Posted: 07/Feb/2007 at 4:45am | IP Logged

Hi, my name is Christina and I recently started homeschooling my 9 year old son this past November.  We are doing eclectic HS and am a little concerned if were doing enough work everyday.  We average 3 to 3.5 hours Monday through Friday for fourth grade curriculum.  My question is, how many hours do you average in a day?  We live in NH and there isn't any required number of days or hours you spend, but its been nagging at me that maybe we're not spending enough time each day. 

My other question is for anyone following the Oak Meadow curriculum. How many hours does it take to complete the upper elementary grades?  We're shopping for next year and OM seems like it may fit my DS learning style.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Posted: 07/Feb/2007 at 4:50am | IP Logged

You're doing more than enough! :)  Remember that children are learning all the time, so you really can't just count the structured time as "learning time."

Also, while children are at school for about 6 hours a day, remember that only a few hours of that are spent really learnining.  Lots of time is wasted as teachers deal with behavior problems, as children switch from one class to another, etc...

Hope this helps.

Posted: 07/Feb/2007 at 5:29am | IP Logged

Yep!! You're just experiencing the joys of homeschooling, and your child actually has time left to be a kid!! :)

Now, if you're having trouble filling in that time, maybe your daughter could be involved in more activities?  We unschool and our days fly by...

Posted: 07/Feb/2007 at 11:42am | IP Logged

WAHMBrenda wrote: I think of homeschooling as a lifestyle not an amount of hours.  So, in my opinion you're doing a lot and it's definitely more than enough.  Feel free to relax some too if that helps you.  Children learn in so many different ways that you don't have to constantly have a book in front of them.  This freedom is one of homeschooling's greatest joys.

This is true in our house too.  Learning is a lifestyle, not strictly a structured activity.  We call ourselves ecclectic homsechoolers in that we do have some structured time, like workbooks, crafts, working with manipulatives, online lessons or reading time.  But my son is always asking questions.  There are many times when we have an entire conversation over dinner about something my son saw and asked about.  He always comes away with much more  knowledge than when he started with. 

I can't really say how much time we spend on schoolwork and it does vary day to day because we have so many activities going on.  We always have to be here or there for one thing or another.  On average, we spend about 2 hours a day and that's for 1st grade work for a 6 year old.

Posted: 07/Feb/2007 at 8:20pm | IP Logged

Devsmom wrote: I guess what I'm most nervous about is the end of the year evaluation.  [snip]  I know we're going to be under a microscope, as my son had an IEP and the school was totally against us removing him from school.  Once we get through this year I'm sure next year will be a breeze.

You know, NH law says that your child must "demonstrate educational progress for age and ability at a level commensurate with his ability." That's all. It doesn't even say that he must be at grade level.

If you've kept the records required ("a log of reading materials used and samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials used or developed by the child"), he should surely "demonstrate progress for age and ability," don't you think?

I'm sure everything will be fine :-)

Posted: 07/Feb/2007 at 8:55pm | IP Logged

We do about 2.5 hours 4 days a week. We are in Texas and are free! I am feeling better myself now about the H-schooling boy i was sweating it there in the beginning worried that they would miss something and you know they just might...but i am ok with that. My oldest is 13 will be entering highschool next year -i want to HS him as well BUT he wants to attend so badly--still not sure on this one...only time will tell...BUT what i wanted to say was i asked him to do basic social studies third grade level his brothers work and he failed it....so he too is missing stuff and i guess i am too cause there are days i am learning right along with my 9 year old this is ok ...i enjoy it. And now will keep it. RELAX- breathe and enjoy this time with your child...i have to remind myself of these same things. They will only be small for such a short time. I love watching them develop. My 5 year old i have taught her all she knows she is now reading and she amazes me and we all have huge talks about LIFE real stuff that there is learning in a nut shell. Everday i think i so love this for them they are free and really dont even know it.

You are doing great! Enjoy this time

Posted: 08/Feb/2007 at 4:38am | IP Logged

Thanks to everyone for the great responses.  I feel comfortable again.  I've read this is very normal to second guess yourself while home schooling.  If I step back and look at the HUGE improvements in my son, not just academically, but mentally as well, all the proof is right there.  Our family has never been this happy for years.  Thank you all for putting me at ease!

We we're going over his reading log yesterday and he has completed 5 Classics Starts books in 11 weeks.  He was pretty proud of himself after looking it over.  He is even starting to pick up books in his free time now.  This home schooling life is AWESOME!

Posted: 08/Feb/2007 at 6:19am | IP Logged

Thank you for stating this as it's really what I was trying to get at.  Like we just bought a hermit crab so we spent the entire day that day learning about it and I'm going to get some books out from the library on them today.

Posted: 08/Feb/2007 at 6:45am | IP Logged

We do the same thing.  We always go off on tangents.  We do unit studies a lot and I plan them to take one week.  Rare is it a unit study actually takes us a week.  More likely we get busy doing other stuff or some topic catches our eye and we'll take a detour for a while.  It's all good though!  They're still learning and growing and their little brains are really good at putting pieces of stuff together so stuff doesn't always need to follow one distinct pathway.

