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Bookswithtea
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Hi Everyone,
We started school this week, and I'm less than happy with how things are going, the deeper we get into the week. It feels like we are going our own separate ways too much. I've been reading old posts here, and it struck me that one of the things that might help would be doing more subjects together as a family. I will be teaching 6th, 3rd, and K this year, with a 3 yr old and a baby in tow.
My kids are taking a science class with the coop, so I'm thinking mostly about religion and history. Is it possible, year after year, to teach these subjects without using age graded materials for each child? If you do this successfully, could you offer some pointers? I've been homeschooling for a long time and read all the books, but have never really mastered the CM lifestyle. I sometimes think there is a CM gene that I just didn't get while in utero! :-)
Thanks so much.
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Mary G
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My 14-yod is doing Seton all by herself (well, I'm there to help but today she came in and asked how I was on biology -- I told her to ask dad when he gets home  ). My 16 yos is at a Catholic school, so I only "school" him when he gets home....
Anyway, I do Thomas 91st grade) and Maggie (K) together -- with John-Paul (2-1/2) in tow. Maggie is not quite up with Thomas on letter and number recognition, so that's basically our split. Math and Phonics/Reading are separate but I do religion (Faith & Life 1 and bible stories), history, science/nature, art and music all together. I figure that as the years go on, the age difference (barely 13 months) won't matter and they'll shift into their respective strengths and weaknesses that I'll address as we go.
Does this help? Remember, one of the big benefits to homeschooling is we can adapt to each of our own situations and can decide what works best. Some things just obviously lend themselves to be "group taught" with more expected from the older etc.....
Blessings!
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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amiefriedl
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How about lapbooking religion and history as a family?
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In Christ the King through Mary our Mother,
Amie
Blessed with an awesome hubby and Mom of ds10, dd7, dd3 and dd 10months.
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MacBeth
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We do many things as a family, school included. Some times the kids are no the same page (literally) and sometimes they are simply in the same room, like a one room school house. Beyond the formal lessons, thought, they have many many shared experiences, in faith, family field-trips and friends  .
Our read alouds or books on tape are almost always done together, and that means that the younger ones have sat through some heavy duty books. Even when the older ones are studying science, the younger ones are in the room, and get a trickle down effect (and sometimes the younger ones are disruptive, and I have to find something else for them to do  ). Sometimes The younger two will read to each other in a different room, practice music, or watch a documentary. Sometimes they'll head outside and catch insects or draw. Sometimes they'll retire to another room with a pad of paper and write a book! In the end, we all come back together for read alouds, meals and more.
Since field trips are almost always taken together, our field experiences are shared, and the kids have a vast shared knowledge base. As Libby has gotten older, she has other obligations which prevent her from going everywhere with us, but when we can, we include everyone. And even if someone is not with us, the other kids will fill the missing person in on every little detail of the trip (and vice versa--the younger kids live to hear how Libby's day at Juilliard goes).
Overall, we do what we can do together, and even if the kids are working on different subjects, we are most likely in the same room attending to studies.
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MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
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Natalia
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Last year I noticed that my then 6th grader would not want to do her school work in her room. She wanted to be in the middle of things and be present when I worked with my the 2nd grader. I decided to do some things with both of them together so I did some of the Book Fiesta selections and some lapbooking and unit studies.
My kids are far apart and there are some things that they have to do separate like math, latin, logic and science ( my dd takes science with a friend of mine ). I feel that the time together is important. This I am using Mater Amabilis as my main guide but we are doing several things together: Christian Studies, reading A Life of Our Lord for Children, read alouds- I alternate between historical fiction, and other kind of literature and I try to cater to both of them-. History we are doing it both separate and together. I am going to have them read the books sugested by MA independently and then we will do the supplementary reading together.
We are also planning to do art and music appreciation together on Fridays.
HTH,
Natalia
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juliecinci
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We do things together. Easier for me.
The older ones (teens who are either done with high school or in late high school) don't participate. So that means I've got a 13, 11 and almost 9.
