Quiver0f10 Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I am working on our school year schedule and I have come to the realization that there simply isn't enough of me to go around. I am thinking in order for this to work best for me I would like to schedule a 1 hour block first thing for my 9 yo son with LD and then the next hour for my 6 yo. During this hour we would do the three R's and then in the afternoon we could do science, history, art, music and read alouds together. During this time my older ones will be doing independent work and then after the 6 yo and 9 yo are finished I can do the group work with my older kids. My problem is that I really think short sweet lessons are best for this age and I am not sure my 6 yo would do well with the 1 hour block. What do you think? Any other way I schedule it it seems I am being pulled into different directions or being rushed to teach one while another is waiting, which is how I have been doing it but I really need to make life less stressful for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Can you give the 6yo a 30 minute time slot, so she stays more focused? During the other 30 minutes, she can do something quietly, and you can have that time to prepare or shower or something for yourself, which would be a nice start to your day! If you're doing stuff with her in the afternoon, the shorter timeslot will still be enough to accomplish something, and won't over tax either one of you. Best wishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 What if you kept the first two hours for the two youngest, but alternated them in smaller increments - 20 minutes, half-hour, whatever works? Just a thought - your idea seems like a good one to me!! Anne :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I would like to schedule a 1 hour block first thing for my 9 yo son with LD and then the next hour for my 6 yo. During this hour we would do the three R's and then in the afternoon we could do science, history, art, music and read alouds together. My problem is that I really think short sweet lessons are best for this age and I am not sure my 6 yo would do well with the 1 hour block. What do you think? well, one hour is really, short if you look at it. 15 Reading instruction 2 minute break for a movement type song. 20 minutes of math 5 minutes of gross motor skills - 15 minutes of writing and minutes to spare. it will never work out perfectly, but if you schedule in little movement breaks then you get the short lessons accomplished in a compressed time frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmy Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I struggle with this as well. The easiest thing for me would be to sit down with my first grader and work with him straight through - but that does not fly with him! He cannot sit for all his subjects at once. I end up going back and forth between kids and it is a very hectic feeling. I'm not sure how to get around it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 If you want to keep the 9yo with one solid hour, what about doing half an hour first with the 6yo, then an hour for the 9yo, then another half with the 6yo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tricia Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Hi Jean, I think in the past you and I have shared similar concerns with our large families. If you come up with something scientific I would love to hear about it!! I believe this is why I finally went back to RC, A2 and OFE for our homeschool. Because no matter how you look at it with as many children as we have we are still being pulled. Schedules are only part of the solution I have found:confused: One thing I have done lately is give the middle children each a travel drive with their books on it, including math worksheets they need to print. Their english, spelling, penmanship, literature, everything pretty much is on it. This has saved tons of time for me with popping in the cds, finding the books, printing the math sheets, assigning an english page, etc. I simply give them the drive and I don't worry about it much except to check their work. So it usually takes about 45 minutes per child to prepare the drive, then I don't have to gather anything else for them in several weeks. Seems to work for now. I am still tweaking it a bit but we're okay. Of course we are still hit and miss but with bunches of kids that's life, right.:001_smile::001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 What if you kept the first two hours for the two youngest, but alternated them in smaller increments - 20 minutes, half-hour, whatever works? Just a thought - your idea seems like a good one to me!! Anne :) Oh, this makes so much sense! Thank YOU! I think this might work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 Can you give the 6yo a 30 minute time slot, so she stays more focused? During the other 30 minutes, she can do something quietly, and you can have that time to prepare or shower or something for yourself, which would be a nice start to your day! If you're doing stuff with her in the afternoon, the shorter timeslot will still be enough to accomplish something, and won't over tax either one of you. Best wishes! I do think 30 minutes is going to be her limit. I really thnk breaking her time up is best. Thanks for the ideas guys. I knew trying a solid