This is the hardest post to write for the Blog Hop. Honestly, each day around here is usually different than the one before or the one yet to come. When the kids were little, we did our best to maintain a regular schedule but since they became teens/adults (say for our youngest), that went out the door. And since my husband travels for at least 12-14 days per month-things can get nutty. Sometimes when we can, we'll tag along with him and car/hotel school. We have to be very flexible and we have been doing this for so long that it is second nature to us now. Generally I shoot for the basics and get ecstatic when we go beyond that.
My general schedule:
This is to be read in a somewhat joking manner as I truly love being a mom and having the privilege of being their main educator. It is truly a blessing and one I wouldn't trade for the world...but you have to have humor when you homeschool, so here you go...
-Check my mail/FB and other 'puter things (I can do this in 15 mins or less usually) and slug back a cup of coffee to start my morn.
-Stuff workboxes (if I haven't done that the nite before) and look over the general plan to see if I need to have any other supplies, books, etc. ready to go for the day's lessons.
-Eat breakfast (I need to wait for a bit before eating due to the thyroid med I take) and pray. Yes-gotta pray people-I am telling you our days go so much more smoothly and without as much 'drama' if I pray for willing/content/right-hearted students and for me to not want to run away...so that requires patience, love, kindness and fortitude.
-Ring the bell (aka: in mom talk that means to shout out to the kids upstairs to get moving and get down to start). This indicates it is time to get up, take care of personal biz, eat and be all excited and ready to tackle the day's schedule.
-Once we have settled, we do a morning prayer, then we start up. The workboxes are a life saver here because they can start on their work immediately and I don't have to have my brains explode trying to answer a zillion questions in regard to what they are suppose to be doing. Helpful hint: I put the stuff in the first two totes that can be done without my help so that I can gather my marbles together before I start losing them.
-Then I work with the student who needs direct instruction first to get them started to I can move to the other one(s) on a rotating basis. OK this will be different this year. I will only have the boy-so I guess my rotating days have come to an end...for now.
-End whatever we're doing by lunch and feed the troops (who can really do this themselves) and this is where I try to catch up with the hubby (when he is home) or I just 'zone out' for a bit (usually means getting some chores done or checking the 'puter or hiding away in my room for a moment of solitude).
-Wrap up whatever we didn't get done in the morn right after lunch so that the majority of the afternoon is 'free time'. Especially since I need time to work on some projects that need to be completed (scrapbooking/sewing/creating material for the boy to use for learning, or for writing blog posts such as this.) Weather permitting, I have the kids get outside or go do something (like bike). This is a very Charlotte Mason moment. One I love and will cling to with all my might. All of it people-unless I need them to get some cleaning done or assist me with some project-then they are called to duty first.
-Declutter school area/any project areas and set up workboxes/material for next day (if I am not doing errands or have other things to attend to). My main goal this year is to definitely have this done each afternoon.
For the Student
We're using the Heart of Dakota study this year, so it is pretty much laid out for us. I just have to decided the order we want to tackle the material and to avoid boredom or burn-out I try to vary the order a bit a few times per week.
One thing I found is that the study has science almost 4x per week and that is just too much. I feel like I am rushing thru the material and he is not getting the main gist of it. SO, I am moving it back to what I have always done and we find best suits us-2x per week only. This is a general listing of what I like to get completed:
Math: 4-5x per week
Science: 2x per week
Language Arts: HW 2x per week, reading 5x per week, copywork (depends) but usually 2-3x per week, dictation 1-2x per week, notebooking (depends) but usually 2-3 per week. LLATL-prob'ly 3x per week depending on what the lesson requires and our schedule.
Bible: 5x per week
History: 4x per week
Fine Arts: 1-2x per week for Great Artist study. 1x per week for Great Musician study [these fall under a 6 week long study]. Varies on art activities which are based on what is going on with the history/science studies. Nature study depends on the weather and my motivation-goal for this year at least 1x per week.
Lapbooking: 1 per semester. This is usually an on-going process related to the science or history. At times, I also will add a shorter lapbook study in sometime during the semester, if the boy asks for a particular one.
No foreign language this year (at least not this first semester) because he needs to get more fluent in his reading which is our main goal for the year.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you around this year! Blessings for a great new school adventure!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you around this year! Blessings for a great new school adventure!
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1 comment:
Your days look like fun. I've been reading good things about HOD.
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