Name: Thrive! NCHE Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-05-22T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-24T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Tagged: schedules

This topic has 9 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 9 months ago by jmac17.

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)

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July 10, 2012 at 5:08 pm
SowingLittleSeeds
Participant
We are not starting school for over a month still but I am toying with the ideas of different types of schedules for my y1 and y0 kids. Do you plan in what order you will do your tasks for the day or do you just play it by ear and do whatever you feel like doing next? Do any of you let your kids choose? I was thinking of putting out all of our subjects for the day in one of those pocket charts and letting them (mainly the oldest that will be doing the majority of the work) just pull whichever card for what they want to do next. Love to hear how others do it.
July 10, 2012 at 6:12 pm
Misty
Participant
My kids all pick what order they want to do there independent studies. I use to try and plan it now it just works better if I don’t. Now that said they are given a time slot to use the computer for typing or typed school work. But that’s as close to scheduling I do. Our family studies are done 1st thing in the morning or “I” don’t get around to them. This works for us I hope you hear from others. Misty
July 10, 2012 at 6:21 pm
Tristan
Participant
We’ve done both ways. For me it depends on how many lessons are dependant on mom (how many younger learners you have). When all the kids need mom’s direction or help in most subjects having a plan of what to tackle when can be a big help.
July 10, 2012 at 6:35 pm
suzukimom
Participant
I have let the kids take turns picking what is next (family studies) – unless it looks like it won’t be a good variety… ie I don’t want all the “readings” in a row….
July 10, 2012 at 7:12 pm
4myboys
Participant
My boys are 11 and 8 (going into 3rd & 6th). My older ds will have about an hour to hour and a half of independent work to do in the mornings including his own Science this year. While my younger will be using the same apologia science curriculum, with his ADHD he is very distracting to my older ds, and we can get bogged down at times. They will work together on some of the science labs/experiments if appropriate. The boys do better working seperately. Family studies will be limited to Mod 1, Lit, Poetry, Composer & Artist Study and PE. They will work together on some of the science labs/experiments if appropriate. Younger ds will have about 45 mins of independent work in the mornings. I say 45 mins, but it will likely take him the better part of the morning to accomplish it. (The boys come to the office with me for 3 hours every morning on week days — it’s hard to stay on top of him to focus on independent work when I have my own work to do.) Family work is done in the afternoons between 1 and 2pm, then guided work happens after that. While I work with one, the other needs to finish chores started while I make lunch and then has time for educational games or learning on the computer. I try to finish our school day by 3pm. Anything not completed by then carries over to the next day.
It’s not ideal — I would love to have everything finished in the AM. I am planning a 36 week year with only 30-33 weeks of scheduled work so that we have catch-up time each term. We have not laws in NS as to how much time we have to spend doing “school”. Field Trips are usually weekends so that Dad can join us, and there are always other learning activities that happen outside of our regular hours — reading, baking, art, family games, DVDs, etc.
July 10, 2012 at 7:50 pm
Monica
Participant
We start the morning at about 9:00 with family studies (history read-alouds, devotions, memory work, poetry/artist/composer study, nature, etc.). After that the children take their schedules and work through them as they wish. I do encourage my 10YO to do his math first (even before family studies if he can) because it is challenging for him and he needs to have a fresh mind as he’s working through the problems.
That works for me, though, because I’m only officially “schooling” two of them. My 10YO is pretty independent, my 6YO needs my help with quite a few things. My two little ones are 4 and 3 so I haven’t added them to the mix yet.
July 10, 2012 at 9:50 pm
pslively
Participant
We have a big board on the wall with a section for each kid. I write everything they have to do for the day on there. After we do a couple of together things (Bible, History or Science, whatever it may be), the kids are free to do their things in whatever order they wish, erasing them from the board as they finish. They know they are expected to work until at least 10:00. Then they can take a break if they want to. They often save some independent work for naptime and can get a lot done in that time. (No one actually sleeps, they just have to be quiet) They know they have to be done by 3’ish. As we are all working together in the morning, I just go with the flow, moving from kid to kid as they need help or are ready to narrate. Usually after naptime and snack (about 3 o’clock) we do art video lessons or I read aloud while they do handicrafts.