We read books (last year we did the Civil Rights Movement in America) together, listen to tapes or radio, and we made lap books. We also watched lots of video documentaries (very effective with a group).
I don't have specific goals in mind (i.e. 13 year old should write, 11 year old should narrate, 8 year old should draw). Rather, I try to bring whatever interests me to the kids at their level (and at mine in their presence!). Then we see where it goes.
I tried unsuccessfully to introduce the Renaissance last year all year (in prep for our trip to Italy). No interest. None. Zippo!
So we bagged it. But the Civil Rights Movement! Wow. Camped there for two months. It led to studying the history of slavery and the Underground Railroad which has as one of its headquarters, Cincinnati Ohio. Visited a black church too.
They are very in tune now with oppression in lots of parts of the world and comment on racism freely. It's wild!
We got to delve into the Renaissance in Italy anyway - it's still not compelling to them, but they have been exposed. Family vacations to Europe highly recommended.  Lol
I did so much SL history with the older kids that they don't remember and didn't care enough about. It's discouraging to me now to ask them "Do you remember X?" and they say, "Not really. But I remember when you let us play that new computer game for a whole day! That was so cool!"
I came to the conclusion that joy produces learning combined with interest. I can offer, offer, offer. Then I sit back and watch what takes hold. I supply, strew, engage myself and then make possibilities for them to hook into.
Seems to work for us. I can't go back to a planned curricula because my kids just don't thrive there.
Not sure that helps, but ask away if you want more!
Julie (big wink to you, btw)
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Julie
Homeschooling five for fourteen years
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KathrynTherese
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Elizabeth said I should stop by more often, so here I am. And I am glad, because there are a lot of active topics that are at the top of my brain right now, as we ease back in to our school schedule...
And this is one of them.
I have 7 children, from ages 4 to 16, so we've got someone at every stage of the game here. And we do as much as we can TOGETHER. We do a lot of unit studies (each year I decide which few we MUST cover, and the rest are just rabbit trails we can't resist) - history, science, religion, literature. Of course, each child has their own math to work through (though we love to do Penrose books together) and the younger 5 have their own reading/phonics/spelling. So I meet with them individually on those two subjects only; everything else is a group activity.
As Macbeth said, this means the littles are listening to some heavy books, but also that the olders get something lightweight now and again (just finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory so we can see the movie). But we are all studying Westward Expansion and the Middle Ages this year (will take most of our literature from our history units), Chemistry and Einstein, and the Old Testament and the Mass. Everyone absorbs and creates at their own level, but it is a shared experience and Mom's brain isn't being stretched in 21 directions each week. It is not easy to keep track of this many levels, but having everyone studying the same thing makes it much easier...
And now I am being distracted by the teenager who is waiting for "coffee time" with Mom... Wait til she finds out we can't go to Starbucks anymore 
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Bookswithtea
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There are so many great ideas here. I feel a sense of hope that perhaps this will be part of the answer for our family.
I am wondering, is it hard to teach the same material at several different levels? I briefly tried to teach with formal unit studies, years ago, but it was overwhelming. Then again, my oldest was only about 7 at the time. Maybe it wuold be different now.
I'm thinking I could aim for the middle aged child with read alouds, we could do geography, related movies, and hands on projects as a team, and the oldest could do some extra reading from something more advanced. I mean, it sounds simple enough, but is it deceiving? Is there more to it than I am aware of? Does it all have to be planned out in detail or can I sort of wing it (winging it would be a new thing for me~I'm a neurotic planner by nature).
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Erica Sanchez
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Bookswithtea, I really do think it can be simple. We usually do science, social studies, and religion together. My kids are on the younger side, so this works beautifully. We'll get tons of books from the library on a certain subject, videos as well. We'll read, watch a video or take a field trip. Sometimes it works out to take a class at the Natural History Musuem (the class is usually what gets us started on a certain topic). Then, if I need a sample or just some activity, I try the Enchanted Learning site first. Often I can find an activity for each grade level which is especially nice for the older ones who appreciate a little more challenge. If it is history, I'll get more chapter books for oldest dd to read independently. We've been a little "light" on school the past few years, but it seems doing it together this way allows us to go deep(ish) into one subject for about a month.
