4Real Forums: Is it enough??

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Topic: Is it enough??

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JSchaaf
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Joined: Feb 22 2005
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Posted: May 15 2007 at 10:53pm \| IP Logged

My girls are almost 8, almost 7 and almost 5. My older two are very good readers. The youngest has not started to read yet. This is what we do each day:
Older two
Math 15-20 minutes (Horizons 1) and some math games
Language Arts: Copywork (no real rhyme or reason to what I choose), English 2 For Young Catholics-about 10 minutes or 2 pages a day. The girls want to start writing in cursive so I need to add penmanship practice.
Latin-Prima latina about 15 minutes daily. We are memorizing prayers, so we don't have any other memory work.
Music pratice: 15-20 minutes on the piano or violin.

That's it for the daily stuff! i spend another 20 minutes or so with my youngest, doing different preschool/prek workbooks we have.

Other than that we read. I read aloud about 3 hours a day, total. Sometimes it feels like a lot, sometimes I worry if it's not enough. I read stacks of picture books and here is a list of the "school books" we currently have going:
The American Story
Story of the World: Ancient Times
First Communion Days
Catholic Picture Bible
These books I only read 2-3 pages per day and these books are the ones I ask the girls to narrate from. Oral narrations only at this point.
We have a couple of chapter books going, too. They are:
Little House in the Highlands (although not the abridged one pictured!) and
The Little Flower.

I try to read a variety of other books to them (and have them available for them to read to themselves), historical fiction, history, science and nature study, etc. We try to read some poetry every day, too.

I guess I just feel like it's not "enough". Do we need for seatwork??? How often should the girls narrate? More than once a day? Should they be narrating to me from books they've read on their own? Workbooks?? More science?

Honestly, school seems like it shouldn't be this easy and fun. We do some sit down lessons, read a good bit and then spend the rest of the day doing whatever-arts and crafts, playing outside, going to the zoo, etc.

I had a Well-Trained Mind education planned for my children, but it was too much so we cut way back. Now I'm concerned that I cut back too much.

Can you tell me if you think this is enough? Anything I should add or change?
Thank you!
Jennifer (who is worried about ruining her children...)

lapazfarm
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Joined: July 21 2005
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Posted: May 15 2007 at 11:07pm \| IP Logged

It sounds wonderful to me!

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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning

EmilyC
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Joined: May 09 2007
Location: New Hampshire
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Posted: May 16 2007 at 6:20am \| IP Logged

I agree, it sounds wonderful! This is pretty much what we do as well. I think at this age, after the three R's, the most important thing is exposure to different ideas--which you're doing beautifully with all the reading aloud!

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Emily,
Wife to Rob since 8/98
Mom to 4:
Sarah (13) Robbie & Riley (10) Regina (nearly 3)
My secular lit-based curriculum:
Build Your Library curriculum

Cheryl
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Joined: Feb 20 2005
Location: Massachusetts
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Posted: May 16 2007 at 6:32am \| IP Logged

It sounds good to me. My dc are around the same ages as yours and I doubt we do as much as you. My boys aren't reading really well yet and we definitely don't read aloud for 3 hours a day. We don't do music practice, daily poetry or narrations. And I feel like we do enough.

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Cheryl
Wife to Bob ('97)
Mom to Matthew 13, Joseph 11, Sarah 10, Rachel 6, Hannah almost 4 and Mary 1

msclavel
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Joined: July 26 2006
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Posted: May 16 2007 at 7:32am \| IP Logged

Sounds life fun!

And just perfect.

J.Anne
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Joined: Oct 24 2006
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Posts: 303

Posted: May 16 2007 at 2:33pm \| IP Logged

Our schedules are almost IDENTICAL (daily - MUS, Prima Latina, Seton Grammar, random copywork). Really we are even reading the Martha books, The Story of the World, and The American Story right now. My daughter is 6 -almost 7 - and I feel a lot like you do. Our table work only takes an hour. If I were to make our morning lesson time any longer, it would just be busy work. We listen to Jim Weiss CDs, read, crafts, work in the garden and she is involved in several activities, so I suppose we're OK. But still....

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Jennifer
http://ascozyasspring.typepad.com

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