How long should mom's school day last?

[vaquitita]

I think I need an attitude adjustment. ;) I've got three students this year and a toddler, and some how I'm still hoping to be done by lunch. Lol. We do 60-90 minutes of read alouds. This time also includes science experiments or maps/timelines. Then we do 90-120 minutes of lesson time. I put the TV on for the toddler and the three big kids and I sit at the kitchen table. I go around and teach each kid anything they need for math/LA and everybody else works on their math or copy work or reading.

 

In some ways it is working. We aren't usually done by lunch, but that's cause we start late and have lunch in the middle. But we're usually done by 2. Well I'm done, and the two younger kids are, but my oldest usually still has reading or math to finish because he dawdles. And my kids like being done with school early and having free time. But then there are lots of fun things we could do that we don't because they're too time consuming. And with the age range I have, I am going to need to split the kids up for history and science at some point. And I don't see how to fit in read alouds for two separate groups. Well I do, but it would mean my day would be a lot longer. Lol

 

But I recently asked myself why am I trying to be done by lunch? Maybe I need to try to accept that as a home schooling mom- my days are filled with school. Part of this is because things have changed. Until this year I needed to nap in the afternoon with my toddler. Now I'm no longer doing that, I'm not sure what I'm doing in the afternoon and so am not accomplishing anything. Not even using the time to play with my toddler. I wander around doing a little house work and wasting too much time online. :O

[Critterfixer]

9-3 is school time for me. I'm working hard to get 3-6 as Mom's writing time.

[HomeAgain]

8-3 here.  I use that time as lesson time, planning time, research time.  In the evenings I want to focus on other things: hobbies, tv, dinner, my husband..the weekends are for shopping and weekly prep.

[LMD]

I know exactly what you mean op.

 

I have been working on a CM ish kind of schedule this week actually. My day is about 8.30-2.30, with lunch in there.

We have lighter days on Wednesday (swimming and homeschool group) and Friday (art coop, music lessons) so our other days are by necessity full.

 

This year I'll have 6th, 4th, 1st and preschooler. It just takes that much time to do what I want to do.

But it has taken some serious self scolding to accept that!

[mamamoose]

Never done by noon. Not even possible. :;)

[MerryAtHope]

I think the year that my oldest was in 3rd grade was the last year we were done by noon. If you have upper elementary students (looks like 1-2), I think it's really hard to make being done by noon a goal.

 

I did find that doing literature read-alouds at bedtime shortened up our school day and made it feel more doable though. (We still read science and history during the day of course). But maybe that would help a bit?

[blue daisy]

I have three school kids and a 3 year old. We usually school for 2ish hours in the morning and another hour or so in the afternoon. Less for my first grader and my 6th grader usually has more to do on his own. But generally done after lunch, by 2pm.

[Meriwether]

8:00-5:00, sometimes later with a longish break for lunch. My kids are not fast workers. I'm not actively helping kids the whole time, but I am close by ready to help when not actively working with one kid or another.

[Sahamamama2]

I have three children similar in age to yours, though mine are 11 (almost 12), and twins just turned 10. When the girls were younger, if we started off in the morning, we could be done by lunch time (but we eat a bit "late," around 1:30 pm). Now, with 6th, 4th, and 4th graders, we are never, ever done by noon.

 

At night, after the girls are in bed, I type up and print out the Daily Work List (DWL) for the following day. It includes a checklist for their Morning Routine, and breaks the work down into categories -- Group Work, Independent Work, and Tutor Time (work done with me). The DWLs go on each student's school table. In the morning, the girls can come down, see what is on their list, and get started on some part of their Independent Work, and also finish up the Morning Routine. That way, if someone is in the shower, another child is working on her chores, and another might be working on spelling. They work it out amongst themselves, I don't micromanage showers!

 

I just let them work away, checking on them, doing my own set of chores, prepping supper, getting things done, answering questions, moving things along. We meet for Group Work at 11:00 am, which usually lasts until lunch time (around 1:30 pm). Group Work for us includes prayer, hymns, choir homework, Bible memory work, Bible lessons, Literature, Science, History, Geography, Composer/Artist Study, and a few other occasional things (we never do all of these in a day).

 

After lunch, we go over the work they did in the morning, work through our Tutor Time (explicit instruction, one-on-one or one-on-two), and wrap it up sometime around 3:30 or 4:00 pm. My younger two are usually done before my oldest, who has a heavier load with Composition (WWS vs. WWE). They head outside or downstairs to the playroom after that. Or, they might seek out some alone time in their bedrooms, typically crafting and listening to audiobooks.

 

We sometimes go a bit longer on Mondays, but only in the sense that we morph into cooking or crafting, LOL. On Tuesdays, they are ready for some solid free time. On Wednesdays, we try to wrap it up by 3:30, because they need a break before church midweek. On Thursdays, they have to get ready for choir, but they have some free time in the evening once they're back home. On Fridays, the afternoon work typically crashes, with me asking, "Hey, I don't feel like doing History. Who wants to play Battleship?"

