https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 26 Apr 2026 12:04:08 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeschool-separating-school-time-from-playtime#post-2829454 Tue, 19 Jun 2018 20:00:39 +0000 PinkElephant 2829454@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@honeybear: Good point re: the kitchen table. We primarily eat breakfast &amp; lunch at the island, so the kitchen table is free and clean...but I hate it getting cluttered up. They each have a desk in their room, and we may work in there so it's easier to separate them, and have child A do iPad work while child B works with me.</p> <p>@Silva: Good ideas - I'm only planning for her to go to her "camp" 2-3 days a week, and we'll go to the pool the other 2-3, so perhaps pool days (when we have more flexibility) will also be our primary "school" days.</p> <p>@looch: thank you for all the manipulative/app ideas. I'm going to sit down and take a more careful look to see which I think might appeal to her specifically.</p> <p>@808love: my girlie girls would LOVE the idea of "thinking hats" or headbands/bows, haha. It could actually be a good confidence booster for my eldest - that seems to be her biggest issue, TBH - there are a lot of things she CAN do, but often gives up/doesn't because she gets frustrated easily and says she can't do it.</p> <p>@Hypatia: Thank you so much for sharing. I am always so amazed at the detail, attention, and love that homeschooling families put into their schools. This is really just a summer solution, but I feel like it is also the foundation of how we will work on homework together for the next few years, so while we will do things a little more casually, I love hearing the possibilities! The uniforms are such a great idea - I might do something like a scarf, vest, or pin, as another poster suggested. Kids really do love that stuff! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeschool-separating-school-time-from-playtime#post-2828773 Sat, 16 Jun 2018 16:49:00 +0000 looch 2828773@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: I posted on your wall. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeschool-separating-school-time-from-playtime#post-2828759 Sat, 16 Jun 2018 12:48:44 +0000 808love 2828759@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don’t homeschool but I am a long time teacher. My daughter didn’t like timers at all at that age. What if you use a uniform as a visual clue? Either same clothing or an apron. This could be for you and/or your children. Or even a thinking hat or hairstyle. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeschool-separating-school-time-from-playtime#post-2828758 Sat, 16 Jun 2018 12:37:10 +0000 honeybear 2828758@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Time: Our "school" time has a rhythm, but there are no timers or anything like that. Is summer school 45 instructional hours, or 45 hours total? How long is summer break for you? Not all school hours are instructional. You'll likely see when you start hs that you can cover the same material in less time at home than you can in a classroom. I'd aim for about an hour a day, although with a child who has just done K in school, I'd probably break that into roughly two 30 minute (or so) periods with a substantial break in between. </p> <p>Location: I personally dislike working at the kitchen table because I feel like there's always the possibility that you don't clean the table perfectly and something gross gets on the books. We use a separate table. Also, you don't have to put things away to eat, which is nice. </p> <p>Other signaling: I feel like with a rising 1st grader, you should be able to say "We're going to sit down and read/work through this book now," and have them do that with minimal grumbling (there will be some grumbling on occasion, probably). I don't think you really need to do anything special to reinforce the idea that she should listen and do what you tell her to. FWIW, my experience is that if you are genuinely interested in teaching whatever it is you want to teach, your student will be genuinely into it too and it won't be painful. That said, I sometimes use the "We're not going to go play outside until you've done X" threat, but I've used that since the toddler years so my child knows the drill by now. :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeschool-separating-school-time-from-playtime#post-2828734 Sat, 16 Jun 2018 07:42:40 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2828734@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: at what age did you begin some of these activities?</p> <p>We have used Teach My Baby and Teach My Toddler to reinforce some of learning fundamentals. The information is presented very school-like IMO with books, flash card, and matching puzzle activities. He enjoys them, but doesn’t like to play school. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeschool-separating-school-time-from-playtime#post-2828733 Sat, 16 Jun 2018 07:25:10 +0000 Silva 2828733@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we will be beginning with our kindergartener in the fall, and while our reason is actually to avoid early academics we do want to keep her at grade level so that she can transition in to public school (probably for first grade). </p> <p>our plan is to just create a strong daily and weekly rhythm.<br /> I think kids need to move their bodies and have lots of time outdoors to support any type of formal learning. After breakfast is cleaned up (while I tidy they can play) we will go outside to check on our chickens and play for a little bit. Then we come in and do a circle time, which includes jumping rope or beanbag play, then I tell a story (story changes each week). After story its time for "main lesson." Brief, because I think you can cover a lot more in a one-on-one setting than a school and because the play part of our day is more important.</p> <p>Weekly rhythm could be helpful to you, too- maybe just have your lessons on a few days that are predictable to her. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeschool-separating-school-time-from-playtime#post-2828728 Sat, 16 Jun 2018 06:37:22 +0000 looch 2828728@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PinkElephant: I don't home school, but I do make it a point to have manipulatives at home in order to supplement my son's academic work.