Is this over the top for Calvin next year?

[Laura Corin]

I checked with private school workload, including homework, for his age in the UK, and it comes out to nine hours more a week than I have scheduled for him (plus travel time, of course). Here's what I have in mind:

Calvin – aged 11-12


English Prep 2 then 3 and Lightning Literature 7 then 8 - 5x one hour
Maths Prep 2 then 3 - 5x one hour
Latin Prep 3 then SYRWTLL 3 - 2x 45 minutes
Chinese for GCSE 3 - 3x one hour lessons, plus 2x half hour homework
IGCSE Biology then Chemistry - 3x one hour
SOTW 4 then Suzanne Strauss Art Ancients - 3x one hour
Galore Park RE - 1x 30 minutes
Recorder From the Beginning 3 plus supplements & music theory? - 2x 45 minutes
Draw Squad - 1x half an hour
Poetry memorization - 1x half an hour
Music and art appreciation (alternate) - 1x half an hour
Study skills - 1x half an hour
PE - 5x one hour

Total: 30 1/2 hours = one day of 6 1/2 hours and four days of six hours. 9am to 1pm with a half hour break, then 2pm to 5 or 4:30pm, including PE as break.

I know Calvin will feel like this is a lot. I don't know what I feel. I calculate that he would have about 1 1/2 hours free before school and about 3 hours free after school, as well as most of the weekend.

Honest opinions requested, but please forgive any maths errors - it's late.

Laura

[Wendy in ME]

It is just my opinion that there is a portion of wasted time at traditional schools whether they are private or public. Homeschooling is very efficient with little transition time between classes so I wouldn't feel pressured to do as many hours of school at home as he would have if he were to attend a more traditional school. I personally try to be done by 3:30 not including free reading time in the evening but I don't actually schedule 1 hour of PE 5x wk either. It is a full day but you have added things like music and art to break it up along with 1hr of exercise. I think as long as there is not any more work to do in the evening other than independent reading and the weekend were pretty free then it will be fine. We do occasionally have to do music or art after dinner.

[Beth in Central TX]

I'm planning on 27.5 hours a week for my 7th grader next year; he'll be 12 this summer. Here is his schedule:

R&S Artpac 7 (1 x 1/2 hr)
R&S Grammar 7 (4 x 1/2 hr)
R&S Spelling 7 (5 x 1/2 hr)
R&S Math 8 (5 x 1 hr)
New Testament Greek for Beginners (5 x 1/2 hr)
Wheelock's IA and/or Lingua Latina (still thinking about this one) (5 x 1/2 hr?)
Omnibus I (covers history, literature, & Bible) (5 x 1.5 hr)
CW Homer B & Beg Poetry B (5 x 1hr)

We do PE as a family in the evenings at least 3 times a week. This is not included in my time above. We also participate in choir and AWANA once a week which is 2 hours on Wednesdays.

What is Galore Park RE?

Time-wise I don't think you are requiring too much. I think an increase in school time is warranted for 7th and 8th grade as they gear up for high school. Looking at Calvin's schedule it seems like a lot, but 5 of your 13 items are only done 1 day a week, so you only have 8 subjects that are done throughout the week. This is similar to my schedule. I did drop a lot of the little one day a week things that I was doing this year because I didn't see any growth from the work, and they began to feel like busywork. I'm not saying this will be the case for you, but it's something to think about as you assess your year. Overall, I think we're on the same page.

[Laura Corin]

Thanks. This is the Galore Park religious studies (http://www.galorepark.co.uk/product/parents/152/religious-studies-for-today-second-edition.html)book.
and this is a review I wrote of it previously:

"The book discusses, rather than preaching, and provokes wide-ranging
philosophical/political/moral discussion. It will have been designed
to be used in schools that may have a nominal Christian affiliation,
but that include many children of different faiths or none.

It covers passages from the Old and New Testaments. The aims
(according to the introduction) are to explore issues which surround:

"- human existence
- the existence of God
- our responsibility towards our planet
- our responsibility towards each other
- the teaching of Jesus
- personal and public morality

Each chapter normally contains the following sections:
- summary of the set Biblical text
- commentary on the text
- questions on the commentary
- contemporary issues
- Common Entrance (exam style) questions
- scholarship (higher level exam style) questions"

The first chapter discusses Genesis 1-2 v 25. The commentary mentions
particular words used in the translation, the differences from the
Babylonian creation story, the historical relevance of the sabbath
(and the reason that P - the writer - stressed it), fertility as a
concept in the region - fertility gods (Baals) in Canaan. There follow
comprehension questions on the commentary.

Activity: act as an editor of a magazine, in the same way as the
'person or group of people who were given the authority to decide
which stories to include....(in)... the finished book' of the Bible.

