I'm opening myself up here - Is this too much for a 3rd grader?

[KIN]

Please be honest, but gentle! My 3rd grader and I are really struggling this year. I'm thinking about scaling some things back, but I don't want to just b/c he is complaining - only if it is too much. He is very capable (reads at an 8th grade plus level, math is easy, spells at a 7th grade level) nothing he is doing is too hard, I'm just wondering if it is too many things. Or, am I dealing with a heart issue, KWIM?

 

With me:

 

RightStart Math Level D

Rod and Staff grammar 3rd grade

SWR (40 words a week, he is a whiz at spelling)

WWE level 2

Biblioplan history year 3 (I write the narrations, he dictates)

Real Science for Kids pre-level 1 Chemistry

Art & Music

 

 

Alone (of course I am available for questions):

 

Rod & Staff Bible readers (this is for Bible, I don't have him do the entire lessons)

Trail Guide to World Geography

SWR quiz (of 20 words with a CD reading the words)

LCI - he watches the DVD with me and does the book on his own

Math - 3 Singapore Challenging Word Problems & 2 drill sheets from RS

Memory - listens to 1 poem & verse on a memory tape. My goal is 1 poem a month, and 1 verse a week

Piano practice (I do help with this frequently)

[TwinMominTX]

Is there a specific area that causes the majority of complaints (ie math, spelling, etc.)? Is he complaining it is too much work or just not fun?

[KIN]

Good question! I talked to him today and he said is isn't too hard, he just has a hard time with the fact that he isn't done and his brothers (1st and 4yo) get to go play. He also said the work is harder than last year (to which I think, "Of course, it is another year, it gets harder!"). I'm really losing patience with him. But, I guess I'm wondering if it is too many things for a 3rd grader.

[rafiki]

.

[abbeyej]

Well, I *do* see some areas that I wonder if you can't cut back on.

 

Yes, it's tough on both of you... It's hard when little siblings get to go play, and the big one is stuck working. It's hard to start a new year and find there's more work to be done than before. And it's hard to have patience with a child who is whining and arguing.

 

So for that stuff, I try to remind my older one that he's *not* four or six, and can't expect to be treated like he's four or six... I also make it clear that *I* don't have to listen to whining/fussing/ugliness. If a child is going to fight me on their work, they go sit on the steps till they can come back with a better attitude. So if they have to sit on the steps for ten minutes or an hour, that's an extra ten minutes or hour it will take them to finish. It wastes *their* time, not mine...

 

*But*, as I said, I see some redundancy and superfluous work that you could cut down on.

 

First, is it really doing him any good to do all that SWR? He's already an excellent reader and speller. It seems like a lot of time to spend on something that comes naturally to him. Now granted, I've got one kid with whom I dropped spelling completely around the age of 5. He has continued to improve rapidly despite only sporadic spelling instruction. He just *gets* spelling. My other one -- so far at least -- really needs spelling instruction. So she does it every day. But my perspective was why spend our *time* on something where ds was already far above grade level and continuing to improve as much *without* instruction as he was *with*. (He gets 100% correct on the spelling portion of his standardized tests too...)

 

So if it were me, I'd start with dropping SWR for this child. He just doesn't need it.

 

How do you divide up the history / geography / science / art / music? Is there a way to do each of those subjects 1-3 days a week, and cut back on the number of little subjects per day? For some kids, tons of short lessons work. For other kids, they'd rather spend an hour or more on one subject and feel less put-upon than a little bit of five subjects. Perhaps just re-arranging would make him feel less stressed.

 

As for Latin, I would suggest you either do it *with* him, or put it off for another year. Yes, I think Latin is very, very important to a classical education. But it's not vitally important that it happen in third grade. You could put it off and focus on other skills this year without any long-term consequences. ... Or sit and do Latin *with* him. Don't make him do it alone with a dvd.

[brehon]

Well, I *do* see some areas that I wonder if you can't cut back on.

