We are still plugging along on all our curriculum choices and having the kids keep up with their schoolwork. It is a struggle everyday especially with my 9 yob. He just doesn't want to put forth the effort it takes to use his little brain and make it grow. He wants everything to be easy and when it's not he wants to give up. He usually pushes through to finish at the end so that he earns his minutes for finishing his work, plus he knows he can't do anything else fun until it's all done- but it is extremely emotionally draining for me and he definitely isn't making as much progress as he could if he would just concentrate. I think I'm going to have to make him do extra work each day so that he builds better habits instead of giving him Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. We'll see if that helps. He is a delightful child otherwise, willing to help with the twins, willing to run whatever errand I need him to- taking care of the goats and chickens. He will miss the goats more than anybody ( the story there is on my other blog www.todoron.blogspot.com. He likes to read especially because he gets an hour of screen time for every book he finishes.
We have been traveling a ton, but since we haven't had vision therapy in a while, and soccer is starting and we've been doing Destination Imagination, we decided to quit our Friday co-op. It was just too much! Being gone so much makes it hard to get the house clean, the piano practicing done and the schooling done. With this pregnancy I didn't have the energy to keep everything up on schedule so we really slacked with the schedule, not starting on school until 11 am and working until 6, 7 or 8 p.m. with plenty of breaks in between. Now that my energy has returned we getting back on a better schedule where the kids start around 9 am and are done by 4 or 5 p.m. depending on how focused they are. I'm glad that they really didn't get behind because of this pregnancy-- just the house and the car did. but we are catching back up on that and the kids are helping more than before-- I just have to be on top of it all.
I love spring. I think that is helping us get on a better schedule too. Can't wait to move and have more time at home!!! I love where we're headed. The girls will be studying formal Logic, algebra, hopefully geometry and Latin this coming school year. Then they'll get to move into formal Rhetoric and continue with the Latin and then the sky's the limit-- whatever they decide to study-- they'll have a great foundation and be able to do whatever they desire. I just have to keep them motivated and on task!! No small feat indeed-- but we are finally witnessing the benefits!!! yay!!
Showing posts with label scheduling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scheduling. Show all posts
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
We didn't Finish Everything!
It's hard to get everything done with one day slotted off to go to vision therapy. In order to save on gas and time, I then have to do my grocery shopping the same day since the stores I like to go to are 15-20 min away from home and I pass a few on my home from the eye doctor. We do listen to books on tape on our trips, so that does help some, but the girls left too much work for themselves to finish on Friday and with a birthday party, play practice and soccer practice they didn't have enough time.
Oh well, I knew that with a baptism and 4 soccer games and regular cleaning we wouldn't have time on Sat. either. We didn't. Oh well. I may have to put the eye doctor on Wednesdays so that we have Thursday to finish up. we have a tendency to try to leave more than we should for later. Also we have been going to bed very late and getting up very late. So it may be time to return to our schedule. I also been very distracted dealing with a problem at church. It has weighed heavy on my mind and I haven't given my kids the full attention they need. It looks like we will be coming to a resolution soon, and it will be nice to focus back on the kids and make sure they're doing what they are supposed to. It turns out that #2 has not been doing enough pages of math or greek, so I have to follow up better. The boys are still in the easy phases. The girls do better when they start earlier.
I can't wait for summer break. I keep telling the girls that once they finish their math book and take the tests, then they are done for the summer. And once they finish Greek they are done for the rest of their lives. I'm so ready for them to be done!!!!
Oh well, I knew that with a baptism and 4 soccer games and regular cleaning we wouldn't have time on Sat. either. We didn't. Oh well. I may have to put the eye doctor on Wednesdays so that we have Thursday to finish up. we have a tendency to try to leave more than we should for later. Also we have been going to bed very late and getting up very late. So it may be time to return to our schedule. I also been very distracted dealing with a problem at church. It has weighed heavy on my mind and I haven't given my kids the full attention they need. It looks like we will be coming to a resolution soon, and it will be nice to focus back on the kids and make sure they're doing what they are supposed to. It turns out that #2 has not been doing enough pages of math or greek, so I have to follow up better. The boys are still in the easy phases. The girls do better when they start earlier.
