Anyone here simplifying?
I started teaching my 5th and 6th graders how to use their planners and as I put subjects in I realized how much overlap and busy work there was, we have simplified to the bare bones so we have more room for flexibility. We had planned on AAS, Fix-It Grammar and The Good and the Beautiful, as well as a reading journal and daily writing prompt (15 mins a day).
We are now down to TGATB and writing prompt only. They will read and do the reading journal as I see fit…
We had a horse study, Canadian Social Studies (from CLE) and our History we will now be doing History and Canada. Once Canada is done we will pick up horses again.
I found the cutting a lot of the excess out means time for deeper study, deeper conversation and feeling less frazzled. I also decided to alternate the subjects for example Monday, Wednesday, Friday for the first 15 weeks of school will be History and Social Study days. Tuesday and Thursday will be Science and health days.
Also on MWF one child will do Math while the other does LA and vice versa on T and W because we are doing Teaching Textbooks and I don’t want anyone using the excuse of not being able to do Math because they were waiting on someone. They are allowed to do as many lessons as they want in 45-60 mins for both LA and Math so we should still be done in a school year. After 15 weeks the schedule will switch.
Anyone else found/finding they are needing a new rhythm to make their days work? It has been a challenge this year and we are only a week in, can’t wait until we settle into this new way of doing things.
Hi @Proverbs31!
I understand and am right there with you. Every year I have to adjust our plans and schedule ~ more than once usually.
The reality is simply that we cannot do more than we have time to do. Time together, outdoors, doing chores, or just for relaxing/napping/playing has to be on the schedule, too. It’s always a process to figure out what will work and what won’t. And if your family is growing and/or changing that in itself will cause you to adjust everything all over again. ( I remember you said you had twins ~ we had our twins three years ago and our youngest two years ago! So there was a lot of adjusting and simplifying then! )
Blessings to you this school year ~ enjoy your little ones most of all!
We do seven subjects - but we don’t actually have seven separate classes. A lot of things are combined (literature and history, for example). I only homeschool one of my children, and she has learning challenges. So we are very hands on with projects and combine what we can to make the subject a little deeper. I haven’t really changed HOW I teach but I am more focused on making sure the experiences are worthwhile and not just “busy work”.
Yes! The twins are definitely making things more interesting on this side lol. Especially now they are crawling eek! I see myself adjusting again as we continue through the year, I hope not too much though.
I am trying my best to do as many subjects in one as possible. I am learning more towards doing Science for example and if there is a reason to draw something that is art, to write an essay would be language and so on… So we are not doing too much in a day. Same with History, Social Studies etc…
Oh yes we are definitely in the same boat as you! This is our first year having two kids full-time (8th grade and 1st), plus we have a little guy in kindergarten. Even though there is a large age gap between our kids I’ve realized there is a lot we can do together. It took me a few weeks to really figure this out though, LOL. I implemented a morning basket that we all do together which includes Bible, History, Geography, Spanish, and a Read-Aloud. Once a week we also do the following fun stuff like art and music study, Shakespeare, nature study, and art. I don’t require my 5 year old to sit with us for any of these things but he is always welcomed. After our morning time, my 1st grader gets a little break while I get the 8th grader set up with his independent work. Then I sit with our 5 year old. It takes less than 30 minutes to get through his English and Math lessons. Then I sit with our first grader. By this point its usually almost lunch so we do have his work before and than after. It takes him about an hour to get through his English, Math, Science, and piano lessons. Then I am DONE with hands-on stuff…whew…of course I’m available if my 8th grader needs any help. Since changing to this we’ve been able to get through more and done earlier (go figure) =)