Posted: 15/Feb/2007 at 7:06am | IP Logged

Hi Devsmom,

You are doing a wonderful job! Don't worry. Just enjoy!

You have received lots encouragement and sound advice from the amazing moms on this board!

We are using Oak Meadow's Written Curriculum for the first time this year, and we love it (I understand that there is quite a difference between the written and the on line versions)Oak Meadow has several schooling options,from free - style like me,to OM teacher support, to full time enrollment in their school.

It is a set, prescribed curriculum with a specific scope and sequence for each grade level. We are doing a combination of 6th and 7th grade, for my 12 year old.

How many hours a day depends on her choice of "assignments"( oh how I dislike that word ).The lessons are weekly, so there is not a daily check off the box schedule imposed on her.

After reading each lesson, there is a list of suggested activities that she can choose from. These suggestions are appropriate according to OM's philosophy for age/grade/developmental /levels of children. My child has the opportunity to learn through her strongest modalities, and then personalize the information through imaginative projects.

For example,  In  our 7th grade Earth Science lesson on Volcanoes, some of the choices include:

Make a colorful diagram in your science journal showing as much detail as you can

Construct an erupting volcano with clay

Imagine you live in a town near the foot of a volcano. Discuss or write what indications might you look for to predict an eruption  

Make a relief map of North America which locates all the volcanoes.

Write a report on volcanoes.

So you can see, the time question really depends on your child's choices.

So far, I have found this curriculum to be all that it says. I am not easy to please- I have strong feelings about honoring how children learn!

Hope this helps!

Lynn

Posted: 15/Feb/2007 at 9:47am | IP Logged

Lynn,

Thanks for your reply.  I'm really interested in Oak Meadow for next year.  How many hours a day do you think it takes on average?  I'm just worried that if it takes more than 3.5 hours, I may lose my son's motivation to stay working.  It's interesting that you're doing a combo of 6th and 7th grade.  My son seems to have covered all of the 4th grade math work and I was worried about moving onto 5th, if next year we buy the OM grade 5 curriculum.  Do they allow you to move ahead a grade in one subject?  My son's strong point is math but is almost a grade behind in English and reading.  If OM is open to mixing grades, it makes it that much more appealing for us.  Thanks for a positive review on them.  I'm tired of worrying whether I'm covering enough material.  I don't want to short change my son's education in any way.

Thanks again,

Tina

Posted: 16/Feb/2007 at 12:53pm | IP Logged

Hi Tina,

About the 3.5 hours-Well, 2 days a week that's all we have time for because of other commitments. OM lessons are weekly, so there is not a specific amount of time designated per subject ,per day.It is very flexible, so you can make it fit your child's needs, and still be covering the lessons.I am sorry if this sounds vague. It's not so much a question of is she capable of getting the lessons done in X amount of time, but more about how much attention and detail she wants to spend on each lesson. Some are just more interesting to her, so she likes to get into it. BUT, for my child , and me too, we have reached 100% saturation levels by 3and 1/2 -4 hours and are ready to be done. It seems like OM understands this as well.

We just came out from under an extremely rigorous schedule with another company, so OM feels very natural to us.

Yes, you can mix and match OM's materials.

Here is a message board for one of OM's On-line teachers. Lynnea was very helpful when I had questions. I looked at the syllabi's for 6th, 7th and 8th grades and checked off what my dd had previously studied, and kind of mixed and matched to develop an individual plan.Then I sought her input and she confirmed  the do-ability.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OakMeadowMiddleSchoolStudents/

Hope this helps!

Lynn

Posted: 16/Feb/2007 at 7:43pm | IP Logged

Lynn,

OM sounds like it would be a good match for my son.  I'm looking forward to trying it next year.  Worrying about "passing" our evaluation is enough to drive me nuts.  Sounds like OM will take that pressure away. 

Thanks,

Tina

Posted: 17/Feb/2007 at 8:29am | IP Logged

Tina, you'll do fine with your evaluation.  As long as you show that your son is learning something, then they cannot argue with you.  The only real requirement in the portfolio is the "materials list".  So, keep a reading log.  I do a very brief journal and I type up my own evaluation at the end of the year.  I never put what my girls don't learn, just several things that we accomplished, like reading a variety of literature.  I'm going to make it even simpler this year now that I have a year under my belt.    I unschool in NH and it's not so hard to prove that they are learning something.  But I know how you feel.  I was there last year.  I submitted my daughter's portfolio in mid-March.  I recieved it back in under a week with no problems or concerns.  We "passed" with flying colors.  I think the stand in superintendant flipped through it and only read through the reading list, parts of our monthly overview, and my write up on her progress.  I'm told it's easier if you hire an evaluator, but so far I see no reason to.  They don't argue with me and they are satisfied with the progress.  Good luck.  I am sure you will do fine. 

Cardella