Contemporary issues in first chapter:

- are the creation stories true? Discussion of kinds of truth,
usefulness of parables.
- scientific evidence, whether science disproves religion or whether
they are separate issues. Quotations from Darwin, Dawkins and
Hoyle/Wickramsinghe from different sides of the scientific debate
- responsibility for the planet, state of the population,
responsibility for plight of the third world.
- genetic engineering
- euthanasia

For each of the issues there are projects: posters to make, debates,
essays to write, etc."

Laura

[Beth in SW WA]

DS 12 does this currently:

Bible Study: .5 hour
Chalkdust PreAlg daily - 1 hour
Latin daily - 1 hour
Writing daily - 1.5 hour
Reading daily - 1.5 - 2 hour
History/Science study/read daily - 30 min
Guitar practice - 1 hour

We will soon add back Geo, Logic after Natl. Latin Exam. Hoping to add Greek soon.

[frogpond1]

[
I think some things are better done in shorter periods more times a week. Poetry memory can be very short 5 min. daily. Study skills? That is a daily thing we do with organizing our agendas, planning out our work etc. Recorder may end up 20 min. daily or even 15 min. daily and have better results. My 12 year old is 7th grade and does 6 hr. days and it is fine. He sometimes leaves his music practice for after school hours, or reads literature after dinner. Latin is better daily than 2 45 minute slots too. We do 2 (40 minute lessons) and 3 days of independent work. I don't know if that helps. It all sounds reasonable.

[Laura Corin]

Thanks Christine. There was a bit of confusing abbreviation in my list; some subjects will actually turn out more like you suggested. The Latin is actually two half hour lessons and two 15 minute independent practice sessions, as is the recorder.

The study skills task is a workbook helping Calvin prepare to take public exams in the next year or so.

Thank you for your help

Laura

[8FillTheHeart]

When I first looked at your hours, I thought, 430 seems really late to be finishing. But, then I looked at what you had really written. I am assuming that he will be in the equivalent of US grade 6? (my just turned 12 yos is in 6th :) )

I don't break our schedule down into specific time brackets like you did, but ~6 hrs per day is pretty close to what my middle schoolers are doing. We simply start earlier (a lot earlier!!), so we end earlier. (that is why your 430 made me look twice. ;))

If I was going to put his schedule into time brackets, it would probably look something like this (though we have HUGE variations day to day.....sometimes math might take twice as long and science 1/3 the time.)

alg=1hr
English=2 to 2.5 hrs (spelling, grammar, LL from LOTR, writing)
history=1/2 hr
science=1/2 hr
French=1/2 hr
religion-1/4 hr
reading=~1 hr

timewise that is pretty close to your schedule.

[Laura Corin]

I don't break our schedule down into specific time brackets like you did, but ~6 hrs per day is pretty close to what my middle schoolers are doing. We simply start earlier (a lot earlier!!), so we end earlier. (that is why your 430 made me look twice. ;))


Yes - part of me wishes my day started/finished earlier, but I find that walking in the morning is important for my mood during the day, and I have to fit that around having someone to watch Hobbes. Calvin also really likes having reading time before school.

I appreciate your input.

Laura

[Mama Lynx]

Laura,

How many hours is this a week, compared to what he's doing now?

To be honest, that schedule would drive me insane. However, I have a great need for flexibility, and my way of doing things would not work for a more structured person.

For my 7th grader next year, he will spend about three hours a day on math, Latin, Greek, and Classical Writing, combined. Those will be our core subjects, and will be done every day.

He will also do piano and get some form of exercise every day, so let's call that another hour to an hour and a half.

He will read for an hour every day - that's required reading, assigned by me (history, lit and science). That doesn't count his personal reading.

Other than that, I don't schedule history, literature, or science. But it does manage to get done. We try to hit art once a week. Next year I plan to work in some philosophy. His dad plans to start teaching him programming. And we may add in some kind of immersion Spanish, like Rosetta Stone (if we do, this will be a daily thing, but perhaps only 15 minutes a day).

So it is quite possible that he works for 27-30 hours a week. But if I scheduled all that, we would both feel very constricted and go nuts. Our compromise is to consider the core subjects as scheduled and unchanging, but to be very free and flexible with the rest.

This is the time, though, to start ramping up the academics, to prepare for high school. I don't think your schedule is unreasonable. If it's a big change from the amount of time he's doing now, I'd add in subjects slowly, and keep an eye open to whether or not he needs more free time.

We can't start school any earlier than 9, either (and lately it's been 10). We *all* seem to need some time in the mornings, before getting to work.

[Laura Corin]

I'm basically very lazy - if there isn't a schedule, I'll slink off and 'forget'.

I'll check with Calvin, but I think he likes a schedule too, so that he knows when he's 'done'. He's doing around 25 hours a week now, so it'll be an extra hour a day if I follow the new schedule.

Thanks

Laura