 

Yes, it's tough on both of you... It's hard when little siblings get to go play, and the big one is stuck working. It's hard to start a new year and find there's more work to be done than before. And it's hard to have patience with a child who is whining and arguing.

 

So for that stuff, I try to remind my older one that he's *not* four or six, and can't expect to be treated like he's four or six... I also make it clear that *I* don't have to listen to whining/fussing/ugliness. If a child is going to fight me on their work, they go sit on the steps till they can come back with a better attitude. So if they have to sit on the steps for ten minutes or an hour, that's an extra ten minutes or hour it will take them to finish. It wastes *their* time, not mine...

 

*But*, as I said, I see some redundancy and superfluous work that you could cut down on.

 

First, is it really doing him any good to do all that SWR? He's already an excellent reader and speller. It seems like a lot of time to spend on something that comes naturally to him. Now granted, I've got one kid with whom I dropped spelling completely around the age of 5. He has continued to improve rapidly despite only sporadic spelling instruction. He just *gets* spelling. My other one -- so far at least -- really needs spelling instruction. So she does it every day. But my perspective was why spend our *time* on something where ds was already far above grade level and continuing to improve as much *without* instruction as he was *with*. (He gets 100% correct on the spelling portion of his standardized tests too...)

 

So if it were me, I'd start with dropping SWR for this child. He just doesn't need it.

 

How do you divide up the history / geography / science / art / music? Is there a way to do each of those subjects 1-3 days a week, and cut back on the number of little subjects per day? For some kids, tons of short lessons work. For other kids, they'd rather spend an hour or more on one subject and feel less put-upon than a little bit of five subjects. Perhaps just re-arranging would make him feel less stressed.

 

As for Latin, I would suggest you either do it *with* him, or put it off for another year. Yes, I think Latin is very, very important to a classical education. But it's not vitally important that it happen in third grade. You could put it off and focus on other skills this year without any long-term consequences. ... Or sit and do Latin *with* him. Don't make him do it alone with a dvd.

 

Abbeyeje said pretty much everything I thought of. My eldest (7yo son) also has problems with seeing his younger siblings playing, especially his 5 yo sister finishing her work "way" before he does. I explain, ad nauseum it seems to me, that he did the same amount of work when he was 5 that she's doing now. And I heartily agree with abbeyeje on the Latin. My son loves Latin, but there is no way he'd consent to doing it alone.

 

I might think about seeing which areas you could meet your son half-way, so to speak. He'll feel better about having you listen to him (I know you're listening to him; this way, he'll know it. Make sense? I'm not criticizing you in any way. It's that whole perception thing.) and you'll feel better about him doing what you think *must* be finished. I hope this comes across better that it "sounds" when I write it. Good Luck!

[Ali in OR]

Just a few thoughts:

 

We are also increasing the workload a bit this year. We start the full load today, so I don't know yet how it will go. But I do get involved in education discussions with friends who have kids in both public and private schools, and I always hear about the increased load and expectations in third grade. The kids are expected to be capable of more at this age.

 

Mine also has a younger sib who doesn't have to do as much. I just frequently remind her that she did 1.5 hours of school when she was in kindergarten and her sister will get more playtime than she does. That is age appropriate.

 

Like Abbeyej, I would look at the SWR. We switched to R&S spelling (from SWO) because it is a lighter load. I don't want to major in spelling. Writing is an area we're going to really target this year, and while I still want some spelling, I don't want it to be a big deal. I want to focus on other things.

 

Aack! 8:30--time to get off the computer and start our first full day. Hang in there!

[Harriet Vane]

Well, I *do* see some areas that I wonder if you can't cut back on.

 

Yes, it's tough on both of you... It's hard when little siblings get to go play, and the big one is stuck working. It's hard to start a new year and find there's more work to be done than before. And it's hard to have patience with a child who is whining and arguing.