 

And that's our school week. ;)

 

That said, I couldn't make that routine work if we had a toddler. We had someone's toddler here for a day, and it was exhausting. :) In the morning, the girls kept saying, "This is so fun! I wish we had a little brother." By the end of the day, they were quietly confiding, "Mommy, I am so glad we don't have to do this every day! We wouldn't get anything else done!"

[vaquitita]

I know exactly what you mean op.

I have been working on a CM ish kind of schedule this week actually. My day is about 8.30-2.30, with lunch in there.

We have lighter days on Wednesday (swimming and homeschool group) and Friday (art coop, music lessons) so our other days are by necessity full.

This year I'll have 6th, 4th, 1st and preschooler. It just takes that much time to do what I want to do.

But it has taken some serious self scolding to accept that!

 

Sounds like I'm one year behind you. This year I have 5th, 3rd, K, and toddler turning 3 mid year. I wish we started that early. Days we start at 9 do go better, but too often lately we start at 10 (or 11 :o ). Being dark in the mornings means everything happens later. I'm thinking next year for sure I need to be dragging my butt out of bed and getting us started earlier. That should get easier as I'm transitioning the toddler to sleeping in the boys room (we've co slept till now). Some serious self scolding will definitely be in order! ;)

 

Eta: occasionally a kid or two will pull out their checklist and start before breakfast because they want to get done early, but for the most part the kids run around trying to play as much as possible before forced into starting school. Sometimes I think it would help if there was no playing allowed till after school was done, but that just seems mean. Lol. They'd be motivated to start school, but they'd probably hate it. Nobody likes school as it is. Because it interferes with Lego time. ;) I can see it being different once everyone is school age.

 

I think the year that my oldest was in 3rd grade was the last year we were done by noon. If you have upper elementary students (looks like 1-2), I think it's really hard to make being done by noon a goal.

 

I did find that doing literature read-alouds at bedtime shortened up our school day and made it feel more doable though. (We still read science and history during the day of course). But maybe that would help a bit?

I did bedtime read alouds for years and years, but stopped last year because my toddler made it so stressful and unenjoyable. I'm having a hard time finding the motivation to start again. I'm tired in the evenings and have a hard time dealing with the commotion of four kids. And the four kids feed off each other and the younger ones get pretty wild. I'm an introvert and by evening I've just had all I can take of other people. :( Edited January 17, 2017 by vaquitita

[LMD]

Sounds like I'm one year behind you. This year I have 5th, 3rd, K, and toddler turning 3 mid year. I wish we stared that early. Days we start at 9 do go better, but too often lately we start at 10 (or 11 :o ). Being dark in the mornings means everything happens later. I'm thinking next year for sure I need to be dragging my butt out of bed and getting us started earlier. That should get easier as I'm transitioning the toddler to sleeping in the boys room (we've co slept till now). Some serious self scolding will definitely be in order! ;)

 

Eta: occasionally a kid or two will pull out their checklist and start before breakfast because they want to get done early, but for the most part the kids run around trying to play as much as possible before forced into starting school. Sometimes I think it would help if there was no playing allowed till after school was done, but that just seems mean. Lol. They'd be motivated to start school, but they'd probably hate it. Nobody likes school as it is. Because it interferes with Lego time. ;)

 

I did bedtime read alouds for years and years, but stopped last year because my toddler made it so stressful and unenjoyable. I'm having a hard time finding the motivation to start again. I'm tired in the evenings and have a hard time dealing with the commotion of four kids. And the four kids feed off each other and the younger ones get pretty wild. I'm an introvert and by evening I've just had all I can take of other people. :(

That's almost exactly the ages we had last year! It was chaos, and I felt very slack, but looking back we had a good year. Checklists for my older 2 helped a lot.

 

I rarely do bedtime read aloud, I'm done by bedtime. I sometimes put on an audio book or yawn my way through a picture book. Rarely.

 

And, start time is optimistic. It's more of a guage- if we start at x we finish at y kind of thing. I try to have a firm start time in mind and try to keep it. This is complicated, because I'm lazy and not a morning person haha. Dh also works a rotating roster so our schedule changes from week to week which feels like chaos. Last year I gave myself a 9.30am start time and it worked pretty well. This year I'm trying to gently move it again - baby steps! In reality, it will probably be between 8-9, depending on dh's shift...

[LMD]

That sounds much more organised than it really is... I'm not a naturally organised, schedule loving person. It's very difficult for me to learn this stuff, and I fail a lot, but trying is necessary to get the school that I want.

