Silly question, I know...but this is our 2nd year of homeschooling (4th and 2nd). We are on day 3 of school, and I know my kiddos require a bit more time than my friends', but I worry if I am doing something wrong - we are splitting our day up to provide ample breaks for my kids with ADHD and things are smoother (though for my Type A self, it is killing me not to have a rigid schedule, but rather, a more relaxed routine). We have been schooling in total about 4 hours today (spelling, math, history - 2-3 days' worth since the kids were begging for more from SOTW!, read aloud for the 2nd grader). We still have Latin (20 min), Spanish (15 minutes), silent reading, and English. We have friends with kids our ages who took about 2 hrs today and were done. I cannot help but wonder if I am doing something horribly wrong, lol! How long are your days for elementary kiddos?
You are doing JUST FINE!!! Rule number one of homeschooling is: Whatever works best for you is cool! Rule number two is: Don't compare your homeschool or your children's progress against other homeschoolers.
Thanks for the reminder, Jackie. Your experience and wisdom has been so helpful to me in the past year! Sometimes I get overwhelmed - my kids would have less hours in school if they were back in their old school than they do now. I hope they are getting what they need with me - so afraid to fail them!
YOU WILL NOT FAIL THEM!!! Yes, there will be areas where you will say, "I probably should have...." We ALL have them! But guess what. My oldest is doing just fine WITHOUT having ever learned Latin, and Faythe will do just fine WITHOUT Algebra 2 or Physics. That old FAIL mantra is straight from Satan himself! So call it for the lie it is, and get on with what you know is right.
Don't compare time with others. Every family is different and have different approaches and goals for schooling. If your kids are doing fine with the time I would keep on trucking no matter what anyone else says.
4 hours is about our norm, but on days where they need more teaching or breaks, it can be even longer! Thursdays are usually a bit shorter b/c we do reviews, quizzes, and/or checkups, we won't start something new on a Thursday. Fridays we do experiments and projects so sometimes that'll run all day ~ if we want it to =) If it works, don't fix it!
You should also remember that some people start slower, and pick up speed and time later in the year. Plus, not everyone does the extras that you are doing. Don't worry about it too much. Isn't one of the reasons we homeschool so that we can personalize our kids education? That is just what you are doing!
Thank you all again. We had a terrific, unscheduled day, and though we did not fit in Latin or Science (beginning to think I may wait on Latin as we get our feet wet with Spanish and Science may not be a 5 day/week subject), we had a great day, filled with playtime outdoors, doing a good deed, and completing lots of schoolwork, some fun and some not as much fun, lol!
And there is abso-freakin'-lutely NOTHING wrong with that! It WILL come together in the way that works best for YOUR family. If one kid works best before breakfast and another works best after dinner and you have time to get to group stuff right after lunch -- YOU might have a 12 hour school day, but the kids won't! Now, I'm schooling Other People's Kids. We start about 830 and finish (or try) by around 3pm, with about a 45 min break in the middle. Sometimes we get it all done by 2pm, and some days nobody gets it all done. Somehow it all works out.
Thanks, Lindina! I am *very* Type A, and I fear my son's OCD came primarily from me (and my Dad) - I have a hard time having worked in the schools and being a rule-follower - now having the ability to flex as needed and change the way our days look is one of my biggest challenges!