</p> <p>My son is not the type to pick up a workbook without protesting, but he does react very positively to things presented as objects or games. As an example, rather than flash cards for sight words, we used a game that I found on Amazon called Pop for Sight Words. It comes in a box that looks like a popcorn container and the cards are shaped like kernels. It looks like a game, as opposed to classroom material and I believe it made all the difference in his acceptance of it. I could have (and did) printed the cards off the internet, but the second my son saw them, he said he wasn't interested in them. Rather than fight that battle, I looked around for alternatives.</p> <p>I would also look into Pairs In Pears and Appletters by the makers of Banagrams. They also have a math game that my son really wanted (we went with tiles instead) and every time we bring them out, we have a blast with them and we're learning in a way where my son doesn't feel like he's in a classroom.</p> <p>I have a ton of things, including a set of 10 frames, units, fractions games using egg cartons etc. I also always recommend Osmo if you have an ipad, it's another way to present material to kids.</p> <p>I try not to force my son to use a specific spot in the house for his materials, I think it helps that he has a desk in his room where it's quiet and private and I often find him there, working on something or another. My son doesn't really react well to timers either, so I just keep it casual and track the time on my own. I estimated that for kindergarten work, it should take him about 10 minutes to complete a worksheet, so I use that as my baseline. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeschool-separating-school-time-from-playtime#post-2828716 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 23:02:44 +0000 Hypatia 2828716@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PinkElephant: Do you plan to do all the subjects at once, or stagger them throughout the day? A popular motivator a lot of homeschoolers use are workboxes or work folders. you can search on pinterest for it, but it's basically a plastic set of drawers with one subject per drawer (or a binder with different folders, etc.). The kid has labels that they can stick on the front of the drawers when they've finished with each subject. So they go to their math folder or drawer, and everything they need to do that day (a photocopied or torn out worksheet, etc.) is right there, they do it independently or with mom as indicated, and when they finish, they put the completed work back in, along with the sticker. So they have a clear visual cue of how much they've done and how much more needs to get done before they can play.</p> <p>Some parents have their kid do a certain set number of pages for a subject, while others just work until x number of minutes have gone by. If you think your kid would be less likely to dawdle by seeing a timer, we use the iPad timer because it's big and has that classic look where they can see how much time they have left. They also sell classic timers on Amazon that show the time left.</p> <p>Some homeschoolers use uniforms to differentiate class time from play time. Kids generally love uniforms (think Harry Potter), and a simple uniform from French Toast doesn't cost much. You could give your school a fun name and have a mascot.</p> <p>A lot homeschoolers also do something commonly called Morning Time (you can search it on pinterest). It doesn't have to happen in the morning. It's an opener to your studies that is focused on the good, the true, and the beautiful--things like songs, an art picture study, poetry or Scripture memorization, a read aloud, etc. Often, people will light a special votive candle, play soft classical music in the background, and give their kids a special treat to munch on while they do Morning Time. It creates a ritual that marks the beginning of their school time in a way that is gentle but still significant. </p> <p>Let me know if you ever want to talk shop about homeschooling. We're total homeschool geeks over here. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeschool-separating-school-time-from-playtime#post-2828713 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 21:52:58 +0000 PinkElephant 2828713@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Pollywog: Retention and remediation. After being in her classroom and seeing where other kids are, I don't think she's in a horrible place - she's one of the youngest, and I think where she is is pretty age appropriate. But we need to build her confidence in the skills she has, and I'd love to enhance them a bit for the start of first grade as well. I'll be trying to run some enrichment concurrently for my 4 year old (because if I can send her to pre-k writing/reading through the work I'm already doing with her sister anyway, why not?!)</p> <p>Currently I'm thinking we'll work in at the kitchen table (they normally draw for fun in their playroom), and I'll bring in a shower caddy of supplies/do an "inbox" sort of tray set up for each child with their work, so there's no back and forth looking for a marker permitted. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeschool-separating-school-time-from-playtime#post-2828711 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 21:41:47 +0000 Pollywog 2828711@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't homeschool, but growing up every kid in my neighborhood was home schooled but me. They all had a dedicated space for only school and a set routine. So it was always something like they'd do math right after lunch. </p> <p>What are your goals for summer school? Enrichment or remediation? I'd approach the two very differently. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/homeschool-separating-school-time-from-playtime#post-2828705 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 21:10:25 +0000 PinkElephant 2828705@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you homeschool your children...do you have any tips on differentiating "school" time from other "home" time? Perhaps being in a different area of the house, using special materials, a clock/timer of some sort, etc.?</p> <p>Background: After getting negative feedback on our district's summer school program from multiple families (who aren't all friends with each other), I'm planning to work with my incoming first grader on schoolwork at home for at least the equivalent number of hours she would have been in summer school (it would have been a total of 45 hrs if she'd done their program). I'm looking for ways to indicate to her that this is meant to be serious work time, not just messing around playing school (ie., she can't get up and go play Barbies in the middle of her work). Due to other activities, we may not necessarily do their school work first thing in the morning.</p> <p>Thanks in advance! </p>