[Sahamamama2]

But I recently asked myself why am I trying to be done by lunch? Maybe I need to try to accept that as a home schooling mom- my days are filled with school. Part of this is because things have changed. Until this year I needed to nap in the afternoon with my toddler. Now I'm no longer doing that, I'm not sure what I'm doing in the afternoon and so am not accomplishing anything. Not even using the time to play with my toddler. I wander around doing a little house work and wasting too much time online. :o

 

I had a thought about this part. I'm not telling you what to do, but what I do when "things change" is pray about them. That is to say, when I sense things are shifting -- in life, in parenting, in our homeschool -- I ask God to show me what's next and what to do about it. I ask him to show me how to move onto the next thing, the next season, the next routine. It is always changing, in a way. But there do seem to be times when it's clearly "this is over, now what?" I think we need to be proactive in seeking out what is best for the times we are actually in, while at the same time reflecting on the seaons that have passed. HTH.

[LMD]

And just on the tongue in cheek self-scolding comment - I found comfort in the realisation that it is hard work. It's not all snuggly read alouds and curious kids. It's more about consistent teeny steps. It is constant and hard work for the mama, you're not wrong to feel tired and overwhelmed, but it sounds like you're doing fine.

Be kind and gentle to yourself!

[CadenceSophia]

Toddlers make school so hard! I don't know how I am going to teach a 5th grader with a toddler in the house but with my oldest being 3rd right now we are (just barely) surviving. We do sit down subjects 9-12. I only need a few minutes with the 6 year old and 4 year old daily and the rest goes to the oldest. Our afternoons are less mom-intensive since I need to get the toddler to nap, nap myself or have a mental health break, and clean/cook for dinner. I try for 1-2h of audio books (from the AO reading list) while the kids play legos, "research time" where the kid take down non-fiction books, read something and write me a page of notes, 30 minute-1 hour turns on computer extras like Prodigy, code.org, etc. And we just added Touch Type Read and Spell.

 

We do most of our BFSU lessons at the dinner table and I read 45-1h to the big kids at bed time (locking myself in their room with them ) while DH juggles the toddler and reads mythology to the 4 year old.

 

I am not sure what time our day actually ends. Sometimes it feels like it never ends, and most of the time I feel like it is still too light. =/

[Ms.Ivy]

It is too stressful for me to get everyone done with school at the same time. I am doing school (with lunch break) from 8 am to about 5 pm. I have plenty of down time to type an email or check social media during the day, or switch the laundry, read to the kids, etc. But not much else happens during school time. The more kids you have the less likely it is you can all finish early. Checklists cut down on my stress too because I can see exactly who has done what.

 

I have had to switch up my routine and change my expectations every six months or so, ever since I started homeschooling several years ago. That's just life with growing kids... they keep us on our toes. :-)

[MotherGoose]

I have 5th, 2nd, and toddler.  One thing I will mention out of all of this is that I, this week, separated the read alouds, and have been reading basically one chapter per child every night.  It's much faster, really, than trying to do them all together with the toddler.  I had been doing read alouds geared towards oldest.  Toddler is in bed, then read alouds and prayers and snuggles for the two olders for 30 mins total.  Plus I think they like it better.  I'm doing the Bible reading and memory work together in the morning still.  We don't have long lovely read aloud time, but we ARE reading aloud and snuggling without anyone screaming, and that's about all I can hope for just now! :)

[8filltheheart]

I really dislike working with multiple kids at the same time unless it is something they are actually doing together. (I don't combine my kids very much.). I am much more efficient at rotating through my kids by agewith the opportunity to ask me questions between working with one child and starting with another.

 

I dont have a set start time. Sometimes I might start with someone at 630 am, but the next day it might be closer to 730. (When I was younger and had mostly younger kids, I would get up with the oldest around 5 and we would try to crank out a lot of one on one before the littler ones woke up. He loved it bc he finished his work so early in the day he had hours to play.)

 

This yr I am teaching 4 of mine (12th, 9th, 5th, and 1st) and my granddaughter (k). I work non-stop moving from one to the next for a solid 6 hrs or so.

[BooksandBoys]

I'm only homeschooling one this year (3rd grade), but I'm still "on" from 9-1 every day, longer if we have therapy appointments. If the Ker comes home for first grade, I'm sure I'll be looking at 9-3.

[vaquitita]

I try for 1-2h of audio books (from the AO reading list) while the kids play legos,

This is a good idea. My 6yo plays Legos by himself once he's done but the big kids are still doing school. This would give a chance for some books geared towards him.

 

and I read 45-1h to the big kids at bed time (locking myself in their room with them ) while DH juggles the toddler and reads mythology to the 4 year old.

If I start reading out loud, all the kids come running. Even when I read a board book to the toddler for the 200th time. And DH doesn't read to kids or juggle toddler. If I do force him to occupy the toddler so I can do a bedtime book, he feeds him junk food. :/

[vaquitita]

It is too stressful for me to get everyone done with school at the same time.

Oh not all my kids are done at the same time. During lesson time I start with the youngest and go up. That way the younger ones can be done and go play. Older kids work on their independent work while I work with younger ones.

