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Scheduling – Is this enough?
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First of all, all of this is new to me. I’m hoping to HS my DD6 this next year, so I have been diligently going through everything to determine what I would teach and scheduling everything. When I look over the daily schedule on paper it looks like I would only be teaching on average 2 hrs. per day. Am I missing something? Here is a rough draft of what I have come up with.
Everyday: Devotion/Scripture Memory; History/Geography/Bible from Module; Handwriting/Copywork; Math; Literature, Reading/Phonics
Monday: Art/Artist Study; Personal Development; Science
Tuesday: Music/Composer Study
Wednesday: Hymn Study; Science
Thursday: Poetry; Nature Study
Friday: Science; Spanish
If I allot approx. 15 min. (give or take) it doesn’t even fill up a whole morning. I would like to add an art class, Kindermusik class, and dance class, but that only adds an hour for one of those days each, and the state requirement is 4 hours.
Well, in school they would have recess and snacks, movies, and standing in line to go to the next place. =) Can you add some of that in??? LOL
Don’t forget PE, the family literature read-aloud and his daily chores (life skills), service projects (whether it is family, church or community), and any kind of “group” activities, like Tiger Scouts.
When you look at his average day from a “what is he learning?” viewpoint, most everything he does can be counted as school. I don’t think that the 4 hours means “teacher instruction time” where you are supposed to talk the whole time.
You are going to be fine, You look pretty balanced. =)
Oh, artcmomto3, I’m excited for your first year. I agree with sheraz that your schedule looks really good CM-wise as you’ll want to get those hours in the out-of-doors as well.
If your concern is more of a regulatory one, our state requires 180 days/900 hours. When we turn in our letter of intent each year we put in a blanket statement that schooling also occurs on the evenings and weekends in our home. If you have to track for your state, be sure to keep a running list as you’ll be surprised at just how quickly you accrue those hours in the early years. If you have a local rep. for your state homeschool group or for your county, s/he may be able to give you any specifics regarding your particular district and advice on wording.
All my best,
Richele
Don’t forget to count field trips and errands (the library, grocery store, post office). And walks, bike rides, playing in the backyard, play time with friends, church on Sunday, kicking around a ball with dad, family worship time, any time they come to you to naturally narrate or ask questions, reading time on their own, watching science or history videos, etc. There really are tons of things you can count.
Your schedule looks perfect for CM homeschooling. The only thing I didn’t see was some sort of handicraft.
Have a fun year!
-Rebecca
Thank you, thank you! I figured if we sign her up for a dance that would fill the P.E. requirement. Would I need additional read alouds on top of literature since she is my oldest? I could always pull some books from the 5 y/o list since I have a 4 y/o as well.
Not sure about the handicraft part. I may have DH teach her Powerpoint. Or I may look into something else. She loves art, and I could see her enjoying some sort of handicraft. I just don’t know what for her age. I’ll do some research on that.
Thanks again! If you think of it say a prayer for us. I’d really, really like to HS, but I want DH to be 100% on board. I am going to need his full support.
I agree with the being able to get the 4 hours easily with other activites… 2 hours a day is great for a 6yo….
Just wanted to suggest… you might want to do Spanish more than once a week…. and if you want to do a bit more, I found doing something for learning drawing (or watercolor) helpful for lots of the other subjects… (nature notebooks, possibly drawing narratives, etc…)
We are going to try “Drawing with Children” this summer….
I think for a six year old, learning to braid and finger knit are good choices. As she gets better dexterity, you could teach her to hand sew and she could cut simple shapes out of felt (star, heart, etc.), sew 3 sides, stuff them and finish them. Maybe make an ornament for the Christmas tree. When she is 7, you could move on to knitting.
Just basic crafting would be good, too. Give her access to plenty of supplies and let her have at it! My children LOVE to play with play dough and they make a lot of their own toys out of Sculpy or yarn.
I absolutely believe that 2 hours is (more than) enough of direct school time for a child of six! Be sure to get those main things in (reading and math), fill her with beautiful read alouds, plenty of nature study and time outside, do some picture study, cook and bake together, paint, let her PLAY. That’s perfect for a child her age!
As for read-alouds, I would consider literature and nature and history enough! We have a daytime read aloud (before nap/quiet time) which is usually nature stories of some sort (we’ve been doing James Herriot’s Treasury for Children … I plan to fill this time next year with all of the Adventure books by Burgess and the Among the _____ People books by Clara Dillingham. We also have bedtime read alouds … Pippi Longstocking, The Black Stallion, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, that sort of thing. I never require narrations from literature read alouds.
Then, when we read something for science or whatever, they narrate those to me.
As for your wanting to add those classes, please be mindful not to overschedule her! She should have a nice, natural rhythm to her days. Lessons in the morning, lunch, rest/read aloud, outdoor and free play, dinner, bath, read aloud and bed. Too much time out doing activities takes away from all of the time she should be spending PLAYING. Remember, a six year old is learning just as much (if not more) during her creative FREE play time as she is when you read to her about American History!
Have you read For the Children’s Sake? Fantastic book!
Many blessings on your journey!
Melissa
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