Schedule - K-8 daily time frame (author response)

[mamax3]

I'm just about to order ECC for three of my kids, as well as MFW1st grade! My question is: has anyone experienced a difficulty "getting it all done?" I've heard that of other curriculums and was curious if I'd be frustrated in a few months by not being able to keep up. Thanks!

I am using ECC, MFW1 and have a preschooler. We are always done by noon. I ususally have one working on an assignment as I am discussing something with the other. The preschooler is using his "school toys". Somedays are easier then others. This is a lot easier for me that the curriculum I was using before. Partially because my boys love it!!

Sybil

[kellybell]

... get it all done. The curriculum takes (as written) about four hours a day. Of course, some kids are faster or slower at doing their math, their science sheets, the geography game. We took a little longer because we practice violin each day, did a 4 hour a week cottage school, and participated in a speech co-op once a month (plus prep time). So, we didn't finish on time, but it was my fault for doing a bit much.

One thing that helps in getting things done is to follow MFW recommendations for language. PLL and ILL by Emma Serl each take about 15 minutes as does Spelling Power. Also, since MFW doesn't recommend math, you might want to talk to the folks doing whatever math you are looking at as some take an hour a day and some about 20 mins. a day.

The Hazells have written some hints on getting it all done in ECC and CTG (and probably RTR, but I've not seen it myself). They give a sample schedule and some hints on motivating kids (I remember them saying in that section that food is a great motivator!).

Compared to many other workbook-based and/or "classical" curricula, MFW is totally DOABLE!!!

We did ECC with a 2nd and a 4th grader last year, K with a little guy and had a little 3 year old too. It was our first year at home and it was very enjoyable. THe times I found myself stressed was my own fault!

Kelly

[Lucy]

Hi Betsy,

I was surprised after using some other curriculums how much we got done. The Hazell's do give time limits to get certain subjects done (to cut down on being lazy or prodding) and I have found this helps motivate my kids too. If they do not finish then they get to do it in their free time. I am not talking about if they have a problem and need help I am talking about helping to keep them on task.

I found though that this curriculum is not too much to get done. The nice thing too is it is really set up for four days. Friday is very light with review and test of the week.

Kelly is right it all takes about 4 hours.

Blessings,

Lucy

[Marie]

Author: Marie Hazell
Date: 5/26/2003

Time to complete curriculum will vary from child to child. MFW Kindergarten is about 90 minutes a day. MFW First Grade is 2 hours, with Wednesday a special science/nature exploration day. Programs in the Five Year cycle (Exploring Countries and Cultures, Creation to the Greeks, etc.) are scheduled to take just 4 hours which includes ALL subjects, even optional foreign language. (Junior high may need to add some time to complete more difficult math and Apologia science.) Friday is a much shorter day.

If you want to stay within the 4 hours, we really recommend that you consider using our Language Arts recommendations. Some programs are too time consuming and discouraging for kids. (We get calls from moms who are spending all their time on math and language arts and their kids complain that they never get to the "fun" stuff.) We have chosen our Language Arts resources to avoid this. They are very broad in information presented, very efficient in the way they present the lessons, and use a "gentle" approach that is quick to complete and not discouraging to kids.

We also teach our kids not to dawdle on their math problems. We often assign just SOME of the problems if they are doing well and don't need all the practice. We emphasize knowing the facts well so that math can be completed quicker and more accurately.

[Carol Skinner]

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 9:45 am

Hi! I am a mother of 5 dds, ages 10,8,6,4and 1. I have been homeschooling from the beginning. We were "doing school" all day (8-4pm) nearly everyday.

As I am maturing in Christ, I began to see that I was not focused on what the Lord wanted me to do with His children, but trying to prove success to my family, that consists of many public school teachers that frequently question me and quiz my children. After reading many books by Francis and Edith Schaeffer, I came across their daughter's book For the Children's Sake. My husband and I both read it and were encouraged and convicted. I received the MFW catalog in the mail and we are starting with Rome/Reformation!

Sorry for this long winded intro, but my question is about scheduling the teaching times for the different ages, especially the math, ILL,PLL, and Spelling Power. The 3 oldest girls are all at different levels and this was a problem that I struggled with before. I am looking forward to any suggestions you may have and I have been so impressed with the helpfullness and kindness of the members' responses to others.

We are all looking forward to a fun year and Daddy is looking forward to having some Chess partners!

