Schedule - How much time daily for ECC?

[Marie]

I just purchased ECC for my second grade son. I'm trying to schedule our day better since I will have a 3 year old and a newborn in the summer. How much time should I estimate daily for ECC?

Author: Marie Hazell
Date: 4/12/2004

The beginning of the teacher's manual has a suggested daily schedule and some pointers in how to schedule your day. The total time will vary from family to family -- depending on how many kids you have, their ages, their learning styles, etc. You can finish all subjects in 4 hours OR LESS, and this even includes things like foreign language that are optional.

[Editor's Note: ECC was originally written for grades 2-6. Second edition ECC includes a separate section of grid for 7-8th graders, which often extends their day, depending on the student. Please search posts from 2009 or later, or consult the 7th and 8th Grade Archive for additional information on those grades.]

[Heidi]

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 8:59 am

I am doing ECC with a 2nd and 5th grader along with one doing MFW-K this year.

With math, Russian, drawing, the read alouds, (the whole kit and kaboodle) - it takes us about 4-5 hours.

[cbollin]

If we do ECC as written with MFW suggestions for the 3Rs, what would a typical day look like for a family with a 5th grader & a 3rd grader (and a toddler)? How many hours would we be doing school each day?

Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 3:20 pm

It should be around 3-4 hours to get everybody in and that includes all or most subjects. Now, each family is different and some kids work faster or need more time. Sometimes you move things around in the schedule and do something in the afternoons to intentionally take longer to do an art or craft project. But that's the timeframe that MFW was written to work with to cover all subjects (Bible, English, spelling, geography, music, math, etc, etc.)

what I do to help a bit is when my 5th grader is working on something like book basket, I can work with 2nd grader on Spelling and Primary Language Lessons. So they switch around a bit for things that need my time.

-crystal

Postby cbollin » Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:21 am
This doesn't affect the original poster's situation, but at 7th/8th grade level, it will be about 5-6 hours to get everything done if you use MFW's language arts/math/science recommendations.

[tkbbrl6]

Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 8:57 pm

I have a 5th grader, 3rd grader and a 3 yo. It takes us bet/ 3-4 hours a day to finish all work. On some days it may take a little longer or a little less depending upon how many extras we do - how many interruptions with the little guy - etc. We also will often add in an additional read aloud to use at bedtime.

[Shelly Best]

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 1:49 am

In regards to the 3R's this means textbooks are NOt being used in all the subjects for the 3-4 hours. Consider using MFW Language and math recommendations to lighten the load.

[Tina]

Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 12:14 am

I also have a 5th and 3rd grader and toddler!

It usually takes about about 4 hours to complete our day. We are using CtG, and used ECC sucessfully last year. We would always add in extra read alouds and sometimes other stuff (speech class practice, AWANA, etc) but 4 hours sound about right.

I will also vote for using MFW recommended resources. They help to lighten the load of time and the load of not being bogged down with workbooks and busy work.

[4Truth]

I will also vote for using MFW recommended resources. They help to lighten the load of time and the load of not being bogged down with workbooks and busy work.

Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006

Agree! We started using Singapore for math a little while back, and I'm SO glad we switched over! It's made a big difference both in lesson time and in the girls' understanding of math. Renee likes math anyway, but Kayla does not, and Kayla and I both have struggled with math over the years....getting lessons done, communicating with each other without tears and frustration, dragging it out. But we love Singapore!

[Carol Skinner]

Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 10:02 am

I agree with what the others have said. I have switched from using a strong classical approach curriculum. While these are great, they can be very time consuming. For those students that do not generally love math, it becomes discouraging. The english was great, too, but took a long time to go over the lesson and sometimes a lot of written work. So, switching to Singapore and ILL/PLL cut down on the amount of work for me and my littles and Singapore is so colorful and cheerful for the elementary grades. We are doing RtR this year and loving it. We are generally done at 2pm, starting at 9/10. I am so thankful for finding MFW!

[niki]

I just finished looking in the past ECC posts, and it looks like ECC takes around 3-4 hours/day to complete everything that is recommended by MFW. Is this still the case?

