If you could only do ONE thing for afterschooling ..

[SKL]

What would it be?

 

I am struggling with prioritizing this year.  I want to do just a few things (mostly on weekends) that give a good bang for the buck.  Bonus points if they are fun.  :)

[Julie Smith]

Read aloud books. Lots of books.

 

If anything beyond that mastering math facts.

[gstharr]

Math.  If at least one grade level up, school math is then review..

[Guest]

Math.

 

If you feel the school has math covered, and you dont want to start the math club type of problem sets, then your choice of debate/mock trial, or journalism. This is an excellent time to learn to present an argument rationally, whether its though math or writing or speaking. If that doesnt appeal, drama. Read, watch, perform. Dont let the Simpsons be the first intro to Shakespeare...at the very least let it be Picard.

[nature girl]

I agree with read alouds...the best way to enrich a kid's life, and the only thing even remotely tolerable at the end of the school day.

 

I wish DD would have the energy for math, but there's no way I'm going to bombard her with anything that qualifies as "work" when she's already been forced to be still for 8 hours. I'm a bit worried about this, I'm sure that her math at school (Everyday Math) will be deplorable...I only hope I've given her enough of a strong foundation while we were hs'ing, with RS and Singapore. Her understanding of numbers is fantastic now, I only hope she doesn't lose it (even if she loses her mental math skills.)

[ReadingMama1214]

I imagine this will change. Right now we do phonics daily. Dd goes to half day preschool and while they have kids who are reading, it's not fully phonics based. I'm not even sure what reading instruction they get!

 

We also do some math, but not daily yet. I imagine that once Dd is reading fluently we will do math daily if needed.

 

Her school uses Singapore and if that's a fit then I would do interest led afterschooling. Give her lots of resources to explore STEM interests or art.

 

We always read aloud and I don't count it as afterschooling yet.

Edited September 14, 2016 by ReadingMama1214

[ElizabethB]

Phonics until they are reading well. After that, math.

Edited September 19, 2016 by ElizabethB

[EKS]

I would do math and call read alouds "bedtime reading" (and, hence, not technically afterschooling).

[Bluegoat]

For this year, my dd hasn't covered quite the same things at home as the others in her grade 6 class, so we are concentrating on that.

 

But, if that was not an issue, I'd be looking at encouraging reading in some content areas I know they miss, like history. 

 

I'm pretty concious of spending too much time each day on extra "school work" as I think it would be counter-productive.  Dd also has her music studies which take up some time.

[Bluegoat]

As far as other stuff, I'm more inclined to do summer work than too much after-school work.

[cabritadorada]

With a Kindergartener here:

 

I almost don't count our read alouds--they're just part of every day no matter what. 

 

Other than reading aloud the one thing I aim to hit every day is phonics. 

[SKL]

For those who said math - what specific type of math activity?  (Note my kids are young 5th graders.)

Edited September 20, 2016 by SKL

[Julpost]

For us, I would take whatever math concept was being worked on at school and cover it in a "real life" way. It keeps me engaged with their school life and shows them the different ways the concept can be used. 

 

Other than that, I agree with everyone else...lots and lots of reading. It's a great excuse for more cuddle time! :hurray:

[ReadingMama1214]

For us with math, Dd is only in preschool but a little advanced in math and asking lots of questions lately about numbers. So we just started education unboxed.

[Lucy the Valiant]

If I could do only 1 thing, it would be a math- or tech-focused club (FLL, robotics, etc.) - my kids enjoy competition, so we'd go there. Builds good friendships, encourages strategies across "subjects," challenges them to call up skills and abilities that might be hiding in the "boring" background.

 

Plus, they're fun, if you have the right team!

[Bluegoat]

For those who said math - what specific type of math activity?  (Note my kids are young 5th graders.)

 

Dd is in sixth, so we are looking to cover some gaps as they come up.  She's done less with decimals than some of the other kids so we are starting there.

[Alessandra]

Read alouds, especially classic children's stories and fairy tales. You can always catch up on other subjects, but reading Three Little Pigs or Wind in the Willows is not the same with older kids.