 

So for that stuff, I try to remind my older one that he's *not* four or six, and can't expect to be treated like he's four or six... I also make it clear that *I* don't have to listen to whining/fussing/ugliness. If a child is going to fight me on their work, they go sit on the steps till they can come back with a better attitude. So if they have to sit on the steps for ten minutes or an hour, that's an extra ten minutes or hour it will take them to finish. It wastes *their* time, not mine...

 

*But*, as I said, I see some redundancy and superfluous work that you could cut down on.

 

First, is it really doing him any good to do all that SWR? He's already an excellent reader and speller. It seems like a lot of time to spend on something that comes naturally to him. Now granted, I've got one kid with whom I dropped spelling completely around the age of 5. He has continued to improve rapidly despite only sporadic spelling instruction. He just *gets* spelling. My other one -- so far at least -- really needs spelling instruction. So she does it every day. But my perspective was why spend our *time* on something where ds was already far above grade level and continuing to improve as much *without* instruction as he was *with*. (He gets 100% correct on the spelling portion of his standardized tests too...)

 

So if it were me, I'd start with dropping SWR for this child. He just doesn't need it.

 

How do you divide up the history / geography / science / art / music? Is there a way to do each of those subjects 1-3 days a week, and cut back on the number of little subjects per day? For some kids, tons of short lessons work. For other kids, they'd rather spend an hour or more on one subject and feel less put-upon than a little bit of five subjects. Perhaps just re-arranging would make him feel less stressed.

 

As for Latin, I would suggest you either do it *with* him, or put it off for another year. Yes, I think Latin is very, very important to a classical education. But it's not vitally important that it happen in third grade. You could put it off and focus on other skills this year without any long-term consequences. ... Or sit and do Latin *with* him. Don't make him do it alone with a dvd.

 

I agree with Abbeyej and would like to add my own experience:

 

--When dd fusses about the amount of free time her brother gets, I talk to her the same way that Abbeyej does, and also remind her that she got all that free time in second grade, too. Age brings both privilege AND responsibility.

 

--Please, please do Latin WITH your child. I did not, and I really regret it. At the time life was very intense for us due to a close relation's brain tumor. Latin is one area I gratefully handed off to a co-op teacher. However, over the years I have learned that even with the great LC video and reinforcement from the co-op, dd needs more help. She is someone who is gifted with languages--her Spanish teacher RAVES about her, and she is competently juggling both Spanish and Latin. It runs in our family--my father was fluent in several languages, and I have always picked up on new languages well. Yet even though dd has a knack for languages and is good at memorizing, she still needs more coaching through her LC homework than I can give her. In short, foreign language is complicated! You will find, as your child progresses, that having an adult to coach him or her through is absolutely necessary. The video will not cover all he/she needs.

[Blossom'sGirl]

My 3rd grade ds is doing:

 

SWR (20 - 30 words per week), quiz everyday except test day

R&S English 3 most done orally but he does the worksheets

WWE - he's doing Lev 1 from the text but I have not decided whether to get the Lev. 2 workbook or wait for Level 3.

Mc-Call Crabbs reading test (3 x per week)

 

My ds is a slow reader so this is our focus this year

BJU Reading 3 also workbook

Sonlight intermediate and advanced 2 reading schedule

Alone reading The Little Kids Adventure Bible.

 

I know this is a lot of reading but he is getting better.

 

RightStart D plus 2 challenging word problems per day. Do drill sheets as needed

 

Lively Latin 1 with his older brother - he's great at memorizing.

 

World Studies - This includes Trail Guide to the World, R&S Homelands plus corresponding read alouds. We are also doing the Visual Manna for art

 

Classical Science (the free download) - this is a quick, simple science giving him a base in scientific ideas.

 

Typing Instructor 2x per week.

 

No history this year. We are going to start again with ancients when his brother is in 1st grade next year.

 

As I said, we have many similar curriculums, I am happy now with the amount. If you need to I would cut back on the # of SWR words. My guy does have older and younger siblings so he knows he is expected to work but he is a stallaholic.

