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How do you fit it ALL in before lunch?
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Hi! I have read numerous people say how they are finished with school before lunch, with the exception of a 7th-12th grader finishing up a few things. How do you manage this? I have a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th grader. My 3rd grader is go getter and strives to do his work independently, however, my 1st and 2nd grader are very needy! My 6th grader has a VERY difficult time staying focused on his work so I am frequently guiding him back on task. We are somewhat new to CM and we are working on attention and staying focused on our short lessons.
Specific details would be a GREAT BIG help! I love reading about what others are doing but I just seem to be missing something. Do you get history and science in before lunch too?
Also, my 6th grader (should be 7th) doesn’t do 4.5 – 5 hours of work, more like 3 hours. What am I not doing?
Here is what he does:
Learning Language Arts Through Literature
Spelling Wisdom Book 2
Teaching Textbooks
Scriptures for copywork
We do not do written narrations, I am still navigating my way through this….we LACK in writing.
THANK YOU for any help! Have a blessed day!
It looks like you are missing all the “extras” I know with my daughter she focuses better on the math and reading and stuff when we alternate subjects and what part of the brain they use. For instance we start with Bible read aloud, then math, hymn/composer, copy work, read aloud during snack, reading instruction, drawing during a librivox. You get the point. I’m sure the more experienced ladies will chime in, but by adding the extra 30 min of fun stuff I would imagine your 6th grader would be able to focus better on the other tasks.
We don’t. I have a 7 & 2 year old. Originally, I was trying to do a “Morning Basket” time which would get the extras out of the way upfront and little guy could participate a little and then she could move on to things that she could mostly do independently, while I got my son down for a nap. (He still nurses so, it takes a while). So the PLAN was for her to be done shortly after lunch. Well, that just wasn’t working for us at all. So I changed everything up. (I’m still tweaking things a bit really). We do Bible during and right after breakfast. Then math. (She LOVES Math but, she works much faster if done in the morning), then Copy Work/Phonics, etc. She can do that mostly independently so I try to do something with my tot. Then we have lunch and she works on afternoon responsibilities (including piano practice) while I get the tot down. Then we do what I now call, our “Daily Basket”. It varies a bit each day… Poetry, hymn study, picture/composer study (really, composer is generally played softly during math), literature, her reading to me, etc, etc. so we have been finishing around 3/3:30 but, we typically don’t start until 9:30 or later. I’m still having a hard time working in a language and handicraft time but, she had too many outside activities going on. We just scaled back big time on those so, hopefully we will get into a better groove after Christmas. 🙂
I think flexibility is the second piece following using different parts of the brain. My day looks different because I have 2 under 3 tagging along with a 6.5yo and an 8yo with special needs. We aim for ending by lunch and that may mean we pick up a history or science read-aloud after quiet time. We took a break from foreign language and history to tackle some habit training. It’s a busy time with holidays so I felt it good timing to do so. Here is a rough sketch of our day-to-day
Bible, math, phonics, copy work, lit lunch read-aloud are daily
Mon
Nature study
Laying down rails for children
Tues
Tea time poetry
Art and music we do together with another CM family
Wed
Laying rails…
Thurs
Laying rails…
Picture study
Fri
Catch up and chores (they do a seasonal nature club so the morning is taken for that)
I also do a home therapy program for my 8yo so I needed to breathe a little from the read-alouds in the morning. All this to say that you may tuck some other things into your life throughout the day.
Hope that helps.
Our schedule looks like this:
9:00 – morning basket as a family. It rotates daily, but includes –
-Scripture memory
-Bible study
-Read-aloud
-Science 2x/week
-History 2x/week
-Geography
-Poetry/Art study
-Nature study
After this (around 10:00) the kids grab their planners and plan out the rest of their day. For my third grader, that usually means he has 6-8 more things on his own (with my help, if necessary.) Those items include Math, Copywork, Reading, Music, English Lessons, and a few extras. Those items take him only about 60-90 minutes.
My 7th grader, though, has work that will last him until about 1 or 1:30. He can get done by lunch if he gets up and does two subjects before our morning basket, but that’s up to him. To help him stay on task I take his planner and put the items in time-slots on a white board. That really helps him stay focused and motivated. Also, when I give a subject a 30-minute slot on the white board, he has an easier time staying focused for those 30 minutes and then moving on. The white board gives him a good visual of what time he will be done if he applies himself.