We did ECC last year and yes, it took about 3-4 hours for my kids schooling, grades K,2, and 3 last year. It was a super year.

[hsmomof5]

I agree. It takes my dc 4 hrs to complete our school day with MFW ECC ,

Does that time include language arts and math or just the ECC-specific material?

it includes all of it.

[dhudson]

Just wondering how much time is spent on average daily with just ECC (not including Math or English). I am struggling with using ECC or not. I have a 9 year old and a 16 month old and getting through 3rd grade was difficult. Some days went well, some days did not. We used other curriculum for 3rd grade (various stuff) and we ended up dropping alot of it and just doing Bible, Math and English. I know that things will get easier although it does not happen overnight. I have been praying about it but I am still so undecided. I know that I can select the activities to do as time permits but I always have slight regrets when we can't do the fun stuff. What to do?

I found ECC to be about two hours a days not including Math and LA. With math and LA a normal day should be less than 4 hours. ECC has a lot of great stuff and it would be a shame to miss all of that. I did ECC with a 3rd grader and twin K'ers so I know it can be done without losing your sanity .

[KellyinPA]

We've started ECC this week, just doing the ECC stuff. Will add in Math and LA in two weeks. It's taking about two hours so I'm figuring about 3 and a half hours total when we add in the other stuff. We are only on Week 1, Day 2 but so far, so good

[Julie in MN]

I know that I can select the activities to do as time permits but I always have slight regrets when we can't do the fun stuff. What to do?

The nice thing about having a MFW manual is that everything is mapped out in one weekly grid, right down to independent reading time. When I get busy with my husband's illness, I find it very helpful to "see" everything laid out clearly. Otherwise, I'd end up just doing "something" and not really making a conscious decision about what was needed and what could be skipped. So instead of being overwhelmed by the things I'm *not* doing, instead I feel clarity in my choices.

Julie

[hsmomof5]

I did ECC this past year with a toddler and it took us about 4-5 hrs with math and grammar included. Keep in mind, I was teaching a highschooler, two 5th graders and a fourth grader so teaching one child may not take as long. If MFW didn't prepare the lesson plans so well, I would've been totally lost. I did make sure that I spent time with my toddler at the start of the day. It made a difference.

[LynnH]

Thank you all for sharing how things worked for you as you use/used ECC. I have been researching other programs for months, collecting catalogs, reading message boards until I am blue in face and going nuts. I do like the teachers manuals from MFW that lay out exactly what is done for the week so that I would not have to go through each subject and book to plan and purchase what is needed for that week. i know my daughter will love ECC - we had such fun with K, 1st and Adventures. I realized last year when we tried something different, that we just were not having much fun with it. I definetly need to chill and realize one of the many benefits of homeschooling is the flexibility we have. Some days we may be able to "do it all" and other days maybe not. Thanks again and God Bless you all!

[4Truth]

I just wanted to add that sometimes it takes us *less* than the 2 hours others mentioned. It just depends on what's scheduled for that day. Sometimes we can whiz through it pretty quickly.

Also remember that thanks to "light and independent Friday", you could use that as a catch-up day for anything you wanted to do earlier in the week but weren't able to get done.

Fill the little one's love bank in the morning before you get started.

Utilize nap time as much as possible.

What kind of activities do you have on hand for the toddler to do while you're working with the 9yo?

I don't have any activities for him other than playing with toys and having lots of books for him to look at but this is his normal everyday toys he plays with all the time. Maybe I should get some new things for him to have out only during school time so that he doesn't tire of them. Any ideas?

MFW sells a toddler kit that could be useful. My girl *loved* all these tools. She still gets them out every once in a great while. They've come in handy when we have company, too. http://www.mfwbooks.com/toddler.htm

You could make these part of his own special "school box" that is only brought out during 9yo's Mom-time.

[cbollin]

And you might consider getting David Hazell's workshop on Occupying Toddlers/preschoolers while teaching olders.