hour with a 6 yo wasn't going to work well for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 Hi Jean,I think in the past you and I have shared similar concerns with our large families. If you come up with something scientific I would love to hear about it!! I believe this is why I finally went back to RC, A2 and OFE for our homeschool. Because no matter how you look at it with as many children as we have we are still being pulled. Schedules are only part of the solution I have found:confused: One thing I have done lately is give the middle children each a travel drive with their books on it, including math worksheets they need to print. Their english, spelling, penmanship, literature, everything pretty much is on it. This has saved tons of time for me with popping in the cds, finding the books, printing the math sheets, assigning an english page, etc. I simply give them the drive and I don't worry about it much except to check their work. So it usually takes about 45 minutes per child to prepare the drive, then I don't have to gather anything else for them in several weeks. Seems to work for now. I am still tweaking it a bit but we're okay. Of course we are still hit and miss but with bunches of kids that's life, right.:001_smile::001_smile: What is OPE? Does each child have their own PC? Yes, scheduling a ton of kids is always fun NOT :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Hi Jean,I think in the past you and I have shared similar concerns with our large families. If you come up with something scientific I would love to hear about it!! I believe this is why I finally went back to RC, A2 and OFE for our homeschool. Because no matter how you look at it with as many children as we have we are still being pulled. Schedules are only part of the solution I have found:confused: One thing I have done lately is give the middle children each a travel drive with their books on it, including math worksheets they need to print. Their english, spelling, penmanship, literature, everything pretty much is on it. This has saved tons of time for me with popping in the cds, finding the books, printing the math sheets, assigning an english page, etc. I simply give them the drive and I don't worry about it much except to check their work. So it usually takes about 45 minutes per child to prepare the drive, then I don't have to gather anything else for them in several weeks. Seems to work for now. I am still tweaking it a bit but we're okay. Of course we are still hit and miss but with bunches of kids that's life, right.:001_smile::001_smile: What a great idea! I only have 3 I'm homeschooling, and I sometimes feel I'm running too much, I can't imagine as many as you have, and still keeping it all organized! Kudos to you! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxMama Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 My problem is that I really think short sweet lessons are best for this age and I am not sure my 6 yo would do well with the 1 hour block. What do you think? . Try it if it doesn't work break it up and gradually lengthen then time you spend with your 6 yo. I try to alternate my 6yo schooltime between "active" and "listen" activities which works really well. He can now to the everything I plan in one stretch but didn't start out the year able to to this. hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tricia Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 No, they don't have their own but we work off 3 computers between them. We just have to schedule computer time which is fine as I know how long each child's work should take. OFE is http://www.oldfashionededucation.com This is a free homeschool site and you can print whatever you want.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmwife Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Have you read Managers of Their Schools by Teri Maxwell? I would highly recommend it, I don't agree with her texbook choices but I really felt like she was speaking straight to my heart about a lot of the issues I have with homeschooling a larger brood. http://www.titus2.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 Thanks again. I will check out the links. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara in WA Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 A new scheduling idea I learned this year (from Classical Conversations) is to divide your school day into hours by subject - math hour, language arts hour, etc. The idea is to first teach your youngest then proceed to each child in order of age. As the younger children are finished, they are then excused to play or do chores. The older children are doing independent work while they wait for their one-on-one time with you. Then everyone comes back for the next hour. I believe the author of this idea had 2 children of school age at a time. I have 4 and you have more, so you'd have a better idea if this could even work. It doesn't always work for us, but it is an idea I come back to when we need a fresh way of structuring our school day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison in KY Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Jean, I think your plan looks great. This is similiar to what I do and I only have 3 kids. I'd follow the other suggestions and maybe give the 6 yr old a 15 min. phonics lesson, then a 5 min. handwriting