Hello, I am worried that we are not spending enough time a day doing school work type learning or that I am missing something. My daughter just turned 5 and is at about K level. My son is 7, and about 1-2nd grade level. Can others please post what a typical homeschool day looks like for their K and 1st/2nd grade kids? My worries, I think, stem from not using 1 curriculum and following it daily. Can you also throw out there the cirriculum you are using, the pros/cons of it, & if you plan on using it next year. Thanks E
My daughter turns 5 in summer, so she would start public school K in fall, except of course we are homeschooling We started CLE Learning to Read about 2 weeks ago, cause she was definitely ready for it. Right now we spend maybe 1/2 an hour per day doing schoolwork, unless she begs for more (which seems to happen often!). Once we add in Math and other subjects it will take a bit more time.
The only thing that we have used successfully is BJU. My children seem to thrive with that. But we are in higher grades. But it may be a good place to start.
My 1/2 graders spend maybe 2 hours a day total on schoolwork. We don't use one set curriculum, just kind of piece it together. I have older kiddos too, so your schedule may not work like mine, but here's what we do (the actual times vary by day, but this will give you an idea). Each child has a list of independent work to do including memory verse work, handwriting, spelling practice, journal, math drill activities, reading practice, etc. They work on this during the time I am working one on one with each child. 10:00-10:20 Singapore Math with ds6 10:20-10:40 Singapore Math with dd8(they actually work on the same level but focus better one on one) 10:40-11:00 Singapore Math with dd11 11:00-11:20 Go over Life of Fred math with dd13 11:20-11:50 MOH or Apologia Astronomy with everyone (I alternate every other day) By this time, the younger 2 are usually finished with their independent work for the day. They can play until after lunch. Older two usually take a break while I get ready for lunch. 12:00-1:15 Lunch 1:15-1:35 Reading with ds6 (we're using an Evan Moor book right now) 1:35-1:55 Reading with dd8 (also an Evan Moor book right now) 1:55-2:15 Listen to dd11 read aloud/discuss book 2:15-2:35 Listen to dd13 read aloud/discuss book 2:55-3:25 MOH/Apologia Astronomy if there's time (again alternate every other day) At this time, whoever is finished with their work can watch tv or play on the computer until time to get ready for evening activities (Tae Kwon Do, church, etc) while I help with dd13 science or history, check papers, etc. An example of dd6's independent work: *Put together a puzzle of his memory verse that I made with a sentence strip *Sort addition fact cards by answer *Play a rhyming concentration game (by himself or with dd8) *Read one of his mini-readers to himself (or a toy) *Coloring page (color by number or dot to dot, etc) *A picture sort for beginning sounds in a word *Write/draw in his journal for 5 minutes *Print his memory verse Each thing take maybe 5-6 minutes to complete. Hope that helps!
I have a 7 year old (1st-2nd grade level). Here's our basic schedule: Bible and Family Meeting (15 min) PE (not daily but when we do, its about 20-30 min) reading instruction (30-45 min) Cursive (10 min) Math (30 min) Science / Social Studies-alternating days (15-30 min, depending on what we're doing) Read aloud on the couch (30 min) *once a month we do Meet The Masters Art and its about 2 hours. We cut out other subjects to do this. *My daughter just started a dance class so on that day I cut something out of her schedule so she's not so tired. It's about 2 1/2 to 3 hours a day. It's about all she can do at this age, which is fine. We're making good progress.
Here's the curriculum we're using: McRuffy Phonics- It's challenging and we're taking it slow but overall, its a great program and both my daughter and I like it. It's easy for me to do without much prep. Horizons Math (AOP) - Also really good. This is our second year using this. McRuffy Science - Easy to do without much prep. Next year I may go to NOEO Science only because I used it with my older two and it's 'meatier'. For now, though, McRuffy suits us just fine. McRuffy Cursive/Printing - Just like it. It's colorful. Hope this helps!
What we're using is in my siggy. I'm happy with all of it. Boxed curriculum just doesn't work for us. It's nice to have everything laid out for you in one place with step by step directions, but it's just not our thing. My K'er spends about 20 minutes per day on school, and my 3rd spends 1-4 hours, depending on what else we have planned for the day. On days that we're not doing anything, I'll pile on the work. On days that we're busy, we don't do much. I have our work broken down by week rather than by day, so as long as we stay on track, I'm cool with whatever time it takes to finish, even if it's only 30 minutes.