[vaquitita]

I have 5th, 2nd, and toddler. One thing I will mention out of all of this is that I, this week, separated the read alouds, and have been reading basically one chapter per child every night. It's much faster, really, than trying to do them all together with the toddler. I had been doing read alouds geared towards oldest. Toddler is in bed, then read alouds and prayers and snuggles for the two olders for 30 mins total. Plus I think they like it better. I'm doing the Bible reading and memory work together in the morning still. We don't have long lovely read aloud time, but we ARE reading aloud and snuggling without anyone screaming, and that's about all I can hope for just now! :)

I'm still trying to figure out how to get the toddler asleep early so that I can read to the older kids. He's a bit of a night owl.

[vaquitita]

I really dislike working with multiple kids at the same time unless it is something they are actually doing together. (I don't combine my kids very much.). I am much more efficient at rotating through my kids by agewith the opportunity to ask me questions between working with one child and starting with another.

 

I dont have a set start time. Sometimes I might start with someone at 630 am, but the next day it might be closer to 730. (When I was younger and had mostly younger kids, I would get up with the oldest around 5 and we would try to crank out a lot of one on one before the littler ones woke up. He loved it bc he finished his work so early in the day he had hours to play.)

 

This yr I am teaching 4 of mine (12th, 9th, 5th, and 1st) and my granddaughter (k). I work non-stop moving from one to the next for a solid 6 hrs or so.

You don't combine even for history and science? At this point only my oldest could read all his books himself, I'd have to read aloud all books for my third grader and kindergartner. My oldest doesn't like being left out of what the group is doing. At some point, probably when my fourth kid starts school, I will separate the oldest two to their own stuff and just combine the youngest two.

 

Looks like your kids are further apart in age than mine, so I could see that working better.

Edited January 17, 2017 by vaquitita

[8filltheheart]

You don't combine even for history and science? At this point only my oldest could read all his books himself, I'd have to read aloud all books for my third grader and kindergartner. My oldest doesn't like being left out of what the group is doing. At some point, probably when my fourth kid starts school, I will separate the oldest two to their own stuff and just combine the youngest two.

 

Looks like your kids are further apart in age than mine, so I could see that working better.

In terms of the bolded, I have graduated 4 kids from our homeschool who are all only 2 yrs apart in age. When my oldest was 11, I had kids 11, 9, 7, 5, and 2.

 

I don't teach science or history in the primary grades. With my 3rd and 5th graders, their abilities and interests have been too discrepant to combine. I have only combined the few times when interest and ability overlapped: a couple of literature classes, math 2 yrs until the younger absolutely raced past the older (he was doing alg at age 10), and a couple of history courses.

 

Every single one of those courses was at a middle or high school level. When they are younger, I find it more fun and interesting for them to do it one on one. (And for me it has just been easier bc I can pace it according to the needs of the individual child.)

[Garga]

8-5. Two days a week I drive ds14 to a Spanish class (1 hr 10 minutes total time), and 2 days a week they take a karate class (takes 1.5 hours out of the school day.). My school part of the day would be done by 3:30 if those things didn't interrupt the day.

 

About 3 nights a week I work an additional 2 hours in the evening preparing "lecture notes" on biology and world history because we need to discuss the info before reading it or it doesn't sink in. The other nights I correct papers, file papers, gather supplies, etc.

 

Weekends--8-12 hours of prep for the week ahead.

 

It's grueling. I'll be outsourcing science next year and handling history differently because prep for those classes takes up the bulk of my evening/weekend prep time. The education is great, but the workload for me--sheesh. I can't keep it up past this school year.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Garga

[Soror]

I have 1st, 4th, 6-7th and a 4 yr old. I aim to finish by 3 with a lunch break( 1hr long if we are doing well on time-30 minutes if we are not). Most days we make it by 3 but 3:30-4:00 isn't unheard of. I would say too that physical activity and-or outside time is requisite at my house and that is generally done together.

 

My 2 older ones have weekly checklists. I plan each 5-7week session at one time. They start with independent work and I cycle through the youngest through the oldest ( although sometimes I might work with ds in a few different chunks as it takes longer).

 

Last year I could generally finish my part with them by lunch(we often started earlier and ate later however). This year I have given up

DS has been sleeping later than before and there is just more to do as everyone is older. Now sometimes I will have them do some of their independent reading the night before(we go to bed early to accomodate DH"sschedule and DS especially is usually not ready to go to sleep) so we can have occasional earlier days but is not the norm.

 

It is hard when things change as you don't always notice it at first. When I get to the point I realize things aren"t working of brainstorming doesn't work I start combing through scheduling threads as sometimes you need a fresh perspective and new ideas. Then of course when you implement it you have to tweak and adjust. I think it is one of those things that gets easier with time and experience. Hopefully this thread will give you some ideas that work for you.

Edited January 17, 2017 by soror

[Sahamamama2]

And just on the tongue in cheek self-scolding comment - I found comfort in the realisation that it is hard work. It's not all snuggly read alouds and curious kids. It's more about consistent teeny steps. It is constant and hard work for the mama, you're not wrong to feel tired and overwhelmed, but it sounds like you're doing fine.