In Christ,
Carol Skinner

[jwood]

Hi! I am a mother of 5 dds, ages 10,8,6,4and 1. I have been homeschooling from the beginning. We were "doing school" all day (8-4pm) nearly everyday.

As I am maturing in Christ, I began to see that I was not focused on what the Lord wanted me to do with His children, but trying to prove success to my family, that consists of many public school teachers that frequently question me and quiz my children. After reading many books by Francis and Edith Schaeffer, I came across their daughter's book For the Children's Sake. My husband and I both read it and were encouraged and convicted. I received the MFW catalog in the mail and we are starting with Rome/Reformation!

Sorry for this long winded intro, but my question is about scheduling the teaching times for the different ages, especially the math, ILL,PLL, and Spelling Power. The 3 oldest girls are all at different levels and this was a problem that I struggled with before. I am looking forward to any suggestions you may have and I have been so impressed with the helpfullness and kindness of the members' responses to others.

We are all looking forward to a fun year and Daddy is looking forward to having some Chess partners!
In Christ,
Carol Skinner

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 11:00 am
I think you will enjoy MFW!!

I have all my children around one table so I can supervise work better. When one is doing copy work I will work with another on Spelling. Math is mostly independent so I wait for questions and just supervise (we use Singapore)
When there is copywork with the program plus in PLL, I will let them do the PLL orally. I also let those who are poor readers read the lessons instead of writing.
I also save projects for night with Daddy.
Compared to my friends with different curriculum, I spend less time on LA and math with this program.

I am thankful the MFW flyer came in my mail five years ago. Of course I can thank my friend for giving me Charlotte Mason's books, she ruined my "educator" mentality for life and my children are better for it. (And now she uses MFW for her younger kids so she thanks me =)

HTH,
Jennifer

[kellybell]

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 11:06 am

Carol,

Do you already have a MFW TM of some sort? The history sequences have a nice article called "Fitting it All In" and it explains the Hazells' schedule. That has been a help for us.

What we do is work on Bible, history, science, art and music together (not all subjects each day) and then the kids work on their individual stuff after that (such as math, spelling, book basket, PLL/ILL). They come to get me when they need help (and we've been working on training them to find something else to do if they get stuck with something and need my help but I am busy). The nice thing is that PLL, ILL, and Spelling Power don't take much time. Math can take a longer time or a shorter time depending on what program you go with (I know that MFW recommends Singapore, but many people do another program).

In our family, we have assigned our four kids a day of the week that they are "kid of the day." This comes with special privileges (choosing the lunch menu and cooking it, praying before dinner, getting to choose if there are choices to be made such as Burger King or Wendy's -- but that's quite rare). This year, I'm going to make sure that I spend extra time checking in with the kid of the day and looking ahead a week. This way, we anticipate any tough English problems, any new math concepts, etc. Of course, they can ask me questions all week long, but on their special day, we're going to scope out the next week's work and look for hard spots.

You've got five girls, so you could do "kid of the day" too, although the youngest is probably ALWAYS "kid of the day" with her demands on your time! Perhaps assign a weekday to the girls and make an effort to really check in with the "kid of the day."

All girls? Wow!

[MJ in IL]

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 1:23 pm

Carol - Welcome to MFW.

I have 4 dc (12dd, 10ds, 7ds and 2dd.) We have done ECC (&K&1 with the boys) and I am getting ready to start CtG. I second the advice to look at the TM article. This helped me to get a framework for my day.

What also helped me was an idea I got from a book-Managers of Their Homes. Teri Maxwell suggests having a time when the older children play with the younger ones. So I rotate my older children through a "table time with Mom (LA/math help,) piano practice and "Sara time." They loved having that 1:1 time (I often choose the activity) with their little sister and I got some good individual time with each of them. We did more table time during the little one's nap time, if needed.

Hope your enjoy your year! In Christ, Molly

[cbollin]

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 1:31 pm

I found it helpful to do bigger projects later in the day instead of during morning school so that we could enjoy the project instead of being a slave to the clock.

--crystal

[MJP]

Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 10:10 pm

I am going to have seven children in Nov. so I will share a little of our schedule.

The older two have weekly schedules that they cross off what they have done as they go. For the older two boys Math and personal devotions need to be done before breakfast and family devotions. Then language, then whatever order they want. I meet with them once or twice a day to grade and check to see if they need help. They can come to me if they need help as well except when I am helping one child who is easily distractible.

