Do any of you have a problem with getting your kids used to scheduling their own work? My kids are starting homeschool fresh this year after being in school (age 9 and 7), and I'm just wondering if they are going to understand the concept of reading the material and planning their own work. How have you all handled this?

- Diana

Diana,

I have always considered stuff like this a "training ground." When I wanted my kids to learn this I expected problems the first few weeks or months. I just kept walking them through it each week until they either got it or were comfortable with. Mine caught on fairly quickly because they rather enjoy having control over when they are going to do this or that.

Does this answer your question?

Diana,

Another suggestion is to start off by having them watch you do it for them for a while. My oldest was 8 when we started using Tapestry. We'd sit down Monday morning, talk about what we'd be learning about that week, then I'd show her the assignments in my binder. I'd explain to her what I was doing and why.

Initially she had no concept of how much she could reasonably accomplish each day. It took several months of both participating in the planning AND doing the work before it clicked.

Be patient. This is a life skill that will benefit them (and you) for their entire lives. It's better to gradually ease them into it and have them want to take it over than it would be to push too quickly and frustrate everyone. (I humbly say that as I've been there, done that!)

Blessings,
Monica

Diana,

Yes, I've had problems in various forms. How I've handled it has depended on the situation.

What I'm planning to do this year is this: At the beginning of each week, we'll all sit down together to schedule the week's lessons. I'll be there with them to help them as needed. They will be expected to write down their assignments, make a notation of when each one is due, and decide when to start and finish each assignment. I won't let them up from the meeting until I've gone over their plan and approved it.

Then, every other morning of the week, I'll have an individual consultation with each kid. Have they been doing what they planned to do? More? Less? What has worked well, and what hasn't? Do they need to adjust their plan? What help do they want from me? Do I need to step in and require something they're not accomplishing on their own?

But you really have to tailor this to your situation. A couple of years ago, my oldest panicked if she saw even a whole day's work written out - even one day's assignment in one subject could throw her into a tizzy. Nothing I could do would induce her to write out her own assignments; the prospect was too frightening. She simply couldn't do it. I could give her a pile of books and tell her to read them by Friday; books didn't frighten her. But a list of assignments was too much.

The only scheduling she could do for herself was to tell me which subject she wanted to do next. I had to break things down into tiny parts. To begin with, I made slips of paper with instructions for her. When she said she chose to do science, I would give her the first science slip, which might say, "Open your science book to page 72." When she had done that, she would come back to me for another, which might say, "Read pages 72 through 75." One day's work might be 3 or 15 slips - I wouldn't tell her, because she didn't want to know.

That went on for weeks. I began to be able to combine instructions on a single slip: open your book to page 72, read through page 75, talk with me about the reading, and then answer the questions on page 76 in writing. Eventually, I began to be able to give her a day's worth of work, and she would block out (first with a sheet of paper, and later mentally) all but the first assignment, and work down the list in a row.

It took her a year or so, but eventually she could write out a whole week's work and assign each assignment to a day, and more or less execute her plan.

I know that this won't be your situation. I'm saying all this in order to say that this is very much a process - that you will need to play it by ear with how much structure you give your kids as you teach them to schedule their own work. It's okay if they can't do it at first! Hold their hands as much as you need to, and guide them toward the goal of doing their own planning.

It may be easy: my youngest can schedule his work with no problems. It may work out that way for you, too.

My oldest started scheduling this past year. He was a young 11.

I think I would start by scheduling them myself and keeping them on track. This will give you some time to see what kind of learning styles and abilities they have.

I think may children would not be ready for total scheduling or keeping themselves on track even at 9 so I wouldn't get myself hung up on this.

Thank you all so much for your advice! It really helps so much!

- Diana