So, between 10 and 12 I work independently with my 3rd, 1st, or K, whoever happens to need me at the time. My 7th will ask for help from time to time, but I’ve noticed that he prefers to wait until the others are in bed for the night to work on something with me. Usually that’s 1x/week for an hour or so.
My 7th graders subjects include:
-Math (TT Algebra)
-Science – notes on our read-aloud
-History – independent readings and keeping a timeline
-Literature – independent readings
-Latin I (computer course through a local charter school)
-Music
-Merit Badge work for Boy Scouts (usually 20-30 minutes/day)
-Co-op work that includes IEW and memory work for eight subjects (that takes 30-45 minutes/day)
Hope that helps some!
We generally don’t fit it all in before lunch, but probably could if I didn’t have so many interruptions! Our schedule this year has been working well though. We do two daily sessions of school. During one session, we do our family studies: MOH, AIG science, read-aloud or two, Bible devotion/study/memory work/hymn, fine arts, etc…Usually we fit a snack or break in somewhere. Our second session has our individual studies: LLATL, MUS, phonics, etc. done with me. I work with them one-on-one. Whoever isn’t working with me does independent reading, piano practice, math fact review, math worksheets, or watches the younger two siblings. I used to have them work together, but I felt like a ringleader at a circus. This has been much easier on me and I feel like I’m better able to help them.
If we have a busy day, we only do one block and I try to alternate which one we skip. In between our schooling, we do chores or have free time. Generally we do one before lunch and one after…sometimes we are able to get it done before lunch.
One thing I’ve noticed with many families that get school finished before lunch is that they are eating later than us. Many of them eat at 1:00 which gives them another hour. I start prepping for lunch at 11:30.
HollyS, we eat “lunch” (we call it dinner) at 2:30 and we’re still not done schoolwork by that time!!!
But, I’ve come to peace with the fact that we are weird. We eat breakfast around 8:30 – 9:30ish. Then chores.
Then school starts around 10 or 10:30. I try to start us off with Science, then Sign Language, then Composer/Artist/Poet/Whatever, then our independent subjects. While some are doing math on their own, I work with my dyslexic 3rd grader on Barton program. At some point, people clamor for a snack – usually around 11:30 – 12 ish.
So, while they eat a snack, I read history. Sometimes we have a hands-on component to our History (or Geography), so we do that after snack.
At that point, I like to do our “Together Time”, which is our History read-aloud or our fun read-aloud & our Hymn and Bible verse time. After that (around 1:30ish) I start to work on dinner (our lunch) while my 5yo sometimes takes a nap and the rest of the girls work on independent work (handwriting, Math, etc.)
We eat dinner around 2 or 2:30 or 3. (Depends on hubby and my patience level
). After that, I try to have eveyrone finish up. Piano practice (when I remember to announce it) happens sometime in the evening. And then we’re done.Lately I’ve been feeling guilty over not working more consistently with my 5yo and teaching her to read. My 6yo is reading fine, but I’ve been neglecting her, too, lately.
It just seems that to do the major school stuff (my 10yo and my 8yo need to have portfolios to turn in) and housework, I just can’t fit it all in. But I’m trying!
Hopefully after the holidays we’ll ahve more book-work school days and less chores/sewing circle/let’s call Good News Club school – – days.
I only have two children currently (2nd and 4th grade), so it is not too difficult for us to finish before lunch. I’m sure it gets more complicated with additional students who may need your help.
However, I wanted to chime in about how the “extras” actually do help a child accomplish more. In recent weeks, we began taking a mid-morning walk (in the middle of lessons), and I noticed an immediate improvement in my son’s ability to concentrate and finish the tasks set before him. This walk is refreshing for the mind, body, and soul. It is generally short- we walk down to the chicken coop to let the chickens out for the day, then wind our way back to the house. When we come in, I like to have a collecting time where we do a few things together before pursuing separate levels. We sing a hymn, recite some memory work, practice a little Spanish, have a read aloud, and picture study or music (those are not every day).
Also, we read our Bible at breakfast, not during lesson time. I read aloud after lunch (no lesson attached with this, but often leads to great discussion).
One more thing to ponder…. Is it important to you to finish lessons before lunch? It is not a “rule” that you must do all your work before lunch. Some people prefer to do so. I’m sort of “done” by lunch time, but you may find that does not work as well for you. None of our home schools will look the same, and that’s ok. 😉
). After that, I try to have eveyrone finish up. Piano practice (when I remember to announce it) happens sometime in the evening. And then we’re done.
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