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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]

NP here. My kids, who are now in college and high school, were also "afterschooled", by me. We worked on cursive, children's classics, math, writing.

I concur with the PP. Actually, I didn't know families actually followed the "required reading" thing! We completely ignored the log sent by teachers. We're bookworms. We read. Telling a book lover to read 20 minutes a day is super weird. Sometimes there are days you don't read, because you're busy doing other things, and sometimes you absolutely MUST finish the damn book and end up reading multiple hours. It has to be organic. Same for math reasoning. Ignore teachers who tell parents not to get involved, because math is taught a different way. That's the belief of someone who doesn't understand math. A child will do BETTER in math if they understand that there are different ways to solve a problem. Math is not about memorizing one way to solve a problem. It's about understanding the common logic behind all the different ways to solve a problem.

My kids didn't have much screen time in elementary, but plenty after that. Youtube is full of excellent STEM and cultural/humanities content like Kurzgesacht and Overly Sarcastic Productions, or videos made by skilled craftsmen, etc. We watched plenty of TV series together, and discussed style elements, plot and character motivations, just like we did for books.[/quote]

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