[Jen500]

I agree with abbeyej's comments.

[KIN]

Thank you everyone!! I agree with Abbeyej and others that said I need to do Latin with my ds. It has been a frustration for both of us - him b/c he's "supposed" to do it independantly but needs help and I'm frustrated for the same reason! So, why not do it with him and take that off of both of us? :)

 

I think also, that I will try something a little different for spelling. Here is my idea: Have ds "quiz" on 40 words a week (which is what he did last year and is continuing this year), if he misses any dictate those to him, quiz him on the missed words only for the week and have a final test on the missed words only on Friday. I think most of the time it should only be 1-2 words if any.

 

 

Oh, we do only do history 2-3 times/week and science 1-2 times/week, and art/music 1 time a week.

And, I'm going to keep working at the complaining. I have told ds that his brothers are younger, yada, yada, yada (hey that's a Seinfield quote!), but it doesn't seem to sink in. I'll keep it up and be more firm with sitting immediately when he starts to complain.

 

If anyone has any other ideas, I'd love to hear them!! Thanks so much!

[Narrow Gate Academy]

It doesn't look like too many things to me either. My general rule of thumb is grade plus 1 hour for elementary. If he can complete the work in 4 hours great. If not, I would consider scaling back like some of the other posters have said.

 

My oldest went through a similar struggle last year when we stepped up the work load for 3rd grade. It's hard to work while others are off having fun. We tried the "your sister is doing the same amount of work that you did when you were her age" explanation, but that didn't help. We also talked about having more responsibility because she is older now. What helped the most was usually just encouraging her to stay focused on her work and explaining that the longer she complained or sat wishing she was playing, the less time she would actually have to play. HTH

[Homemama2]

I think the spelling test at the beginning of the week (then only work on the ones he misses) is a great idea. Even if that only means one or two words a week. He sounds very bright, let that be a "reward" of sorts for his hard work.

I can't help but wonder if he'd complain as much if you just did some of the extra independent work with him? (Trust me, I understand about not having the time and wanting your ds to become independent in his work.) But maybe he's bummed bc he doesn't get to play like his siblings, and is also lonely bc you're not working with him. Could you practice the memory work aloud with him? (This is something you could be doing while doing dishes etc.) Or if it's something you want him to do entirely on his own, have him sit next to you on the couch (you can read, lesson plan etc...he does his work...kids play quietly next to him)? Maybe this IS what you're doing...but that's what struck me first. Third grade is still young.:001_smile:

[PeterPan]

Couple questions. Is there anything on that list he LIKES? We did a lot of those same things with my dd in 3rd grade and we finally made major changes to make our life happer. The pre-chem wasn't enough or satisfying, so we went to an activity book with just plain more. The RS math had no color and sucked the life out of her, so we went to BJU math, which is similar conceptually but has color and much more interesting problems like their Stretch Your Mind book. On the history, are you reading that to him or giving him things he can explore and read for himself? With his reading level, he ought to be reading his own history and it ought to be fun time for him, not really feeling like "school" at all. Oh, and the R&S grammar got tossed too. Shurley is short, sweet, and adequate. I'm just suggesting that you look at the interest factor in your stuff. 3rd grade was when it really came to a head for us, both because she wanted to be more independent and couldn't be with the teacher-driven materials and because the mismatch in learning styles became so pronounced. (or else she lost patience?)

 

On the spelling, we went to dictation. The way you're doing SWR is overkill, but your streamlining plan sounds fine. Not what I'd do, but fine. I've become a huge fan of integrating dictation and spelling, so that would be my two cents. See you obviously have a bright dc, and you need not only to move him forward but to do it in ways that are more sophisticated or bring together more skills. You could put him into an editing program for 5th-7th graders like the Take 5 Minutes Daily History Editing. The BJU Stretch workbook is so much more interesting and fun than the SM CWP. Don't keep everything so flat and one dimensional. Find something that tickles his funny bone. On the LC, I agree you need to be very actively involved with it. Angelina was telling me how she uses Minimus alongside LC1 to provide more contextualized and interesting application, so I'd suggest that. Also, I think its wise to do the Ludre Latine book along with it. She said she uses Cambridge along with LC2. Again, you're taking it to the next level and making it more stimulating.

