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Here we are, trying to wrap up the school year, and I'm going back and forth between "Hooray! We're so close to the end!" and "Ugh, we still have a lot to cover." Which is not at all unusual this time of year, at least for us. We've always continued some schoolwork through the summer - not exactly year-round school, but stretching some things out a bit. It works fine until a child is graduating high school, and then they have to be truly done with school. So I've attempted to convince my students as they enter high school and work their way through high school, that we need to finish our school year by the end of the school year. Here's how that's working out this year.
Landon is actually very disciplined, and sticks persistently to the work to be done and somehow makes it happen. There are some things that he will still be finishing up even after we move the tassel but he is close enough to the end and has a good track record so I know he'll do it. He's learned how to manage his time fairly effectively, even if it's not the way I think it should be done, so I do try and leave it up to him. The only problem he runs into is a willingness to put in extra hours somewhere if he loses a regular school day. For instance, this week he had the opportunity to do some seasonal work and did that for three school days (including today). Good choice, except I do wonder whether I can expect him to knock off some schoolwork on the weekend or during evenings next week to make up for the lost time. That remains to be seen. I think he will, but I will probably need to
Then there's Kennady. She's a freshman, and a very different personality. It's not that she's not disciplined, it's more that she is more easily distracted and tends to lose track of time. She is still learning how to manage her time in the most effective way for her. Her situation is somewhat the same in that she is in great shape with some subjects and has a ways to go before she's finished with others. The amount of work we decided on for her at the beginning of the year proved a bit too much, so we adjusted our expectations in a few things to make it more manageable. After all, this is just her first year of high school and she had chosen a pretty heavy courseload to start with. Anyway, what we've discovered is that she can't be rushed when reading, and that she prefers to do longer blocks of time concentrating on one subject rather than a half hour of this, then an hour of that, then an hour of something else, and so on. So at the end of the school year, we are still tweaking a schoolday schedule that works well for her.
I feel strongly that during high school, kids need to learn how to manage their own time, and figure out how to set goals, meet deadlines, and balance their responsibilities. By the time they graduate, they should be capable of figuring out on their own how to organize their schedule to complete college courses. For my students this year, it looks like the graduate would be able to do that, and the freshman is adjusting and making strides towards being able to do that by the time she is finished high school.
How appropriate did our School Scripture for this year turn out to be? We planned as best we could, and with God's help, things are working out. Not always the way we had envisioned, but HE knew.
How do your high school students manage their time? Do they stay motivated as the school year nears its end?
Leave a comment and let me know, and link up your posts about homeschooling high school here. Visit your neighbors and leave some encouraging comments!
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3 comments:
My 10 year old is still learning to manage his time. It's coming along, but he's like your Kennady at this point.. very easily distracted
We are working on learning to manage time for my oldest. My middle child - she's got it down with the attitude of just get it done and do it now. My youngest - she is completely distractable with the simplest things. - Lori
My oldest is only 12 and he's great about sitting down and getting all of his schoolwork done and out of the way by lunch so he can then play and plan the rest of the day to his heart's content. I plan to set him up with his own student planner next year and give him more say in how he manages his time and what subjects he covers when.
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