 

Check out Books to Build On for some great reading lists and recommendations for specific editions.

[Guest]

For those who said math - what specific type of math activity? (Note my kids are young 5th graders.)

Problem of the Week

If they havenot learned morse(or any other) code, knots, map &compass, or hand sewing a seam in their ecs, now is a good time

Anything on mathplayground.com that looks intriguing

Make a pattern for a costume part, then make the costume

Watch an episode of pbs cyberchase each week and discuss the math involved

http://www.pbs.org/parents/cyberchase/about-cyberchase/learning-goals/

Build a water clock

Follow a team and calculate statistics

Fill in any gap the school leaves...I seem to remember they do SM, so if you feel CWP is still challenging, do that. Same for IP.

Edited September 24, 2016 by Heigh Ho

[gstharr]

For those who said math - what specific type of math activity?  (Note my kids are young 5th graders.)

 

Any math program at least one grade level advanced. Started year round  on-line math classes in 3rd grade.  Typically takes 6-9 months to complete a subject/ grade level. Though alg 1 took way more than a year. otoh, geometry was completed in a less than 6 months. Now in 6th grade, and starting alg 2.  All  independent of school-no school advancement ever considered.  Main advantage, all school math is review and reinforcement.  Spending only minutes on math at school,  gives him at least an hour of free time each day to focus on more challenging subjects, and sports.

[Caroline]

Culture--museums, ballet, theater, good books

[Angie in VA]

I've never afterschooled (only homeschooled), but knowing what i know? Music lessons. And orchestra/band, etc. Music. Lots of music. 

[mommyoffive]

I am not afterschooling, but I thought this was such an neat idea.

 

I am wondering if what you think was the one thing that was more important, did you have a reason for that? 

 

 

Meaning did music get your child a scholarship?  Or did focusing on math get better tests scores?   

 

 

What is the reasoning for picking the one thing you think is most important?

[SKL]

I'm surprised nobody said chess.  :P

 

Though, that's probably a good thing, considering how bad I am at chess.

[nature girl]

dp

Edited September 27, 2016 by nature girl

[nature girl]

I'm surprised nobody said chess.  :p

 

Though, that's probably a good thing, considering how bad I am at chess.

 

Turns out that's the only thing we're actually doing after school! (Besides read alouds, of course.) I taught DD about a month ago, decided to try after it was mentioned somewhere on this board, she picked it up amazingly quickly and it's become her favorite game. (We were at a festival this weekend, they had bouncy houses, pony rides, sack races, a petting zoo, and what did she want to do? Play chess with Dad on a board the Girl Scouts had set up. Strange child. :) )

[SKL]

I do think math is probably our biggest need as far as succeeding in school.  I put my kids in a Saturday class, but we don't always make it there.  I don't have a solid plan for working with them at home.  I probably should, but they have math homework most days, and I feel like an ogre adding more.  Have I gone soft?

 

Reading - I think we are doing OK with that.  We have a couple of book club type things going, plus read-alouds.  I try to incorporate books we have into what they are doing at school etc.  I have some comprehension and vocab workbooks, but I'm not sure they will get used this school year.

 

Culture - we do a fair amount of this as it fits in our schedule.

 

Music - I actually think the school has this pretty well covered, since they are in band and choir as well as music class.  They have a piano and guitar to play with at home.  They had piano lessons for several years and they do choose to play for fun sometimes.  Sometimes I even play a little.  ;)

 

Scouts and sports do give them a cognitive workout in some ways too.  And we're working on learning to cook and play chess (ahem).

 

I guess I need to give some more thought to the math.

[ReadingMama1214]

I'm surprised nobody said chess. :P

 

Though, that's probably a good thing, considering how bad I am at chess.

We actually just got a book on teaching chess to go through with DD!

[pkbab5]

On nights that we only have time for one thing, they have to practice piano.

 

On nights that we only have time for two things, my 5yo has to do phonics, and my 7yo has to do math.

 

On nights that we have time for everything, I add math to my 5yo, and vocabulary to my 7yo. 

 

Reading is an automatic part of bedtime routine.

