Name: CHEC Rocky Mountain Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-06-12T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-06-14T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Denver, CO

Tagged: high school

This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 1 month ago by sheraz.

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

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April 27, 2011 at 4:08 am
holisticschool
Member
I have been homeschooling for a long time. I have 3 grown children who were all close in age (to know how close–they are 24, 23, 21). I am currently homeschooling my last two children. While it’s been easy to do the CM style with multiple ages (I LOVE THAT!), I’m not reaching a point of questions.
Typically, a younger child’s assignments are 15 or so minutes; older children 20 or so minutes and high school kids 45 mins per subject, right? So here’s the thing. Next year (2012-13) my older daughter will be beginning “high school”. Yep.. transcripts and all! But the younger child will be 4th grade at that point. Obviously there’s a big gap between 20 minutes and 45, isn’t there? I want to continue our “whole family” way of schooling but how would I make that work? Is it going to work? Suggestions please?
Michelle
April 27, 2011 at 4:58 pm
6boys1girl
Participant
We have a wide age spread too (14, 13, 9, 8, 6, 3, 2). This is what we do:
Everyone does Bible and scripture memory together. We also do a read-aloud for history and literature together. The “fine arts” (music and art appreciation, handcrafts, hymns) as well as a few other things (poetry, map drill, “personal development”) are done once a week together.
Then the older two (high school age) do an extra history book (same time frame as our family one but a “harder/older” book) and another literature book (again, it’s an older/harder one) separately. They also do English (grammar, dictation), written narrations, science, foreign language, math and a few other things separately.
I do science together with all the under 11’s, English with the 6-11’s, some separate younger kids reading books with the little’s (ages 6 and down). All the kids between 6 and 11/12 do separate math, copywork, literature, history readers, science readers, phonics work, dictation on their own.
So for us, our day looks like this:
Everyone starts some independent work as they get up (we let them wake up as they want between 6:30 and 7:30.
Bible/Scripture memory at 7:45 (this year it was 15 minutes but will probably be 30 next year so starting at 7:30)
Literature read aloud during breakfast at 8 (I eat before they are all up)
Chores then independent work until lunch. The under 7’s finish fast, the under 12’s finish before lunch also so they all go out and play or do a quiet activity inside until lunch.
Lunch-sometimes with music appreciation or discussion of something from the morning
Chores, then really littles (under 4) down for naps
History read-aloud as a family for the rest (the 4-6 year olds are in the room but not always participating)
Freetime/quiet time/finish up independent work if didn’t finish in the morning
Snack with “fine arts” and other once a week stuff
This has worked well for us for the past couple years. It gives us a lot of “whole family, together learning” while allowing my older two to get in the needed study for the high school level stuff.
HTH, Rebecca

April 30, 2011 at 5:41 am
holisticschool
Member
Thanks so much!!! I’m actually doing a lot of thinking. I know I have a year but I don’t want to wait 11 months and THEN figure out what I’m doing!
April 30, 2011 at 12:22 pm
LDIMom
Participant
Thank you Rebecca. This is what I’m trying to figure out.

We have DS in middle school (12), two DSs in elementary (11, 8) and DS and DD (both 5) starting K work this fall.

We generally have time together in the morning too, but I am usually eating standing up trying to do some reading. I never thought of eating first! I am going to do that starting next week.

We usually have chore time after breakfast/family reading/devotional time as well. By 9:00 or 9:30, everyone is doing some independent work.

I need to figure out a way to be more scheduled and yet be flexible. It just seems everyone comes all at once needing my help, and it gets me frazzled at times. I am thinking I will have a scheduled time for math with our 11 and 8YOs, and another time for oldest DS to come to me if he needs assistance on independent work and/or for some math review we’ll be doing together in the fall.

Any other ideas, please do share. Thanks!
April 30, 2011 at 10:28 pm
6boys1girl
Participant
I do schedule a time for my under 10’s for math, english, science and such. My older two just come to me if they need help. If I’m occupied at the time, I give them a time they can come back. Since they have so much independent work (about 5 hours worth), it’s easy for them to go do something else and wait a bit. They have figured out that if they wait an hour or two, they have a better chance to catch me the first time since I’m usually done with the littles at that point : ).
-Rebecca
May 1, 2011 at 2:30 am
sheraz
Participant
I sometimes have everyone listen to our literature audio book during breakfast – I can eat and start getting out the things needed for littles and everyone stays happily occupied. =)