 

As far as the siblings, is there any form of respect they can show, maybe having enforced quiet time, no tv, etc. while your ds finishes his work? If they're playing in the yard and he's doing math, that would go over like a lead balloon in our house. I'm pretty sure I'd decide they needed a mandatory 1 hour nap or quiet time in their rooms because they're little. Then staying up is a privilege and a big kid thing. But I haven't homeschooled two, so take that with a grain of salt. :)

 

Oh, my other grand question: why are you writing narrations for a boy who spells on a 7th grade level? He needs to write his own or learn to type. You shouldn't be writing anything for a boy that advanced, and he might not be writing as much as he's capable of. Or does he have some physical issue/encumbrance? In general, I'd expect to see more writing. I'd toss the worthless (for him) single word writing from cd and get him writing his narrations daily, book summaries weekly, and doing dictation and/or copywork. If his typing is slow, get him into a typing program. Does he do anything cool on the computer? I had played a few things with my dd early on, but lately my dd has sprouted in her interest in computer games. She especially enjoys Fritz & Chesster and Zoombinis.

 

I'm not really trying to say you should toss everything you've been using successfully to this point. It might be though that you're starting to see signs of change that will lead you to make some changes over the next year. This was the age when it really happened for us, and I'm glad we made the changes.

[dcjlkplus3]

I think it is alot to do both History and science everyday - we alteratnate, because they both take quite a bit of time. I also saw SWR on both lists (isn't that spelling?), maybe once a day would be enough?

[abbeyej]

...

And, I'm going to keep working at the complaining. I have told ds that his brothers are younger, yada, yada, yada (hey that's a Seinfield quote!), but it doesn't seem to sink in. I'll keep it up and be more firm with sitting immediately when he starts to complain...

 

You know, I've found there were 3-5 days each of the last several years when I had to be really hard-nosed about this. You know, first *hint* of a complaint gets a warning, second one is "Go to the steps" (or, as I think in my head, "Go to the Steppes!")... And when Child comes back, if the attitude is still there (huffing, glaring, sighing, stomping, pencil-banging, etc), straight back they go.

 

But if I'm good about it for a few days, then I don't really have to worry about it again -- things get *much* better.

 

And the kids *make* themselves miserable with all that wallowing. lol... So cruel as I may seem, they really are *happier* when they aren't throwing their weight around and sighing and feeling oppressed.

[KIN]

Thanks, OhE. :) I've got to mull over some of the ideas you listed. I really *like* all of the curricula we are doing and feel that is, in part, why he is doing so well.

 

I did have ds writing his own narrations, but he was shortening them as much as he could, using as few words as possible b/c he had to write them. He has a hard time with writing. Is it b/c he's a boy??? I have no idea! But, I decided for now I didn't want to see him curb his narrating just to write it down. I do have him copy several sentences and WWE is also working on narration/dicatation. I'm hoping to be there by the end of this year.

 

Thanks again, I'll be thinking this through some more b/c obviously something ain't working here!

[dcjlkplus3]

Just read more posts,

You may want to switch to Spelling Power if you are going to change how you do it anyway. It should only take about 15 per day, but you only study words you don't know and the book goes all the way up through high school and adult levels.

[WTMindy]

Well, I *do* see some areas that I wonder if you can't cut back on.

 

Yes, it's tough on both of you... It's hard when little siblings get to go play, and the big one is stuck working. It's hard to start a new year and find there's more work to be done than before. And it's hard to have patience with a child who is whining and arguing.

