How long does it take to get into your HOD groove?

[4froggies]

This was our first week using HOD (CTC and LHFHG) . As much as we have really enjoyed the activities and reading, school for 10yo using CTC is taking a long time... we only got not quite three days of lessons done this week in four days. Does it just take time to get into the HOD groove? Thanks!

Beth

[water2wine]

I think it is different for everyone. I have not yet done CTC so I can't say. But HOD is different than other programs and I think it is not unusual to take a couple of weeks to get into the groove for some. Lots of people start out half paced to get the flow of it. I find sometimes for myself I make things harder than they really are just because I am wanting to do things correctly. So I would just maybe slow it down and relax and enjoy for the first couple of weeks if you are finding it takes longer than what it is listed to take. I find when we get into the program it takes us actually less time to get it done than HOD lists. I think it depends a lot on your personality and your family dynamics how long it takes but it should not take long. Enjoy it. We are really excited to get started ourselves.

[mariaw]

It also depends a lot on what you were doing before. For us, HOD has been less reading on dd's own, and more writing (compared to the program we used last year). So things take a bit longer for me on the reading end, and a bit longer for her on the writing end. Of course, it also has to do with stepping up the difficulty from one year to the next, also.

It took us a couple of weeks before we really got into the groove. You'll start to see a pattern in the assignments, and it won't be "all new" anymore. It goes much faster when it's something that you're used to doing (both you and your child!). Hang in there!

[sharonb]

We just finished Unit 4 of Beyond, and I think we have finally hit our stride. It REALLY helped us to start doing our subjects in the same order everyday. The children know what to expect next and have been working a bit faster.

[gotpeace91]

Yes, it does take a little time to get into the groove. Once you have 2 or 3 units done you will have it down a little better and know what will be expected.

I found that we went a little long the first week so this is what I did: I don't have a stopwatch so I used this link. http://stopwatch.onlineclock.net/ I timed how long it was taking us for each box in the manual. This enabled me to zero in on our trouble areas. (math and LA) I now set the timer on my microwave for these subjects to help me keep on track. This has really helped and (contrary to what I originally thought) a shorter time spent on the lesson helps them retain it Better! This is a revolutionary finding for my hschooling this year.

One thing I am doing differently with Math this year is making sure I am available for help during Math time. Instead of setting them in front of it and going off to try to get some other stuff done, I am right there making sure they know what they are doing and keeping it short and sweet without a lot of busywork. This keeps my daydreamer accountable as well because he knows Mom is watching.
HTH,
Leah

[mamaloves4]

We are doing CTC, Beyond, and LHTH this year. Our first days were last week. I decided to do half speed with CTC and Beyond for a little while and out of curiosity I timed how long each half took. I was pleasantly surprised. The left side of the plans for CTC took 1 1/2 hrs and the right side took 2hrs. 20min. From last years experience I found that once we found the 'groove' things went smoothly and more quickly. For some reason Day 2 was always our shortest day (we did Preparing last year). I do make the timer our friend and keep things moving. Of course with two little ones, I do have interruptions, but I do not answer the phone or try to get house stuff done. Sometimes I need to give a gentle reminder to dd to use her time wisely and be efficient and that will help, but for her she likes to 'beat' the timer.
Also, maybe play with the order of boxes. Sometimes trying different orders affects the flow.

hope this helps,

jess

[MamaBear23Cubs]

I am giving my self a month to get into a groove but it's more about how we do everything daily. We travel around way too much to stick to one way. I just know as soon as we get into our groove we will be packing our backs to move again or do a long term visit to family.

[my3sons]

I find it takes ME a bit to get back into homeschooling after we've taken a break. I have to retrain myself not to answer the phone during schooling, and to really focus on the schooling during that time. The timer has become my friend instead of my enemy, and I've found it to be the best tool to keep us all on track. I vary the times as necessary, sometimes giving us extra time when needed, but as I hear the timer beep if I am in the middle of something when I should probably be near the end of it, I hurry it along and finish. This keeps me from being the one to drag out the day. I am jotting down Leah's idea to note how long each box is taking and see where we might be getting off so I can better make my schedule and tweak the order of boxes and times as necessary. I also agree with sharonb that doing the boxes in the same order each day makes a huge difference. It helped to train my ds to check off the boxes as he completed them, and I gave him a schedule of the order of the boxes too, so if I was busy with my other dc, he could read the next box and get everything together and possibly start on his own until I could join him.

Last year with PHFHG, I started the year beginning the school day at 9:00 AM, having a long recess/lunch break in the middle, and ending around 3 PM. I had audio books and computer time in that plan as well. About a month into the year, I took the audio books and computer time out of the school day and moved them to the night/weekend. I also started at 8:15 and was able to finish by 12:30 PM. This was about a month into the guide. So, I guess that's when we hit our totally smooth stride, though I'd say we enjoyed schooling and finished each day before that - the second schedule was better for us.

If you have any extras, I'd take those out for now, and also play around with the order of the boxes. Once you settle in on a good order, giving your child a schedule for the order of the boxes might help. It sounds like you had a good first week, and each week will just keep getting smoother and shave more time off your day.

In Christ,
Julie