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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]NP. Curious about how after schooling was scheduled. The school day already feels so long. Do you mind sharing what a schedule for elementary would look like?[/quote]

It wasn’t that structured.  As I noticed gaps (there were many), I addressed them.  They had both learned to read, count money, and tell time before they started school, but some of the things I had to teach one or both of them at home after they started school included:
How to hold a pencil 
How to print letters
How to write in cursive
How to use a dictionary 
Parts of Speech
Capitalization
Sentences need verbs
How to use a textbook 
To not rely on calculators
That you need common denominators to add and subtract fractions
Factoring
Long Division
Adding and subtracting negative numbers 
The Bill of Rights

I also tried to expose them to as many different things as possible and encourage their interests.  I wanted them to be excited about learning and to have fun doing it.  There was barely a science curriculum, but there was an extracurricular science class after school that was very popular.  They had a variety of other extracurricular activities, as well.  We went  to museums, zoos, the forest, the beach, festivals, library programs, etc.  We read a lot, both together and individually (although I strongly oppose requiring daily reading after a child has mastered the skill).  We played games (great for math), did crafts, baked, enjoyed many different kinds of music, etc.

Contrary to the prevailing DCUM wisdom, I also considered screens to be a useful tool.  To me, they’re just an alternate form of media and should be judged based on their content (which I supervised).  They watched a lot of educational TV and children’s movies, and often we watched together.  They had access to a computer (in a common area when they were young and with safeguards when they were old enough to need their own).  Their dad (a computer guy) made sure they had great educational software and as they got older, I found websites that I thought would interest them.  Youtube wasn’t around then, but if my kids were still young, we’d definitely be taking advantage of some of the fantastic educational videos that bring the entire universe vividly within reach.

They worked hard at school, excelled academically, and I couldn’t be prouder of the adults they’ve become, although the credit for that belongs to them.[/quote]

You strongly oppose reading every day?

[/quote]

I strongly oppose forcing kids to read every day without a purpose.  I think when a child is learning to read, daily practice is useful.  Telling a child, “Read Chapter 10 so we can discuss it in class tomorrow” or “Read a book of your choice and write a report on it” makes sense because it accomplishes something.  Telling a child who has mastered reading that they have to read for X minutes every day will only accomplish making them hate reading.  Doing this turns something intrinsically enjoyable into a dreaded chore.  It’s like Tom Sawyer’s whitewashed fence, but in reverse.

Imagine someone told you that you had to eat your very favorite food every day - whatever it is that is a special treat for you.  The first day you would undoubtedly savor it and be thrilled that you would be able to enjoy it every single day.  After a week, you’d probably still be enjoying it, but you might be more matter of fact about it, not nearly as thrilled.  After a month, you’re getting tired of it, and maybe you see someone else eating something that you’d like to try, or maybe there’s a day when you’re just not hungry at all.  How long would it take before you came to dread the very thought of that once favorite food?

Don’t get me wrong.  I love books and think it’s important to support reading, which is WHY I oppose mandatory daily readings.  There were certainly days when my kids didn’t pick up a book, but there were also days when they were lost in a book that you couldn’t get their nose out of.  Sometimes we’d bingewatch a series on TV together.  Other times, the TV would stay off as we binged a book or book series, reading aloud together.  Maybe it was a glorious day and the kids wanted to run around and play at the park, so I didn’t force them to sit down and read.  On the other hand, sometimes when the weather’s bad, curling up with a good book is delightfully cozy.  They may not have read the daily minimum time the school wanted to assign them as homeWORK each day, but I think over the years, their total reading time  greatly exceeded whatever the mandated time would have been.  Now, as adults, they still love reading.[/quote]

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