 

So for that stuff, I try to remind my older one that he's *not* four or six, and can't expect to be treated like he's four or six... I also make it clear that *I* don't have to listen to whining/fussing/ugliness. If a child is going to fight me on their work, they go sit on the steps till they can come back with a better attitude. So if they have to sit on the steps for ten minutes or an hour, that's an extra ten minutes or hour it will take them to finish. It wastes *their* time, not mine...

 

*But*, as I said, I see some redundancy and superfluous work that you could cut down on.

 

First, is it really doing him any good to do all that SWR? He's already an excellent reader and speller. It seems like a lot of time to spend on something that comes naturally to him. Now granted, I've got one kid with whom I dropped spelling completely around the age of 5. He has continued to improve rapidly despite only sporadic spelling instruction. He just *gets* spelling. My other one -- so far at least -- really needs spelling instruction. So she does it every day. But my perspective was why spend our *time* on something where ds was already far above grade level and continuing to improve as much *without* instruction as he was *with*. (He gets 100% correct on the spelling portion of his standardized tests too...)

 

So if it were me, I'd start with dropping SWR for this child. He just doesn't need it.

 

How do you divide up the history / geography / science / art / music? Is there a way to do each of those subjects 1-3 days a week, and cut back on the number of little subjects per day? For some kids, tons of short lessons work. For other kids, they'd rather spend an hour or more on one subject and feel less put-upon than a little bit of five subjects. Perhaps just re-arranging would make him feel less stressed.

 

As for Latin, I would suggest you either do it *with* him, or put it off for another year. Yes, I think Latin is very, very important to a classical education. But it's not vitally important that it happen in third grade. You could put it off and focus on other skills this year without any long-term consequences. ... Or sit and do Latin *with* him. Don't make him do it alone with a dvd.

 

Abbey, you are wise as always. I agree about the spelling and the Latin. I dropped spelling altogether with my kids (Don't tell the homeschooling police) because they are pretty natural spellers and I didn't find that doing lessons really made a difference in their writing. I would also do Latin together. And, I might even wait until the younger sibs can join in a bit.

[PeterPan]

Have you tried setting a minimum requirement on the writing? Narrations are kind of open-ended, where a retelling of a model (WT or IEW) is more concrete and has basic things to cover. Laura in China has talked about this too, where she set basic standards and said fill the paper or else. Dictation is another way to build his writing quantity endurance, and eliminating the excess (unnecessary for him) spelling writing will help. Have you tried dictating sentences from the Wise Guide? I did that with my dd last year, and it was a great thing.

 

Shortening the writing can be a boy thing, but it can be a boredom, just because I can, thing too. For my dd, it's a game. I asked her to write a book summary (something she can do easily) on this book she had read and enjoyed last week. She handed me back this 3 line thing that was written all funky (like the headlines on Fox News, if you can imagine) and says, "I wrote it to be like the concise summaries on the back of the book." ;) She was playing a game with me! And if it hadn't been for knowing my pregnancy propensity to blow my stack and destroy things, I would have handed it back to her and said re-do it! Instead, I had mercy, pointed out that she had not met expectations, and told her to edit. But you can believe next time I'm expecting a longer one (have told her so) and won't play that game. So use your best judgment, but know that it's not only boys who play that game. I think decreasing any unnecessary writing will leave him more reserve and physical strength to do the writing you ask. Try to keep the assignments sophisticated, so they're killing multiple birds with one stone. When you can do spelling and dictation and something else all in one assignment, he's accomplishing a lot for his finger-pushing expenditure, kwim?

[angela in ohio]

Someone else might already have said this, but maybe the work is actually too easy. School work is a drag if it not challenging, imho.

[PeterPan]

Someone else might already have said this, but maybe the work is actually too easy. School work is a drag if it not challenging, imho.