I can't wait for summer break. I keep telling the girls that once they finish their math book and take the tests, then they are done for the summer. And once they finish Greek they are done for the rest of their lives. I'm so ready for them to be done!!!!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
On the final Stretch of School
Monday again-- the boys finished all their stuff, but the girls didn't. I thought it might help them to see exactly what they have left and how when they finish, they'll be all done for the summer. We have 26 school days left
-- 7 weeks and then we'll take off 3 weeks where I won't even make them read if they don't want to.
#1 has 40 pages of math left and the test and the final test-- so if she does 4 pages a day, she'll be done in the next 3 weeks. She has 7 chapters of Greek left, so 1 chapter a week equals 7 weeks. One section of science left-- I've just got to gather the supplies for the experiments so she can finish-- it won't take long. She has a lot of English workbooks left, but the grammar practice ones are full of things I haven't learned yet like the pluperfect tense- so she'll be fine doing that alongside Latin-- it will probably make more sense that way too. So she can finish those up during the summer. I will also have her continue with history, required reading, a little science, music, art and writing over the summer after our break and only a couple times each week just to keep so good habits and keep boredom at bay. I think this will help her see the end and keep going to the finish!! She is way excited to be done with math. We've been going strong a long time and I think she's a little burnt out.
I will also have her do a couple practice tests of standardized testing each week over the summer. She took a reading test and passed adequately, but she needs to ace it. She just needs practice taking tests and reading the questions. I'll probably have her start with the early levels until she is acing those and then move her on up.
#2 just has about 15 pages of math left, so she'll be done very soon. She has 16 chapters of Greek left, so that will take some time over the summer, but she is very good at memorizing and being exact so I don't think it will be too hard for her. She has the same science section left as her sister and about the same workbooks. So they'll continue to work together. She's pretty far ahead so I don't worry about her so much although we're pushing her to start algebra and Latin in the fall with her sister so they can be study budies.
The boys are pretty far ahead so for them it's just a matter of building good habits and keeping them challenged which really isn't hard. They're not burnt out, their stuff doesn't take that long and it's not that hard yet. So they'll keep their regular routine, but I am excited to have a break myself!
-- 7 weeks and then we'll take off 3 weeks where I won't even make them read if they don't want to.
#1 has 40 pages of math left and the test and the final test-- so if she does 4 pages a day, she'll be done in the next 3 weeks. She has 7 chapters of Greek left, so 1 chapter a week equals 7 weeks. One section of science left-- I've just got to gather the supplies for the experiments so she can finish-- it won't take long. She has a lot of English workbooks left, but the grammar practice ones are full of things I haven't learned yet like the pluperfect tense- so she'll be fine doing that alongside Latin-- it will probably make more sense that way too. So she can finish those up during the summer. I will also have her continue with history, required reading, a little science, music, art and writing over the summer after our break and only a couple times each week just to keep so good habits and keep boredom at bay. I think this will help her see the end and keep going to the finish!! She is way excited to be done with math. We've been going strong a long time and I think she's a little burnt out.
I will also have her do a couple practice tests of standardized testing each week over the summer. She took a reading test and passed adequately, but she needs to ace it. She just needs practice taking tests and reading the questions. I'll probably have her start with the early levels until she is acing those and then move her on up.
#2 just has about 15 pages of math left, so she'll be done very soon. She has 16 chapters of Greek left, so that will take some time over the summer, but she is very good at memorizing and being exact so I don't think it will be too hard for her. She has the same science section left as her sister and about the same workbooks. So they'll continue to work together. She's pretty far ahead so I don't worry about her so much although we're pushing her to start algebra and Latin in the fall with her sister so they can be study budies.
