The other
day a friend asked me how we fit all of our homeschool activities into one day
and still find time to eat and relax. My response was sometimes we don't!
Ok, so that's not true, but there are times it sure feels like it, especially
when I don't prepare the night before.
Last
month my mission was to develop a homeschool schedule that works for us and
well, I did...kinda. I recently read a post by Edie over at Love
Satisfies and fell in love with her homeschool schedule. I have tweaked
it a bit, but I pretty much have used her schedule. She wanted the girls to
have more ownership of their work - something that would motivate them to work
on their own and finish on time. That is our problem. We are lacking
that sense of independence and accomplishment.
Edie
prints off a list of everything that needs to be done and gives a copy to each
of her girls. We use the workbox system so I feel that covers that part,
but I am willing to change if it works for Kira.
I love lists. That's
probably an understatement if you ask my husband. Being able to check things off as I go
throughout the day gives me a rush. Hum...Kira
likes lists too - something to think about. I keep trying to
reinforce that the harder she works, the more time she has to play in the
afternoon, but for some reason we keep hitting that hurdle which is really
starting to feel more like a brick wall.
So here
is how our typical morning works...
I am not a morning person and probably never will be, but I have found
getting up earlier and getting a morning routine in order my day just seems to
flow better. I have started to wake up and do my morning thing: tidy the
kitchen and living area, finalize Kira's schedule for the day (if I didn't get
it done the night before) and make sure her supplies, books, etc are ready for
our school day. The big thing for me is that this is time for me to wake
up. I am a complete bear of a morning and do not get along with anyone
for the first hour or so after I get up.
I am trying to lose some weight so I am also taking this time to go for
a brisk morning walk (depending on the weather.) This is also a perfect
time to blog, answer emails, or even attack that never-ending pile of
laundry!
8:30AM Kira usually wakes up on
her own, gets dressed, has breakfast and does simple chores (make bed, tidy
room, and personal hygiene.)
9:00-10:00AM Spelling, Handwriting, Writing, Copywork [Independent]
Kira can
work on anything from her independent list. I tend to use this time to
finish up my morning activities but stay close as she sometimes needs
assistance. I also find she gets distracted easily.
I’ve
been working on my kindness and patience with their questions and pleas for
help. I find that when I’m more patient, they have less questions.
If they sense that I’m frustrated or really distracted (which I
sometimes am!) they seem to need an endless amount of help. So I talk to
myself and try to use a kind, encouraging voice and even if it’s the thirteenth
time in 2 minutes that someone needs my help, I try to remember that this is
why I’m here—to help them and teach them and guide them. And I
think it’s working. They seem to need me less the more accessible
and pleasant I am. Go figure.
10-10:30AM Math [separate but together]
11:00AM-12:00PM Science/History/Grammar
Math at our house usually
involves weeping and gnashing of teeth. We’re working on this. I
think it’s getting better since we’ve starting doing some reviews with the
other workbooks. She knows her math
facts but gets easily frustrated. My
goal is to help them truly master the basic by spending more time together so she
don’t have to think and count and cry and scream. Wish me luck.
10:30-11AM Literature/Reading
I spend this time reading to Kira or sometimes she
reads to me. Typically it is a just for
fun chapter book or other times it is something that goes along with our
studies.
Depending on the day will depend on which of these
three we work on. I use a loop schedule
so we alternate days. Sometimes I am
lucky enough to incorporate all of these subjects into one! Yep, I am that good!
12:00-12:30/1:00PM LUNCH
We typically use this time to
watch a TV show typically a 30 minute just for fun show with the rest of the
time to use however she wants, or we find a documentary.
1:00-1:30PM QUIET TIME:
YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS!
From this blog post, I was exposed
directly to Susan Wise Bauer and her totally awesome YouTube video entitled
"Question & Answer Series 2: Quiet Time Part 1." She talks about how her children have a two
hour "nap time". The kids are
too old for naps so they now have 'rules' of what they can or cannot do during
"nap time." The rules are, you
‘rest’ in your room, by yourself and may listen to books on tape or play
quietly with Legos, Polly Pockets, Barbies, crafts, etc. You may not come out unless you’re bleeding.
In other words, pretend I am not
here! Check out this video. It is worth it, I promise!
I am conflicted as to what to do
during this time. I have so much I could
get done during these two hours. Usually
I clean or craft or blog. I have to admit that it is the most wonderful amazing
brain child of Susan Wise Bauer.
Although there are days we have to finish up some of
this schoolwork during our Quiet Time, I make sure to follow my unwritten rule
- Never take longer than 30 minutes out of Quiet Time. She needs that as much as I do. We almost always finish by that
time of day. We follow this basic
schedule on Monday-Thursdays and then use Fridays for more literature, art,
music, library time and most important field trips.
Now here is my problem...
I have been thinking about our
workbox station and to be honest the first several months of school
went fantastic due to our organization. I was always on top of
our schedule, but something is currently missing. I don't know what it
is, but something is missing. You know, now that I think about it, I
think it is FUN! We have these workbooks, and Kira is doing great with
them, but it's not fun for either of us. When we do our crafts we have a
blast and I think this quarter I am going to try to do more in the way of activities
instead of the book type of learning. We are spending more time on our
lapbooks, so I think I am going to use those as our learning activities.
Kira is at that age where there is a question for everything and I really
think that I can use that to my advantage.
