A Typical 8th Grade Day
I have a preteen. This is what I know about preteens so far: they want to be little kids and they want to be adults, but which situation causes which age-preference depends on the child, and depends on the day. I'm finding that means being flexible with my preteen is the best thing for both of us. That being said, this is what our typical day looks like, but we are flexible and change things up as needed.
We start school at 9:30. Before that, Kara spends a long time trying to wake up and get her brain going. (I think she will be a coffee drinker one day.) She is expected to come to school with breakfast done and cleaned up, cats fed, teeth brushed, already gone to the bathroom, and computer charged. When any of these things haven't happened, there are delays in school, which breaks the focus of our class.
At 9:30, Kara starts with a devotion. She reads one chapter of Proverbs and looks for a certain topic. After she has gone all the way through Proverbs, she gets another topic and reads them all over again. Right now she is looking for verses related to speech and the effect our words have. This takes about 5 minutes.
At 9:35, we start Algebra 2. Math has to be the first subject of the day because it is the hardest and she needs to be her sharpest. We have agreed she can keep her brain focused for a whole hour, but after that hour, she fades fast. We all but set a timer to make sure we don't go over that hour. I never give her math homework problems. That hour a day is all I expect out of her. If the lesson, plus classwork isn't enough for her to learn that topic, we stay on that topic the next day. Sometimes we can do two lessons in one day, sometimes one lesson takes a whole week. We get to work at Kara's pace, which is priceless.
At 10:45 (Kara needs a break after math - usually she plays with the kitties), Kara sets up her Spanish 2 class. We are trying learning with DVDs and I am loving it! Usually I try to listen in - not only do I need a refresher on this material, but it's fun to hear her learning - she learns SO WELL from these DVDs! I want to do more classes like this. While I'm listening in, I'm doing my makeup, doing church work, or just sitting and petting the kitties. Spanish takes about 45 minutes.
At 11:30, sometimes Kara breaks for lunch. (I really hate only doing two classes before lunch, but they are the hardest classes and, well, this is where we are right now.)
At 12:30, Kara reads her Science book and we go over the review questions out loud. Or we do a lab. Or she takes a Science test. Science class usually takes about 45 minutes.
At 1:15, she is done. Her brain is tired and shutting down. (I totally understand not being able to focus in the afternoons - I am the same way.) While Kara plays Minecraft or reads or writes or draws, I do my household chores and errands. Sometimes we watch movies or Netflix while I do laundry or something. I also get started on dinner - defrost meat and double check I have ingredients for what I planned because now is the time to go buy them if I forgot.
At 5:00, I start cooking dinner. We watch a movie as a family or Kara and I watch a show we are into while we eat. Then I clean up the kitchen. By now it is 6:30 or so and I am tired. Honestly, it's not much later than 7 when I head to bed. I shower and do laundry and clean my bathroom and work on bills and work on Bible study and make lists and plans. I also research curriculum because researching curriculum is the most fun part of homeschooling.
At 8:00, Kara showers and starts evening school, or homework. This is done independently. She usually only has questions about what exactly is assigned, not necessarily the material.
She works on the Middle Ages History books for about 30 minutes.
She works on Bible History for about 15 minutes.
She works on Writing for about 15 minutes.
So, after shower and the hour of work, it is about 10:00 and she is winding down for sleep.
This is a quiet week day. Wednesday nights are church - 4:00-8:00. Once a week horse lessons are about 90 minutes. Not to mention hanging out with friends, dentist appointments, hanging out with Aunt Christina and Uncle Tony, etc.
School takes about 4 hours, including homework. I know public school is longer than that, but if you cut out transportation to and from school, cut out P.E. class (horse lessons are separate), cut out trips to your locker, cut out lunch and recess, cut out trips to the media center, etc, I'd say 4 hours is about right.
Life is good during 8th grade. I'm loving it!
We start school at 9:30. Before that, Kara spends a long time trying to wake up and get her brain going. (I think she will be a coffee drinker one day.) She is expected to come to school with breakfast done and cleaned up, cats fed, teeth brushed, already gone to the bathroom, and computer charged. When any of these things haven't happened, there are delays in school, which breaks the focus of our class.
At 9:30, Kara starts with a devotion. She reads one chapter of Proverbs and looks for a certain topic. After she has gone all the way through Proverbs, she gets another topic and reads them all over again. Right now she is looking for verses related to speech and the effect our words have. This takes about 5 minutes.
At 9:35, we start Algebra 2. Math has to be the first subject of the day because it is the hardest and she needs to be her sharpest. We have agreed she can keep her brain focused for a whole hour, but after that hour, she fades fast. We all but set a timer to make sure we don't go over that hour. I never give her math homework problems. That hour a day is all I expect out of her. If the lesson, plus classwork isn't enough for her to learn that topic, we stay on that topic the next day. Sometimes we can do two lessons in one day, sometimes one lesson takes a whole week. We get to work at Kara's pace, which is priceless.
At 10:45 (Kara needs a break after math - usually she plays with the kitties), Kara sets up her Spanish 2 class. We are trying learning with DVDs and I am loving it! Usually I try to listen in - not only do I need a refresher on this material, but it's fun to hear her learning - she learns SO WELL from these DVDs! I want to do more classes like this. While I'm listening in, I'm doing my makeup, doing church work, or just sitting and petting the kitties. Spanish takes about 45 minutes.
At 11:30, sometimes Kara breaks for lunch. (I really hate only doing two classes before lunch, but they are the hardest classes and, well, this is where we are right now.)
At 12:30, Kara reads her Science book and we go over the review questions out loud. Or we do a lab. Or she takes a Science test. Science class usually takes about 45 minutes.
At 1:15, she is done. Her brain is tired and shutting down. (I totally understand not being able to focus in the afternoons - I am the same way.) While Kara plays Minecraft or reads or writes or draws, I do my household chores and errands. Sometimes we watch movies or Netflix while I do laundry or something. I also get started on dinner - defrost meat and double check I have ingredients for what I planned because now is the time to go buy them if I forgot.
At 5:00, I start cooking dinner. We watch a movie as a family or Kara and I watch a show we are into while we eat. Then I clean up the kitchen. By now it is 6:30 or so and I am tired. Honestly, it's not much later than 7 when I head to bed. I shower and do laundry and clean my bathroom and work on bills and work on Bible study and make lists and plans. I also research curriculum because researching curriculum is the most fun part of homeschooling.
At 8:00, Kara showers and starts evening school, or homework. This is done independently. She usually only has questions about what exactly is assigned, not necessarily the material.
She works on the Middle Ages History books for about 30 minutes.
She works on Bible History for about 15 minutes.
She works on Writing for about 15 minutes.
So, after shower and the hour of work, it is about 10:00 and she is winding down for sleep.
This is a quiet week day. Wednesday nights are church - 4:00-8:00. Once a week horse lessons are about 90 minutes. Not to mention hanging out with friends, dentist appointments, hanging out with Aunt Christina and Uncle Tony, etc.
School takes about 4 hours, including homework. I know public school is longer than that, but if you cut out transportation to and from school, cut out P.E. class (horse lessons are separate), cut out trips to your locker, cut out lunch and recess, cut out trips to the media center, etc, I'd say 4 hours is about right.
Life is good during 8th grade. I'm loving it!
Comments