The 6 and 8 year old each get a 1/2 hour of one-on-one help, the 4 yr. old about 20 min. besides reading to them and MFW 1 or Rome to Ref., whatever they are working on. The 8 year old generally knows what we do each day so even without a list she has much of it done before we meet.

For the older two I record each Spelling Power list on tape. I know this is not how they say to do it. Then when they have 2 hundreds in a row, they are done for the week. I highlight any words they miss in the manual and test them on them throughout the year.

I do Spelling Power more as written for the 8 year old.

MFW for everyone is at 11.

The older two boys read and teach the MFW science to the younger ones. I listen and supervise.

We usually schedule the crafts and experiments all together on Friday.

We also use Managers of Their Homes and each older boy has a 1/2 hour playtime with the younger ones each day. Sometimes I have assigned activities or fun school things, sometimes they just play. The 8 year old has a 1/2 hour with the 1 1/2 year old. We have a schedule for the entire day--jobs, play, chores, etc. If we didn't we would really struggle in so many ways! Of course Dad always trumps the schedule, and obviously you have to be a little flexible!
_________________
Melissa

[Carol Skinner]

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 7:14 am

Thank you for your suggestions and advice. I really appreciate it. I do have the TM and did read the article about fitting it all in. I have tried numerous schedules over the past few years.

My question arose after reading over Spelling Power, seeing that it should only take 15 minutes, but also seeing how I have to give the test. I know that I must continue to be flexible. I am not a natural "at ease" sort of person, but want to improve by His grace. Perhaps it is just a perserverance issue for me. I like the girl of the day idea and I do train the older to look after the younger so I was encouraged that I have some things going right. I was doing OK until the third one joined in. Looking forward to reading more. Thanks for your time, ladies.

Thanks, Melissa. Congratulations on #7!! I am encouraged by your schedule, especially that I can be as flexible with it and creative with it as I want or need. We are training our girls to be dependable and responsible, but we are "in-training" for sure! As I said above, I over-schooled, so to speak, and wore myself out. I really wanted to have a more relaxed but productive and enjoyable school year, wanting to have as much ready to go as possible. Thanks,again.
In Christ,
Carol

[Jacqueline]

This year we will be doing CTG and MFWK. I am so excited but a little nervous I will have two programs to do and three children to school.

Our YMCA offers homeschool PE two days a week. My children really want to do this. I think that it will be good also. Is it possible to do two programs and be out of the house two afternoons a week? We would leave the house at 12:30 on tuesdays and thursday. Do any of you leave the house two days and still accomplish what needs to be done?

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 11:25 am

I would think this is possible to do. There is already a day that is more relaxed built into the program. You can always do some of your reading in the evening or something that doesn't take a large chunk of time. I don't know how far you will travel for P.E., but there is work that can be done in the car too (and that can make for a very peaceful drive). My kids have even done math in the car when we've had a long drive.

You can always give it a try and if it becomes too much, you just cut back on the P.E. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

[Lucy]

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 12:12 pm

I think some outside activities are good for the kids and P.E. is a great activity that they also need.

When I know that I will have to leave the house after lunch, I just let the kids know that if they really want to do the activity that we will have to get up and get going by 8 am so that we can get our school work done. We have tried to finish later in the day but it just does not work for us. We are so tired usually by the afternoon that all of us need a break. My kids can do book basket and reading later in the day but nothing that requires me to give instrustion or for them to write( I am done by then too:).

We usually do the music lessons in the car on the way to an activity and this is a nice way to learn as well as listen to the music. I have a captive audience so to speak. So yes it is doable if you are willing to get up and get at it on those days.

[Heidi]

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 1:02 pm

I have done homeschool swim lessons at the YMCA on one weekday, plus I rarely do any school ever on Fridays - I reserve this for all the homeschool activities done with other homeschool families.

I have 3 kids too. They are all with special needs. This late winter and spring we had a total of 4 surgeries and I only got to do school at home an average of 2-3 days a week.

I have learned that it is o.k. if I do not do all of the wonderful activities - but pick and choose from them. The ones you missed are great to save and do on those days when they are sick and are not up to school work - but will do an activity or two instead. Also, the activities you did not get to make great summer refreshers.

