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Short Lessons
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I find that I really struggle with keeping lessons short. Morning devotions and prayer easily take 20 mins, plus memory work, that’s 30 mins. For Math and reading practice…20 mins just flies, it’s usually more like 25… The only things I set a timer for and stick to it are copywork, handicrafts (because it’s like pulling teeth to get her to do it), and ASL. Science? 20 mins? that’s barely enough time to get started….
What am I doing wrong? Does anyone else have this problem?
Yes, we have similar problems. But we are starting to use the timer more. And we split math into two separate subject times, using the timer each time. I cut some unnecessary things out too. We are focusing more on learning the habit of attention using Laying Down the Rails for Children and Character Trails by Boyer. I found the following post and included link helpful:
https://simplycharlottemason.com/scmforum/topic/help-help-are-we-doing-too-much/
What grades are you working with?
I have an 8 yo dd, too! We spent about 2 1/2 weeks using the count-up feature of our timer, like a stop watch, to see how long subjects were really taking. I was able to get a good idea of an average by looking at several days and I listed out how long each subject took. I was surprised to find it totaled 3 hours 20 minutes. This was not including our 1 hour family studies each day. I cut some things out and told her to use a timer for her math and reading. She is to limit the math to 30 minutes and reading to 20 minutes. She also reads aloud 5 – 10 minutes to me from another book. I said she can finish her math lesson the next day and then start the new one. Just stop when the timer ends and pick up there the next day. I was able to cut out 1 hour and 10 minutes! So now we are just a little over 2 hours, plus our family hour, which sounds more reasonable for her age. This does not include any handicrafts or piano she does in the afternoons. My older son’s math needs to take 40 minutes, so we split that into two 20 minute sessions with other subjects in between. He was spending longer on it though. Do you know how long in total your school is taking?
Also for science, we now use only living books and nature study for up through grade 6. We tried Apologia and the lessons were too long and I came to find my kids preferred the living books. So we just use the timer for their living books assigned. My 8 yo dd is reading the Christian Liberty Press Nature Reader twice per week. And we do nature study once per week, which takes longer. I find that they like to look at the non-fiction science books like DK and Usborne in their free time.
Are you varying the order of your subjects? Not too much read aloud all at once, or writing, or reading lessons. Have some picture study or hymn study or something short and fun in between to use a different part of the brain. My son was not doing this very well, so I made him a schedule to go by listing the order of subjects to do. He is mostly independent in his work, but I think it is important to vary the subjects to give that part of the brain a break.
These are just some things that have worked for us recently. I hope you find what is right for you and your daughter and maybe something I shared will be helpful to you in finding the right balance in your home.
Thank you for the suggestions, Wings2fly.
Right now it takes us about 4 hours to fit everything in, and I constantly feel like we’re hurrying. My goal is to get everything done before lunch so that afternoons are completely free. Yes, we do vary the subjects.
We were doing just living books for science, but she was hungry for more “science-y” stuff, so we just started 106 Days of Creation yesterday.
I wonder if I’m doing too much on a daily basis as opposed to only some days per week? What are things that should be done everyday vs. only some days? Right now our weekly school schedule is Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, 12 months a year, with breaks when needed when things interrupt (cousins visiting, supper camps, etc.)
Here are Ambleside example schedules I found in the comments to the link for the blog on Secrets from Charlotte Mason on Scheduling for Peace, which was a link in the other scheduling post I linked above:
https://www.amblesideonline.org/PR/PR19p899Timetables.shtml
and here is that blog:
http://afterthoughtsblog.net/2014/06/secrets-from-charlotte-mason-on.html
It is really an inspiring article, but I was still having trouble implementing until I used my timer and made some cuts and started to realize we may not complete whole lessons or whole books for a whole year, but it was okay because there would be real learning happening and peace in our home.
Here are sample schedules from SCM, which I also found very helpful:
https://simplycharlottemason.com/planning/sample-schedules/
We usually have town day once per week for field trips, shopping, dr. appt., etc. So for a while now, I have scheduled one day per week as a short day totaling 1.5 hours independent work for each child, plus audiobook and classical music played in the van. Sometimes we do nature study at a park while we are out that day. They do only basic 4 R’s at home that day. And my son’s math (aRithmatics) is Life of Fred that day, which is shorter and more enjoyable than his regular math, so 20 minutes. Also Bible, Scripture Memory (Religion), copywork 10 min. (wRiting), and independent Reading, which they often take with them to do while we are out. Reading can be history or science or literature, usually 2 books. So with an hour of work at home, we can still get out and carry on with our lives outside the home and they still keep up on their skilled subjects. It has worked great for us. This meets the requirements for our state, but you would need to check about your state requirements. So for your schedule, you may be able to school M-F, but have Wednesday as your short day with audiobooks for social studies or literature. There are free audio books you can download at LibriVox, if this interests you. Here is a link for the Ambleside Online books available on there:
http://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/Recordings_of_Books_on_the_Ambleside_List
Skilled subjects should be done daily, which is the 3 R’s. Other subjects can be done a few times per week. Usually foreign language needs to be daily too, and any musical instrument practice.
I have 106 Days, but have not done it yet. I would think it would allow for short lessons since it is from SCM. You may need to ask a separate specific question on that topic. It would be done three days per week to get 106 days into 180 school days.
I hope someone else may be able to chime in with some ideas too. I have shared what has helped me, but remember to teach the child and not the curriculum. Every child and homeschool are different, but there should be peace in the home and learning should be enjoyable for the most part, allowing for afternoons free to spend on their interests.
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