. And I like your science idea Chrysalis - I'd like to give that a try.

 

I also like the 30 minute idea. I've had him use timers before but they either make an annoying ticking noise or they're on an electronic device, which has many distractions. :) Any suggestions for good timers?

 

A variety of outputs was suggested. For his geography project he did a presentation instead of a report. But the suggestion got me thinking, so many possibilities...podcast, website, dramatization, I like it!! (Sorry, thinking out loud so I can come back to this later.)

 

Great idea Momling on supplementing history with outside reading, documentaries, outlining, essays. I'd forgotten about outlining. I know he'll appreciate a variety.

 

Thanks for your suggestions - it feels wonderful to have a plan to try! :) 

[Chrysalis Academy]

We just use the timer on my cell phone.  It's silent!