The most important thing with homechool is to do basics first - Reading, Writing, Arithmetic. Fortunately, MFW makes it possible to do them in 10-25 minute increments and they are all able to be packed up and taken on the road, and done even while sitting in an doctor's waiting room.

All the wonderful extras - are extra - important - but extras. These important extras: history, science, art, music, geography, etc. - are easiest to take with you on the road, and easiest to find a couple great books from the book list on the subject for that day - have your oldest read it to all in the car. Then, let them narrate it to each other and talk about it all together - history or science is done!

Listen to the DVD music while eating lunch or breakfast - have them follow the tracks and read the titles - talk about what it makes them think of or see pictures of when they hear it - maybe even find the ballet or musical in the library to watch together for fun - music is done! We found tons of booklist books on tape - and this has become our favorite use of car time.

Short answer - yes, it can be done - and PE at the YMCA is a great use of your time!

[jwood]

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 8:28 am

My afternoons are completely full five days a week and I start school between 8:00 and 9:00 and get everything accomplished in the TM.

I have trained them to work hard and get their work done, which is really hard for me personally, I had to "train" myself, lol, and we still have whining during the lessons some.

BTW we are doing ECC and K with MFW recommendations for Math and LA . Next January we will be in CTG and 1st.

It is doable, just takes getting it done.

[4Truth]

Am I right in thinking that MFW is easy to get through? I'm wondering about the time involvement as my dh is in business for himself and I have to answer the phone for him throughout the day. I know the time involvement probably changes with the different levels. Right now I've been directly involved with read alouds, phonics and what not for about 2-3 hours per day and available for help the rest of the time. Would you say that the time involvement with MFW is about the same?
Thanks
Chris

Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:31 pm

The Hazell's have beautifully designed MFW to be completed by noon using short lessons a la Charlotte Mason. :o) There may be exceptions of course, if you're using a math or LA program that are time consuming, or if you had a nursing infant or busy toddler causing many interruptions. And older children from whom more advanced work is required may bleed over into the afternoon. But if you follow their suggested schedule in the TMs (more or less), you should be able to finish by noon most or all days.

Also, they've planned for most of the work be done during 4 days a week. Fridays are light, but you could make your light day whatever day works best for you. (We have piano lessons and grocery shopping on Mondays, so we do light work on Mondays and then work harder on school stuff the rest of the week.) Or you can save some of the other work from during the week for the 5th day to spread it out more thinly. Whatever works for you.

And yes, you are ABSOLUTELY right that MFW is scaled down. The Hazell's have put much time and prayer into selecting what they feel are the best and most necessary books for each package they've written. Then as time and interest allow, there is MUCH to choose from in the optional "Book Basket" list in the back of the TMs, which you can either obtain from your library, or purchase if you see some titles that you'd like to own.

[baileymom]

I keep looking at everything that is accomplished in the sample schedules on-line and I'm having trouble understanding how so much is accomplished in a day. I understand that the lessons are short but can you give me an example of the amount of time for each subject. Especially, all of the language topics.
Victoria
mom to four blessing - dd10, dd9, ds7, ds4

Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 5:59 am
We started CTG last yr, and are finishing it this yr. All the LA took us a little under an hour. Our schedule went further into the day...music, art, science in the afternoon...bible at night with dad...

I ask for a narration A LOT for reading comprehension.

[Julie in MN]

Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:11 pm
Hi Victoria,

I'm having trouble understanding how so much is accomplished in a day

I think it's also important to remember that some of the LA can be done orally. Especially if there is writing in several areas on the same day. Books like ILL were written for classroom teachers.

Also, not every piece is scheduled every day. For instance, copywork & dictation are not done on the same day. But they are scheduled every week & so the consistency is there.

how do you check comprehension on the reading that is being done?

You have a great answer from baileymom -- Narration!

Narration is really so much more effective than fill-in-the-blank-and-forget methods. It makes kids active thinkers & active learners. They are more engaged. A bonus is that you get a glimpse into how those little minds think -- and sometimes they will surprise you with things you hadn't even thought of (or even that occasional totally crazy assumption!).

[hsmom]

How long do you&your dc take each day to do MFW?
Please include reading time , books basket (if you use) but exclude Math , Spelling and LA .

Well, we've only done ADV so far, so my experience is limited. Also I have no idea how much time we spent on only the MFW part. We used the MFW recommendations (Singapore, PLL, Spelling Power), and they are very efficient time-wise. If you're using other programs it may take you longer.

