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Home ed

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Time

6 replies

oneboy3girls · 21/09/2014 19:35

How much formal or informal teaching time do you spend with your he'd DC?tia

OP posts:
maggi · 21/09/2014 21:04

My ds is 14 and doing GCSE stuff. But we're also doing general knowledge at the same time. We are currently looking at Ireland - history, religion, culture, geography, art, you name it. Also specifically looking at teenage pregnancy, British Government, Trees, Birds and boats.

For an hour and a half in the early morning we do formal GCSE work together, with books/internet and writing.

For another hour at 5.30pm we work together on further formal stuff and I set work for him to complete on his own (usually reading).

During the day time we do a massive range of stuff, anything from a HE event at the uni, to a toddler group (I childmind). This may need 1:1 from me or he may attend something on his own. Sometimes we use tv such as the film, Philomena, which ties in beautifully with our topics of Ireland, teenage pregnancy, religion. Once he's watched it, I discuss it with him or if I'm free I watch it with him and pause it to discuss events.

I occasionally take him to evening events too such as, the theatre or an adult evening workshop which has accepted him.

So whilst we are spending just a few hours a day sat at a table, we are doing a whole load of other stuff together. Everything can be a learning event once you know how to follow it through and it's hard to know when to stop. Generally he's always close by so I can point out how something links to what we've covered, or I can add resources to extend what he's doing or make a note of a discussion topic to be had.

Saracen · 22/09/2014 07:30

Formal teaching time: none, at the moment. We are autonomous home educators and over the years there has been a tiny bit of formal teaching when the kids have requested it. For example, my older daughter asked me to teach her to read, and at another stage she wanted me to teach her to read music, and she has asked about algebra and about the parts of speech (yes, really!) and so on. She has asked me to teach her to make white sauce and chicken pie and cake. I taught her how to comparison shop in the supermarket, how to run the washing machine and how to tile the bathroom. I don't know whether that is the sort of thing you mean. Oh, and I like to read books aloud to the kids, some fiction and some nonfiction; does that count?

"Informal teaching"... I don't know, how long is a piece of string? I'm not being flippant. It's very hard to separate out informal teaching from informal learning, and I think children are learning all the time if they have free access to things and people. But I guess I have to be in the same room in order to be "teaching", don't I? So that limits it a bit. Does a discussion count as informal teaching? Does it matter what the topic is which we are discussing? If so, which topics are educational and which aren't? Do they have to be topics which would be covered at school in order to count as educational? If I'm doing something which I'm good at and they wander in and watch me, am I teaching?

Do you see what I mean? To me educating, like parenting, isn't a discrete activity which we do. It's more of an outlook, I suppose. There are guiding principles: expose them to variety, talk to them, introduce them to a range of interesting people, help them do what they like to do, encourage them to try things. It doesn't take time, as such, it just happens as a natural part of living together.

oneboy3girls · 22/09/2014 09:19

Thanks for the information

OP posts:
EmeraldIce · 22/09/2014 10:55

It's really hard to say because we don't follow a strict timetable, though I consider our current approach as semi structured. So will try most days to do a little phonics & maths work eldest (5) - generally no more than 30mins for each and some project work (on our theme of the moment - covering various science, geography, history areas, though not so strictly defined). Plenty of other activities, reading time & structured play with all of them (and plenty of free play too). And of course all our normal activities outside - HE groups, shopping, appointments, transport somewhere are learning opportunies for them all (so informal teaching from me, answering questions, discussing things, pointing things out, asking them questions etc). So, I guess on average I spend about one and a half hours of formal teaching with the eldest, plus whatever time spent on activities like arts & crafts (varies a lot day to day depending on time outside, how everyone is etc) and then LOTS of informal teaching, as it's more a way of life than time set aside.

morethanpotatoprints · 22/09/2014 16:52

Most of the time dd does about 2/3 hours a day structured work depending on what music groups she has that day.

The morning she dedicates to music practice and then after lunch she does Maths, English, and a choice from languages, science, history, Geography, Art, or anything else she fancies doing.

Then 3x a week she is involved with rehearsals for choirs, orchestra, Big Band.
Sometimes she has concerts, rehearsals for concerts, or exams. etc.

It sounds a lot but probably takes far less to achieve all of this than if she attended school.

freckleonear · 24/09/2014 13:05

My children are 6.5 and 4.5. We probably spend less than 30 minutes per day on formal work, 2-4 days per week. For my eldest that is mostly maths, handwriting and reading, while the youngest just joins in with anything she is interested in. The rest of the time is autonomous.

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