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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Willa
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Could you all who do multiple levels together give a view of the logistics? That is, do you just gather them together before or after the independent work? Is there a routine or schedule of your time together that you use, or do you just play it by ear? How do you plan and prepare, and how do you follow up -- do you give them independent projects to do at their own levels? that kind of thing is that enough questions?
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Willa
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Erica Sanchez
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Willa,
This is usually what our day looks like:
Breakfast, chores, independent music practice, etc.
9:00 a.m. - All kids (even young ones) gather on couch for morning prayer, saint reading or whatever other religion we're doing. Then I read a bunch of picture books about a certain topic (maybe it is California history or frogs). If kids are willing, I'll read from a chapter book - usually little ones have wandered off by this time.
10:30 a.m. or so - Morning break/snack/outside time.
11:00 a.m. - After that, the three older kids and I will go to the school room for about an hour of individual math and phonics type work.
Afternoon - Sometime later in the day we'll get back to the science or social studies topic. Maybe I'll have worksheets from Enchanted Learning (all different levels) or the kids will make a poster or drawing. Or we'll take a field trip together.
The one thing that is consistent is the couch reading time in the morning and the math/language arts work. (Now, consistent around here might only average out to 3 days per week.) Sometimes reading books together about a certain topic (rocks) is the only thing we do that day but when I look back over a month, it really does seem like we've learned/experienced a lot!
P.S. I try to save projects that are more involved or messy or just need my assistance more until the afternoon when the 2 year old will be napping.
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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Bookswithtea
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***but when I look back over a month, it really does seem like we've learned/experienced a lot!***
Hmmmmmmm...I talked with a dear friend on the phone the other day, who has a lot more experience than I with homeschooling. She said something very similar. She suggested asking myself, "have I done something with nature this month? related to history? Something related to math...language arts?"
Am I the only one for whom this is a NEW thought? How many other people think of their school year in blocks like this rather than an amt. of information to cover per semester?
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KathrynTherese
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We also do religion, history, science together. We are all able to discuss the same topics and listen to the same books and watch the same videos. What varies per child is the independent work they do in regard to that topic. Olders may do a report, while the youngers make a poster or do narration, etc. We all read the library books aloud together (because even big kids enjoy a good picture book), but olders will have additional reading at their level to fill out their understanding.
My day/week looks a lot like Erica's, except that I have older kids so I need more structured time. And I have to make sure I get the boys through their MATH first thing, or it will never get done. They are losing concentration by 11 a.m., or earlier!
So, we begin with prayers and breakfast/cleanup. Then I do MATH with the boys (sometimes the girls too, if they're working on the same thing - this month, we are intermittently working on /reviewing "number families" with everyone from 5-9, which is 4 kids) while the older two do math on their own.
In between, there is music practice or handwriting or flash cards or silent reading (everyone always has a book going around here it seems).
Then we read together. Like Erica, this may be library books on a given topic, or a chapter book that goes with our history or religion, etc.
Lunch (during which we almost always listen to a book on tape) and cleanup.
Then we do Religion together, which is really a lot of reading and discussion.
Now the boys have a little more to do - whatever they didn't finish in the morning - and they are pretty much free to read or go outside while I work with the girls one on one for awhile.
At 3:00, we gather to pray a short prayer or part of the Mercy Chaplet, have "tea time" and read aloud some more. This is usually lighter reading.
Then it's time to pick up and set the table for dinner. If there is time before dinner to play, they can go play.
