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Short lessons, children together or apart
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I wasn’t sure what to title this post, I need some help with scheduling. The situation I have is that my girls need a lot of help in each subject still. My 8 and 10 year old are still learning to read, my 8 year old doesn’t form her letters properly so I need to be with her to watch her while she’s doing copywork, my oldest, well all 3 really, need my help with math. I feel pulled in all different directions during school. I’d like to schedule the day so that everyone is doing math at the same time, and then move to a different subject at the same time, but that never seems to work. What is one child to do when they are done with the lesson but the “alotted time” is not finished? Do I allow them to move to the next subject, make them sit quietly, let them get involved with a craft project?
How do I organize their school subjects when there is so little that they can work independently on? Should I do school with only 1 child at a time? But then what do the other two do while they wait for their school time?
I just wanted to touch on the parts I can… I know CM (I think it was at least) said that if they finish they would be allowed that time to do what they wanted kinda like a bonus for finishing. Now that does not work for my children. Cause 1 of 2 things happen 1/ they rush to finish and then we end up with more problems or 2/ with 6 children I can’t find them?? LOL So for us I let them move on to the next subject and when they are DONE they may go.
I have more children then you but they all still need me at one point or another. I try and schedule a few open spots where I can help them if they need me. If I were you and only had 2 I guess maybe I would try scheduling together 1st and see if this year would be better if it doesn’t work then maybe do like 30-45 min with one and then do a family study time and then the next one and at that switch who goes 1st every other day. That’s just my suggestions. I know others will have more help. It’s always hard scheduling. There is no great answer or we’d all be a little less hair pulling at the end of the day
Good luck. MistyI only have one I’m homeschooling right now, but I did teach in a multigrade classroom for awhile. One thing I did was assign review problems or something I knew they could do without my help when I was working with one particular subject. For example, the 12th grade would read their literature selection while I worked with others on grammar. Could your 8yo review her multiplication tables while she waits her turn for math? Could the oldest do some independent reading or copywork while she waits her turn for the stuff she needs help with?
Just my two cents,
Karen
Thank you both for your replies! I guess it’s all about juggling and trial and error. 🙂 Just wanted to clarify that I have 3 daughters. When I mentioned my oldest I didn’t put her age so it looked like my 10 year old was the oldest. My oldest is 12.
I really like the idea of doing them all together. What do you all think of letting my 12 year old give a reading lesson to one of the girls, while I do a reading lesson with the other, and then switching the next day?
I think that would be a very good idea. Maybe she could help the 8yo with times tables or some other math, too.
I think having your 12 year old do some teaching is a great idea!
Our youngest child had a bunch of health issues last year that prevented me from doing some of the school that I wanted to with my kids. My oldest two (ages 12 and 13) took turns reading science and literature books to my next 3 (ages 8, 7 and 4 at the time). It really helped and they enjoyed it too.
This year all 4 of my olders take turns with the 3 littles. My 13 year old reads books to the 5 and 3 year olds. My 12 year old does speech therapy review and numbers/letter with them. My 9 year old does number and letter activities with them. My 8 year old does art with them. And they all have a time to play with the 17 month old. It really does help!
It truly is a juggling act until the older ones can work independently. I have 5 children. The oldest two, 15 and 13, work completely independently now, but 3 years ago, when I had a newborn, I scheduled time specifically into our schedule for each of the older children, then 12 and 10 to have “big sister/big brother time” (call it whatever you like) with the younger ones. They have their choice of what they’d like to do with younger siblings, but for the allotted time, they spend it with the younger ones. This gives you some one on one time in a rotating pattern to work on things that you need to.
Nanci
I have three homeschooled daughters as well, and scheduling math has been a trial and error method over the years. Last year I seemed to find what works for us (for now anyway!). All three do their math lessons at once, everyone around the table. I stand/sit at one end of the table with teacher manuals at the ready, and as each one needs help or instruction in something new, I move around the table with my trusty TM in hand. I’ll also walk around the table correcting what they’ve already done, so we don’t end up with an entire page of wrong work. If one is having a problem and someone else also needs help, I’ll have one skip what’s troubling them and go on to something they do know how to do (we use Horizon’s math, a “spiraling” curriculum with lots of review) and then get to them next. Some days I’m able to stay at my end of the table most of the time, and other days I get dizzy from all my walking around the table (and teaching 3rd and 5th grade math and algebra concepts at once!).
Kim
My “ideal” plan was to have our math time like Kim – we would start with a small timed Calculadder session, and then everyone would work independently but all at the table together for about 15 to 20 minutes. Last year I let my 12 yr old dd go off into my room to work at the computer desk alone so she could have quiet and concentrate. Now I’m wondering if that was a bad idea?? Shouldn’t she learn to be able to concentrate even when there is a little noise? I’d be in the middle of helping my other two daughters and she would be calling me wanting me to come help her, this contributed to the “pulled apart” feeling. Also, I felt like she was flying through her work and I wasn’t really involved or aware, she’d finish and be off to play and later I’d have to call her back for many many many mistakes in her work.
What do you all think?
Would it be totally wrong to make her sit at the table again and do her work with everyone in a one-room-schoolhouse style?
Good luck. Misty
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