At one point, David was the at home dad teaching full time of the kids, with ages from nursing newborn to 2nd grader (or close to that). I can't imagine having to load up all of them to take the youngest to be fed.....

here
http://www.mfwbooks.com/workshops.htm

-crystal

[RobinF]

We aren't doing everything listed in ECC and I am finding that it is taking us about 3 1/2 hours a day. This includes language arts and math. We currently have a 4th grader, 2nd grader and K with an almost 3 yo.

One of the things that is helping is some of the activities from tot school
http://lapbooksbycarisa.homestead.com/BrownBear.html
My 2 yo loves Brown Bear, Brown Bear and that one activity set has kept him entertained all week during school time (plus some tv).

I try to keep a supply of things that he can only play with during school time.

[mgardenh]

I'm going to ask anouther question! There were so many good responces to my last one! It's nice to see how others have done differant things.
I was wondering how long a typical day is with ECC and the normal three R's?
Thanks!
-Lisa

Our day takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours and that is everything. Except occasionally an art project or if DD gets into doing something she really likes. We love ECC and are having a great time with it.

[TriciaMR]

Your mileage may vary... For us, it was often 5 to 6 hours to do EVERYTHING - but I had 4 yo twin boys at that time. I have found Creation to the Greeks takes us less time.

But, my dd was a slow writer at the time. Plus, of course, we took breaks, and that year we were trying some different "brain integration therapy" stuff with dd. Perhaps that's why things are better this year . Less breaks, no therapy, and the boys are 5 and doing much better about playing together and such. DD has also gotten better about doing "independent work."

Anyway, most people run 4 hours with ECC, math and language arts and such. But, those first couple of weeks are more intense and may take longer.

-Trsih

[RachelT]

Yes, I am sure this will vary from family to family. On good days (Mon-Thurs) we were done in around 4 hours of work, but we spread it out a little longer with a lunch break.
Some days took longer. I also had to do one half hour of individual work with each child on reading/phonics/spelling this year and my oldest is not an independent reader yet (he is dyslexic), so he is less independent than other children that are in 3rd grade. He also has inattentive ADHD, so we might not move as efficiently as other families through our day, if you know what I mean! (Lots of distractions.) We also have musical instruments to practice each day and that adds a little bit of time.

[Jmt2649]

How long does it take you to do ECC, only what is actually in the manual? By that I mean, not including Math, spelling, language Arts or any extras such as language or the read-alouds. Maybe I should ask how long it takes you to do the material that is provided in the Basic package.

We started yesterday and LOVED it. It just went faster than I expected. I didn't rush through anything and took time to discuss what we were learning. The only thing that I didn't do was the advanced aspects of Science, but we dialoged plenty about the rest, because it was still over their heads, so I read and then rephrased each little section.

So, I am curious about the time it takes others. Most time estimates I see include all the additional stuff, and I wanted to hold off on those for a few days.

It actually only takes us a little while too. The longest portion usually ends up being the bible study because we get into that a lot. Other than that, when our science and history read alouds move smoothly, it takes about an hour if I had to put a time on it. I feel the same way that we get through rather quick...no complaints here :0)

[One of each]

I feel the same way that we get through rather quick...no complaints here :0)

No complaints here either! I love how doable it is for us.

Yes, about an hour here too without the advanced Science portion. POE takes the longest for us because of all the vocabulary in it and filling out the notebook pages.

[Mexmarr]

Awesome! Thanks! I feel better. It took us about an hour and 20 minutes the first day. It seemed quite short, but I felt like we learned so much in that little time. No complaints from me either! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

[Cyndi (AZ)]

How long does the ECC work take daily, minus math and LA? I'd like to know how using ECC would impact our daily schedule and whether or not I can give it enough time to make it worth while.

Bible is about 15 minutes, Geography 15 min, Book Basket 15 min, Science 15 min -- that's an hour right there. The read aloud adds another 15 min.

I'm not counting English, Spelling, Handwriting/Dictation, Math, Music, Art, Reading or Foreign Language.

Does that help or confuse things?