The boys are pretty far ahead so for them it's just a matter of building good habits and keeping them challenged which really isn't hard. They're not burnt out, their stuff doesn't take that long and it's not that hard yet. So they'll keep their regular routine, but I am excited to have a break myself!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Checklists and Deadlines
Checklists have been very helpful for kids to see what they need to do and what they have left. It's much easier to keep going when they can see that it will end and they know exactly what is expected of them. A new rule we have now for the 4th and 6th grader is that math and Greek have to be done before lunch or they don't get to eat. Those are the hardest subjects and they need to do them when their brains are most ready. Everything else they can pretty much do on their own and just take time. The boys also have to have everything they can do on their own finished before lunch also and usually they are done with the things I have to help them with-- reading, math and phonics.
Here is the girls checklist without the table and boxes to check for each day, the numbers are how many times each week they need to do the item-- so they can work ahead if they want-- which hasn't happened yet. I have also included brushing and flossing teeth because they would often forget. Here it is:
Clean room
dressed
hair
brush and floss teeth
Scripture 4x
Journal 4x
Read scriptures 7x
Read history 4x
History report 1x
Required reading 4x
Piano 7x
Violin 7x
Grammar practice 4x
Word study 4x
Sentences to Paragraphs 4x
Math 5x
Greek 5x
Science 2x
Composition 1x
Art 4x
They did a great job yesterday and had fun with Valentines. I think their expectations have been reset after the drama of last Thursday night and they know we are serious. We also had a great lesson in Relief Society on Work and how important it is. I really needed that to reinforce my feeling that we need to do more and it's O.K. I can see the value of children needing free time to explore and play, but I can also see how they can play and do fun things too much. It's all about balance and we are course correcting and learning about work was very nice and helpful for me to see that it's good to stretch these little ones to do more than they would on their own. Through work they will gain Victory!!
On to more work-- I fell asleep before I could clean the kitchen and that's why I'm up so early now- because I know what a nightmare it will be if it's not clean by the time the kids get up!! Work is good-- I am also listening to a teaching company course on Byzantinium times while I clean-- that is very fun and interesting.
Here is the girls checklist without the table and boxes to check for each day, the numbers are how many times each week they need to do the item-- so they can work ahead if they want-- which hasn't happened yet. I have also included brushing and flossing teeth because they would often forget. Here it is:
Clean room
dressed
hair
brush and floss teeth
Scripture 4x
Journal 4x
Read scriptures 7x
Read history 4x
History report 1x
Required reading 4x
Piano 7x
Violin 7x
Grammar practice 4x
Word study 4x
Sentences to Paragraphs 4x
Math 5x
Greek 5x
Science 2x
Composition 1x
Art 4x
They did a great job yesterday and had fun with Valentines. I think their expectations have been reset after the drama of last Thursday night and they know we are serious. We also had a great lesson in Relief Society on Work and how important it is. I really needed that to reinforce my feeling that we need to do more and it's O.K. I can see the value of children needing free time to explore and play, but I can also see how they can play and do fun things too much. It's all about balance and we are course correcting and learning about work was very nice and helpful for me to see that it's good to stretch these little ones to do more than they would on their own. Through work they will gain Victory!!
On to more work-- I fell asleep before I could clean the kitchen and that's why I'm up so early now- because I know what a nightmare it will be if it's not clean by the time the kids get up!! Work is good-- I am also listening to a teaching company course on Byzantinium times while I clean-- that is very fun and interesting.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Our Ideal Schedule -- 7 kids
It is very important to have a good schedule and system in place when homeschooling many children. Otherwise, the kids will play away the day and we will not accomplish what we need to. The kids have checlists for each week. Sometimes they will do extra one day to have a "free day". They just need to check off everything for the week.
Here is our ideal schedule. We seldom do it this way exactly, but this is what we are aiming for, and we come very close each day. The key is for everybody to get to bed early and get up early. The day really starts the evening before. We do this 4 days a week. Saturday is for cleaning, and one day during the week is for field trips and extra projects. This schedule is for the regular days which are my favorite and we try to have 3 days of this:
The evening before school ideally around 7:
Children clean their zones and take baths or showers
Mom finishes kitchen
We read scriptures and pray together
Then I read a chapter book
Then the kids brush their teeth go to bed around 8:30
They can read in bed until 9:15, then it's lights out
Mom to bed ideally at 11 p.m.
