sit down work at different ages

Originally published February 3, 2014

Sit down work has been a remarkably static thing in our home for almost two decades. Of course it changes from child to child, and age to age but the principle of a short time spent in a planned way together with each child is effective and efficient.

 Here's what it looks like at the stages that are in my house today:

Rosebud (7) We sit together to do dictation and math.  She's working on a poem called "The Horses of the Sea."  Adding fractions is the math delight of the day, as well as adding and subtracting long strings of numbers as long as she doesn't have to carry or borrow. 
Such as:

12, 467, 204 +
31, 421, 791

OR

12
21
32
33+

We read from a little devotional book that she loves from Catholic Heritage Curricula and we do a page or to from Spot the Difference Masterpiece which is a spot the difference book for great paintings.  Superfun!

Huckleberry (just turned 11) The gangly class clown is working on The Road Goes Ever On and On for dictation.  We uses MCP math for him as a guide, I pick out questions that will challenge him a little or give him practice.   He alternately giggles and hugs and smooches me on the cheek during lessons, or throws himself into a fit of passionate rage.   After five minutes or so it is over and he moves to repentance and giggling.

Silas (just turned 14) Silas is a young 14.  He is good and kind and works hard, but math is a struggle.  He is working with the Teaching Textbooks program, where we don't use the program at all, but I go through every question painstakingly slowly.  This year, he has had literally dozens of Eureka moments...where he has, in a voice brimming with delight and wonder "hahahah!  I GET it!!"
The slow, steady practice is paying off.  Algebra 11 is looking like a distant yet attainable goal.  For dictation, he is doing a poem called "Mr Nobody."

Professor Calculus (16)  The professor is at a difficult stage of life for the last four years.  He has been 16 for SUCH a long time.  He is much easier to talk about theoretically than to deal with in real life.  But nonetheless, I trudge forward with him, and when my loins are girded adequately against the attitude, I work with him on developing essays and clear thought.  Occasionally I help out with studying for tests now and again, but writing is the main focus of any sit down work that we do.

What "sit down work" looked liked five years ago is the topic for another post.  Different. 
But the same.