Schedules

Schedules.

I lie right in between thriving with a set and organized schedule and loving room for a little spontaneous freedom.

While I can't say that any two days in our homeschool follow the exact same schedule, here's a little peek into our day/week as I hope for it to look. 

This schedule is what I plan for in the coming weeks, once we've introduced all our subjects.

Early Morning

I am working hard to become more of a morning person. I like to wake up before the kids, shower, read my Bible, enjoy a cup of coffee and the quiet. I'm working on adding exercise to that time too, but I'm not there just yet.

Our kiddos come downstairs around 7 am. Then it's breakfast, get dressed, make beds, tidy rooms, chores, etc.

Then I allow a bit of time for some morning play...and I can get a few details squared away for the day.

Morning

I like to start our school day around 9 am.

We begin with a devotion, prayer, and singing.

Next up is handwriting exercises/instruction, followed by our grammar lesson.

While they're still fresh, we focus on phonics/reading and spelling; my oldest two do their lesson together with me and then read independently while I work with Madeleine, and vice versa.

Morning Recess

They play for 20 minutes outside in the backyard...they swing...run around...Monday they caught frogs and built frog habitats. I use this time to do laundry or dishes or pay bills or finish putting on my makeup!

Afterwards, we come back inside for math.

Math is followed by History or Bible, alternating days for new activities, reading books, and instruction, but reviewing the timelines used in both courses every day.

Lunchtime

I let the kids play, inside or out, while I make lunches. We eat together and clean up.

Afternoon

After lunch, two days a week, we do our science lesson together.

Every day in the afternoon, we read together. I rotate between each child's read-aloud reading list. I ask questions to aid in comprehension, and when applicable, we work on projects related to the book we're reading. This is one of my favorite parts of the day.

Quiet Time

Each afternoon (unless we have afternoon activities that take us away from the house) we have a one-hour quiet time, usually between 2 and 4 pm. This came into being when my children cycled out of taking naps. I find this to be an important part of the day...I need time alone and the kids need time alone. They can play quietly, read, draw, build with Legos, rest, etc.

As they get older, I think this time will also find them working more on independent reading and projects...but for now they mostly enjoy time being creative.

During quiet time, I try to use the time to do something that I enjoy...I talk to a friend or family member, work on blogging, scrapbook, read. I almost always have a cup of tea.

After quiet time, we pick up from the day and relax. This week, the kids have been working on some very detailed paint by number sets we bought at Hobby Lobby.  We play outside. Get ready for dinner. We plan time for the kiddos to read aloud to us sometime before bedtime.

Fridays tend to be test days, if our weeks have been normal. This makes for a slightly shorter day and Fridays will be the days when we add in art and music studies to our week.

Once again, this is my goal. In all honesty, there are days when I switch subjects around, based on how everyone is doing. There are days when we really get bogged down trying to understand a math lesson or get excited about finishing a great History book and therefore use more of our time than planned. That happens. We make up for it the next day.

There are days when someone gets sick or we have unexpected company or dentist appointments. Field trips come up. That's life, and we roll with it.

So that's our schedule for this year! I am excited about the year...and what it will bring!