HELP HELP! Are we doing too much?

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  • Tjbowman34
    Participant

    I have a 13, 10, 9, and 7 year old.  Currently, we are using ELTL, Spelling Wisdom, Spelling Workout and Queen’s Language Lessons.  My 10, 9, and 7 year old also do Explode the Code, which they love!  I worry that they will miss something and that is why I have them do so much.  My 10 year old has auditory processing disorder and also does Right Brain Phonics.  I would love to hear what others are currently doing with their children!  Thank You!

    sarah2106
    Participant

    That is a lot 🙂

    What do you feel they will miss if you drop some of the subjects? Maybe narrow the focus and drop some of the extras that are “doubling up” on skills.

    My oldest is in 3rd and we are doing ELTL Level 3 and Spelling Wisdom (review phonics with the new words). She also does copy work two times/week. I feel it is plenty, and can not imagine trying to add more, time for it all.

    Tjbowman34
    Participant

    It seems we are getting done too soon, especially my middle school son. So I added those extras. There aren’t many CMer’s near me so I fall into that “thinking” we aren’t really “schooling” if we don’t finish until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. All of my friends are HSer’s and of course we talk about our days. Their days are much longer than mine and then in my mind I say to myself “should we be doing more?” Does that make any sense?

    sarah2106
    Participant

    We are usually done by noon, about 3.5 hours which leaves the afternoon to pursue interests, play, be outside…

    I grew up being homeschooled, and even through highschool, rarely was a day longer than 4 hours of school work. It was great, free time to see friends and also get a part time job.

    Long day does not always mean “better”. Yes sometimes days get long, but CM methods are about shorter, but very focused lessons. Not just “filling time” 🙂

    sarah2106
    Participant
    Melanie32
    Participant

    It’s not about how much time we spend but about how much our children are learning. Busywork does not equal learning.

    I learned less in 8 hours a day of schooling (plus homework) than I do in homeschooling my children for just a few hours every day. We are done by 1:30 for the most part and my daughter is in 7th grade. The education she is receiving is far superior to anything I ever received in all my wasted hours of public school. CM methods really do WORK!

     

    Tjbowman34
    Participant

    Thank you for your encouragement!!!

    Melanie 32, would you mind walking me thru a typical day with your 7th grader? I have a 7th grade son and he is the one whom I am struggling the most with regarding “is he getting enough.”

    Sarah2106 thank you for the blog post! I have never seen that one!

    Melanie32
    Participant

    Sure! I can share what’s working for us right now. I started by taking the schedules that CM used in her schools and tweaking them a bit to fit our family.

    My daughter does her bible as part of her morning routine. She is using Penny Gardner’s bible reading plan and is reading one Old Testament selection and one New Testament selection each day. She also uses SCM’s Bible Doctrine study at this time. We walk a mile every morning before starting school as well.

    Mondays-Thursdays

    9:00-Math (Math U See Zeta)

    9:30-History (AO Year 6)

    9:50-Mon:copwork, Tues:Dictation, Wed:Science, Thurs:Dictation,

    10:20-Science (AO Year 6 combined with God’s Design for Chemistry) On Wednesdays, she does composition at this time.

    10:40-Mon:grammar, Tues:Root Word Study, Wed:Map Drill, Thurs:-Grammar

    11:00-Mon:French, Tues:Bible Study, Wed:French, Thurs:Bible Study

    11:20-Lunch.

    12:00-Piano

    12:20-We do scripture memory at this time every day. Also-Mon:poetry and hymn study, Tues: Composer study, Wed:Picture Study, Thurs:Book of Centuries. When we finish our picture studies for the term, we do Shakespeare on Wednesdays for the remainder of that term.

    12:40-Read alouds. We usually read a portion of a historical fiction or biography and also from a classic at this time.

    1:10-Literature for 20 minutes-has to be a classic

    On Fridays, we switch things up a bit to make time for nature study.

    9:00-Nature study

    9:30-Nature notebook entry

    9:50-Math

    10:20-History

    10:40-Composition

    11:00-Grammar

    11:20-Lunch

    12:00-French

    12:20-Piano

    12:40-read alouds

    1:10-Literature

    Some of the things we use to study our different subjects are:

    Step by Step Grammar

    SCM Picture Portfolios

    French for Beginners (free on youtube)

    Rummy Roots (a card game that teaches root words)

    SCM’s Hebrews bible study

    Compositions are simply written narrations. We implement Sonya Shafer’s instructions (in the All Day Charlotte Mason Seminar series) for scripture memory, poetry study, hymn study and map drill, copywork and dictation.

    Phew! I think I covered it all. 🙂 Let me know if you have any questions.

     

    Tjbowman34
    Participant

    Wow!! That is awesome!!  I am going to restructure our day! I love your details and thank you so much for taking the time to do that!  One more question, What did you when your daughter was in 2nd and 3rd grade?

    Melanie32
    Participant

    You are so welcome! What I did with my daughter when she was in 2nd and 3rd grade is a little different than what I would do were I teaching those grades today. I’ve learned a lot since then.

    We read living books for history and science, did math u see and a lot of read alouds. We always used narration. We did copywork, picture study, nature study and composer study rather sporadically. We did scripture memory work and bible each day.

    If I had to do it over, I would make a schedule like our current one and put all of these things on the schedule so that they would get done regularly. Maybe something like this:

    9:00-Bible and scripture memory

    9:20-Math

    9:40-History

    10:00-Science

    10:20-Copy work

    10:40-Alternate nature study, composer study, picture study, poetry and hymn study

    11:00-Geography

    11:20-reading practice

    11:40-Read alouds

    12:00-School’s out! Time for lunch, handicrafts and free time. 🙂

    Mjohn24489
    Participant

    I am beginning to incorporate the CM method in homeschooling my third grader. I just joined this discussion group. Melanie32, thank you so much for the schedule examples. I have trouble feeling that we’ve done “enough” by 12:00 and I know that I need to back off a little. I have an eleven year old who is a totally different being than her younger sister and loves to spend more time actively studying. She is thriving using a more classical method but my younger one needs more time to do other things like sew, help me around the house, cook, paint…

    Melanie32
    Participant

    Mjohn24489-I’m glad they were helpful to you. 🙂

    Tjbowman34
    Participant

    Mjohn24489

    I understand! We have begun to be more layed back and it is going great! Praying for you!

    Tjbowman34
    Participant

    Melanie32

    Thanks for your detailed post! I can’t tell you how much better our days are!

    Wings2fly
    Participant

    Melanie, thanks so much for sharing your schedule.  Do you have any tips on how I can implement something like this?  Do you watch the clock, set timers, have times listed on a daily schedule your daughter follows, etc. ?  We have a schedule for each child, but no times listed.  What about subjects where you do not finish the chapter/lesson, or something more creative like art?  What f a subject is taking longer than you planned on?  Thanks.

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