6 a.m. Mom up to read and nurse babies, change diapers
7 a.m. Make 2 green smoothie for dad before work and start
oatmeal or quinoa for breakfast for the kids
7:45 Mom exercise, kids get up and clean their rooms, get ready for the day
8:15 Kids eat breakfast, rinse dishes, brush teeth
Mom gets ready for the day and starts daily chores
9:00 Older kids start working on things they don't need help with such as
instrument practicing, and required reading
10:00 Group Time -- We exercise and stretch for about 10 min., then sing for 10
min., then pray, then have scripture study about 10 min, practice poems
and Greek scripture, then end with a little Spanish and French and a
snack of fruit, babies to bed!
11:00 Each of the 4 older kids get my undivided attention for 30 min. each,
alternating between older and younger. The other kids take turns being
in charge of the preschoolers and continue to work on the things they
need to do on their own. We set the timer for this and the kids are
required to give me their best effort and focus so we can be efficient.
I usually help them with math, reading and Greek during this time and
make sure they are doing it correctly.
1:30 Lunch/ Break We usually have leftovers from dinner the night before -- I try
to make extra dinner all the time so we usually have plenty of
leftovers.
3:00 Storytime/ Activity I read our history books, science books, and literature
books during this time. The kids draw, color, or play a quiet game.
Often we do something that goes along with what we're reading and I try
to do a science experiment at least once a week during this time. We
finish with little kids picture books and the older kids finish up their
schoolwork. Or we go to the park or library. This is he fun part of
homeschool.
5:00 I start dinner with the dinner helper. Everybody finishes up whatever they
have left.
6:30 Dinner when Daddy gets home
7:00 Play and start getting ready for a new day
Here is our ideal schedule. We seldom do it this way exactly, but this is what we are aiming for, and we come very close each day. The key is for everybody to get to bed early and get up early. The day really starts the evening before. We do this 4 days a week. Saturday is for cleaning, and one day during the week is for field trips and extra projects. This schedule is for the regular days which are my favorite and we try to have 3 days of this:
The evening before school ideally around 7:
Children clean their zones and take baths or showers
Mom finishes kitchen
We read scriptures and pray together
Then I read a chapter book
Then the kids brush their teeth go to bed around 8:30
They can read in bed until 9:15, then it's lights out
Mom to bed ideally at 11 p.m.
6 a.m. Mom up to read and nurse babies, change diapers
7 a.m. Make 2 green smoothie for dad before work and start
oatmeal or quinoa for breakfast for the kids
7:45 Mom exercise, kids get up and clean their rooms, get ready for the day
8:15 Kids eat breakfast, rinse dishes, brush teeth
Mom gets ready for the day and starts daily chores
9:00 Older kids start working on things they don't need help with such as
instrument practicing, and required reading
10:00 Group Time -- We exercise and stretch for about 10 min., then sing for 10
min., then pray, then have scripture study about 10 min, practice poems
and Greek scripture, then end with a little Spanish and French and a
snack of fruit, babies to bed!
11:00 Each of the 4 older kids get my undivided attention for 30 min. each,
alternating between older and younger. The other kids take turns being
in charge of the preschoolers and continue to work on the things they
need to do on their own. We set the timer for this and the kids are
required to give me their best effort and focus so we can be efficient.
I usually help them with math, reading and Greek during this time and
make sure they are doing it correctly.
1:30 Lunch/ Break We usually have leftovers from dinner the night before -- I try
to make extra dinner all the time so we usually have plenty of
leftovers.
3:00 Storytime/ Activity I read our history books, science books, and literature
books during this time. The kids draw, color, or play a quiet game.
Often we do something that goes along with what we're reading and I try
to do a science experiment at least once a week during this time. We
finish with little kids picture books and the older kids finish up their
schoolwork. Or we go to the park or library. This is he fun part of
homeschool.
5:00 I start dinner with the dinner helper. Everybody finishes up whatever they
have left.