Be kind and gentle to yourself!

 

:iagree: One (nearly) 12 year old and two just-turned 10 year olds here, and we have come to the same conclusion -- yes, it is hard work. It's a daily decision to climb uphill, a bit at a time. This is so well stated, LMD, thanks for posting it.

 

I think that we are at the season of homeschooling where it is mostly made up of these tiny, daily steps. I mean, there are days when I think, What did we accomplish, really? A bit of math, a bit of grammar, some spelling or vocabulary, a bit of composition, some history or science. Is that enough? The daily grind can start to overshadow the "wow" moments that we think we ought to have... or something like that. But it definitely changes from the younger years. Praying through helps me to let go of what is past and take hold of what is here and now -- because in Christ we have whatever is needed to move forward into the calling God has placed on us. So, if courage is needed, then that is what I ask for. If wisdom, then wisdom. And so on. We can trust God to help us learn to lead and teach. He is with us when we turn around life's corners.

 

Still... I think my kids do remain curious, and having ample free time is a big part of that. We also still have those lovely snuggly read alouds! We're not giving them up, LOL, they are good for the soul. One really good thing about homeschooling these ages is that, if we can make the "daily dose" consistent and efficient, then the kids do seem to have more time to themselves than (I think) they would if they were in school all day. The kids across the street get picked up at 8:20 am (while mine are eating breakfast ;) ), and the bus drops them off at 4:20 pm (while mine are playing outside in the back yard). In between, we've had a (usually) lovely day, working steadily, being together, no homework to choke out free time, snuggly read alouds, time with rabbits, healthy meals, exercise, evenings ahead of us, and not too much pressure all day. Overall, a good life.

 

Hang in there, vaquitita! You can do this!

[2_girls_mommy]

I do read alouds after lunch while toddler naps. That is relaxing to me, and I want the skills mostly done by then. So our schedule w/toddler is more like this:  

 

In the mornings the toddler paints or does playdough nearby while the kids get through most of their skills subjects- math, writing, English, Latin, and some other things in. I have a written schedule by the hour that we stick to 80% of the time that divides my time up and theirs so that we can get the majority of what we need in. I do therapy and spelling exercises with one for the hour before lunch. By then toddler has finished morning table/craft time and is in my room watching her morning PBS. After a bit I require her to come back and do Legos or puzzles, and that is usually her morning between 9-noonish when we break for lunch. I read her a book here or there and take her potty and do morning chores throughout all of this. I have a list in my head of the have to have dones around the house before noon. I often write that list on my whiteboard because I like lists. Since it is my routine, the must dos usually get done. After lunch or even while they are still eating I start the read alouds. I show a video in latin or on history while we eat often, and/or I start the read alouds and discussion. Then big kids get dressed for the day's outings or gather stuff for their afternoon classes out of the house, do their daily chores or what have you while I get the toddler read to and resting.  She doesn't really sleep anymore. She plays quietly in her room and listens to me reading from the living room. It is less distracting then her playing at our feet. And occasionally she still sleeps. We have started including her sometimes though and teaching her to color quietly with us. I'll have big girls get out art pads and color books during reading times, and she likes to be like them. We'll get there where she's in here eventually. 

 

We have afternoon activities a couple of days a week, so those homeschool days are shorter. We have to be done by 2 or 2:30. And those are our early days. So on those days, the read aloud time is short or non existent if they have other work they need to get finished. Then they both have evening homework, usually math or co-op homework in their science classes in the evenings and silent reading if they didn't get to it during the day on those two days a week. On our two afternoon at home, our read alouds and afternoon work go much longer- til 3 or 4 sometimes. After that they get silent reading/writing time in, do their free time, play with friends, do video games, talk on the phone, arts and crafts, just chill, whatever til dinner and any evening activities we are doing. Then after showers and such, they finish up math or science homework and reading on their own or projects for their extracurriculars.

 

Honestly though, with all of the volunteer teaching I do like scouts, co-op, preschool sunday school, study group one afternoon a week with friends, I don't ever feel done. I get to sit here quietly right now though while they are doing bookwork and toddler is on the TV. I could be cleaning more... :)  I don't really think we have ever been done by lunch. When they were in early elem, we did more outside time in the mornings and after lunch and broke the school day up, so we were always going down for rest time from like 2-4 or 3-4 for their silent reading and my alone time when school was done. 

[vaquitita]

This year my 6yo is not doing history and science with the big kids, but for now combining the oldest two has worked well and they have preferred it that way. They are less than two years apart, and my second child is a girl with better listening and narrating skills than her older brother. I don't combine skill subjects.

 

They all listen to the kindergarteners books, and I can see that it wastes my oldest kids time. If I restructure our day a little, so that he doesn't have to listen to those, he could get started on his independent work sooner. He is working long past the other kids and sometimes doesn't have much free time before dinner. Breaking up all the reading out loud would also give my voice a break and help with attention spans.