Of course keeping track of all 7 kids and what they've actually accomplished using this kind of schedule would be impossible without some kind of checklist, which I really don't like to use, BUT -
I can't tell you how many times I've been working with one child and the boys have interrupted to ask if they can go do something because they're "all done" and so I agree, only to realize later that I had wanted them to do something else, but couldn't remember it at that moment. With a checklist, I can jot down today that tomorrow Ben needs to review his multiplication tables; and then tomorrow, I won't forget. Or I can make a note that the twins should really play a certain board game for reinforcement of a certain concept so that they will actually play it before we're past the topic! So many ideas running through my head every day that I lose track until it's too late
We have the distinct advantage of owning a camper, so we take long field trips and study accordingly. In a few weeks, we are traveling to a local Renaissance Festival and then onto Ontario for the Stratford Festival and a little Shakespeare. Then we will spend some time in Niagara Falls. That's History, Literature AND Science, and the kids think it's vacation! I will prep them ahead of time with some library books, we will bring some library books with us to read on the way, and we will listen to appropriate CDs in the car (Redwall, Life and Times of W. Shakespeare, various Medieval music). Back home, we will make lapbooks of our journey.
Last year, the kids make beautiful lapbooks of Mark Twain from our visit to Hannibal, and Abe Lincoln from our trip to Springfield. They have learned to scour the tourist pamphlet racks for pictures that will work well for this purpose!! People watching them must think it quite funny to see all 7 of them huddled over those racks.
I'm rambling now because I've sat down 3 times to finish this email and I have been interrupted a million times. So I will shut my trap, as I have said more than you wanted to know!
But it's true that, because they are not filling out a lot of workbook pages and I am not filling in a grade book it's easy to think we are not accomplishing much. But the conversations around the dinner table help me know that we are. This is a great way to learn!
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Bookswithtea
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What a great post! This is kind of what I envision, but I'm not sure I can pull it off. I think having my 5th baby this Spring has just made me very tired and everything seems hard.
You didn't mention how old your oldest children are...just curious! My oldest is 12, and I am also dealing with his lack of motivattion...from what I've read I guess thats typical of 12 yo boys.
We have a camper too...Does your dh have lots of time off for these great trips, or do you brave the open road without him? Also, if you study history this way, then do you NOT have a plan for American or World or whatever each year, preferring to study random periods based on what festivals and trips are available? Sometimes I think it would be a blast to study history randomly, but I'm nervous about it for some reason.
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KathrynTherese
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To answer your questions, Bookswithtea -
My children are: 16g,12b(motivation definitely an issue!), 9b, 8g 8g (twins), 6b, 4b
Quite a spread...
I do NOT camp without my husband, because I am a wimp We take a handful of weekends throughout the year, and we usually take two 10-14 day trips each year, spring and fall.
As for History, I try to follow a 4 year cycle of sorts - Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Middle Ages, Modern History. BUT, each year, regardless of which topic in the cycle we are on, we take one quarter (or more) on American History in depth: Revolution, Civil War, Westward Expansion, the Constitution, etc. And if we take a trip that doesn't quite "fit" that year's cycle, we just take a quarter and study up on it.
I want to say that I used to be really uptight about staying on course and studying things CHRONOLOGICALLY, and not interjecting 9 weeks about the Civil War in the middle of our Ancient Rome study, but I found a way to relax. We keep a timeline. We put EVERYTHING on the timeline - saints we study, wars, people, inventions, even fictional characters (Pollyana, Robin Hood). That way, kids can see where everyone and everything fits in, when they are old enough to wonder.
Also, history can be studied "randomly" as long as you're spending enough time on each thing for it to sink in. We were studying Ancient Rome when we went to Hannibal, so we had to pause that and really focus on life during Mark Twain's era. That was a lot of history, leading into the Civil War, but you can't study everything. We just cover focused snippets, and enough other to get the big picture. Eventually, the whole thing gels and they understand history, but until then, they have to meet the PEOPLE throughout history that made history happen. So we really focus on biographies and events around those people.
Elizabeth once said something that stuck with me because it echoed my own thoughts (but she said it so much better). She said, "There will be gaps. I promise you gaps." Because you can't cover everything. I let God fill in the gaps, and my kids, when they're curious enough 
I hope that is more help than hindrance!
