Over the last few weeks we have been working on getting ourselves in a good schedule for the first time since B2 was born. Change always takes a while and is often accompanied by much upheaval, but I can honestly say it has been worth it. Balance has returned to our lives. And it needed to. A few days ago I posted the little ones’ schedule. Here is the older children’s as promised:
Before 900am: Chores, breakfast, walk, snack
900-1030am: Independent study: Writing assignment, maths lesson and Bible study
1030-1100am: Play outside with little sisters
1100-1200: One child to prepare lunch (home-made soup, croutons, grated cheese) and batch of muffins
One child to do B4FIAR tray activities with littles for 30 mins/ then work on individual project for 30 mins
One child work on individual projects for 30 mins/ then do some B4FIAR activities with little sisters for 30 mins
Each day the children swap around
12-100pm: Lunch
T11 does his writing (T11 maths takes longer than the girls and he was finding he didn’t have enough time to do his writing, so asked for extra time)
The older three girls do a quick tidy up after morning school, wash and dry up after lunch and do most of the preparations for a tea and muffin, to have during read aloud time
100-200pm: Whilst B2 is napping and A4 is in quiet time I read aloud to the older children. On average I read about 6 pages each day.
Afterwards they read their current school book until 200pm
200-400pm: Free time (except Friday when Gary is home early-Pond study)
400-500pm: I do some subject school with the older ones
Monday: History of Science/ Food Science/ Apologia Science
Tuesday: History of Art/ Art study
Wednesday: Geography of the country we are learning about
Thursday: Literature of the era we are studying
Friday: Gary is home early- Pond study
I love being on a schedule. I appreciate it all the more for not having had one for the past two years. I’m a happy bunny (oh, and so are the children!)
I can sense the satisfaction you feel having your schedules sorted! Looks like a lovely balance, and lots of fun. We were at the beach yesterday too – one of these days we will bump into each other!
Have a great week! We’re off to the pond soon 🙂 Lucinda
Which one did you go to? We were at Worthing, one of our favourites, as you can almost guarantee having the beach entirely to yourself!
Oh yes I love Worthing. We were at the Witterings. So nice to be making the most of the sunshine!
Having a routine/schedule can be a calming factor in the home. Most children like to know what to expect for each day. Looks like you’re got the schedule worked out really well. 🙂
Thanks Hwee!
I love looking at other people’s schedules. Ours currently works well for two of the children but not so well for our four year old. It is helpful to look at yours for ideas.
I think it’s hard when you have lots of different aged children with differing needs. Plus the children inevitably change over the year as they grow more mature, and then you have to reassess their schedule AGAIN! However, for us, any schedule is an improvement on no schedule at all, so I’m very content!!
Thanks for posting, it’s always useful to see other people’s schedules.
No problem!
I’m like you. I work best and am happiest with routine/schedules. But, like you say, as the children change the schedule has to be reassessed on a continual basis. Thanks for sharing.
Myra from Canada where the snow is TRYING to melt but we keep getting more snowfall!!
My pleasure. Tell the snow to go away and come back another day (preferably next winter!!)
We don’t have a set schedule per se, because life always seems to get in the way. What we have now is a plan of what we want to accomplish for the day instead. Your schedule looks great!
Having a list of things to achieve each day is how we have worked for the past two years, and it worked fine. Schedules just seem to work better for both me and the older children, and so far seem to suit the younger ones too. Thanks for popping by Erin!
Erin, could you tell me how to leave a message on your blog? I think you’ve changed to google plus and it asked me to log in?! Help!
I love how you focus on 1 thing per day, in your afternoon time. I loved our schedule until the baby hit 6 months, for the past month it has been harder to figure out . Also, I never thought of having the older one’s help out with the little’s for a bit. Love that, I’m going to try it soon.
Great schedule!
Thank you! I think schedules are a little harder with tiny people in the house!
I really need to work towards my kids being more independent in their learning, but that also requires them to be better at reading……. Slowly, slowly, slowly said the sloth.
Independence does come slowly. There’s no rush, it is ALWAYS better to go at the individual child’s pace. My guys were SO ready and are really enjoying the added responsibility (and the peace and quiet!) of independent study!
ok, here I go. you know me by now, so you know Im a little iffy on the whole home school issue. Not critical, just knowledge seeking, from an entirely different perspective — teacher for over 23 years, just retired.
so anyway, it looks like about 3 1/2 hours of school time? Also, while independence is wonderful ( truly WONDERFUL), when is there real, indepth instruction, conversation with peers, modeling, exploration of topics ( even topics not as “catchy” as pond study or Greek Olympics). Where do you find the depth of information that the children need? Who will teach algebra and calc and psychology and plate tectonics and Spanish and greek and biology and genetics? And, again, I appreciate your letting me pick your brain. the “school environment” is touchy right now, and with 4 grandchildren, the oldest being just 4, this topic comes up a lot in conversation….
Hello. Thank you for your comment, containing many questions which would be hard to answer as a simple reply. If you like, I am happy to address them in a post for my blog. I would be neither defensive or offensive in my reply. Home schooling is not for everyone and education means different things to different people. If you would like me to expand my thoughts on this please let me know.
I would love to know your thoughts — I am impressed by your blog and find your notes to be thought provoking. We’d probably have a great time sitting at a table with a pot of tea discussing all things education but for now, I guess a blog post will have to do!
I’ll do it for next Saturday if that is okay? I have posts planned for all the days in-between! Would you like your questions to remain anonymous or would you like me to link back to your blog? Either is fine with me.
hhmmm. well since my blog doesn’t focus on education, its more of the ramblings of a new retiree, doesn’t seem to need to be mentioned in your answer…so anonymous may be better. Cant wait to see your response. And, one more thing, when your child says something in the line of the “Id never want to go to school because ….” do you applaud? Do you remind her that she really doesn’t know what fun she might have in school? Do you tell her that for you guys this works wonderfully but for others school is the answer? And, do the kids have regular interaction with peers in a structured/social/creative setting? I hope Im not being intrusive, and believe me, Im not gathering your responses for a future research project, I’ve just spent my life studying and working with young people and I’ve never had the opportunity ( and time) to pick a homeschool teacher’s brain like this . If, at any time you want me to back off, feel free to let me know!
I say nothing! The school/home school divide is not an issue for me, and therefore it would never occur to me to say anything. She was expressing joy in her learning experience and I smiled!