Lacie and pacing

Our weekly schedule is three looonnng days a week with us and homework with Dad.  We are working in blocks.  Chemistry is a Co-op class which meets for 1 hour and 15 minutes Tuesday and Friday.  Chem runs over a bit; it has to end at 11:30 in time for Brit Lit.  After Chem, Lacie often works on her Chem homework or study guide material while I teach Brit Lit.  (She is close by so I can monitor her work.). Tuesday, Lacie and James, another student spent an hour finishing ionic formulas and making corrections.  

After Brit Lit, (which meets twice a week, too)  Lacie and I do a big block of Theology, History, or Literature.  Theology is always first on Tuesdays.  I like to work on Humanities after Theology.  On Thursdays, we schedule a big block of Algebra, Guitar, and  more History or Lit.  Fridays, right after Chem, Lacie finishes something: Chem, Study Guide, etc.  We added Latin and Warriner’s this week. We are spending more time on Algebra, Chem, Lit, Theology, and History.  Algebra and Chem have loads of math, which is a struggle for Lacie.  My husband, Rob, and I have Lacie correct the Algebra and Chemistry until it’s ALL correct.  Thankfully, History and Theology are fine.  Grammar is another issue.  I’ve done some grammar instruction; I need to do more.

I’m finding blocks of time are working.  I mean two hours on one topic.  We aren’t switching until the subject is clear.  We were stuck on multiplying signed numbers.  We did several sets last week.  This week, Lacie did several more sets, retested, and corrected until she understood multiplying signed numbers.  The same thing happened with metric conversions.  We gave Lacie conversion problems over the past two or three weeks.  This week, in Chem, I assigned the class several worksheets and a quiz.  It took over two hours to work and correct conversions.  Now, she can set up conversions, cancel the units, write the numbers in scientific notation, and solve.  

I think I’m going to do her composition in a big block, too.  Lacie read Robinson Crusoe and has nearly completed all of the study questions.  Once she outlines and revises her Crusoe paper and finishes the Crusoe exam, she will read Oliver Twist at home.  (I’m doing Lit in blocks, too.). While she reads the novel at home, I’ll use Lit time for Composition, Grammar, and Vocab.  I want to work through the entire Composition book and apply the lessons to all of Lacie’s papers.  We shall see.  It’s a journey.  We’re still learning.