Where do ya'll find the time?

[Ericaand4kids]

Well my kids started back to school and they are adjusting! But I just found out yesterday that my second grader hasn't done any science or history and my 4th grader hasn't done any history (but lots of science). I'm thinking about asking the teachers. Maybe they do more later. I want to do a little Bible w/them, but am thinking about adding some other! I'm kicking myself now for selling my SOTW and CKEB! So what things do you use to afterschool for history and science and Bible. I still have my Explorers Bible study, so I may do that w/them. But really I just want to be real simple for the most part. Ya know maybe reading them something at bedtime and some occasional science for my 2nd grader...oh he did watch a magic school bus! That must be their science! We have almost all those books, so I guess reading those would be good. THey have plenty of homework though so I don't want to overwhelm them. Do you all make a schedule or do want come naturally?

Sorry for all the rambling I am a bit scatterbrained :blush:!

Thanks ~Erica

[AuntPol]

Well the older they get the harder -longer homework, more extracurriculars, etc. I have one in public school and one in homeschool. One of the hardest things for me is knowing that my public schooled one is not getting as thorough an education as my homeschooled one. I afterschooled both for several years though and have found ways to sneak in learning.

 

Bible -we do a morning devotional at breakfast (at least on the ones where we didn't oversleep, etc). I vary one the ones I give sometimes I check out a topical book from church library and use it for a month. Sometimes I use a free online one. They do Awanas on Wednesdays and Sunday School/Children's Church on Sunday. Our church sends a monthly guide of things to do to enrich what they are covering at church so I try to use that. We have a scripture memorization box that we go through in the mornings. I got that idea from Simply Charlotte Mason. I have Mealtime MOments from Focus on the Family and try to do one of those a week.

 

History- We occasionally listen to SOTW in the car. The main part of my pS kid's history at home is that our bedtime reading consists of a historical fiction book, a biography, and an anthology that relates to our historical period. I hardly ever get all three read in a night though -I like the Charlotte Mason slow reading process. I put other books in the book baskets for them to read. We rent a movie or documentary on the time period about every other week. We don't do that many crafts or activities unless they request for one to be done. We have map placemats and locate places that we read about on maps. I try to have the kids read a current event from times for kids before dinner once a week and use that for dinner conversation.

 

Science- I find science hard to afterschool on regular basis. We do go to museums, nature walks and journals, zoos, etc quite often. We have a lot of programs at the museums and parks in our area. We watch a lot of animal planet, discovery channel, etc. My ps dd is jealous of all the science her brother does in homeschool, so I have to figure out something for her. We are thinking of doing a neighborhood science club once a month on the weekend. We did a Franny K Stein bookclub w/ an experiment for awhile when my dd was in 2nd grade. I just ordered BFSU and hoping it will help me with "teachable moments". Luckily, most of this comes naturally for my DH. Even though my kids are grades 3-4 and very advanced readers, I keep easy readers and Let's Read and Find Out type of books on science topics in the bathroom book basket. It often sparks them to pursue a subject on their own.

[BabyBre]

We, too, read history at bedtime. I read from SOTW three nights a week and dc (6 & 7) color their student pages, then we answer the review questions orally. We also make weekly trips to the library and bring home tons of books from SOTW booklists and others. We read those on the other nights. My dc love this set up and beg me to let them "do history". :) Their ps offers no history until 3rd grade (but that won't stop me, of course!). Audiobooks are great for the car if you're driving a lot.

 

We use Science in a Nutshell kits periodically throughout the year, along with field trips, explorations, and frequent discussions, etc. I try to get in 2-3 activites in a month, but this doesn't usually happen. They have a lot of science exploration in their school, so I don't schedule a time for science at home. When we find ourselves with time on the weekends, we'll pull out our current kit. I record Magic School Bus for them daily as it's on TLC early in the morning here, I think, so they have a new one on the DVR at any given time (although they've seen them all). We also record Discovery Channel, History Channel, etc. programs that have to do with what we're learning. Dh is big TV man, so it's on more than I'd like, but he enjoys these programs too so I figure I'm doing double duty!

 

Otherwise, yes, I have a strict schedule because there's no other way to get them what I feel they should have when they're away for 6+ hours a day. We begin at 7:30 (school starts at 9:00 and is nearby), so at most we get 1.5 hours in the morning. I don't push them afterschool because they're exhausted by then, so if they don't have homework from school, they can relax or play with their friends.

