momee Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 HOW do you all do all the work? DS and I have been diligently working at year 1, week 15 and have not finished all the discussion we aimed to, nor did we even get to do the Pageant of Philosophy. We're picking and choosing and still really having a hard time with the workload. Anyone care to comment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Home'scool Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 I have some thoughts after having used TOG for years. First off, as you have mentioned, you need to pick and choose from all the work suggested. So my first impulse was to say that perhaps you were still picking and choosing too much. BUT, I now have a different perspective of workload for my 9th grader (I'm not sure what grade your child is in, but you said rhetoric level so I am assuming high school age.) My dd, 9th grade, is taking her first online course this year. She is taking AP World History and the workload is huge. Just huge. For example, last week she had to read a chapter, define 20 terms (not just quick sentences, but whole paragraphs defining the 5 W's), answer 7 questions about the chapter (again, loooong answers. One of the questions was a "compare/contrast 2 civilizations" question - the answer was at least 3 paragraphs), read an article about migration patterns and write a 500 word essay, read another article about Confucius and answer 8 questions, write another 500 word paper on lifestyles of the civilization she was studying, create a power point presentation, and do a map. This was all due in one week. On my own, doing TOG, I never would have assigned that much work. I never would have thought it could have all been done. Now, however, she is doing it. Looking back I was just not assigning enough time for the level of work that she should have been doing. I thought 1 hour a day for history was a lot. At the high school level it isn't. So instead of telling you to limit what you are picking, I would suggest adjusting your expectations and up the amount of time your student spends on history. It will get done if the time is put in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 It is difficult. I don't want to alarm you, but year 1 is a piece of cake compared to year 2 (if we're talking Redesign.) I start our week on Friday so my rhetoric level son can read over the weekend and I have set days for discussion. That seems to help, some. :001_unsure: This year, year 3, my son is covering history (w/geography), literature, government, and philosophy only. The arts and church history have fallen to the wayside. This has also given us some breathing room. He reads church history, but we don't discuss it, nor does he answer any questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 This is our first year doing rhetoric, using Yr1. Discussion gets done at our weekly co-op. We meet for 3 hours and cover history and literature. Ds read the core assignments. Since he's an 8th grader I haven't assigned from the in-depth selections much. I assign the Bible history when it's part of the main history lesson. Ds reads Pageant of Philosophy but we don't discuss and it's not covered in co-op. I also have him do some of the geography lessons but this isn't covered at co-op either. At this point we aren't doing arts or government. History isn't my ds's favorite subject, so having him do this much is enough for us at this time. Just another POV, Cinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in PA Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I also assign TOG rhetoric reading/writing on Fridays. This allows my teens a weekend to read. Discussions for literature and history - including Church History - are normally scheduled for the following Friday. Now, they have one week to prepare. I agree with the above discussions that as a high school student they should meet mom's expectations to complete their work on-time. Yes, TOG offers flexibility to choose courses for each household. I have one son, in particular, who does not like studying history while my daughter relishes each book. Yet, they both will continue to study history, church history, geography, and literature. Since my son does have a vigorous math and science load (a potential engineering major) I do take into account readings assigned to him. The core readings are assigned to my son, just not the supplemental book suggestions. To date, I have not taught with the philososphy material. Some day... I have been so humbled teaching my children at home. Their zeal for learning often coorelates with my attitude to teach! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momee Posted September 22, 2008 Author Share Posted September 22, 2008 I'm not sure this makes me feel any better. I will continue to pray and decide carefully about the workload assigned. Just by chance, do any of you have a sample of what you've picked and chosen from year 1??? I'd like to see what someone else considers adequate/challenging/doable. I have posted this on the TOG forums also. Thanks for the input. and yes, if you're scared say you're scared - I'M scared!!! He's 9th grade - just turned 14 so he's a young one but we've been doing TOG for years and by now I should think we'd have this under control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyinNNV Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 When I have this type of problem, I think in terms of time. I'd like my dd to read for an hour a day, write for an hour a day and complete maps/comprehension questions for an hour a day. Set the timer. Stop when the time is up. Assess where you are. Make plans for the next day. Continue this way until you feel more able to make long term plans. Or continue this way indefinitely. Holly I'm not sure this makes me feel any better. I will continue to pray and decide carefully about the workload assigned. Just by chance, do any of you have a sample of what you've picked and chosen from year 1??? I'd like to see what someone else considers adequate/challenging/doable. I have posted this on the TOG forums also. Thanks for the input. and yes, if you're scared say you're scared - I'M scared!!! He's 9th grade - just turned 14 so he's a young one but we've been doing TOG for years and by now I should think we'd have this under control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePurpleLady Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 When I have this type of problem, I think in terms of time. I'd like my dd to read for an hour a day, write for an hour a day and complete maps/comprehension questions for an hour a day. Set the timer. Stop when the time is up. Assess where you are. Make plans for the next day. Continue this way until you feel more able to make long term plans. Or continue this way indefinitely.Holly Holly, I needed this advice. It's so simple, but I can see that if I followed the one hour rule I would stay on schedule and probably get even more done each day, without a lot of added stress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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