I would encourage you to get an idea in your head of how you want the schoolday to run. However, always be flexible because it never seems to work out how you think it will. After a while you will see what works best with your kids. Try to break things up as you can. For instance, I don’t allow my kids to do more than one reading assignment at a time. They have to do something else in between.
If I am understanding correctly, you are schooling 2 kids who are one year apart, right? Do everything you possibly can together. That will help tremendously.
July 10, 2012 at 11:28 pm
my3boys
Participant
We start between 8 and 9am with whatever seems to be calling. My oldest likes to start his day by reading (devotions/literature), my middle boy with calendar work or math, my youngest does what I tell him to do, lol.
I plan to have my dc gather at 10am for copywork/composer, then do family work until 11am. We’ll do some other studies from 11-12 (more than likely independent), then have lunch, then more studies, then we’re finished by 2 or the latest, 3pm. I do need to plan differently this coming year as my oldest always seems to be starting something for himself right when I’m ready to do family studies. My plan is to meet “at the table” at 10am so he knows how much time he has for his own work (he has time before and after).
HtH
July 11, 2012 at 2:34 am
Tecrz1
Participant
I list things in the order we will do them and use a checklist. Sometimes I switch things around if needed – for example we can’t use the computer because my husband needs it so we skip Spanish and do it later. I have used checklists for independent work and let them do whatever order they want but right now I usually just keep everyone on the same schedule. After family time we all go to the table and they each have math work and copywork to do. I get the older two started and then work on beginning reading with my youngest. After lunch we read together and then I assign independent reading. It’s just easy right now as I am adding in my 1st grader to the mix with more serious studies to keep everyone together than having them running around doing their own things when they both still need my help frequently. I’d rather help everyone with math at once!
Tara
July 11, 2012 at 3:51 am
jmac17
Participant
I play it by ear a great deal. With kids as young as yours, you can be quite flexible. At least, it has worked that way for us. There are as many ways to schedule things as there are families, and if your first year is anything like ours, you’ll change things up several times!
By September (after all the summer birthdays) my kids will be 7, 5, and 3. We also have a 4yo girl and 15 month old twins that I watch everyday. We usually do most school in the afternoons, when the twins are napping. Sometimes my DD(7) and DS(5) will actually ask to do something in the morning, which I try to work with, but mornings are pretty chaotic, so that doesn’t always work. We do try to fit science and nature study in during the mornings, since those are more active and don’t work when we have to be at home and quiet during nap time.
After lunch, I try to start with our family studies, since I want the preschoolers to be part of at least our Devotional and Scripture Memory work before their attention wanders. Then we usually do our weekly type activities (poetry, artist, etc.), with the little ones allowed to drift away to play as they choose.
Then I decide who to work with based on whether DS seems to be still focused or needing a break (or has already left). DS and I just do a chapter from Life of Fred or play a math game with DD, work on printing numbers or other fine motor activity, and read a chapter from a literature book (he reads a page, I read a page). While he is doing that, DD either just works on a project (drawing or some other craft, she always has something she is creating), or does some computer work (Spanish or Typing Instructor).
Then DD and I do the rest of her work. I let DD choose what order to do things. She almost always chooses books first so she can continue her project while she listens and narrates. Then she’ll do Life of Fred and Copywork last. This isn’t breaking up similar tasks the way CM recommends, but it works for her. She focuses much better when she has something to do with her hands as she listens, and it frustrates her to have to leave and come back to her project.
If DS is not focused after the family work, DD and I will work first while he goes to play with the other kids, then I’ll bring him back.
All of the above is never quite as ideal as it sounds, as we have frequent interruptions from younger children, but it gives you the basic idea of what we do.