1st grade for dd went something like this: 8:00-9:00 Math (Horizons 2)-some days it only took dd 1/2hr others longer, it depened on if she was fooling around. 9:00-11:00/12:00 (depended on the day) We used Sonlight. This covered a daily reading assignment, a read aloud, History, Science, Bible (we also used a sheet a day from BJU), LA (spelling, writing, copywork), Handwriting (Reason for Handwriting) In the afternoon we would do art 2 days a week (Artistic Pursuits) and then Music once a week for part of the year (Story of the Orchestra). Most days we were totally finished by 1:00 and that included lunch. It all depended on how much dd wanted to drag things out or if she just wanted to get right to work. I have to say I love Sonlight since everything is laid out for you. I love the idea of using books to reinforce history and science. It keeps it interesting for dd. Horizons is a great Math program. We used it from 1st-3rd (dd was advanced since we did Horizons 1 while she was in ps k). This year we switched to Saxon. I plan on using Saxon for high school and I wanted dd to start with the program so it flowed.
When my oldest was 1-2nd grade, it would have been tough for me to say how many hours we spent on "school". We went to the library a lot; we read lots of books; I used Alpha-phonics, Bob books, and then We Both Read books and then he was off and running with reading; we played math games from Peggy Kaye's books and games we made up; dh took him to grocery stores where he wrote down prices of everything they bought and then added it up and counted out money to pay. I taught him how to write myself - this is what A looks like - now you do it. I never used any set curriculum until 4th grade or so when we started Spelling Power.
Christian Light for DS8 - takes him about 2 hours 4 days a week if he doesn't drag his feet terribly He does guitar and church activities as well that we do on that 5th day along with homeschool group stuff or a field trip Christian Light for DD4 (almost 5) - A-I series - 30 minutes or so of worksheets then Bible Story I read aloud - play doh, paint, puzzles, etc until her patience wears thin - she likes to do school with brother but doesn't usually stay until he is done
I'm not much of a schedule person, so we have a basic outline for the day. This is for my 2nd grader. Saxon Math 2: 30 to 45 minutes. It works well for my son's learning style and we both like it. First Language Lessons level 2: ~20 minutes. My son doesn't memorize things very well, so some things about this are harder than others. I like the style and how it repeats things. I am planning on using the next level next year with the workbook and see how that goes. Writing with Ease level 2 workbook: 10 minutes, 4 days a week. We just started this and so far, so good. I like how it's all broken down. We'll use it next year too. Spelling Workout D: 10 minutes. My son is pretty good at spelling so far, so we cover a list in about 3 days. When it gets harder, we'll go slower. I like this book and will continue using this series. Story of the World vol. 2: 40-60 minutes, 3x a week. I'm still on the fence about this one. I think it's a good concept, but my son is not really retaining anything from it. We'll try it again next year and then decide if we're going to switch. Usborne First Ecyclopedia of Space: 40-60 minutes, 2x a week. We also watch movies, observe the sky, and do experiments. We did earth science the first half of the school year. I try to do music, art, and computers when I have time and remember, but not as much as I'd like. So all together about 2 hrs of schooling a day. My younger son will be doing K next year. We're just going to focus on reading (Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, which we've already started), writing (trying out Cursive First), basic math, and Spanish (La Clase Divertida level 1 for both the boys). He also learns along with his brother when he wants.
I have a pre K, 2nd and 3rd (we just moved up "grades" today) We do school from 9am to about noon sometimes we will have to finish up after lunch but not that often. We do bible reading, memory work, verse work, history and science review, and math flash cards which takes quite a while but it works well for my kids. History or science on alternating days. ( MOH Vol 2 and Exploring Creation Botany) Then we do spelling/grammar/ LA stuff (Spelling power, Brian Clearys books, and Progeny Press study guides. ) Last we do math. Which takes the longest (CLE math 200 and 300)
thanks all...it sounds llike we're getting everything done, and I got some great ideas from some of the posts! Thanks!