 

Brainstorming out loud here...

We could start with memory work, Bible, and a family lit book. Then my oldest could go do his reading while I read books to my kindergartener. My 9yo could stay and listen or go read, whichever she likes. My 6yo could also read to me at this time.

Then we could all move to the table to do math and handwriting. I work with the 6yo first because I usually need to sit with him (math and copy work). Then he could go play (he reads to himself after lunch). Then I move on to my 9yo (MUS, ELTL or AAR). And lastly my 11yo (MUS, ELTL or RLTL spelling). The oldest two get a weekly checklist and know what to work on.

Hopefully all that could happen before lunch, since the reading time is cut short. Then after lunch, we can do history.

 

Done this way, my kindergartener would not listen to history. I've been trying to decide if I can fold him into what I'm doing with the bigger kids next year. I'm planning to do beautiful feet California history and history of science. A lot of it is just not going to hold his interest. Maybe I need to keep him separate. He would certainly enjoy it more... I would need to find something fairly light and easy to use. Any suggestions? :)

 

Ooh, ooh. I could use beautiful feet American history primary! I've always wanted to do that. I have most of the books already. I could spread it over two years. And then for science I've been eyeing Berean builders... ;) My 9yo could do that one too and my oldest could read most of BF history of science himself. Hmmm...

[2_girls_mommy]

I think your Ker will still gain plenty of history and social studies and science just from being in the the house and on field trips that cover things at the basic levels. I think your plan sounds good! 

 

[SpreadingtheFeast]

We used to finish our day at 12-ish, but my eldest is nine now, and with two other kids that need lessons, there is no way we can finish before 12. We do take long breaks when needed, so that makes the day longer as well.

 

I did bedtime read alouds for years and years, but stopped last year because my toddler made it so stressful and unenjoyable. I'm having a hard time finding the motivation to start again. I'm tired in the evenings and have a hard time dealing with the commotion of four kids. And the four kids feed off each other and the younger ones get pretty wild. I'm an introvert and by evening I've just had all I can take of other people. :(

 

I first bring my younger crowd to bed and read to them. When they're asleep I can quietly read to my eldest kids. Introvert here as well,...it's tough!

[MotherGoose]

I'm still trying to figure out how to get the toddler asleep early so that I can read to the older kids. He's a bit of a night owl.

Will he sleep late in the morning and you can get the reading done first thing? Mine is up pretty solidly at 6:30 am but to bed by 6:30-7 pm.

[MotherGoose]

I've rally had to start thinking outside the box with the addition of toddler. Mine is only 15 months so sleeps more than a three year old, and he can't talk yet so that helps.

[LMD]

:iagree: One (nearly) 12 year old and two just-turned 10 year olds here, and we have come to the same conclusion -- yes, it is hard work. It's a daily decision to climb uphill, a bit at a time. This is so well stated, LMD, thanks for posting it.

 

I think that we are at the season of homeschooling where it is mostly made up of these tiny, daily steps. I mean, there are days when I think, What did we accomplish, really? A bit of math, a bit of grammar, some spelling or vocabulary, a bit of composition, some history or science. Is that enough? The daily grind can start to overshadow the "wow" moments that we think we ought to have... or something like that. But it definitely changes from the younger years. Praying through helps me to let go of what is past and take hold of what is here and now -- because in Christ we have whatever is needed to move forward into the calling God has placed on us. So, if courage is needed, then that is what I ask for. If wisdom, then wisdom. And so on. We can trust God to help us learn to lead and teach. He is with us when we turn around life's corners.

 

Still... I think my kids do remain curious, and having ample free time is a big part of that. We also still have those lovely snuggly read alouds! We're not giving them up, LOL, they are good for the soul. One really good thing about homeschooling these ages is that, if we can make the "daily dose" consistent and efficient, then the kids do seem to have more time to themselves than (I think) they would if they were in school all day. The kids across the street get picked up at 8:20 am (while mine are eating breakfast ;) ), and the bus drops them off at 4:20 pm (while mine are playing outside in the back yard). In between, we've had a (usually) lovely day, working steadily, being together, no homework to choke out free time, snuggly read alouds, time with rabbits, healthy meals, exercise, evenings ahead of us, and not too much pressure all day. Overall, a good life.

 

Hang in there, vaquitita! You can do this!

Thank you. I just accepted that I'm tired because it's hard but I believe it's worth it. Before that, I was convinced that if I was tired/overwhelmed, I must be doing it wrong.

[vaquitita]

Will he sleep late in the morning and you can get the reading done first thing? Mine is up pretty solidly at 6:30 am but to bed by 6:30-7 pm.

Right now he sleeps till 7:30/8, but if I get up, he wakes up

[ondreeuh]

I try to be done by 3, but now we have some later activities so really it's at least 4 most days. Even my younger kid takes that long, because he takes breaks during the day. They have no screens until work is done, but youngest often listens to audiobooks while he plays with Lego. I am pretty involved with both kids and neither one is very focused, so it just takes a while. It's OK, I try to keep the mood relaxed. If we tried to rush, it would be too stressful.

