Lighter schedule

[purplejackmama]

Tell me what your day looks like for a lighter load. I want to do less without doing nothing. Does that make sense? An abbreviated load until we start back full force in the Fall. I have a 7th, 5th and 4th grader.

 

Thoughts.

[Chelli]

Our light days look like:

 

Reading and discussing the Bible together

Math

Writing of some kind (either using our actual writing program or a written narration)

Read aloud (usually from a history or science topic)

Independent reading from literature that I've chosen for them 

[PeachyDoodle]

Our summer schedule includes:

 

Math (continuing one lesson/day, per our usual schedule)

Latin (review only, no new material)

Read-alouds

Independent reading (but dd would do this on her own anyway)

Summer unit study (1-2 hours/day max, reading, videos, projects)

 

The above are four days/week. One day is field trip day, since we don't get a lot of time to do those during the year. We will also take at least one week off in June and July and the first two of August for family vacations and down time.

[Kiara.I]

Do you want to keep covering all the subjects?  If so, you might want to do a rotation--2 one day, 2 the next, something like that.

Or, do you want to pare back and only do, say, math and writing?  Then you could do those every day (or 4 days a week, or whatever works for you.)

[Gentlemommy]

Our days are always 'short' or 'light'. I've just come to the realization that for our family, a shorter daily schedule all year long allows for a better quality of life, learning, and exploring. Four hours is our max as far as length of day. Most of the time, we finish in about 3-3.5 hours.

 

Math-

Dd10 still does about 45-60 minutes

Dd7 does about 20-30 minutes

Dd4 does some C-Rod games for 5-10 minutes

 

Writing-

Free writing, writing project, or copywork-10 minutes for both big dd's

Drawing or copying letters for dd4

 

Grammar-a lesson from FLL orally

 

Spelling/Phonics-

Dd10 does one lesson in Building Spelling Skills (she has a very hard time with spelling, so I do this daily, no matter what)

Dd7 will do five minutes of phonogram practice

 

Geography/History/Science-

I rotate through these and do one per day. Simple stuff, nothing huge or very time consuming. Probably 20-30 minutes per day

 

Reading-

Both big dd's read aloud (longer picture books from their little sister, poetry, fairy tales) for 10 minutes

Both big dd's read to themselves, dd7 for about 20 minutes and dd10 for anywhere from 3-4 hours a day

I read/play on audible our history, science, literature, or poetry book. Car rides are spent listening to audible/Librivox

 

Hours and hours of playing and exploring and being outside.

[rocassie]

This is our lighter load:

 

Math

Reading instruction for the youngest

Spelling for the oldest (I incorporate some writing along with this)

Five In a Row

 

 

[Miss Tick]

For the summer, our lighter schedule includes the things that need practice for retention. Math-4x(once is logic-focused), Spanish-2x, Latin-2x, writing at least once "officially", I also try to schedule art, because that often gets skipped during the school year because it is not a priority for me.

 

Those are my basics. I schedule some writing to keep ds from getting too rusty. I don't schedule reading because that happens organically, but I do strew and limit the number of graphic novels I want out at a time.

[MeghanL]

We just packed everything up to list our house, tried to move and ended up needing to stay put, so our lives are REALLY chaotic right now. Not to mention we were living with my parents an hour away for part of that time and with my sister 7 hours a way for a couple weeks (so I didn't have to keep the house show ready with us living there!) So, for me, a lighter schedule that made me feel like we were still accomplishing a day's worth of school was to unschool as much as possible. I made up "Video Game BINGO" sheets and told all 3 kids, they could do whatever they wanted for the day, but no screens of any kind (unless an approved educational website) until they finished 5 tasks off the bingo sheet. The activities were things like 'read for 30 minutes & write a summary' or 'build a fort'. I also had completing math on IXL or Khan Academy, things like that.