Anyway, most days we would start by 8:30 - 9:00 and be finished by about noon with all subjects, and that was with a 4 yr old slowing us down. We'll be starting ECC soon. I have a feeling it may be more challenging to be done by noon, but we'll just have to wait and see.

[SandKsmama]

Hmmm, we've done MFW 5 years now and until this year, I've always done 2 programs at once (meaning, I had somebody doing MFW K or 1st as well as one of the history cycle years at the same time), and our entire school day has never taken us more than 4 hours. (this year, my 8th grader's day is slightly longer, but that is because of some additional subjects she is doing) On my schedule I've made this year, I've 1.5 hours scheduled for MFW history and science, 15 minutes for book basket and another 1.5 hours scheduled for Bible and read aloud (the MFW read alouds don't take an hour, but my kids LOVE for me to read to them, so I usually have several read alouds going at once). This is a new schedule for us, but the times are about right, so far. I would guess that if you just were doing the MFW read aloud, that Bible/history/science/read aloud/book basket, would take about 2.5 hours total. In the past, I scheduled about 2 hours for all that stuff, and it worked fine, I just wanted a bit of "padding" in my schedule this year.


Postby SandKsmama » Sun Feb 07, 2010 9:15 am
We've been through the whole cycle, and it wasn't until this year (doing 1850-Modern with 3 students, one of them in 8th grade) that we at times have work to finish after lunch. If we started school at 8am, like the sample schedule in the TM does, we would always be done by lunch. We tend to start later. But yes, all of the programs are designed so that you can get school done and still have time for ministry, time together as a family, etc. LOVE that about MFW!!

[cbollin]

Please include reading time , books basket (if you use) but exclude Math , Spelling and LA .

I'm one of these people who sees this question from time to time and always thinks "I should just skip this thread because I'm not a rigid clock watcher and we are not compelled to be done at noon either. and we get done with all subjects in 4-5 hours and that includes everything. Some days we go shorter in history, some days longer in math." so.... blushing because I never know how much is spent on each subject.....

But MFW is designed to be able to be done in 4 hours for all subjects while in elementary years. They provide in the manual a suggestion time box to get all of their recommendations done. It's done in Charlotte Mason influence so, that's taken into account.

my house?
We save some read alouds for evening so dad can do it. 15 minutes there? I don't know.

reading time: that's as long as my kids want it. It's suggested for 30 minutes in the MFW manual though.
book basket: 15 or so minutes... but we tend to save that for end of the morning so that they can read all they want to.
foreign language/history/science/art/music/ Bible/ built into the unit study language arts (I have to count that part): I'm guessing 2-2.5 hours a day with life interruptions and all of that (reading, basket, etc).

My 8th grader takes longer because she's in Algebra and a full credit version of foreign language this year. Plus she's in Apologia jr. high science. So, let's call her day 5-6 hours total to include the extra writing too. But It's never that easy to say how much time is just on the MFW stuff. It's all MFW stuff.

My first grader: she's about 45-60 minutes a day in school right now. but it's all mfw stuff.

-crystal

[Teresa in TX]

For us, I have 3 different kids doing school in three different mfw levels. My K child probably takes an hour a day. It's 1 1/2 hours on the days when we do extra things. Let me just plug, quickly, mfwk. We love that program...oh how I wish I had had it when my older ones were 5. It is so. much. fun!!

My 5th grader has more of a schedule, while I fit the K child into my 5th grader's breaks. We do breakfast at 8:30 with Bible during breakfast. He usually does math, math drill, vocabulary, spelling, handwriting, and grammar/writing until 10:30-10:45. He takes a 30 minute break after that. We do history/notebook/book basket until 12:00. We eat lunch and do read-aloud during lunch. After that, he does science at 1:00 for 20-30 minutes, music or art for 20-30 minutes after that, then he reads for 30 minutes at the end of the day. If there are projects, it takes about 5 hours. We are usually done in 4 1/2 hours easy. We haven't added foreign language, but will in the next week or so, so that will increase school by about 20-30 minutes.