[Guest]

SKL,

If there is jazz band at the middle school level, you might want to ask the piano teacher to prepare them, if interested.

[Tanikit]

I do reading and maths with my children (and spelling for the older). Read alouds to me are just part of life and would never count as afterschooling, same as devotions in the evening.

So then in answer to your question I might say: current affairs - letting my child read some interesting news and discussing how it relates to history/geography/science, or discussing their thoughts on what is happening in the world or their own neighbourhood or even discussing ways to deal with various problems at school, but then perhaps that too is just a more formal way of coping with life...

[SKL]

I'm not sure how typical this is, but I found that I could do a lot more afterschooling when my kids were younger.  It started getting harder last year.  Now in 5th they have at least twice as much homework as they have ever had in the past.  And they have their own ideas of what (other than homework) they want to accomplish in the evenings.  Before, they didn't really question the "mom work," but now they get frustrated when I infringe on their free time, unless they see it as reasonable.  They notice that most of their friends don't have to do "mom work," and they say even their teachers speak against it.  So it's a changing landscape.

 

One of my kids enjoys learning at home, but only if I don't tell her to do it.

 

The other kid would rather learn about applying make-up.  If cosmetology were an afterschooling subject, she would be thrilled.  :P

[SKL]

Say, does anyone know of a curriculum built around cosmetology?  Maybe my kid and I should develop one.  :P  It could incorporate reading, writing, business math, biology, chemistry, art, history, geography ....

[Guest]

I believe the ec for makeup is theater.

[Rush]

I would do math and call read alouds "bedtime reading" (and, hence, not technically afterschooling).

same here

[Mabelen]

For afterschooling, it would have to be math. I have found that I need to be hands on or else my child will say she is fine and yet she will not be learning important concepts. It doesn't help that my district seems to have a problem finding really good math teachers. I mean, there are some good ones but too many poor ones for my liking. I think this goes back to teacher training.

 

I would still follow the one parent one language approach with Spanish and I would still do reading pop corn style and read out louds but that would fall after parenting rather than afterschooling.

[Sahamamama2]

With two 5th graders, I would do something at home (no more nights out!), something completely non-academic (no more school work!), and mostly fun. I would focus on cooking together, actually teaching the girls to cook nutritious, delicious meals. It's probably something you need to do, anyway, but if you focus on teaching them to cook, rather than simply getting it out of the way, you might enjoy the time together and they would learn a practical skill that could keep them well-fed and healthy for life. HTH.

[SKL]

I couldn't do "no more nights out" unless I had no other choice.  I won't get into the reasons; it just works better for us to have someplace to go most evenings.

 

I do have serious plans for cooking together on the weekends though.  In the fall, we have so many birthdays, holidays, and travels, I have to manage my expectations or I'll go crazy.  After winter vacation, we should be able get more serious.

[Earthmerlin]

With two 5th graders, I would do something at home (no more nights out!), something completely non-academic (no more school work!), and mostly fun. I would focus on cooking together, actually teaching the girls to cook nutritious, delicious meals. It's probably something you need to do, anyway, but if you focus on teaching them to cook, rather than simply getting it out of the way, you might enjoy the time together and they would learn a practical skill that could keep them well-fed and healthy for life. HTH.

Yes, it is a life skill that provides returning dividends, I agree completely. While not a foodie myself, I notice a budding one under my (quasi-) tutelage & find it both practical & adorable. It is supremely gratifying that at 7, she has a wide palette & is extremely open to cultivating her culinary skills. All that said, I don't qualify it as 'after-schooling' but rather parental 'life-schooling', if that makes sense. Tying math & chemistry into it periodically moves it into the 'after-schooling' domain, IMO. Cook on, my friend, cook on!

[Sahamamama2]

I couldn't do "no more nights out" unless I had no other choice.  I won't get into the reasons; it just works better for us to have someplace to go most evenings.

 

I do have serious plans for cooking together on the weekends though.  In the fall, we have so many birthdays, holidays, and travels, I have to manage my expectations or I'll go crazy.  After winter vacation, we should be able get more serious.

 

:grouphug: