Schooling Schedule

Homeschooling moms e-mail me all the time asking about our schedule. I spent lots of time e-mailing other moms about their schedule when we were getting started too, so I can totally understand the feeling of searching for that perfect family management schedule that will magically make all of the challenges melt away. The bad news is, it doesn’t exist. The good news, my guess is that you are probably already doing what works best for your family. At least we were. All the time I spent Googling sample schedules and trying to figure out how those perfect homeschooling moms on-line were doing it, I was pretty much already doing what I do now. Had someone told me that, though, I would still have wantd to know what they do. So, for you stubborn, type A’s out there like me, here it is.

We wake up early (not really by choice, it just happens that way) and we eat breakfast and the kids brush their teeth and get dressed – usually. If we have an errand to run or need the van for whateer reaason, we will pile in the van and drop Joe off a work. Otherwise we just see him out the door and get rolling.

The kids tidy their rooms and play for a few minutes while I get my head about me and make a little checklist of what household chores I need to do. Then we all sit down together at the table in our “school room.” First comes our devotional time. We start with the prayer that we are trying to memorize that week and then we read and discuss a story from the Central Figures book.

Next, Hannah jane sits down to work on Explode the Code (our phonics based reading program) independantly and I try to use this time to clean up the downstairs. I try and keep the downstairs at least visually tidy so that I won’t die of emmbarrassment if someone drops by. I can usually finish in the time it takes hannah Jane to finish her 2 pages.

Next we sit down for Saxon math. I facilitate the meeting book portion while preparing materials for the lesson portion. We do the lesson and then Hannah Jane does the workbook mostly by herself. While she does the workbook I spend 15 minutes or so doing Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with Hunter. Haven likes to do this with us to the deree that he can and that keeps the boys from disturbig Hannah Jane. She pops in with an occasional quesion about how to sound out a word, but is prett good to go on her own at this point.

depending on the day, it is usually about 9:30 when we finish Saxon Math. We do a quick Spanish conversation or vocab review for about 15 minutes, then another 15 or so on our spelling word bank. Anything that needs more time gets it, and on Fridays we spend a larger chunk of time on these 2 activities making sure we;ve mastered the content before we move on next week.

Then we have a snack and then put the baby down for a nap. While Haven naps we do our Tapestry of Grace work. This is our literature based plan that ties history, social studies, reading, and a little science and art all together in one nice package. We start at the beginning of time (Biblically speaking) and progess up through modern times at a nicely planned pace. This time is usually spent reading library books on historical figures, looking at maps, and doing some crafty project that resembles an activity that the culture we are studying would have engaged in. We made an Egyptian Shaduf, painted with beery ink, used food boxes to build a ziggurat and then coated it with cornmeal to get that sandy effect, etc. We’re just getting into this program, and it really makes things fun and memorable in an academically valuable way. As a result, I have a 5 year old who understands the difference betwen a military dictatorship and a democracy and who has a fairly good arguement against some injustices in Hamurabi’s notoriously just code of laws.

If there is any time left after Tapestry before the baby wakes up, I let them watch a TV show. I know, I know. Homeschoolers are supposed to shun all TV at all costs. But I’m a gal of moderation and my kids one show a day if their attitudes aren’t so off the hook that they lose the privledge.

Once the baby wakes up we have a little lunch and some lazy play time. Often times we ride bikes, do a puppet show, or play with moon sand. By this time we need some low-pressure imaginaive or active activity that lets their brains recouperate. Usually while they eat and play I finish off the chores for the upstairs portion of the place and catch up on more in depth cleaning like dustig and mopping.

Generally, about the time that I need to start preparing for dinner I sit Hannah Jane down for her special project of the day. Some days it’s an addition to her lap book (the neat scrap book type creation that Tapestry of Grace reccomends), other days it’s a science project, an entry for an art competition, or cards to old friends. The boys re happy to chase each other around or try and catch any scrap of food that falls as I prepare the meal.

I try and have things fairly calm by the time Joe arrives. I’m one of those arcaic chics who actually enjoys the notion of preparing for your man’s arrival. I light some candles, put on some music, wipe the glistening snot from little noses, and make the table look nice.

Once Joe arrives we greet him at the door and the kids help me set the table while he changes out of his work clothes. After dinner they all rough house and treat Joe like a one man fairground while I clear away dinner messes and prepare “last snack.” The kiddos gobble down last snack, brush teeth and get into jammies.

Now for my favorite part of the day. Once one of us has put the baby to bed, we have this litle ritual with the older kids. Joe started a really neat prayer time. We have one of those cool humidifiers that pours different colored fog out of this large glass bowl. We turn that on and turn out the lights. We sit around it and take turns saying a prayer. As each person finishes their prayer, they blow the fog out of the bowl. The kids really get into it. Hannah Jane always sings the prayers that she learned in her children’s class, Hunter either just ssays “God is good” or repeats the “Bestow upon me a pure heart like unto a pearl” prayer after me. Joe always says the Lord’s prayer and I try and mix it up a bit. Lately the kids have demanded that we do that Native American sounding song that is usually done with drums…”Oh God! My God! My beloved, my heart’s desire.” I wish I could find a recording of that somewhere for them to hear.

Then it’s a book and bed time. We still do a family bed (except the baby, who hasn’t yet learned how to sleep in the presence of others) so they pile in and talk for a while until hey fall asleep. Usually they’re all out by 8. Joe and I have some nice quiet time, mostly spent talking economic policy or looking for houses on the internet and then we pile in on either side of them and another day is done.

Yeah…that was probably more detail than you bargained for, but thtat’s my way. Ou motto around here is Always give ‘em more than they asked for! Seriously, Hannah is so cute when she says that with her face all proud.

Hoe it helps!