HS dd, her schedule is tight right now as the reading has intensified. She spends her first 3 hous of the day, from 9:00-12:00 on Bible, History & Lit. She starts back at 1:00 and spends about 1 1/2 - 2 hours on science & math. We'll add foreign language for her in the next week or so, plus she practices piano for 1 hour per day (which I consider an elective), and she's reading Fallacy Detective/Thinking Toolbox throughout the year. Her school, with foreign language, will take about 6 1/2 hours per day, on a heavy day, I'm thinking (hoping it won't be more).

You didn't ask for ALL that, but there it is. I find it all doable, enjoyable, and thorough!

[hsmomof5]

I have two 6th graders, one 5th grader and a preschooler running around. It usually takes up about 5 hours. If they are playing or goofing around, it takes 6.

[cbollin]

How many hours a day does each 5 year history cycle take up, excluding math and grammar/language arts?

I don't know b/c I'm not a rigid clock watcher per subject. There is a suggested time box grid in the MFW manuals at that level. 4-5 hours to get about 10 subjects done on most days (2nd-6th).

For those family cycle programs..... It takes us about 4-5 hours a day to do ALL subjects from MFW and that includes math and language arts and those extras like art/music and being interrupted with life. and we're using MFW's recommendations for math/language arts. We might spread things out in the day, or do read alouds in evening. But I"m not really good at saying that from 8:31-9:02 we do math. so, I'll let the real experts help on that and step aside.

Is that four or five days a week?

MFW has a 5 day schedule: it is 4 "regular days" and 1 "light and independent day".
the K program -- is still a "5 day school week"... the units have 6 lesson days per unit, but no expectation that you go 6 days a week.

Do you feel that your dc has enough time to pursue their other interests with the MFW history emphasis? I LOVE history don't get me wrong, especially the way MFW approaches it. Talk about making the bible come alive! That's part of what attracts me to MFW. But, I just need to fully know what this is gonna look like day to day! We have a lot of other interests besides bible/academics/science.

Yes. b/c of the whole Charlotte Mason influence in the scheduling of MFW we have plenty of time outside of academics to do other stuff. Oldest - use to crochet all the time, now she is into computers and archery, and being on the youth leadership team at church. Middle gal - plenty of time to chase bugs, and have ballet and time to rot her brain on TV, and enjoy her Encyclopedia Brown books, and loves to be outside, enjoying being in the spring musical at church.
Youngest - well... due to her autism... I'm changing the subject. but let's just say we do our best to get lessons in with her. But she's busy "cleaning the forest" (picking up sweet gum tree prickly pods from behind the evergreen trees in our back yard), or pursuing internet searches for Barney videos in Spanish.

edit to add: oh yeah... each kid is learning a different language. Oldest - Russian. Middle - Chinese. Youngest - spanish, and english (well she has autism, english is tough)

One of the most common "internet negatives" about MFW is that it is "too light" because it intentionally is designed to cover academics efficiently in order to allow time to pursue other interests.
an oldie but goodie archived post gives some ideas (julie was rocking in that post) for what to do with the "unstructured yet productive afternoons"
http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1829

-crystal

[TriciaMR]

We've done ECC, and are finishing up CTG.

ECC consistently took us 5 (sometimes 6) hours a day, but, my dd has a hard time with writing, and we spent more time than "allotted" in the schedule in the TM on Writing and Spelling.

CTG has consistently been 4 to 4.5 hours, with an occasional 5. The light days in CTG are definitely light. (They seem lighter than ECC's light days). We usually start 8:30 go to 11:30. Break for lunch, and then about another hour after lunch and we're done, this year.

-Trish
Postby TriciaMR » Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:36 pm
As far as time...

ECC - usually took us a good 3.5 - 4 hours (longer some days, due to attitude issues that year). We were doing PLL that year, Spelling Power and another math. On days of an art project or cooking, it would be longer.

CTG - About 4 hours. We were doing ILL and switched to Singapore at some point. In CTG there were days where the history seemed "more intense" than others. Can't remember if it was in ECC or CTG that we switched to another spelling. Added Writing Strands 3 this year.

RTR - We're looking 4 to 5 hours, depending. Still using ILL and Singapore. We are using another spelling, and doing Writing Strands 4.

MFW 1st takes up to 1.5 hours (I'm teaching twins, so it's about 2 to 2.5 hours total for the two, I combine for Bible and Number of the Day activities, the rest I teach individually) - but that's just Bible, Math, Phonics, Number of the Day activities, and Reading. My little guys join in the Science in RTR this year and sit in on the history some.