mindywp wrote:...I notice for your ds using RTR, you schedule a block for the teacher instructed subjects. Do you go over the teacher instructed boxes, then have him do the subjects on his own? For example, I go over Math with my dd, then she does her lesson, then I go over R&S Grammar with her, then she does her lesson, etc. So, I am basically working with her from about 8:30 until we complete all the Teacher instructed boxes (usually around 3 1/2 hours, sometimes more!), then she does her independent work. I have a feeling I am not using my time wisely. My dd also tends to draw things out & loses focus, so I have to work pretty hard to keep her on a timed schedule. She could do school all day & not care.
I usually end up doing school with ds 4 at the end of the day.
I would love any additional advice on our school day. I have a feeling it could be a lot better!
Thank you!
Mindy
HI Mindy! The description you gave of what you are doing with your dd (teacher part, stay and monitor student part, teacher part, stay and monitor student part) is necessary for a period of time. I should make clear that this routine I am sharing I am now able to do in the MIDDLE of our year. At the start of this year, I needed to follow our other schedule because my dc were "in training".
So, what you are doing with your dd is important training that after an adequate amount of time can result in you being able to change YOUR part of the routine. So, for instance, I did just what you did for the first 1/3 of RTR with my oldest ds. Then, my part of things changed by me doing the teaching of say math, and then him looking over his independent math workbook, trying a problem from any section he thought he may need more guidance on first, and then setting aside the rest for him to finish later. Likewise, with R & S English, I do my teaching part, and assign him a section or few problems from each section to do independently, have him just number his notebook page according to what I want him to do independently, ask if he has questions about how to do any of it, and then we add that to the independent pile to be done along with the math. Same with Medieval-History Based writing lessons. I go through the teacher's part, we look over his student part together. I ask if he any questions, he sometimes wants me to help him get started and he sometimes does not want me to help him at all because he "gets it" ("I get it, Mom, I'm fine with this" is usually what he says, I believe, and quite firmly too sometimes.
) Then that gets added to the independent pile of math and English. DITHOR is the same way. I do my teacher's part, go over any Student Book questions he may have, listen to him read a page or two at the start, and then he sets his Student Book and his book to finish reading on the independent pile to do later.
We then enjoy our rotating teaching box time together at a leisurely pace. I LOVE this time together and do not rush it. If ever I draw something out within my teaching time, it is that box because it gets to the heart and the mind. This year with "Boyhood and Beyond", Poetry study, and Art Appreciation, we are really enjoying this time together so much. I feel like I've gained the time by doing the independent work piling to really take time with my ds during this other time. It has been wonderful. I have really shared my faith with him so personally so many times, and he shares his growing faith with me. It seems like a special gift from God for me. It fills my cup, and it is the connection I have with my oldest ds right now.
Then, when we finish, added to the independent pile is his copywork of "Boyhood and Beyond", and he is off to do his independent pile of work. The rest of the guide is independent already, so this just is a time saver for me. Because I have 3 very different ages of sons with 3 very different levels of placement needed, this frees up time for me to work with Riley, my second ds.
This kind of independent work piling looks very different for younger aged dc like Riley, who is almost 8 yo and doing BHFHG. This was not possible for him in any way, shape, or form at the start of BHFHG. But, since we did half-speed for many months, and now full-speed, he now understands the routine and what he is expected to do. So, for him, I need 2 teacher directed times, and then a marker board with a list for him to finish out anything he can independently. I still oversee more of his work than Wyatt's work in RTR, but he is taking on more responsibility and I am not needing to "hover" as much as I used to.
My LHTH ds is now entering the stage where he will need me 100%.
So, because HOD has written guides so more independence can be gained each year because of skills being taught incrementally, and because boxes of plans in the guides follow predictable routines, my oldest will need me the least, my middle ds will need me about half the time, and my youngest all of the time. Perfect!
I love this part of HOD because I feel like it "grows" with dc and lets them mature (which they really want to do even if we don't want them to so much
). It's a healthy thing.
This kind of time saving tip of "independent work piling" is only possible after we have put in our time teaching our dc the routine of a guide, and of course, accurate placement is key. I hope something here helps you out, Mindy! I would say that if your dd knows the routine, you can easily try this with her now and not be sitting next to her for her independent work. Let me know how it goes!
It is my prayer it saves you time and helps dd enjoy the newfound independence getting older affords.
In Christ,
Julie
And I only school one with a baby. 
Old habits die hard. I just turned 49 and I have never followed a schedule in the home. 
Can it be done? There are days I really want to try and then I give up. 
I sort of try to follow a routine in certain aspects of the schooling and with the baby, but that is all. It's so hard to even get a regular bedtime. 
But this post is inspiring me to get at least a general schedule together.