I read so many post to where people state that they start off the HSing year slow and then pick up. Why don't you just start off full speed so that the children know what to expect? Just looking for insight to see if there is a better way. So... If you start off slow, why? If you start off full speed, why?
We jumped right in with a full schedule. We went from PS to Homeschool in the summer with a small break in between. We are year around. I did it that way because DS can get very lazy. This year I had no choice but to have summer off because of all the things that were going on here. Now I am paying the price trying to get him back in school mode. Never again!
Aside from the first day fun, we start off with a regular schedule. I don't find a need in our household to ease into the school year.
well I have always started off I guess in full speed everything we will be doing that day of week for the rest of the year... yea some days I slow down...
Full steam ahead here too. We schooled lightly in June, July and took a week off. And now back in full swing.
We are adding back in a couple of subjects, with Monday being our "start-up" day with full schedule. However, we then start a co-op with 3-4 classes per kid after Labor Day- so our schedule REALLY becomes full after that. If I didn't start them off with home lessons, adding the co-op at the same time is overwhelming to two of my sons. I've had both kinds of years though- where we jumped in whole hog, and where we add things in gradually. Guess it just depends on where we are all at (especially Mom's patience level and organization!!) MT3
We school through the summer, but in the summer we do lighter work focusing on trouble areas and only doing other subjects as they are requested. Once we start our 'normal' school year (couple of weeks ago) we get into it fully, doing every subject that we will do that day the rest of the year.
We ease. From full stop to full start would be....hard on my kid. Some kids (esp younger ones) need an adjustment period. Like I find instead of telling my son "turn the video game off now" can cause tears. BUT if I say "You have to turn it off in 5 minutes" then in 5 minutes say "ok you have to turn it off now" Usually no tears! He needs time to process the adjustment. Some kids don't need that, mine does...
we had a lazy LAZY summer...so we are going full steam ahead. If I even let one day go by where we slack even a little, it shows that we could go back to the lazy summertime days...we ALL (including me...maybe even mostly me) need to be reminded constantly that it's SCHOOL TIME, not summer vacation anymore, so we need to get on the ball and stay there. week 3...so far so good!
We go full steam ahead. Because my children are always SO excited to start new books, the beginning of the year is when they BEG for more school time. ("Can I pllleeeeaaaasssseeeee do two more pages?!" was heard just this morning) I'm certainly not going to slow them down.
I don't know if I would say we ease into it, or we do full speed. We just follow our schedule. Ease up in the summer, regular schedule during the school year.
We (6yo and I) started this summer and we went full steam ahead and 6yo progressed alot. Right now, we're on a lull, even though we officially started Monday. I am in school and because he had such an intensive time this summer, I wanted to give 6yo a time of light work, but he isn't reacting well to it. (He complained today that I've assigned him a baby book! Even though I gave him a Level 1 Dora Book from the beginning reader section AND a level C book from the Rookie Reader Series.) He says he's bored. We talked about it and I promised to bring his math workbook back into the picture and we've agreed to go to the library together and this time HE will help me pick books when I ask him to help me pick books. We've mapped out what he's going to read from the more mature library books I brought home for the next 2 weeks and we're going to finish (one of) his 1st grade math books this weekend. Starting September 1st, we're going back to a fuller schedule. He'll start Hooked On Phonics (1992 Edition) and Everything For Early Learning Grade 2 Continue with Book A Day Work in one of his math books (grades 1-3) I'm going to begin reading his Science book with him and 4yo. This september, I'm also going to be more adamant about his Spanish. I've got to finish putting together their workbooks and go ahead and print them out so that we can get started. We've also got to work on being better about watching the TV. We're going to watch 3 cartoons a week in Spanish and see how well we can understand some words. We will also continue to check out Library materials in Spanish. Maybe 1x a week, we'll watch a DVD in Spanish together. 4yo is going to start TRL on a schedule this September also, and he and 6yo will begin doing Progressive Phonics together everyday. 4yo is going to be learning more math also. His mom wants me to ante up his load, (thats an oxymoron or something! That kid is like "load? What load?") I'm going to get him working on Math more regularly and doing reading everyday.
We spend the first day looking at our books, discussing what we're going to do differently or the same from before, and get into most things. We do start things like Sequential Spelling first thing, or Daily Grams, whatever we're using that year. We do start with math, spelling and penmanship (if we're doing R&S English, which requires separate spelling and penmanship), and English, and reading, although we may or may not do science/social studies that day. Tomorrow's the last day of our first week, but I haven't started the reading aloud after lunch just yet, or art, but we're full steam ahead on all our other subjects.
I am planning on starting full steam ahead! I know that I have to be disciplined or school will be much like summer was - lazy.
I could have posted Sonita's post. We eeeeeeeease into it. I was going to use the "5 minute warning" analogy but Sonita beat me to it! :lol: And I am one of the ones who needs to go easy the first week. Ds and I neither one like to "do school" much. Dd, however, just did two more days worth of math tonight just to get ahead. Sigh. Crazy girl.
We ease in, but only because I'm organizationally challenged! We tend to pick a mix of things to do and figuring out how to establish a reasonable daily rhythm takes some time. By adding a subject at a time I can sort it out as we go. If she does an online class or we actually decide to follow a curriculum as written, we'll just dive in. But usually we are stumbling around in the dark for a few weeks. LOL
We always start full speed ahead because so much comes into our lives to interrupt because of our speaking and traveling and the illnesses of the past couple of years (husband with cancer and new baby with a heart condition) that I know there will be many days we can't accomplish much. I want to get as much done as we can while we can! The only times we don't do that is if a text doesn't come on time, or I just don't have a subject ready to start. Melanie