lesson, then go with your 9 yr old. Then come back and do math with your 6 yr old. Use the timer and doing those small lessons really helps me. Plus, you can have your older's doing chores, independent work during this time. Another thing you could do is have as many of them as applicable come around you first thing for a short memorization stint (say books of Bible or whatever), a 10 min. RA, poetry, etc. I do this with all 3 of mine together and it's a good way for us to start our day. I usually do this either during breakfast or directly afterwards. It is 15-20 minutes total and they seem to enjoy being together. Plus, after you finish your first 2 hours, you could schedule an older child to have a reading session with both of your younger ones..so the younger ones could RA to the older kids for maybe 10 min (just because I imagine with so many kids at Diff. levels this might fall through the cracks). I'd also suggest having some computer programs for your youngers to get some extra work. I tag team my 3 (2 are doing phonics but at diff. levels, and the oldest gets WAY distracted when his sisters are at the table) with our two computers. I set up the mathusee online drill for them (5 min. or less) or grammar gorilla (5 min. also) and we also use Studydog, starfall, and on our older computer they all have individual time using things like Math Missions, Math Blaster, reading Blaster, and Jumpstart cd's. I like to alternate one week of math cd with one week of phonics cd. HTH Alison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 A new scheduling idea I learned this year (from Classical Conversations) is to divide your school day into hours by subject - math hour, language arts hour, etc. The idea is to first teach your youngest then proceed to each child in order of age. As the younger children are finished, they are then excused to play or do chores. The older children are doing independent work while they wait for their one-on-one time with you. Then everyone comes back for the next hour. I believe the author of this idea had 2 children of school age at a time. I have 4 and you have more, so you'd have a better idea if this could even work. It doesn't always work for us, but it is an idea I come back to when we need a fresh way of structuring our school day. This is kind of what we have been doing, but with 7 schooling it is just too stressful. It gets done but I feel like I am rushing all day long. Thanks for the suggestion though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 Jean, I think your plan looks great. This is similiar to what I do and I only have 3 kids. I'd follow the other suggestions and maybe give the 6 yr old a 15 min. phonics lesson, then a 5 min. handwriting lesson, then go with your 9 yr old. Then come back and do math with your 6 yr old. Use the timer and doing those small lessons really helps me. Plus, you can have your older's doing chores, independent work during this time. I'd also suggest having some computer programs for your youngers to get some extra work. I tag team my 3 (2 are doing phonics but at diff. levels, and the oldest gets WAY distracted when his sisters are at the table) with our two computers. I set up the mathusee online drill for them (5 min. or less) or grammar gorilla (5 min. also) and we also use Studydog, starfall, and on our older computer they all have individual time using things like Math Missions, Math Blaster, reading Blaster, and Jumpstart cd's. I like to alternate one week of math cd with one week of phonics cd. HTH Alison I think scheduleing a big block and then alternatng the 6 and 9 yo is going to work best. Atleast it looks good on paper :D As far as computer games, another excellent idea! Thank you. I did buy Brainware Safari for the 9 yo, but I am going to look into something for the 6 yo. Maybe ETC online? And I forgot all about MUS online drills! My 9 yo is using MUS and I bet he'd love this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison in KY Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 My 9 yo is using MUS and I bet he'd love this! LOL, well love is a little strong for what my kids do, but it does help me to get math facts done. Also, if you have a computer with Win. 98 or 2000 you can find those great math and reading blaster games. We've used them for 5 years now and they are great to supplement with. Sounds like you now have a plan. Alison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 Sounds like you now have a plan. Yeah. Feels good because I was getting frustrated and knew something had to change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicMom Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 There is Starfall Phonics too that is free for online phonics practice. I also suggest the shorter sessions for your sons. I have an LD daughter and a 6yo son. Both would go bonkers if they had to go through an entire hour of reading instruction at a time. My dd would have cried the entire time and my son would be hanging upside down in his chair after 20 minutes. I also second the Maxwell's planner for time management. While I don't completely back all of their philosphies, this book has been a lifesaver for our family many times over. Good luck finding a schedule that works for you. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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