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Tristan: MUS scheduling help, please
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(I’m sure that I saw once where you posted how you organize MUS with your many children so if it’s easiest for you to repost a link to that directly that will be fine!) This is our first year using MUS and I am a little overwhelmed because I have to really think through even the very first lessons because it is new for me to break down math concepts in this way. I can see how it will be good for my kids in the long-term but I am uncertain as to how to make it work logistically with all of the other things I want us to get to in our day.
Here is my situation. I have a 2yo and a 4yo. I have a 6yo starting Alpha, a 9yo starting Gamma, a 12yo starting Epsilon and a 14yo starting Algebra 1 (he will be starting an online class in September which I hope will help). We watched lesson 1 for Alpha, Gamma and Epsilon and did worksheet 1A.
If you have any suggestions with regard to scheduling I will really appreciate it!
It always takes so much thought when we start something new!
I’ve done it two ways.
1. Have each child begin a new lesson on a different day of the week. Oldest on Monday, next child on Tuesday, 3rd child on Wednesday, etc. This means they end up taking their tests on different days too, not just on Friday, but the biggest advantage to this is you only have one new lesson to teach per day instead of all of them needing a new lesson on Mondays. But some people really don’t like that a lesson goes from midweek one week to midweek the next for child #3. This schedule was really helpful for us one year in particular.
2. Set up a rotation so you teach each new lesson throughout the day Monday, hardest to easiest. One person’s lesson could happen at 9am, on at 10am, one at 11am, etc. This leaves you some break time between lessons too.
We generally do new lesson Monday, plus the A page. Then Tues. is B, Wed. is C, and Thur. is D. Friday is test OR the F page, both are similar. If a child really gets the new concept quickly we may skip the C page and do D on Wed, E on Thur instead for more mixed review.
Also, watch the dvd lesson yourself and work the problems alongside it on the weekend or the afternoons of the week before you need to teach it. I don’t usually have my kids watch the dvd lesson at all. Some kids like to watch it though. One year my oldest watched every dvd lesson beside me and it helped her. Other times if they just aren’t getting a concept from my teaching with the teacher’s manual then we pull out the dvd to get a fresh start. The dvd is infinitely patient, so if you are struggling with frustration in math with a child make use of the dvd’s ability to just patiently teach and reteach the same concept over and over. 😉
Not Tristen, but we use MUS. Currently have one in Epsilon, Delta & Alpha.
We do not do one lesson group/week. We tend to do A, B, D, E, F, Test. We do not double up so usually a lesson group takes just over a week. It works out well so that we can continue through the summer and not “forget”.
My kids really like the DVDs. So far his way of explaining works for my kids.
I watch the video with my oldest and she gets to work on A worksheet. If she needs help, she comes to me but usually she is ready to go.
Because I watched Delta videos last year with my DD I don’t usually watch them with my ODS since I still remember. He watches the DVD then gets to work on worksheet A asking for help if needed.
I watch the video with my youngest since he is just starting out 🙂
Since we don’t rush to finish a lesson group in a week and sometimes one child does all “new pages” (A-C) and sometimes not needed they are often starting new lesson groups on different days. It works well for us right now.
I find MUS to be very easy to teach as the parent. I know some families work better when mom watches the video then teaches but so far my kids have really enjoyed and understood when they watch the DVD themselves. It also keeps me consistant so I do not confuse with my random (but sometimes confusing because made up) methods, LOL
Oh and yes, at first I had to “retrain” myself with his methods but since we have done it for a while now it has gotten easier for me.
There are so many options! I love it. We continue math in summer by going backward to do any pages we didn’t do the first time around. So if we didn’t do the E page in most lessons then during the summer every other day the kids do an E page.
Tristan – that is what I like too! MUS offers different ways to teach and review. I was nervous when we started with MUS it was “different” than what I grew up with, but over the years I really see it working.
Thank you so much, Tristan and Sarah, for taking the time to respond with your helpful explanations and thoughts. We had an extra busy day or I would have replied sooner.
Last night I read the Instruction Manuals carefully and found that to be very helpful. I like how the lessons are rather short and focused. Hopefully I will get used to this and not freak out as we get our routine going. 🙂
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