Scheduling help again

[Ausmumof3]

I want to be a bit more hands on with some parts of the kids education and trying to figure out how to make that work.  Currently programs we’re working with 

Saxon algebra 1 Ds14

singapore 6 dd11

singapore 3 ds8

Writing with skill 1 ds14 and dd1 but at different parts of the books and requiring different pacing so they don’t combine well

random free spelling program for ds8

lit reading roughly from wayfarers 

Ellen’s McHenry various science units - ds14

RSO earth and space dd11 and ds8

story of the world vol 4 - everyone (thank goodness!) ds 8 doesn’t do the written comp or tests

expedition earth geography 

random YouTube art

then in the morning basket we have some read alouds memory work, shakespeare, geography and science books and first language lessons 2.  For some reason oldest has never retained much grammar (although you wouldn’t know from his writing it’s just naming and diagramming that’s an issue) so it’s not hurting him to sit in on that.

What’s been happening is the boys have mostly been doing math independently while dd has been sucking up all math time.  She has struggled and has been very dependent on me to get through lessons.  At the moment she’s quite determined and willing to work and I want to give her that time.  Oldest really doesn’t want me to read the Saxon lessons and do the practice problems with him however I know he’s skimming over them and not absorbing everything.  Of course it comes up when we mark stuff and then I go back over and mostly he’s getting it but I feel it would be better if I was more hands on.  And youngest really needs me to spend more time on new conceptual stuff now.  But all the kids want to do math first and get it done! 
 

secondly I feel really like I’ve neglected his writing this year a lot.  He’s done a fair bit of copywork through first language lessons and the spelling program but I would have liked to start writing strands with him as well to get some composition happening.  Likewise with science ds14 has been working fairly independently on the Ellen McHenry stuff while I’ve been doing earth and space with the younger kids but I don’t think he’s getting the full benefits because he’s just reading and doing the cross words and questions not doing all the activities and videos etc. 
 

currently the way we work is everyone does an hour of math (or maybe add on some music via Hoffman if they finish early), then an hour of the writing ( any extra time gets used for Picta dicta latin or duo lingo for Italian and other languages), we do the hour of the morning basket, then they do quiet reading till lunch.  Then we usually have an hour of one extra subject after lunch rotating through history, science, geography, art and one free afternoon when we do the library etc.  That all takes us till around 2.30 or 3.  The kids have activities most afternoons evenings as well.  The older two have been doing extra math after dinner to keep up by choice.

 

what I’m trying to figure out is how to give each kid a bit more time.  I could stretch the day out but the kids all really want to get on and get done early.  No one wants to have the free morning and be doing their school when everyone else is done.

[Clemsondana]

My kids have often not done the same subject at the same time because I try to have one doing independent work while I work with the other.  They're older now, but when they were younger I tried to have one doing something independent (like handwriting or a 'read and answer the questions' type of assignment or watching  a video or reading for literature) while the other did something interactive with me.  At times, one got up and started earlier, and at other times they've eaten breakfast or lunch at offset times, which let me work with one while the other was eating.  Sometimes I've done one-on-one work with older once younger was done, but some subjects seemed to go better in the morning so that wasn't always an option.  Maybe one of those would work for you?

[73349]

Could you pre-teach math a little bit the night before, or make a little video of yourself for your DS to watch in the morning before opening the book?

[SounderChick]

I don't schedule our day by subject but by time with me.  So they have an hour or to work with me one on one.  They have a check list and work on that  while I am working with others this includes their chores.  Than the afternoons were group work. 

[Btervet]

One thing I've been trying this year has been alternating independent versus together days on a per subject basis, so that no subject gets neglected due to too much independent work. So one kid might do math independently on Mon/wed, but work with me on math on Tues/Thurs. For science he could be independent on Tues/Thurs, but work with me on Mon/wed. Then I'd pick the opposite schedule for the other kid. This way each subject gets attention even if I can't give every subject for every kid attention every day. 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Btervet

[LMD]

6 hours ago, rebcoola said:

I don't schedule our day by subject but by time with me.  So they have an hour or to work with me one on one.  They have a check list and work on that  while I am working with others this includes their chores.  Than the afternoons were group work. 

Yes this, when they hit teens it's more of a meeting with mum schedule rather than a subject/hour schedule. I do make a point of trying to hit all the subjects over a week or so in the meetings.

[Ausmumof3]

On 9/16/2020 at 11:19 PM, whitehawk said:

Could you pre-teach math a little bit the night before, or make a little video of yourself for your DS to watch in the morning before opening the book?

This is a good point.  I have done this in the past and it worked ok.

[Ausmumof3]

On 9/16/2020 at 11:13 PM, ClemsonDana said:

My kids have often not done the same subject at the same time because I try to have one doing independent work while I work with the other.  They're older now, but when they were younger I tried to have one doing something independent (like handwriting or a 'read and answer the questions' type of assignment or watching  a video or reading for literature) while the other did something interactive with me.  At times, one got up and started earlier, and at other times they've eaten breakfast or lunch at offset times, which let me work with one while the other was eating.  Sometimes I've done one-on-one work with older once younger was done, but some subjects seemed to go better in the morning so that wasn't always an option.  Maybe one of those would work for you?

I just seem to have hit a point where no one has a lot of independent type work right now.  Or at least they do ... but they’re not doing it well without input.  Maybe it’s just a mum guilt thing.

[Ausmumof3]

Thanks for all your replies.  I think I’m identifying the issue is less about scheduling actually and more about how much I am willing for the kids to be independent/mess up and redo versus having me available.