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Martha
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I school together at the kitchen table for several reasons.
There's no where else to do it due to house size.
The kids stay on track better.
Younger ones can play without interupting siblings work.
I also combine science, history, faith, and art for the most part.
The 3 R's are independent work once they hit 2nd grade. I just over see, nudge along as neccessary, and grade.
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Erin
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Bookswithtea,
Thought I would just jump in and share what we do, particularly as my oldest is 12 like yours.
We do most areas of study together. After morning prayers we have seat time, this is our maths and language arts block. Everyone has indivdual maths books and this year for the first time we are using a formal spelling and grammar program. Also they all do copywork and studied dictation in this time. Its a juggle with five all wanting attention.
After morning tea, at present I am spending some one on one time with dd12, preparing her for her Confirmation (which is next month.) then the boys come in and we do religion together which has never been too formal, we read saints stories, may read and discuss Catechism, the Bible or today for the first time we started on Church History. We all read and discuss this together.
Then we go on to whatever is our topic of interest at present. We have always done this together. I have never been able to juggle science, history etc all at once. I tried it one term and it was a disaster for us. So we alternate our studies of interest. One block we may focus on a history area, ie. Rome. Another time it may be a science block and we may study space. Then the next block may be a period of Australian History. there has never been a set pattern to what we choose. sometimes it may be a rabbit trail sparked by a question. Sometimes I may decide on a topic as its an area we haven't ever touched on previously.
Basically what suits us is to read. That is what we mainly do. Just read and read great books, usually for about five weeks and then we have had enough. Occasionally we may follow up with a hands on activity, although not as many as we should. It is not my natural forte. We don't really do that many writting activities based on our readings either, which I admit is a weakness, but then dd is only 12. Probably should start to here soon.
After lunch is more hands on activities like cooking, art, craft etc. And then later literature read alouds which all listen to.
I figure that over the years this way we will evuntually cover many areas. Sometimes I have doubts and then I remind myself to look at the bigger picture.
My children prefer working together, even when I play literacy games aimed at my beginner reader the older ones want to join in. They all chose to do their seat work in the same room to (I wish at times they would separate).
I hope this is of some help to you.
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BrendaPeter
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I wanted to jump in here as our days, ages & numbers of kids are very similar to all of yours.
I get the kids up by 7 so that the day goes smoothly.
Breakfast - 7- 7:30
Chores & piano practice - 7:30 - 8:00
The oldest boys (9&11) take turns vacuuming the downstairs & emptying & loading the dishwasher. The twins(6 1/2) emptying the wastebaskets & put away the clean silverware. I also have them help me start the laundry, watch the babies (2 1/2 & 10 mos.), wipe down bathroom floors with miracle cloths, etc.
Exercise - 8:00 - 8:30. We have a hugely long driveway & now that adolescence & testosterone has set in I find that the boys have to ride their bikes back & forth enough to work up a sweat - let's just say they are much more charitable after getting off some steam. I also walk with the baby in the stroller.
Prayers, "I SPY" with art postcards, singing, devotional stories - 8:30 - 9:00.
Work with twins - 9:00 - 9:30 while boys watch babies & read (assigned).
Work with boys - 9:30 - 11:00 - twins play in a playroom upstairs with babies. During this time boys do their Latin, Math, Memory Work, English.
Lunch - 11:00
Playtime - 11:30 - 1:30
The girls go down at 1:30 & I may work with the twins for awhile again, but mostly I read aloud whatever history or science we're working on.
Nap time is over at 4:00 & we start working on dinner.
We do ALOT together - we evolved to it since it's the only way to survive with a big family! We also listen to audiotapes in the car or at lunch. Right now it's "The Story of the World" vol. 1 (that's another thread!) and the kids are loving it.
We just put up a very "sloppy" paper timeline but they love it. (Would love to know what you use KathrynTherese!) Also, we have a big map on the kitchen table under clear vinyl. Seems like our school day goes on & on...
