I have been all over the board when it comes to scheduling our school days. Some weeks we have a strict schedule, some weeks we fit school in whenever we can, and the really crazy weeks become an "each man for himself" kind of schedule. While each family works in their own mysterious ways, I have found that I feel much, much more satisfied when we follow a schedule, even if we aren't rigid about the time frames.
I'd like to share our base schedule for the 2013/2014 school year. We might keep it next year, we might scrap it. After hard weeks, I pull this out and remind myself why it works so well. I lose track at times, but it is always here, ready to guide our day and I am happy to have it.
I enjoy seeing other homeschool schedules to pull different ideas from different places and see how it fits with my family. This is exactly why I'm posting ours. I'm sure there are other homeschool moms who are curious about the details of another's homeschool life. Now, to get down to the nitty gritty:
School Day Schedule
7:45am* ~ Start the day! Breakfast, Morning Routine (chores)
9:00am ~ Family Devotions (Bible class), Journaling
9:30am ~ Lessons (math, language arts, history, etc.)
12:00pm ~ Lunch Break/Recess
12:30pm ~ Quiet Time Alone (schoolwork, reading, playing quietly)
2:30pm ~ Projects/Unfinished schoolwork/Clean up
3:50pm ~ Outdoor Play/Free Time
*Our school days begin an hour later in the winter.*
*Our school days begin an hour later in the winter.*
I make the schedule simple, yet colorful, so as to be an easy guide for my eyes. (All parentheses are for your benefit. They aren't on my actual schedule.) It's easier to see what's next if I schedule each block of time a different color. Of course, once we're in the routine of things, I don't have to look, but I keep this as a reminder for those times we've gone off track for a while. :)
Our morning routine is quite simple. We eat a quick breakfast most days, make beds, brush teeth, yada yada. We choose to do our "Bible Class" as a family with devotions before starting our school day. We do the Journaling portion most days. I'll give the kids a topic and they must write a paragraph or two or draw a picture to go along with that theme. The requirements for this depend on their ages and capabilities.
I typically work on lessons with my kids individually. There are some History and Science lessons we do as a family. My sixth grader does most of his on his own and checks in with me so I can make sure he's getting everything done. We use Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool (click on link to check it out) as our base curriculum and supplement wherever I feel is necessary. This takes so much stress off my shoulders as there is minimal planning involved on my part. The kids can get through their base subjects rather quickly, which opens up our days to include extra fun projects, activities, or interests. I love it.
I'll skip over the obvious happenings during lunch break and recess. Quiet Time Alone is an essential part of our day. We're together all the time, so to have a bit of time to breathe and just be alone in our thoughts is wonderful and rejuvenating. Quiet Time doesn't always last two hours. I block out that amount of time in case one of my younger children fall asleep. We have Quiet Time for a minimum of one hour, and if everyone is awake at that point, we'll move on with our day.
Typically we don't have a lot going on after Quiet Time, but I have scheduled a block of time to accommodate extra projects, unfinished schoolwork, or any hobbies the kids have picked up. From that point on, we have an open schedule until dinner.
Fridays are often a bit more laid back as far as our lessons go, especially if we have a field trip or play date scheduled.
How about you? What does your typical school day look like? Do you have a schedule you follow, or do you just wing it? I'd love to hear what works for you!
I love your quiet time alone !! And would like to be able to see it in action :) I get tired after lunch. I usually get up at 7:30 and have a few minutes with my coffee and Bible. Then I get breakfast ready for the girls. I get them up and we do devotions while they eat. Then we hit our History, Geography, Science and Art (for Art I have this book I really like - Artistic Pursuits). The 4 year old has her computer time while the big girls and I do these subjects. Then, it's time for one one with her. She was so ready to start last year, but I wasn't prepared , she caught me off guard. So, we started her with K from Rod and Staff. While we do our work together, the other two do their work that they can do on their own, if they have a problem with their work, they can wait until it's time for their one on one time. After the 4 year old is finished , she has that sense of accomplishment and is ready for some leap frog videos ! Then I have one on one time with my 7 year old. We cover her Phonics, English and Math. My 9 year old does her Math on the computer. I bought her Teaching Textbooks this year and she really likes it. When I'm finished with the 7 year old, I have one on one time with the 9 year old. We work on her Writing and English. Then I make lunch and have my computer time ;) After lunch My 7 year old reads to me, and that's when it dangerous....esp. on those cold days !! We snuggle under the blankets , and actually read back and forth to each other. I get sleepy , but somehow stay awake . LOL We finish any unfinished work , because as many homeschool mom's know , not every day flows as according to schedule. Some days , during devotions , they ask me some really challenging questions and we end up googling for a hour !! Every year has been different, but as for this year, this has worked nicely.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you've got a great little groove going! I'm going to have to check out Artistic Pursuits. KayKay is super into art. I had thought about Teaching Textbooks at one point. It sounded like a good fit for a couple of my kids. I'm glad to hear you like it. Thanks for stopping by and sharing! You've given me some great ideas! :)
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