Depending on what kind of situation you are in that requires a lighter load for a season, this  might work really well. It allowed for nothing "having" to be done in a given day, but if they weren't finding enough to entertain themselves, then there was a whole list of stuff they could get involved in that I didn't have to oversee and could focus on packing, making phone calls, etc.

[Coco_Clark]

Our light summer load:

 

Daily math basics (+, -, x, /), copy work, and free reading.

 

Monday- math review (I saved the chapter reviews from the previous year)

Tuesday- spelling or phonics game ala LOE game book

Wednesday- work in the garden w/ nature sketching

Thursday- Latin review and Lollipop Logic

Friday- letter writing, journaling

 

It's not enough for forward movement but it keeps us from getting rusty or making September a major habit change.

[Curlymom]

I pulled my 9 year old down to a lighter load a couple of weeks ago in anticipation of summer.  She was coming to the end of some of her work, so I lightened her load so that it only included:

 

History - MP Famous Men of the Middle Ages (although she finished this yesterday)

Literature - I expected her to read a chapter and narrate, several days a week

Writing - once a week, generally with a writing prompt

Math - daily

Science - MP World of Birds

 

During 'true' summer, we are probably just going to do read alouds that will include literature, living books in science, and history.  We will take 6 - 8 weeks off for summer break.

[Tawlas]

I do very light school over the summer just to keep us in the habit of coming together daily and doing something structured. This summer we'll be finishing Donna Wards "Canada's Natives Long Ago", continuing with a page or two of math each day for the two olders, reading daily (read alouds and silent -or at least independent ;) - reading) and doing nature studies/walks a few times a week. Where we live there is just so much for them to do and explore on their own, I like to make a priority to have plenty of unschedule, semi-unsupervised time outside (a la "Last Child In the Woods")

[ScoutTN]

We really take a break in the summer. I only consider the math really schoolish. All the rest just is a part of normal life here. More relaxed and easy to fit into our flexible schedule in the summer.

 

Piano 15-20 minutes daily. Only 2 lessons during the summer.

Math 15-20 minutes 4-5x a week. Review and reinforcement. Lots of games and puzzles, some songs, a few worksheets.

RA 30-60 minutes most days. An essential part of life in our family. Love to read in the A/C after we come in from the hot!

Writing Some writing 4-5x a week. Letters, copywork, dictation, lists, notes to the neighbor friend to pass through the spy hole in the fence, stories, poems, menus, narrations etc.

Reading Oodles and oodles! I do not have to structure this. I have to pry them out of their books to do chores!

[stm4him]

Math, Writing (copywork or composition), and reading before bed. If they have a weak area in language arts (like spelling or grammar) you could have them focus on that instead of writing.

 

If you want, as a family you can do some read aloud or memory work songs in the car. If you do family devotion you may want to continue that.

 

Of course they may have an instrument to practice. I would just have out some drawing stuff and craft stuff for spontaneous art.

[SilverMoon]

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Edited September 10, 2023 by SilverMoon

[Aurelia]

Reading, writing, math daily. Rotate other subjects each day, so science one day, history the next, geography the third, etc.

[lea_lpz]

Bible, math, Lang and reading aloud.

[lea_lpz]

We are taking a break from our regular curriculum and just finishing out our grade level math and Lang books and trying FIAR for the first time. We just started this week and so far it's been pretty fun. I think we will stick to this through summer. When we finish my dd's 2nd grade spelling, phonics and math we will probably keep up with reading daily for 20 minutes independently and do a spectrum 2nd grade math book for review before starting her off on 3rd grade Lang and math in the fall. For my youngest we broke k into years so he'll be doing his regular k math & Lang but it's not long, we spend about 30 minutes on Lang and 15 on math each day.

 

Right now it's been nice! I have been able to do math & Lang for both at the same time for about 45 minutes, a 15 minute Bible story / study and then rowing our FIAR book and activity and Spanish. That takes about 45-60 minutes. So a two hour school day versus our previous 4 hour'ish. Big improvement! We may well stick to this schedule next year.