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Brenda (mom to 6)
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Bookswithtea
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Hi Brenda and Erin,
Thank you so much for jumping in on this thread. I am still musing about all of this. Right now dh and 4 of my munchkins are fishing and I'm home with the baby, thinking about what school should look like next week.
Both of you have schedules that sound so relaxed...and I'm positively jealous! I love the idea of exercising first thing...I've noticed that my ds is much more agreeable after he's mowed the lawn. :-) Plus, it would give me a window of time to exercise too.
***Work with boys - 9:30 - 11:00 - twins play in a playroom upstairs with babies. During this time boys do their Latin, Math, Memory Work, English.***
You get all 4 of those topics done in 1 1/2 hrs? Sigh...maybe I'm expecting too much out of my children. I can't imagine my 12 yo finishing all of that in 1 1/2 hrs, and he's not really a dawdler, either. What are you using for Math and English?
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of doing a lot together. Someone on "the more the merrier" forum (I think it was Bridget?) commented that most discipline issues disappear simply by keeping children near mom and involved in whatever mom is doing. That makes sense to me, and I've seen it work in my own home. It seems to be the most logical way to learn (by example) and at the same time, I would be able to get things done that need to be done. Lately I've been feeling tremendously torn between hsing and just plain ole housekeeping. I think thats what generating all of my questions about how others are working out their days. My old ways, which used to work just fine, just aren't working anymore.
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BrendaPeter
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Joined: Feb 28 2005
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| Posted: Sept 06 2005 at 9:22pm | IP Logged
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Bookswithtea wrote:
Both of you have schedules that sound so relaxed...and I'm positively jealous! I love the idea of exercising first thing...I've noticed that my ds is much more agreeable after he's mowed the lawn. :-) Plus, it would give me a window of time to exercise too. |
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I'm the last one to be jealous of ! I'm almost embarassed to say that we are starting our 7th year of homeschooling & have finally "hit our stride" to a certain extent. The changes in our 11-year-old son have been pretty significant (moodiness, aggressiveness, etc.) in the past 6 mos. and after many prayers on how to deal with the negative effects some of his behaviour was having, it occurred to me that exercising every morning is necessary for the entire family. Also I never seem to be able to make the time to exercise - going for a walk in the fresh air does me a world of good as well.
Bookswithtea wrote:
***Work with boys - 9:30 - 11:00 - twins play in a playroom upstairs with babies. During this time boys do their Latin, Math, Memory Work, English.***
You get all 4 of those topics done in 1 1/2 hrs? Sigh...maybe I'm expecting too much out of my children. I can't imagine my 12 yo finishing all of that in 1 1/2 hrs, and he's not really a dawdler, either. What are you using for Math and English?
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My 9 1/2 & 11 year olds are doing LC I (2nd time around) and LC II. I follow MODG lesson plans for those & the lessons are pretty short. We also have the dvds which I highly recommend. Any memory work we do - catechism & poetry takes us about 10 minutes total. We use Math-U-See & both boys are working on fractions. I try to keep them to 20 problems a day. We flip around a little with English. Sometimes we do Bravewriter activities - free writes, dictation, copywork. Right now we're using Seton English workbooks. Both boys are doing the English (level) 4 workbooks even though the 9 1/2 year old is starting 5th grade & the 11 year old is starting 6th grade. I find they are both learning quite a bit but it's not so overwhelmingly challenging that they're discouraged.
As far as expecting too much, I think that applies to many of us. Last year I had our oldest take the CAT-E exam & it was a positive & eye-opening experience. I corrected his tests before I turned them in. His major weakness was "reading directions"!! He tested average in English & above-average in Math. For me, testing him helped me relax quite a bit. When chaos ensues, which is much too often for me taste  , I always fall back on the fact that my kids read an awful lot & that we constantly listen to books on tape - which is my homeschooling insurance plan!
Hope that helps!
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Blessings,
Brenda (mom to 6)
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Do you school your children together?
