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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: May 18 2015 at 3:30pm | IP Logged
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I'm a known over thinker of unnecessary things. Keep that in mind. 
3 or 4 terms? That is the question. I've done both and every year I wish I had done the other. So, please entertain me and tell me what you do and why. 
I like 3 terms since CM used that. I also like being different from the public school in that regard.  I don't like the three terms when Christmas break comes and we are halfway through a term and must break. We like to take a week off after each term and those are far between with three terms.
I like 4 terms because they are shorter and give me short term goals. We do end-of-term examinations and 4 seems a little too many.
I like dividing course work up according to terms too but the upcoming year won't fit any better in 3 or 4, so I don't have that to help me decide this year. I would love to be more consistent with our term numbers.
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
Tending the Pumpkin Patch
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: May 18 2015 at 3:54pm | IP Logged
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I work in 6 week increments. This means a clean break at Christmas after 3 terms, then 3 more after if you want a full 36 weeks, or 4 before, 2 after. Whatever. It is a little more flexible, anyway. I just made it up, lol, though I think I had heard of a 6 week on, 1 week off schedule before.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Martha
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| Posted: May 22 2015 at 10:06am | IP Logged
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None of the above. We just school and keep on keeping on. I don't plan by dates, but by what we are doing, doing next, doing after that...
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Martha
mama to 7 boys & 4 girls
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jawgee
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| Posted: May 22 2015 at 10:22am | IP Logged
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Martha wrote:
| None of the above. We just school and keep on keeping on. I don't plan by dates, but by what we are doing, doing next, doing after that... |
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That's what we do, too. Just keep plugging along...
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: May 22 2015 at 3:44pm | IP Logged
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I like the just keep plugging along part. That is what happens no matter anyway. I just feel organized when I have terms and dates on the calendar. And that is all it is, just a feeling to make me feel organized no matter if I am or not.
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
Tending the Pumpkin Patch
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motherheart
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| Posted: May 22 2015 at 9:30pm | IP Logged
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Cassie, I can relate.
I am the organized, lets have things planned out person. Most of my kids are not. I'm still trying to learn to go with the flow. I like having a plan in place and I need to open to amend it when necessary.
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Mary
Mom to  ds 16, dd 14, dd 13, ds 9, ds 6, and 4 in Heaven
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Erin
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| Posted: May 23 2015 at 3:10am | IP Logged
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I'm in Australia, when I was a child our school system worked on 3 terms, then in my late teens they changed to 4 terms. So I've done both from a child perspective and (now 4 terms from a parent perspective)
I'd choose 4 terms anytime. Far more effective (for both student and teacher) than 3.
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Erin
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SallyT
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Our year just naturally breaks into two semesters. I tried doing three terms this past year, but really didn't stick to it -- the schedule didn't fit our pace.
On paper, ie for high-school recordkeeping purposes, we do two semesters and a "summer semester," which is basically unschooling, but I count things the kids do (classes, camps, jobs, etc) under some academic umbrella or other.
I do use rough start and stop dates, because we take the summer off. (eta: "take the summer off" = "world is our classroom" time). Beyond that, it's all pretty flex.
Sally
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Erin
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Sally
Just thinking, your husband works at your local College, most of your children are at College. I'm assuming like Australian universities they have two semesters at year? so do you think this is why it fall naturally for your family into two semesters?
Thinking more about this I've realised we've adapted our terms to fit more around when our college children are home. So we're finishing some terms earlier than the local schools but we're commencing earlier to balance. Basically when they return to their city life we return to studies
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Erin
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SallyT
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| Posted: May 23 2015 at 8:58pm | IP Logged
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Well, that, and who doesn't take a break at Christmas? :) I guess one way or another, between being a student and being a teacher I've lived on a traditional academic schedule my whole life, so it's hard for me not to conceive of time in those increments.
But yes, this is underscored by the fact that Dad and the older kids are home and available to hang out and play at certain times.
Sally
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SallyT
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On the other hand, as I've been planning my upcoming years -- for only two children (snif, but it's kind of nice, too) -- I have been following the Mater Amabilis format. Lindsay had made up a really nice template for moving the MA syllabi into actual weekly plans (which are being worked on!), and working in 6/12-week increments does fit nicely with so many, many things.
So in *practice* I think what the kids will experience are semesters: fall and spring. But on paper, we have, for example, three of Plutarch's lives -- one for each 12-week term, which nobody will pay attention to except maybe me.
On the other hand, we're doing four artists for art appreciation, because that's how many are in the book we're reading. So they're spread out over nine weeks each (so more like quarters in a 36-week year). Four composers for music appreciation, so ditto.
This past year I planned a 30-week year, with room for lots of down time, makeup reading, etc. Next year I'm going back to 36 planned weeks, because the kids are older, but also because most resources assume a 36-week year, and it's just easier to schedule that than to condense into 30 weeks -- which will end up being more than that because of interruptions anyway.
For transcript purposes, I record grades (grade 7-up) fall and spring. So again, on that kind of paper, it looks as though we just do semesters.
Sally
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pumpkinmom
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I think my term numbers have been decided for me since I'm using mostly AO this coming year. There plans are based on 3 terms, so it would be best (and less work) for us to follow that. This will be our first year that we will stick to a normal school routine during Advent. I usually change things up a little and this is where we get derailed. Note to self is to make sure everything is finished up before Christmas break (no mid-lesson stopping or middle of a chapter stopping, lol)!
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
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SallyT
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Yes, I've given up on special Advent/Lent/Easter reading. I can't figure out how to do that without derailment, either. So we just do our "live the season" thing, fairly simply, and otherwise carry on as usual.
Sally
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SallyT
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And my scheduling is becoming more like AO's, though I'm not really doing AO. We're mostly MA, but with a lot of own-shelf-shopping and substitution of free ebooks.
Sally
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CrunchyMom
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SallyT wrote:
Yes, I've given up on special Advent/Lent/Easter reading. I can't figure out how to do that without derailment, either. So we just do our "live the season" thing, fairly simply, and otherwise carry on as usual.
Sally |
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I started adding some of these to our read aloud basket this year instead of attempting to assign them independently.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: Number of terms?