6:30 Dinner when Daddy gets home
7:00 Play and start getting ready for a new day
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Preschool taught by Older Kids
One new thing we did this week was to have the 2 older girls switch off teaching "preschool" to the younger boys. The little boys loved it- even the 8 yob except for one little session, but it's not mandatory so he looked at books during that time. The girls prepared their lessons and activities and everybody had a great a time. The reason for this new format was to keep the 3 yob entertained and busy while I teach a girl one on one. Monday was a very difficult day- he took a lot of my time and I had very little uninterrupted time to help the other kids. This was heavenly. The "teachers" enjoyed it and so did the students and so did I. I still had the babies to take care of-- but they will be quiet eating bananas and if not, they take a nap. So this was very good..
They made Christmas chains and Christmas trees. They went on a nature walk and played the bells and learned the months of the year and the days of week and played games. The girls were the leaders and got to pick the activities. The first day we did it for 45 min. each girl, then the second day we tried an hour each because 45 min. just wasn't long enough. Then the 3rd day we switched off every half hour. We did 1/2 hour for math and 1/2 hour for Greek because I needed a break to a different kid. I think this coming week, I'll add in some individual time for the boys.
Things just constantly change, I'm always finding new ways to do things!!
They made Christmas chains and Christmas trees. They went on a nature walk and played the bells and learned the months of the year and the days of week and played games. The girls were the leaders and got to pick the activities. The first day we did it for 45 min. each girl, then the second day we tried an hour each because 45 min. just wasn't long enough. Then the 3rd day we switched off every half hour. We did 1/2 hour for math and 1/2 hour for Greek because I needed a break to a different kid. I think this coming week, I'll add in some individual time for the boys.
Things just constantly change, I'm always finding new ways to do things!!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Scheduling appointments and shopping
This has been a busy week. One thing that was good about this week is that I combined all my necessary trips into 2 days. One day is huge-- we drive about 45 min. each way for vision therapy for my son, then do all our grocery shopping for the week, then go to the park with other homeschooled friends. There aren't many girls at the park, so we may start an arts and crafts club to meet after the park for my daughters. That is a long day, but then I don't have to load up the twins any extra time and we don't get interrupted in our school days.
One other day of the week my daughter has a violin lesson right after lunch for a half hour, then we go the library right after, because the twins are already in the car to take her to violin, so we just stop at home and grab the other kids and go. This is a little disruptive to our at home schedule, but the kids love the library and we had stop going otherwise because I just couldn't take everybody and we had way to many fines because of it. This way we have a weekly appointment so we shouldn't incur so many fines and the kids really learn a lot from their books. They get to check out 4 books of whatever they want and 2 books on something they are interested in learning about. The library took over group time this week. So we may just have group time 3 times a week instead of 4. I'm O.K. with that. That will give me a bit of a break too. I kept having the thought "it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength" (Mosiah 4:27
) run through my mind this week. There are so many things I want to help my children accomplish and so many fun and important things to do, that it can feel overwhelming. That thought helped me destress and keep perspective, that it will be O.K. if we don't do it all. But scheduling is going to help us get some order so we can accomplish a lot.
One other day of the week my daughter has a violin lesson right after lunch for a half hour, then we go the library right after, because the twins are already in the car to take her to violin, so we just stop at home and grab the other kids and go. This is a little disruptive to our at home schedule, but the kids love the library and we had stop going otherwise because I just couldn't take everybody and we had way to many fines because of it. This way we have a weekly appointment so we shouldn't incur so many fines and the kids really learn a lot from their books. They get to check out 4 books of whatever they want and 2 books on something they are interested in learning about. The library took over group time this week. So we may just have group time 3 times a week instead of 4. I'm O.K. with that. That will give me a bit of a break too. I kept having the thought "it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength" (Mosiah 4:27
) run through my mind this week. There are so many things I want to help my children accomplish and so many fun and important things to do, that it can feel overwhelming. That thought helped me destress and keep perspective, that it will be O.K. if we don't do it all. But scheduling is going to help us get some order so we can accomplish a lot.
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