I am in need of an outsiders perspective on what we have going on here:)
Schedule wise I have decided to do all our Family Subjects at 9am or earlier.
Bible/Character readings (we alternate Millers and Bible) 10-15 minutes or so, maybe some discussion/Scripture memory is usually done at dinner with Dad
Picture/Composer biography, if I have one/Hymn/Poetry 1x a week each 5, 10, 15 minutes....depending on resource. We listen to music while driving.
Geography on Fridays, map drill of South America with atlases, maps, puzzles, etc. 15 minutes or so...they love to look at maps and such so I let them enjoy that time exploring. Okay, Geo may be longer than that, just noticed I wrote that.
We are in the middle of Trumpet of the Swan and read throughout the week at lunch.
We listen to many audio books while driving. At the moment we are listening to This Country of Ours awaiting more Sugar Creek Gang
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12 yo then works independently on:
Math 3-4 days a week (30 minutes)
Leisure reading (Sugar Creek Gang couple ch. a day or maybe 30 minutes, he loves those books:)
US History 2 days/World History 2 days, narrating after each reading (20-30 minutes or so each) timeline on Fridays (he loves the books he's reading, btw)
JAG 2 days week/SW 2 days, test on Friday/Book of Mottoes, as well
Exploring Creation w/ Astronomy 2-3 days a week (30 minutes or so)
Practice ASL daily 5-10 minutes (is at the end of this class so he's not working on it like he was, wants to pursue Spanish)
Daily Devo for boys in the morning 5-10 minutes max
He has karate 3 nights a week/co-op on Mondays/Pottery on Fridays (1 1/2 hour class)
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8 yo then works indepently on:
Copywork 10 minutes or so/calendar work
EFTTC 2 days a week
Math daily (2 lessons a week split in two)
Leisure reading daily (currently reading through Thornton Burgess books)
Peter Pan at night w/ mom
Outdoor Secrets 2 days a week (could probably do 3 days)
US History/World History daily, alternating 1-2 ch. w/ narration (timeline work on Fridays)
Co-op on Mondays for an hour/Grandma & Grandpa's afterward/Pottery in the afternoon for an hour an a half/horseback riding maybe 1 day a week
Violin Practice 15 mins or more daily
Bible devo book he's begun that takes about 5 minutes to read to himself
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So, it already seems like alot, but we have a pretty solid routine and the boys know what to expect daily. They do chores throughout the day as necessary and know when they need to bring something with them to work on while we're out. My 5yo tags along with whatever we're doing and has some simple, not too structured lessons that we work on throughout the week. He has his own supplies of playdough, puzzles, binder of drawings, etc. and does Outdoor Secrets with 8yo. He is with us throughout the day, but not expected to narrate and we're s-l-o-w-l-y working on letter sounds, math, etc. through play. We will begin Delightful Reading and Right Start math in the fall. We are reading Little House in the Big Woods at this time and he loves UNO! All 3 boys read lots of books I leave in a basket at their leisure and have a large bookshelf to grab books whenever they choose. Boys spend lots of time outside, but I have yet to really institute a real Nature Study :(
I have some scheduling to work out for next school year, but that's not really anything that can't be tweaked (like doing all family subjects at one time will really help out), it's content that I'm concerned with.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can make it through my mess of a schedule (looks better in the Organizer than written out like this:) I appreciate and respect your comments/suggestions immensely:) Happy Schooling.
