How many hours a day?

[Marjoriew]

We are semi-structured - maths and literacy first thing in our day and after that it's mostly project based science, geography, history.
Just want to know how many hours a day/week for those who are semi-structured/structured?

Hi, we normally do literacy and maths for 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. I'm just beginning to introduce other subjects as well. I'm not convinced that 2 hours is adequate so I'll be watching this thread with interest. My ds has a stopwatch and god help me if I ever go over the allotted time! How many hours are you doing Marjorie?

Hi, macwoozy. We also do 2 hours literacy and maths a day, but not necessarily 'sitting down stuff.' I try to vary it as much as possible. Literacy also includes any written or lapbooking stuff for whatever project we are working on [currently Volcanoes lapbook]. He goes to Explore Learn which involves 2 and a half hours a week for literacy and numeracy and Carol Vorderman's Maths Factor.
It usually works out about three hours a day but now he's nearly 11, I feel I should be doing more hours in the day with him.
He likes the science stuff, electronics, electrics, and we are building a Dig for Victory garden and planting veg so that probably comes under science.
Any advice welcomed here.

13 years old. 2-3 hours a day, monday to friday, no homework, nothing in hols. 2 igcse's already passed

No need to slog, because 2-3 hours of 1 to 1 is at least the equivalent of a whole day at school in a class of 30.

wow EpsonPrinter 2 IGCSEs already, what subjects?

also what's a lapbook?

we're not HEing yet (not officially anyway, DD is 2.9) so can't say how many hours

maths and chemistry. Doing english and biology over the next year.

No idea about a lapbook, although there have been convos about those somewhere here.

As yours is so tiny you will just slide into doing a bit of reading together and so much will be learned out and about over the next few years. It will be great fun

we've only recently decided to go for it. still feeling a bit wobbly about it TBH! but really excited too. already got a file where I note down ideas, links etc.

EP have you been HEing from the start?

ohhh just googled lapbooking it looks great! link here

just our kind of thing - I'd been thinking of making books anyway, this seems like a natural progression!

no from the age of 9.

wish i had though. In saying that I do have others at school who are happy but had i know about HE in those days i don't think i would have sent any of them.

No need to feel wobbly. I think the thought of little ones starting school was far more wobbly. will they fit in? will they be happy? etc.

You will meet loads of other people who HE as you go along. There is a very large community, you may not just know about it yet, but you will

Lapbooking is great although quite messy at times (particularly when all 3 of them are doing one at once!!)

We do about 3 1/2 hours in the morning Mon-Thurs and then do French/Spanish/piano on a Tuesday afternoon with 2 other families. The other afternoons DS1 (12) does a bit more work but DS2 and DD just do some reading and their piano practice. Fridays is a kind of finishing off day when our nanny supervises them and then they do cooking and sewing with her. And DS1 cooks tea under her supervision. If DS1 gets behind, he has to work longer and catch up but that's because he is a past master at procrastination! If there was a GCSE in it, he would already have an A*!

oh purleeeease. I wrote the syllabus for procastination GCSE. And A level too!

Thanks Epsonprinter, you've confrimed what I've been thinking for a while.... My son started his Englidh Lang IGCSE earlier this year & he's whizzing through it! We're also following a GCSE Maths syllabus & will hopefully sit exams next year. Then we'll look at what else he might do.
Makes you wonder why schools flog kids to death when you see what is actually required....
Reading your post has re-assured me!
P.s we only do 3 1/2 days of semi structred schooling.

Hi

I read this thread with interest, we have been HE'ing our middle son (9) for the past 3 years and it is all going fine. We took our eldest (14)out a week ago and we are finding he is whizzing through everything, so much so that we are wondering if we are missing something obvious !?

This morning he did a conquer maths lesson and test,a section of the GCSE Biology book and end of chapter test, the corresponding GCSE BBC Bitesize Biology section and the test that went with it and several pages of his French GCSE book. He did this is an hour and 10 minutes and I had originally thought his "work" would take up the morning ! He is now laying out in the garden reading and I am left wondering if we have missed something out ?

His plan is to do Maths and a Science everyday (Mon to Fri) and do the English,Re,History and French on different days of the week to provide some variety.

This is just his "structured work" as he also reads several novels a week, watches documentaries, reads sciencey books,plays guitar,does Ju Jitsu,teaches his brother the French he already knows, etc etc.

Does anyone with experience of HE teenagers have any advice for me please ?

Thanks

Hi

I am having a hard time deciding what to do and what is enough for my 7 year old, I have this fear of not giving him a good standard education, actual school work takes us 2 hours maybe and then the rest of the day might be play, activities or outings, sometimes they are left to do as they see fit which would mean computer games etc

is it normal to stress like this

or am I just so schooled that its impossible for me to be deschooled

thanks for the thread by the way really interesting

We follow a structured approach (Classical Education), which is quite involved, so we probably do about 4 hours everyday, 5-6 days per week.
We break for a week every 5-6 weeks.
Mine are 8 and 6. The 3 year old is learning to read and probably does 2 x 20 minutes, 3/4 days a week on phonics and numbers.
We play a lot of games together.

It's not for everyone but it suits us

Just thought I'd add this.
We do semi-structured now. Today, I felt quite unwell. Have a condition called polymalgia which affects my muscles and it flares up every so often. Really bad the last couple of days.
Grandson has been watching Hospital Heroes which has just started on BBC1 in the mornings from 9.15 to 10am. I left to him to it while I had a sit down while he watched it.
While he was watching it, he had out the Human Body books, big skeleton model and poster on the floor.
When it was over, he was able to tell me about the number of bones in the body, hand, foot, where this and that bit was - all sorts which I had planned to do a lapbook on but hadn't got around to it.
He's been at it all morning. So, I'm on my second mug of tea and bacon sandwich.

Hi

when you say that your follow a classical approach what exactly does this mean, I am thinking of getting the book 'the well trained mind' by susan baur (sorry about spelling and grammar), I was also thinking of getting her language and handwritting books for next year, does anyone know more about this

thanks again

puddinmama

sorry, hope that u feel better soon Marjoriew

The Well Trained Mind is a really interesting book and although we don't use classical method for all subjects, we do use The Story of the World for history (followed by History Odyssey) and First Language Lessons, followed by a couple of other diagramming books for grammar.

What I like is that in the first 4 years there is an emphasis on correct English but that there isn't that much writing (and those years are the equivalent to years 2-5 in England, although we started using them a little younger). I do use Galore Park as well for English but find that grammar is explained far more clearly in First Language Lessons.

I am a big fan of Susan Wise Bauer!