 

We start on Tuesday. *Deep breath*

[Guest AmyZ_afterschooler]

Hello! I'm new here but not new to afterschooling (a long time ago I posted to the old forums as Hawke--been devoting my time to my own website for quite some while).

 

The best advice I can give is decide what your education priorities are for your children, assess what you children's schools are doing well, and then deciding what you want to do to augment your children's education. You have to set priorities because you can never do all the things you'd like to do in afterschooling.

 

If the school completely misses your standards in every way, I'd suggest looking into a different school or homeschooling completely. There has to be some balance.

 

Good luck!

[LibrarianMom]

It is hard to get much done when your children come home tired, have other homework or activities, and you have your own housework and things to do. As others have said, pick what you want to focus on and then use snatches of time to fit in a little bit here and there. This sounds silly, but I find that the best time to read to my dd is when she is the bathtub/shower. :lol:

 

As far as your your children not doing science or history yet, it is still quite early in the school year. A casual inquiry to the teachers is probably a good idea. I wouldn't be surprised if your 2nd grader doesn't get much history except for seasonal things around the holidays.

[matermagistra]

Hello! I'm new here but not new to afterschooling (a long time ago I posted to the old forums as Hawke--been devoting my time to my own website for quite some while).

 

 

What is your website? Is it about afterschooling? I'd love to see it if it is!

 

**Marita**

[purplecow7]

Finding the time is harder as they get older and the homework gets more involved. But I found if you break things down into 5-10 minute activities you can get alot done.

 

For example my oldest takes violin and he practices on 10-15 minutes as part of his chore routine in the morning. It was amazing how his playing improved. My dd does the same with piano but it is more like 5 minutes.

 

You also need to be creative on time. For example I keep workbooks in the car so if we are watching a soccer game - the kids can do a page or two of math problems. Or latin words in the car at red lights. We also listen to multiplication unplugged on Saturday mornings on the way to CCD. Or we have family game night on Thursday and we play apple to apples or blokus or 24. Educational games are a great way to get afterschooling in and great family time too. I will do art projects on saturday morning we learn about artists and then try to paint like them. My kids love doing watercolor. Oh and we listen to classical music at dinner and talk about the artists.

 

For me I take a big goal like learn latin and then break it down into ok we will learn 3 words a week - then I put them in the car and off I go. (using English from the Roots Up). Or we are using Handwriting without tears and we sit down for 5 minutes and do a page or two - same with HOP. My dh reads the great illustrated classics at bedtime or the SOTW. I have also started getting books on CD at the library and putting those on for my twins to fall asleep by - this has stopped the talking.

 

Hope this helps.

 

OT - Hi Hawke

[jaysdarlin]

Otherwise, yes, I have a strict schedule because there's no other way to get them what I feel they should have when they're away for 6+ hours a day. We begin at 7:30 (school starts at 9:00 and is nearby), so at most we get 1.5 hours in the morning. I don't push them afterschool because they're exhausted by then, so if they don't have homework from school, they can relax or play with their friends.

 

Breann this is the second post of yours I have read this evening which has inspired me so much. I love your Signature - It Is What You Make It! You sound very well disciplined and productive - my kind of attitude!

 

As from the new year I am going to be Afterschooling, yay for us! We have a month off for Christmas, so a perfect time to get routines going. I am so happy to have found this site! Hope to get to know you all better.

 

Gratitude for you all!

 

PS, I just found out I'm a Hive Mind Larvae! Hooray!!!!!

[nova mama]

My oldest is in first grade and he doesn't have a ton of homework. But sometimes errands, overdue housework, etc. get in the way and we don't do it all. I do preschool with dd4 and dd3 while big brother is at school. Here is our schedule for after he gets home (also after about an hour of snacks and play):

Monday: Library, Math (Abeka workbook for ds, games for dds)

Tuesday: History (SOTW), Music (piano for ds, violin for dd4)

Wednesday: Math, Science (Kingfisher)

Thursday: History, Music

Friday: Math, Music appreciation (a new composer every 2-3 weeks)

 

We also do about a chapter from the Bible and a memory verse (one per week) at breakfast, though this has been sporadic recently. Some days we only do one thing on the schedule, or nothing at all. But I feel good about the fact that we usually do something. Best wishes to you!