[freelylearned]

I try and get most of our academic work done before lunch. That includes: read alouds, math, assigned reading and narrations in history and literature, writing and language arts assignments, reading and phonics lessons, typing, and a little Spanish most days. We often do art or science right after lunch, but we are still done with most of the school day by 1. I keep lessons short to fit everything in and have found short lessons to be really effective. My sixth grader also spends about an hour a day free reading and all of my kids spend at least an hour outside in the afternoons for PE. I think that is a pretty good day for their ages.

 

The additional mom time I spend is twenty minutes in the morning pulling out supplies we will need for the days activities and books for our read aloud time. When the kids are outside, I flip through their work and look for areas that need work in future lessons. I also spend an hour or so on Fridays planning for the next week and some time on Mondays requesting books from the library.

 

I hear you about the attitude adjustment. As my son gets older, we are going to both have to have an attitude adjustment about the bigger work loads that are coming with the upper grades.

[abba12]

As a kid, both my family and my husbands family finished by lunchtime most every day even with high schoolers (4 kids in mine, 8 kids in his). It was a philosophical thing, the afternoon free to develop as people, develop skills and interests and be productive. So even as mostly independent high schoolers we were expected to have a few hours each afternoon free for non-school stuff.

 

BUT

 

There was no sleeping in, we woke up at 7 at the latest.

High schoolers began working over breakfast or sometimes before

Children over 3rd or 4th grade were expected to begin their math lessons independently after breakfast, and school time began at 8 or 8:30 depending on mums schedule.

Lunch was around 1, and there was only one break in those 5 hours, about 10:30

A large portion of older kids schoolwork was independent reading, which we often did for a couple of hours before bed rather than during the day (we didn't have a bunch of evening commitments).

Big projects like art and science experiments happened on the weekends, not in the middle of a school day

 

Now, I actually agree with those principles, it's about using time wisely, most people don't do much before school but still wait until 9 or 10 to begin, our families considered it better to begin first thing, because the same amount of time, after school, was far better utilised. Stuff like that.

 

But, that sort of schedule wont work for a lot of homeschoolers. Some aren't willing to make the sacrifices listed, some disagree with the schedule philosophically. That's totally fine too, I get that. 

 

But, you can't finish before lunch AND have the thorough education you're looking for AND not make schedule sacrifices elsewhere or casually start 'when we're ready' in the morning. One of those things must slip. For most families it's finishing before lunch that drops. For our families, it was the freedom of casually starting when ready and not making schedule sacrifices. The ones who sleep in, finish before lunch and still make it to all the coops and park days and evening events and weekend catch ups, at least with older children, are slipping on education standards. 

 

Edited January 19, 2017 by abba12

[birchbark]

My part is usually done before lunch. And we are late starters. 

 

I do read-alouds, recorder, dictation, and math with the youngers. The high-schooler is on his own. My 1st-grader is completely done by lunch (usually 1:00) and the 4th-grader generally has a couple independent things to finish up in the afternoon after a long lunch break.

 

We do not go out in the mornings. We do not have a lot of subjects. We do not have curriculum with busywork. The kids use student planners and always know what to move on to next.

[Desert Strawberry]

I spend about 4hours, plus another hour of prep/planning/organizing.

[boscopup]

My toddler makes educating VERY difficult, so we can't really get going until afternoon nap time. :/ I do have my DS2 come down early in the morning before everyone else is up, so we can get started on writing (we're backing waaaaaaay up in that subject and working hard to get him up to speed). Once the toddler is here, I can't do a whole lot with the kids. She is a Mama magnet. She's also a huge distraction to DS2 and DS3. DS1 can still work through things or sometimes goes into another room to have peace and quiet. But yeah, it's rough. We aren't getting it all done. We are lucky to get math and writing done right now. :p This too shall pass... I keep telling myself that. The toddler will grow into a preschooler and be slightly easier. :) In the meantime, I'm trying to outsource my oldest (trying virtual public school this semester with him and DS3), so I can focus on DS2 and his learning issues, while we wait for toddler to not be a toddler. On a good note, she sleeps VERY well and takes a good 3 hour nap in the afternoon and is down for bed at 7pm every night, so I'll take the toddler mayhem morning in exchange for wonderful sleep!

[manicmum81]

Honestly, right now, I don't have set hours. This will probably change once I'm more settled (in the past week I've gone from three to five at home) but we start once breakfast is out of the way, the time will vary depending on how early everyone starts waking up and we finish once I have ticked off what I want done for the day.

 

Some kids might be all done by 2pm, some might still be doing things at 6pm. My younger two don't take many breaks (enthusiastic and motivated little workers) whereas the older ones like to space their work out. It doesn't matter to me when we finish, I will just clean, hoover, prepare meals etc in and around when I'm needed with one of the children.

