we will be doing light schooling this summer. Math for sure and then I will add some other refresher stuff as we go along. I have always taken breaks when we needed them and not really followed any type of schedule. If daddy is off we take the day off. If they have camp or VBS we take the day off. I think the greatest thing about homeschooling is you have the abilty to do what works best for your family. It is your schedule and not the "systems".
We are in first grade this year. WE can do everything in about 3 hours a day if we stay on track. We have a 20 min period, followed by 3 30 min periods with a 45-90 minute lab period to finish up. I suspect that next year will range from 3-3.5 hours and we will likely not skip days as often.
My 2 are in year 5 & 6 at the moment. Here in Oz we are not quite halfway through our school year. we do 10 week terms, with 2-3 week breaks between, except for summer, which is 6-7 week break. We do school mon-fri, about 4-5 hours a day. I find that this is enough to let me spend extra time working on catching up problem areas, and some subjects they are now ahead in. I like that, and the kids get a real boost out of thinking that they are 'ahead' too. Because I work nights, they do self directed work one day a week so that I can sleep. This time also includes all our field trips too.
By the way, if you have a day here and a day there of review during the summer (or any other time, really), but don't feel like it's a 'whole day,' you can always just count it as a half day. That's what I do sometimes.
I'm guessing here... I don't keep track of "hours". But if I were, I think I owuld have Rachael record how many minutes she spends on doing experiments and writing them up. Also, right now she's drawing figures of the human body and labeling them. I think I would record that under Lab time, too. Next year, it will be easier because she'll be going to a friend's house to do a Biology Lab once a week. So that time will all be "lab" time.
To me, it's time spent working on lab activities, whatever THAT is! I consider experiments and stuff like that as lab activities.
ok, was curious cause in college I signed up for typing lab, thinking I was going to work on my own.. turned out it was assigned work and I got booted out and told to take begining typing! I wanted time to work and learn on my own...
OH!!! What you wanted was an "open lab"! Even then, I don't think they'd let you in unless you were taking a class!
It would drive me crazy to have to keep track of the 'hours!' I would be writing all week long, as we do educational things on the weekends as well. We do have to keep attendence, but that's not too bad.
ya thats what I found out thanks Jackie, you see I took typing in 10th or 9 th? grade and my typing was at 24 wpm to pass I needed to be 25! I went for an hour of practice every day before school, my teacher was there too so he let me come in and work work work on timed writings and accuracy... I failed the final timed writing test but the TEACHER CHEATED and made my score 25 so I could pass because he knew I had worked SO hard on it! SO I figured in College I would forgo the embarassment and do it myself... oh well I learned that didn't work either! I did learn to type fast and my kids can't believe how fast I type now! I taught myself on the computer keybord by talking in chat rooms sharing the Gospel! I had to talk faster than the people who were being rude so my words would come out more often! hehe!
Confession...I didn't read all the other post... We school year round but, I don't have scheduled weeks that we will take off unless I know of them ahead of time. Usually what happens is dh will have a conference somewhere and we will take time off. Or we will get a chance to do a field trip or go see someone or.....yadda yadda yadda type thing. Most "boxed curriculum's" do about 160-180 lessons for the year so....if you figure you have 52 weeks in a year that is ABOUT 260 week days for the year so....how you decided to take them off is completely up to you. Get your work done but...enjoy the ride.
I don't understand the attendance thing! We don't have to keep hours or attendance here, for which I'm glad! I am not sure what you do, but it seems funny to take attendance for homeschooling---- "ds13?", "Here, Mom!", "dd11?", "Ummm, I'm here too, Mom!"
LOL! :lol: In our state we just have to have 180 days per school year. I just put a check on their attendence chart if we have school that day.
Deena we do that too, have to keep track of attendance but dont have to go for any specific amount of days Lol I could stop now if they had learned what I think they need for thier grades Lol. But I need to keep thier attendance on record, SO I use Homeschool tracker for that, we actually play with it , but usualy I go through and record what days we do.
We have only been schooling for 3 or 4 weeks.. but we wil be taking at least this summer of as my youngest son will be going to his fathers house in another state.
TMom, do we have to keep record of the attendance in a special way or can we just fill out a planner every day. Right now I have to keep records of what we do daily and fill out a daily attendance sheet. Next year, I was planning on keeping records still but just marking the calendar part of the planner as my attendance. Do you know if this is acceptable? Patty
I just fill out an attendance sheet, I dotn turn it in to anyone either, its just that we are supposed to have it INCASE we need to show it lol, very lax! IT says that they MAY send someone to check on our school, but no one has yet for us, I even was ready for them one year, had my class room so schooly like and we were doing awesome on schedule and had teacher4 planner all set up etc... then hubby said they don't really have a right to come into our home anyway lol! But, I keep attendance and grade records mostly for my own benifit. I know the grades are only good if they have to go out, or if have to ever prove they did work. But thats just because this country changes so often you never know if it would some day be outlawed for homeschooling your kids. I just like to be cautous and all that.