 

Before I felt stretched to thin, doing about hour and half of k with my 5 year old and then working another hour and half with my first grader and then an hour together.

[mountains27]

We are doing a lighter load now until probably October because my work schedule becomes 6 days a week and averages 55 hours. Not a lot of time to plan lessons or execute them so I have the kids doing math review, copywork and other short assignments in their LA workbooks I know they can do independently without giving my mom (who watches them for me while I work and thus has to be a sub teacher for me) too much grieve! :) It's gone well with my daughter but my son who is ADHD can't seem to get things done as well independently so I need to rethink his summer schooling :/

[Hunter]

I have been AGONIZING over my schedule. I'm at revision 7.1 today.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B9Fvf4FXKZtofnVZNzJybVRFcXV6al9XdHgxaVZLQl9xZHQ3aUt3S0p3eEFjd01WMUJxTzg&usp=sharing

 

7.1 is like 35 revisions, with all the point somethings. Sigh! What's "enough"? I'm realizing "enough" first and foremost is what is realistic and possible, and that has to be enough, because more just isn't going to get done, just because it's on paper that it should be.

 

I plan. I test. I fail. I strip all the fat. I try again. I don't fail, but I struggle and want to cry. I strip past the fat and I think I started cutting muscle. Ouch. That makes me want to cry for other reasons. I am pre-reading level Green of my experimental schedule this week. I do NOT want to drop Water-Babies from my year focused on rivers. But...students will need supplementary audio to handle that book and librivox keeps losing my place no matter what apps I try. UGH!  :banghead:  Why isn't there a whispersync version of Water-Babies!!?

 

Bulfinch gone. The myth chapters at the beginning of Famous Men of Greece will have to be enough. Arabian Nights gone. That was easier. I read a mean and nasty part and decided my students and I just don't NEED that in OUR lives. Huck Finn gone. If the student liked Prince and the Pauper, I've turned them onto Twain, and they just are going to have to choose that book as part of their self-selected reading, if they want to.

[merry gardens]

Our lighter load is three things a day: The Three R's

 

Reading: what they read can vary day-to-day. It may be explicit phonics instruction or reading good literature for reading from a science or history book 

Writing: some type of writing where ink meets paper. It might be a handwriting lesson or a lesson from a composition book or an essay for history or literature.

Arithmetic: One lesson from their math textbooks until the book's complete. Once that's done, 1-2 math pages from one of those all-encompassing curriculum books sold in stores everywhere.

 

We've moved a variation of this past month for one of mine in high school. I require three things per day: math plus 2 other subjects, with those other two subjects rotating by the day or week.  He may work those subjects more intensely each day, but I only ask him to do three things each day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tiramisu]

This is what we are doing now since we've finished almost all of our content areas. 

 

Evan-Moor Daily Language Review

Evan-Moor Daily Math Practice

cursive handwriting

copywork or a writing a paragraph on a topic of choice

reading of choice, usually free classic lit downloaded on her Kindle

read-aloud, finishing up Narnia

 

My dd has had a tough year because we've been dealing with serious issues in our extended family. I want her to have some time completely off from what she thinks is school work. Reading and read-alouds will continue because she doesn't think those things are school. I will encourage her to write letters to friends for writing practice. I'd be happy if she would do one math section a day in the EM book, but I don't think I'll push that and may rely on games for math practice.

[FO4UR]

20min of math

 

Spelling or Dictation

 

Read something and Narrate.  (oral narrations for 9yo and down, written for 10yo and up)

 

 

[LindaOz]

My bare-bones essentials are what I call 2Ms-2Rs:

 

Math

Music

Reading

'Riting

 

Our lives are a little crazy at the moment - sometimes I manage to get some 'content' in and sometimes 'life' is the content at the moment. We still do read-aloud stuff together every day too which always helps :) .