 

Uh yup, that's what I was trying to say, lol. I just didn't come out and say it. ;)

 

Elizabeth

[Rosy]

My oldest daughter has had a tough time with having to work while everyone else is playing, too. One thing that has helped is when she's able to see the privileges of being older along with the responsibilities. In our family that means getting paid for some chores, getting to stay up at rest time, getting a library card when she learned to read, etc. Sometimes I'll let her have a snack during her afternoon schoolwork, once last year I bought her a present "for doing such a good job in school". I don't think you can buy a good attitude with favors and privileges, but sometimes I think kids need to see that being the oldest isn't all bad, know what I mean? That working hard and being responsible has rewards. We've also had to correct bad attitudes--copying Bible verses about contentment, etc.

[KIN]

Rosy -

 

I've realized too that being older needs some privilages along with the expectations. It's definitely something I need to work on!

[Testimony]

I have a son now in third grade.

 

I think that it is a fine schedule.

 

Keep up the great work with your son.

 

Blessings in your homeschooling journey!

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony:thumbup:

[Guest ljtraylor]

"Have you tried dictating sentences from the Wise Guide? I did that with my dd last year, and it was a great thing."

 

I have not heard of this resource. Could someone fill me in?

 

Also, I am struggling in this same area and have children about the same ages. I would love it if some of you could share some tips on how you juggle all of this especially with multiple children, and also fitting in housework, meals, etc...

 

I can get it to work on paper, but not so much in reality.:tongue_smilie:

 

My oldest is VERY bright, but also still VERY distracted. He struggles to complete things especially his Saxon math 5/4 and I only assign the odd or even problems.

 

Here is what our shedule looks like ideally:

 

We start by reviewing our weekly grammar from Classical Conversations. we do this all together and it's working well. (20 min.)

Then we add in a poem (5min.)

 

After that from 10-11 is Math

Oldest does DIVE, I work with 1st and 3rd grader on their math.

 

11-11:45 is FLL, / Spelling, Handwriting These alternate so everyone gets to it 2x/week

 

after lunch is 30 min. reading time

 

1:30-2:30 is History (mon./wed.) Geography (tue./Thur) Science (Fri)

 

2:30-3:30 is Practice piano, finish any leftover school work, chores.

 

After reading several postings this seems very reasonable, but I'm finding it very hard to get through it. The plan is to incorporate narration and dictation into our history, but it is not happening. I'd like to add Latin at some point, but at this point it would be a miracle.

 

Can't wait to hear some respsonses.

[Laura Corin]

Laura in China has talked about this too, where she set basic standards and said fill the paper or else.

 

He had to keep his pencil moving for that time. However, I didn't mind what he wrote. He could write, 'This is really boring, I want to play,' if he wanted. My only concern was the keep the pencil moving. We did six months of that, before going back to requiring him to write on a topic.

 

Laura

[frogpond1]

You can have three of your days longer with more instruction and two of your days with more independent work where he can finish earlier and play with siblings. Or some combo like that. We would do 2 days of history and 1 day of science in the afternoons and that leaves 2 other days with less busy afternoons. If you want independent - Calvert Spelling is a great independent CD course that will give you more time doing other things. Other than that, we make more of a distinction at grade 3 here. Grade three school becomes real with all the writing involved etc. Grades k-2 are more oral and history/science is just listening in to the older kids etc. (That is because I have 4 kids and teach a lot of classes etc. Plus for the grades K-2 we worked all year on reading etc, where my olders went on summer break.) If you ease your child into doing a few longer days it may be easier on both of you. As I've passed through 4 kids I've gotten easier in some things and more demanding in others. The thing I'm more demanding on is copywork, writing and narrations. I've eased up on worrying exactly what grade level my child is reading at and worrying if they will ever read independently and I've just gone with the leading of each child. You are doing great with that schedule and you can tweak the phonics etc. (most kids don't need phonics by 3rd grade unless there are reading issues) but keep going. Your youngers will grow up soon and join him. He won't be alone for long.:001_smile: