As a general rule, you can use a 2.5 multiplier to see how long it should take your kids. Ex- if the assignment takes you 10 minutes, then it should take the student about 25 minutes. It's a rule I used as a public school teacher back in the day, and it usually works pretty well. If it takes more than that then I would assess why - laziness, difficulty, distraction? Etc.
@@HeatherNations Sure I studied engineering in college and one of my professors said she aimed to do her tests in 20 to 30 minutes before giving it to us students who had an hour.
I am only homeschooling one child this year. He has ADHD and is very inattentive. Therefore, 4th grade work can take us around 5 hours but that is with a ton of 10-15 min breaks and an hour for lunch/outside time. We just take our time and keep it low stress. I really appreciate your words of encouragement, it’s been a struggle lately and I’ve had doubts concerning our choices. Your words are a good reminder to take my worries to the Lord. Thank you!!!
My 3-4th graders spend about 3.5 including some breaks. My 5-6th graders spend about 4.5-5 a day, but 4 day weeks. We spend about 2-2.5 hours a day learning together, then the rest is independent.
I think those grade guidelines are pretty accurate. STILL way less than traditional school days. I ask my kids to work diligently on each subject for a specific amount of time (for instance, math is an hour). When the time's up, they move on to the next subject. I'm not a fan of homework so I usually don't have them complete an unfinished assignment later in the day (there are some exceptions...and they do their reading and studying for tests at night). We just pick up where we left on on the next day. This causes me to make adjustmens to the curriculum throughout the year so that we finish, but it works for us. Also, I am available to help until 1-2:00 each day and then I'm moving on to household responsibilities. Otherwise, I could be in teacher-mode ALL day and then nothing else gets done. :-)
Everything you say is making me feel so much better about homeschooling my preschoolers.. its been two weeks and I've already noticed they both learn differently.
I have this same situation with my children especially the first two you mentioned, it has been such a encouragement to hear you share this thank you so much for making your video!!!!
My kids (5, 7, 10) like to be done by lunch. It is hard for my oldest that the other two have less work. I have explained to her that they are younger. Part of it is she is like your number four and lazy and unmotivated. I pulled them out of school after realizing the rural school where we live now was not challenging her the way her previous school had. Unfortunately the years she spent at school here had an impact on how she views school and learning now. Going into 6th next year I've decided that she can do half of a Notgrass history program and half of a focused writing program (both include literature) in 6th and finish the other half of both in 7th. Both programs are for middle schoolers, but not grade specific. This will allow us to focus on quality over quantity and hopefully increase her desire to learn and her love of school again. My youngest loves school and loves to do educational activities while her siblings finish. But she also likes to tell them she was done first. LOL 😆
Ugh. I have one just like your example in #4! This laziness goes into every area of her life; school, music, chores, etc. Please give me some tips and tricks in extending grace but also keep her going throughout the day!?
Although I think it's a good idea to consider what your child is like, I would also consider motivation and your homeschooling style. I wonder in that sense if the amount of hours it takes is even the right question. To label a child as 'lazy' goes a bit far for me. As an adult I would find that quite an offensive thing to be labeled as and I think mostly there is an underlying reason for this so called 'laziness'. Either the child can be struggling with the work, or with concentration or maybe it's just not motivated by the curriculum or homeschooling style. I mean some children can be quite intelligent but very imaginitive and creative and can get dreamy or just aren't motivated by sitting at a desk doing schoolwork. I would really consider a more unschooling approach for these children and let them learn from reading books, doing experiments, creating their own educational games, learning from life, going on field trips, going outside, doing art etc. I think it would be a bit unfair to ask a child to spend even more time on things they obviously aren't motivated to do. If a child is really demotivated through a lot of things in life, I would really ask the question: what am I doing that motivates my child and instills a love for learning in my child? Because children are born very motivated and curious to learn about almost anything. I know a lot of people will say: but don't we all have to do some things we don't like in life. My answer to that is yes, but as an adult we still CHOOSE to do those things because we have an underlying motivation. For example we do some things we don't like in our work because we like the rest of it and we want to feel fulfilled and to provide for our family. (And if you are really unhappy with your work, I suggest you take a good look at your own life and change things aswell for yourself aswell.) A child on the other hand doesn't have these big responsibilities yet and should really be more focussing on what they like in order to keep motivated and find out what they want to do with their lifes later on. Also when a child is that demotivated there are probably more things that they don't like than that they do like. And it's the adults that decide this for the child. A child like this also may need some autonomy. I see too many young adults burned out from school/home work and not loving their life. How sad is that. With homeschooling you have a great opportunity to make learning fun and life enjoyable and in the end you will probably have a more confident and happy child that knows what he wants in life.
It wasn't meant necessarily at you btw Jannelle. I think it was a good video. But there were some other comments on how to deal with children who aren't motivated so I thought I would comment on that. Hope it didn't came of as too agressive, English isn't my first language 😁
It usually takes about 6-7 hours for my 6th grader to do everything. That includes Math (CLE), English (CLE), Spelling (ACE), Reading (BJU DVDs), Science (BJU DVDs), Heritage Studies (BJU DVDs), Typing (20 minutes each day), piano and violin practice (at least 30 minutes each, usually closer to 45 minutes each), IEW writing, lunch, and a few breaks. We will be adding Duolingo Spanish next week for about 15-20 minutes @ least 4 days each week.
This is very interesting to hear. Do your children complain about each having a different time frame set for them? I'm really struggling with having enough time to work with each child and it might be due to the style. I enjoy teaching them one-on-one, but then we can't get as much of the information covered now that I have 3 children officially schooling (plus I like to read a story to the toddler so he gets one-on-one intentional time, too.) So much to think about and figure out!
My kids know that as they get older the workload for school will increase so they understand why the 1st grader is done in an hour and a half while the rest of them are still working. They are also aware of who is more focused and who gets distracted and "wastes" time. The child I talked about in example #4 knows that they are often still doing school because they goofed off instead of focusing. Sometimes that very fact motivates them to stay more focused the next day so they can "beat" the other siblings.
My 6 year old who does 1st grade work homeschools 3 hours each day but that's with breaks included, and That's also not including Science or History. Im planning on tapping into that here pretty soon though.
Diane Cajal I love that, as homeschool parents, we can make the best decisions for our children. Thank you for sharing how homeschooling works for you and your child. 😊
Thank you fo this video! We just finished our 7th year of homeschooling. I'm a mom of 4. Could you do a video on burnout? What to do as a mom when you KNOW homeschooling is your calling, but you're just tired & feel done? Thx!
I'll add that one to my list! I think that is something every homeschool mom feels numerous times throughout her homeschool journey! I know I have been ready to give up several times. :)
this is so informative thank you. I love all the different examples, I never quite thought about that each child learns differently. I'm considering home schooling but was afraid I can't handle it with all the other stuff I have on my plate but this sounds pretty reasonable with my 5 year old. now i gotta figure out how to sign up.
I have been homeschooling my kids for 3 years. Some days are very long and other days they are much shorter. I think it depends on how the kids are feeling.
I am a new subscriber and a new homeschooler. I was wondering how to be a more hands on interactive teacher. That is how my children learn best but I'm not sure how to make all subjects hands on and fun... Especially math. Ugh!
Welcome to homeschooling and to my channel! Thanks for subscribing. When it comes to making things more hands-on you either need to be creative and able to think outside the box or spend time finding other peoples ideas or just use curriculum that is designed to be more hands on. I hear you.... I have some hands on learners and it can get exhausting trying to find ways to make learning more interactive for them but I know they learn so much better that way. It really takes me finding a balance between what makes learning enjoyable for them and what I am able to do without exhausting myself. Is the curriculum you are using geared towards hands on learning or are you try to adapt a curriculum to fit your children? You might get some good ideas from other homeschool moms. Have you joined my Homeschool Encouragement Facebook group? It's a great place to ask questions! Here is the link: facebook.com/groups/1731743443737246/
Hello. Thank you for making these videos because they have been so helpful. I am homeschooling for the first time my 5th and 6th grader. We use BJU DLO for everything. We are at the 6-7 hour per day 5 days a week mark and are miserable and ready to quit. We are in Florida so have no laws of how many days/hrs per day.. we are just trying to fit it all in so they can finish by the end of May. I would love to get them on a 4 day a week schedule saving the 5t day for music/art/sports etc. and finish in April. I know there are parents who do this but I don’t get how it’s possible? Do you do/not do a full 180 days of all the BJU lessons? Is it possible to maybe only do heritage studies and science two days a week each without compromising their education? If so how do I know which chapters to pick and choose. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Thank you, Janelle for sharing this, I have found many of your other videos to be very helpful and encouraging. I was wondering if you allow your kids screen time and how much time you allow?
My kids do watch TV/movies and play games on the iPad. The amount of screen time varies depending on life circumstances. Since we are using almost all video instruction for school this year, we have cut down on most other screen time. In the past, we have allowed an hour of screen time after all school work and chores were done and an extra hour or so on a Saturday morning. Other seasons, we have said no screen time at all during the weekdays and several hours on the weekend. I personally think my kids have better imaginations and better attitudes when screen time is limited but some seasons of life are easier to get through with more screen time (ie a new baby or extended sickness). I hope that answers your question in a roundabout way. ;)
Thank you for taking the time to reply! This is really helpful information in figuring out how to manage screen time for our family. I appreciate your tips and suggestions!
Thanks for being such a great resource!! Quick Question: Im new to homeschooling and planning on BJU. The lessons when added up equal about 2.5 hours per grade (1st and 4th). How can I do an hour for my 1st grader and 2 hours for my 4th grader when the lessons equal more?
This video might be helpful for you: th-cam.com/video/fFMQDw8yWdU/w-d-xo.html I believe I mention it in the video but if not...different curriculum is going to effect how much time you spend on school. Using BJU Press Distance Learning videos is going to add a bit more time compared to some other curriculum choices. For 1st grade, I like to use BJU Press DL videos for math, science and history and other curriculum options (that are a little shorter lessons) for English. I find that I can modify BJU DL enough for the other grades to make it work in the time frame I want for our school days.
Am thinking of homeschooling my 7th grader, am really confused, can you please advise me where to get information and how to begin this journey, we really appreciate your kindness.
Welcome to homeschooling! Here is a blog post I did on how to get started in homeschooling. www.janelleknutson.com/2015/05/08/getting-started-in-homeschooling/
California does not have a required number of hours or days to homeschool if you chose to homeschool through the private school affidavit. If you go through a charter school to homeschool then your charter will inform you of how many hours are required. If you are considering homeschooling privately in CA then make sure to check out CHEA's website and consider attending their yearly homeschool convention. www.cheaofca.org
My son has ASD and ADHD we've been using Easy Peasy this year and it's been working really well for him there is reading but not as much as some of the other programs I've seen and they have read to them options on some assignments and they include videos and 'game' style work as well as paper worksheets. I had to put away a curriculum a paid for because it wasn't working for him but the free Easy Peasy one is working for him plus graphic novels from the library as extra reading. Just in case it helps. I have been really impressed with them since my son is actually writing and doing his math without a meltdown or a freak. It even has built in breaks
As a general rule, you can use a 2.5 multiplier to see how long it should take your kids. Ex- if the assignment takes you 10 minutes, then it should take the student about 25 minutes. It's a rule I used as a public school teacher back in the day, and it usually works pretty well. If it takes more than that then I would assess why - laziness, difficulty, distraction? Etc.
Thank you for this rule, Zanna! I think we do experience laziness, no motivation, and distractions with our girl.
Do you think applies to high school age as well?
@@HeatherNations Sure I studied engineering in college and one of my professors said she aimed to do her tests in 20 to 30 minutes before giving it to us students who had an hour.
Thanks!
This is great. I wish I had heard this when I was still in the classroom. I will keep this in mind as I homeschool my kids.
I am only homeschooling one child this year. He has ADHD and is very inattentive. Therefore, 4th grade work can take us around 5 hours but that is with a ton of 10-15 min breaks and an hour for lunch/outside time. We just take our time and keep it low stress. I really appreciate your words of encouragement, it’s been a struggle lately and I’ve had doubts concerning our choices. Your words are a good reminder to take my worries to the Lord. Thank you!!!
My 3-4th graders spend about 3.5 including some breaks. My 5-6th graders spend about 4.5-5 a day, but 4 day weeks. We spend about 2-2.5 hours a day learning together, then the rest is independent.
I love how you explained the differences in children.
I think those grade guidelines are pretty accurate. STILL way less than traditional school days. I ask my kids to work diligently on each subject for a specific amount of time (for instance, math is an hour). When the time's up, they move on to the next subject. I'm not a fan of homework so I usually don't have them complete an unfinished assignment later in the day (there are some exceptions...and they do their reading and studying for tests at night). We just pick up where we left on on the next day. This causes me to make adjustmens to the curriculum throughout the year so that we finish, but it works for us. Also, I am available to help until 1-2:00 each day and then I'm moving on to household responsibilities. Otherwise, I could be in teacher-mode ALL day and then nothing else gets done. :-)
Thank for explaining each childs learning type it helps me with my own
Thank you so much for posting this video. As a new homeschooler, your advice was very helpful and you explained it in a very easy to understand way.
Everything you say is making me feel so much better about homeschooling my preschoolers.. its been two weeks and I've already noticed they both learn differently.
In NSW, Australia we only have to have at lease 2-3 hours of school a day!
I have this same situation with my children especially the first two you mentioned, it has been such a encouragement to hear you share this thank you so much for making your video!!!!
You are so welcome! I'm glad to hear it was an encouragement to you.
My kids (5, 7, 10) like to be done by lunch. It is hard for my oldest that the other two have less work. I have explained to her that they are younger. Part of it is she is like your number four and lazy and unmotivated. I pulled them out of school after realizing the rural school where we live now was not challenging her the way her previous school had. Unfortunately the years she spent at school here had an impact on how she views school and learning now. Going into 6th next year I've decided that she can do half of a Notgrass history program and half of a focused writing program (both include literature) in 6th and finish the other half of both in 7th. Both programs are for middle schoolers, but not grade specific. This will allow us to focus on quality over quantity and hopefully increase her desire to learn and her love of school again. My youngest loves school and loves to do educational activities while her siblings finish. But she also likes to tell them she was done first. LOL 😆
Ugh. I have one just like your example in #4! This laziness goes into every area of her life; school, music, chores, etc. Please give me some tips and tricks in extending grace but also keep her going throughout the day!?
Share your thoughts on how long homeschooling should take each day. I love hearing from all of you!
2 yrs late here. My state requires 900 hrs so I think a lot of people have no say.
Although I think it's a good idea to consider what your child is like, I would also consider motivation and your homeschooling style. I wonder in that sense if the amount of hours it takes is even the right question.
To label a child as 'lazy' goes a bit far for me. As an adult I would find that quite an offensive thing to be labeled as and I think mostly there is an underlying reason for this so called 'laziness'. Either the child can be struggling with the work, or with concentration or maybe it's just not motivated by the curriculum or homeschooling style. I mean some children can be quite intelligent but very imaginitive and creative and can get dreamy or just aren't motivated by sitting at a desk doing schoolwork. I would really consider a more unschooling approach for these children and let them learn from reading books, doing experiments, creating their own educational games, learning from life, going on field trips, going outside, doing art etc. I think it would be a bit unfair to ask a child to spend even more time on things they obviously aren't motivated to do.
If a child is really demotivated through a lot of things in life, I would really ask the question: what am I doing that motivates my child and instills a love for learning in my child? Because children are born very motivated and curious to learn about almost anything.
I know a lot of people will say: but don't we all have to do some things we don't like in life.
My answer to that is yes, but as an adult we still CHOOSE to do those things because we have an underlying motivation. For example we do some things we don't like in our work because we like the rest of it and we want to feel fulfilled and to provide for our family. (And if you are really unhappy with your work, I suggest you take a good look at your own life and change things aswell for yourself aswell.)
A child on the other hand doesn't have these big responsibilities yet and should really be more focussing on what they like in order to keep motivated and find out what they want to do with their lifes later on. Also when a child is that demotivated there are probably more things that they don't like than that they do like. And it's the adults that decide this for the child. A child like this also may need some autonomy.
I see too many young adults burned out from school/home work and not loving their life. How sad is that. With homeschooling you have a great opportunity to make learning fun and life enjoyable and in the end you will probably have a more confident and happy child that knows what he wants in life.
AWeerheim thank you for commenting. You make some great points. I appreciate your insight. 😊
It wasn't meant necessarily at you btw Jannelle. I think it was a good video. But there were some other comments on how to deal with children who aren't motivated so I thought I would comment on that. Hope it didn't came of as too agressive, English isn't my first language 😁
I'm in Australia. Thanks for this video.
I have watched several of your videos and have found them to be so informative and encouraging! Thank you!
You are so welcome!
It usually takes about 6-7 hours for my 6th grader to do everything. That includes Math (CLE), English (CLE), Spelling (ACE), Reading (BJU DVDs), Science (BJU DVDs), Heritage Studies (BJU DVDs), Typing (20 minutes each day), piano and violin practice (at least 30 minutes each, usually closer to 45 minutes each), IEW writing, lunch, and a few breaks. We will be adding Duolingo Spanish next week for about 15-20 minutes @ least 4 days each week.
Good job on this video. 💐💐💐
This is very interesting to hear. Do your children complain about each having a different time frame set for them?
I'm really struggling with having enough time to work with each child and it might be due to the style. I enjoy teaching them one-on-one, but then we can't get as much of the information covered now that I have 3 children officially schooling (plus I like to read a story to the toddler so he gets one-on-one intentional time, too.)
So much to think about and figure out!
My kids know that as they get older the workload for school will increase so they understand why the 1st grader is done in an hour and a half while the rest of them are still working. They are also aware of who is more focused and who gets distracted and "wastes" time. The child I talked about in example #4 knows that they are often still doing school because they goofed off instead of focusing. Sometimes that very fact motivates them to stay more focused the next day so they can "beat" the other siblings.
My 6 year old who does 1st grade work homeschools 3 hours each day but that's with breaks included, and That's also not including Science or History. Im planning on tapping into that here pretty soon though.
Diane Cajal I love that, as homeschool parents, we can make the best decisions for our children. Thank you for sharing how homeschooling works for you and your child. 😊
If you lived with the .... or if you lived at the time of .... is a great and interesting history series that you can read to her
I have really enjoyed your videos! Thank you for taking the time to post them!
Great information. Thanks for breaking this down. You are awesome.
Oh my goodness this has been such a helpful perspective!!
Super good video!! Thanks for making this video. It was informative and encouraging.
Thanks
Thank you fo this video! We just finished our 7th year of homeschooling. I'm a mom of 4. Could you do a video on burnout? What to do as a mom when you KNOW homeschooling is your calling, but you're just tired & feel done? Thx!
I'll add that one to my list! I think that is something every homeschool mom feels numerous times throughout her homeschool journey! I know I have been ready to give up several times. :)
Very nice thank you!!🙏
this is so informative thank you. I love all the different examples, I never quite thought about that each child learns differently. I'm considering home schooling but was afraid I can't handle it with all the other stuff I have on my plate but this sounds pretty reasonable with my 5 year old. now i gotta figure out how to sign up.
You might want to check out Time4Learning.
wise woman thank you!
You're welcome!
I have been homeschooling my kids for 3 years. Some days are very long and other days they are much shorter. I think it depends on how the kids are feeling.
Very true.
If you do abeka with videos, you're covered all the way around, but it's rigorous and takes time.
I am a new subscriber and a new homeschooler. I was wondering how to be a more hands on interactive teacher. That is how my children learn best but I'm not sure how to make all subjects hands on and fun... Especially math. Ugh!
Welcome to homeschooling and to my channel! Thanks for subscribing. When it comes to making things more hands-on you either need to be creative and able to think outside the box or spend time finding other peoples ideas or just use curriculum that is designed to be more hands on. I hear you.... I have some hands on learners and it can get exhausting trying to find ways to make learning more interactive for them but I know they learn so much better that way. It really takes me finding a balance between what makes learning enjoyable for them and what I am able to do without exhausting myself. Is the curriculum you are using geared towards hands on learning or are you try to adapt a curriculum to fit your children?
You might get some good ideas from other homeschool moms. Have you joined my Homeschool Encouragement Facebook group? It's a great place to ask questions! Here is the link: facebook.com/groups/1731743443737246/
Hello. Thank you for making these videos because they have been so helpful. I am homeschooling for the first time my 5th and 6th grader. We use BJU DLO for everything. We are at the 6-7 hour per day 5 days a week mark and are miserable and ready to quit. We are in Florida so have no laws of how many days/hrs per day.. we are just trying to fit it all in so they can finish by the end of May. I would love to get them on a 4 day a week schedule saving the 5t day for music/art/sports etc. and finish in April. I know there are parents who do this but I don’t get how it’s possible? Do you do/not do a full 180 days of all the BJU lessons? Is it possible to maybe only do heritage studies and science two days a week each without compromising their education? If so how do I know which chapters to pick and choose. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Did this get an answer? I’m also trying to figure out how to complete things. We end doing school most summer to catch up.
Thank you, Janelle for sharing this, I have found many of your other videos to be very helpful and encouraging. I was wondering if you allow your kids screen time and how much time you allow?
My kids do watch TV/movies and play games on the iPad. The amount of screen time varies depending on life circumstances. Since we are using almost all video instruction for school this year, we have cut down on most other screen time. In the past, we have allowed an hour of screen time after all school work and chores were done and an extra hour or so on a Saturday morning. Other seasons, we have said no screen time at all during the weekdays and several hours on the weekend. I personally think my kids have better imaginations and better attitudes when screen time is limited but some seasons of life are easier to get through with more screen time (ie a new baby or extended sickness). I hope that answers your question in a roundabout way. ;)
Thank you for taking the time to reply! This is really helpful information in figuring out how to manage screen time for our family. I appreciate your tips and suggestions!
Thanks for being such a great resource!! Quick Question: Im new to homeschooling and planning on BJU. The lessons when added up equal about 2.5 hours per grade (1st and 4th). How can I do an hour for my 1st grader and 2 hours for my 4th grader when the lessons equal more?
This video might be helpful for you: th-cam.com/video/fFMQDw8yWdU/w-d-xo.html
I believe I mention it in the video but if not...different curriculum is going to effect how much time you spend on school. Using BJU Press Distance Learning videos is going to add a bit more time compared to some other curriculum choices. For 1st grade, I like to use BJU Press DL videos for math, science and history and other curriculum options (that are a little shorter lessons) for English. I find that I can modify BJU DL enough for the other grades to make it work in the time frame I want for our school days.
How do you choose what work to give them? Or do you use a certain curriculum? There are too many out there and don't know what to pick!
Am thinking of homeschooling my 7th grader, am really confused, can you please advise me where to get information and how to begin this journey, we really appreciate your kindness.
Welcome to homeschooling! Here is a blog post I did on how to get started in homeschooling. www.janelleknutson.com/2015/05/08/getting-started-in-homeschooling/
How many hours are required in California and how do you document those hours?
California does not have a required number of hours or days to homeschool if you chose to homeschool through the private school affidavit. If you go through a charter school to homeschool then your charter will inform you of how many hours are required. If you are considering homeschooling privately in CA then make sure to check out CHEA's website and consider attending their yearly homeschool convention. www.cheaofca.org
How many hours for a 4th grader with ADHD who hates school. Hes a struggling reader and every subject has reading and he hates it.
My son has ASD and ADHD we've been using Easy Peasy this year and it's been working really well for him there is reading but not as much as some of the other programs I've seen and they have read to them options on some assignments and they include videos and 'game' style work as well as paper worksheets. I had to put away a curriculum a paid for because it wasn't working for him but the free Easy Peasy one is working for him plus graphic novels from the library as extra reading. Just in case it helps. I have been really impressed with them since my son is actually writing and doing his math without a meltdown or a freak. It even has built in breaks