Am I doing enough?

[Jewel]

Reading through others' posts, I am feeling a little left behind in my teaching....I know don't compare, but am I doing enough? My dd8 (LD) is about where my dd6 is so here goes:
Reading: 20mins kids oral read (Ramona the Pest is the current)
Spelling: SWR 20words each week
Writing/Grammar: Writing with Ease Lv1 (way too easy) but good for handwriting exercises, kids do about 2-3 weeks in 1 week.
Math: Singapore 2A plus tangents of outside stuff 3-6pgs daily
SOTW: one chapter each week
Science: Real Science one lesson weekly + science videos and our own experiments as they come + science reads kids pick
Piano: 20min daily, plus 1/2hr of private instruction
Poem memorizations
Tap, Musical Theater classes
Geography 1x week if lucky (dad teaches)

I have so many ideas of things to teach or projects to get to but they never seem to happen....just the basics these days. Some days it is really hard because my dd6 can do more but my dd8 makes going on very difficult for she just doesnot have the ability. My dd6 keeps me hopping.

[WendyK]

We do a similar amount except we also do Grammar (FLL), and we do a lot more reading. My son will be 8 in January.

[Aurelia]

I would probably do more reading out loud and add in grammar. Could you perhaps get a logic book or Mad Libs for your younger, so she could do it independently if the 8-year-old needs more help? I used to love those as a child.

[8FillTheHeart]

It's more than I do with my 2nd grader.

[Jewel]

Thanks ladies, my dd6 reads 20min out loud to me however it was mentioned to add more time, how much more? My dd8 is reading Henry and Mudge type books and my dd6 is reading Ramona the Pest. I have two very different kids here.

[Karin]

I think that's enough with a rich environment. Mine learn so much on their own through reading (nonfiction and fiction), playing, writing stories, developing complex games, using their imaginations etc that at 8 I really didn't push the academics the way some do. Some dc demand more academics, and that's when you really need to add more. Also, the nature of many of our conversations are such that they are/were learning logic and thinking skills as a part of life. We did have some Mindbenders and Critical thinking books, but I use them less with my youner one who is 9 because we do more of that with math. Also, since he's the youngest, he hears my dd's discuss logic or make logic-related jokes which happens daily.

[WendyK]

Thanks ladies, my dd6 reads 20min out loud to me however it was mentioned to add more time, how much more? My dd8 is reading Henry and Mudge type books and my dd6 is reading Ramona the Pest. I have two very different kids here.

I think 20 minutes of him reading to you is plenty. I'm talking about upping the amount you read to him. And if he is reading independently, the amount he is reading on his own. Maybe you already do this, I just didn't see it mentioned.

[Jewel]

Yes of course, I should have written in my read aloud time...about 1- 1 1/2hrs per day depending on our week. Went ahead and ordered FFL so we can get started with grammar, thank you for the suggestion. I have two very different children so teaching them together is a little bit challenging. My dd8 is missing half of her cerebellum so progress is slow for her but my dd6 on the other hand is zooming....got two extremes here! Really I am posting about my dd6 schedule even though my dd8 can do some of the material (not same reading or math). My dd6 is interested in the origin of words but I am not sure I want to incorporated another program. Any advice on the subject?

[WendyK]

Yes of course, I should have written in my read aloud time...about 1- 1 1/2hrs per day depending on our week. Went ahead and ordered FFL so we can get started with grammar, thank you for the suggestion. I have two very different children so teaching them together is a little bit challenging. My dd8 is missing half of her cerebellum so progress is slow for her but my dd6 on the other hand is zooming....got two extremes here! Really I am posting about my dd6 schedule even though my dd8 can do some of the material (not same reading or math). My dd6 is interested in the origin of words but I am not sure I want to incorporated another program. Any advice on the subject?

http://www.amazon.com/Word-Words-Fascinating-Stories-Origins/dp/0812627105/ref=pd_cp_b_1

Maybe something like that.

He might like studying Latin. We started Latin study early. My son really enjoys it (we also study German because DH speaks German).

[Truscifi]

Thanks for posting that link! Ds5 is also tremendously interested in where words come from, so I think he might enjoy that book as a christmas present.