[cintinative]

We start at 9 a.m. and break at 11:30 for lunch until 12:30.  Then we go until at least 2:30 and sometimes 3 or a bit after.  The kids still generally have reading and some other little things to do after that. We haven't finished by lunch in a long time.

[Peaceful Isle]

About 9-2 is school time, and then after that is music practice, literature reading, and sports activities or art.

[Gentlemommy]

I have an 11 year old (6th grade), 8 year old (3rd grade), and 6 year old (K/1st grade). Well, and a baby, but he just gets held and fed lol. We finish by 12:30. Start at 8:30 on the nose and work straight through. Science, art, and logic are outsourced through coop, so I don't need to do those at home. So we need to cover math, language arts, history, foreign language. I'll put what my oldest girl does, the other two take less time. I basically rotate through all of them, giving the littlest a break between each of her subjects, the middle a break after 2-3 subjects, and my oldest one break while she has a snack and reads.

 

11 year old-

MATH

CLE math-20-30 minutes daily

Problem solving genius-20-30 minutes once per week

Prodigy math-20-30 minutes 2-3 times per week

 

WRITING

IEW-just finished SWI B, so we are taking a break for a couple of months, then moving to SWI B CC. This happens 3x per week for 30 minutes.

Creative writing-she is working on her book, 2-3x per week for 30 minutes.

 

SPELLING

Phonetic zoo-10 minutes everyday

 

GRAMMAR

Language mechanic-15 minutes twice a week

 

ROOT WORDS

15 minutes twice a week

 

HISTORY

Mom made early American history course, including 12 'literature selections', Howard Zinns A History of the US, the Smithsonian Encyclopedia of American History, and various documentaries. She spends about 20 minutes reading her literature selection everyday, and then once a week we work on the other stuff for an hour or so.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Mapping the World With Art by Ellen McHenry-20 minutes once per week

 

DUOLINGO

On her own time, typically 15-20 minutes per day. We are native Spanish speakers, so she hears that as well.

 

She reads for several hours per day. She does 9-10 hours of gymnastics each week. I'm wanting her to learn to type, so I'm looking into programs for that.

[SparklyUnicorn]

My days have recently gotten shorter!  I have one in high school and at this point I can assign stuff and check in with him.  So I've only got one student that needs me the entire time.  But prior to that my days could be quite long.  Sometimes 9-5ish. 

 

Long gone are the days of finishing before lunch though. 

 

 

[vaquitita]

I really dislike working with multiple kids at the same time unless it is something they are actually doing together. (I don't combine my kids very much.). I am much more efficient at rotating through my kids by agewith the opportunity to ask me questions between working with one child and starting with another.

 

I dont have a set start time. Sometimes I might start with someone at 630 am, but the next day it might be closer to 730. (When I was younger and had mostly younger kids, I would get up with the oldest around 5 and we would try to crank out a lot of one on one before the littler ones woke up. He loved it bc he finished his work so early in the day he had hours to play.)

 

This yr I am teaching 4 of mine (12th, 9th, 5th, and 1st) and my granddaughter (k). I work non-stop moving from one to the next for a solid 6 hrs or so.

I wish I could like this post again. :D Your words stuck with me, and I've gotta say as I contemplate how the future is going to go, I really think I need to move in this direction. It's going to work better for the kids, to have something aimed at them, and for me because the noise and chaos of working with four kids at once is too much for me.

[home4good_1405]

I know what you mean, I am the same way. I have this time frame in my head that I just can't seem to get over, and it revolves around lunch. It is doable right now with a 5th and 3rd grader, but I can see how as they get older this won't be a reality any longer. This was my first year homeschooling and we love it! The girls informed me that they are never going back to public school lol! This is fine with me! But I have been trying to make conscious effort to change my mindset. It is no longer school day and then the kids come home and its home time. Home and school collaborate now and have evolved into this wonderful thing. We don't turn education off at noon, 3pm. etc. It's something that happens all day, all the time. And that is something I am slowly embracing, it's hard being new at this!

[knitgrl]

Sounds like I'm one year behind you. This year I have 5th, 3rd, K, and toddler turning 3 mid year. I wish we started that early. Days we start at 9 do go better, but too often lately we start at 10 (or 11 :o ). Being dark in the mornings means everything happens later. I'm thinking next year for sure I need to be dragging my butt out of bed and getting us started earlier. That should get easier as I'm transitioning the toddler to sleeping in the boys room (we've co slept till now). Some serious self scolding will definitely be in order! ;)

 

It's so nice to hear we are not the only ones who have a hard time managing to get school started before 10. :-) When we can manage to start at 9 or even 8:30, we can usually do everything on the list, but still never finish it all before noon. There is always one or two more things to do after that. Trying to do anything after 3 (except possibly an art project) is not worth the effort.

[EKS]

I homeschooled two kids who were six grades apart (so no combining).  I worked from 8-3 M-F with them and much of the rest of the time on preparation.