"My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest." - Isaiah 32:18

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Our Fall Homeschool Schedule

I love finding out how other moms "do life," don't you?

One of my favorite things to do is to have coffee with a girlfriend and just pick her brain, to see if there's something I can learn from her.

It's good to get ideas and encouragement from our girlfriends!

So, today's post is our current daily schedule, because perhaps there's a homeschool mom out there who would benefit from seeing how our life is ordered.

If you're a new-to-homeschooling mom, or considering homeschooling, the best advice that I can give you is to protect your time in the home! There are a million activities, co-ops and classes that will try to yank you around, but almost all of it is unnecessary.  Small children need to be home for their best mental and emotional development.

My children are in a few activities outside of the home, but when I schedule those I schedule them carefully and purposefully and with a vision in mind. 

I'd like to write a post about our outside activities, but for today I am sharing our stay-at-home schedule. 

I love this quote from AVIRTUOUSWOMAN.ORG: 

"Striving for an ideal, perfect life is unrealistic this side of heaven. Instead, determining to live each day with purpose and doing the best you can makes much more sense!"

To me, the best way to "live each day with purpose" is to start with a vision for the bigger picture.(Where there is no vision, the people perish. -Prov. 29:18) Prayerfully create a God-honoring, doable schedule. (Teach us to number our days... -Ps. 90:12a) Then trust God to do His part. (May the favor of the Lord rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us- yes, establish the work of our hands. -Ps. 29:17) While being faithful to do my part! (She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. -Prov. 31:17) And in order to do my part well I must be home!  (She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. -Prov. 31:27)

SO! The following is the schedule that I came up with. This is what our life looks like most days of the school week.

Here we go...

Our Fall 2016 Homeschool Schedule:


7:00-7:30am ~ Mama wakes up/ Coffee/ Quiet time...



(Sometimes I set my alarm for 6:00 or 6:30 to work on my blog. But on days that I'm not blogging, I wake up at 7:00.)

The children are always awake during this time, *sigh.... I do my best to shoo them away I mean, ahem, encourage them to watch PBS kids, so that I can have a sufficient quiet time. 

~ "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul." -Ps. 19:7 ~

7:30-8:00 ~ I wash my face/ Get dressed/ Start a load of laundry/ Make my bed...

   
8:00-9:00 ~ Get the baby up and changed/ Breakfast/ Kitchen clean up... 


If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that breakfast is an event in our house! That's why you'll notice that a full hour is scheduled for this.


I open windows, turn lights on, play nice music, and get out real plates and glasses. 

This is my time to engage them in conversation, read a chapter out of Proverbs to them, sing with them, and deepen our bond.

~ "When I was a child I always wanted to be in the kitchen. It was warm, and that's where my mama was." -Dolly Parton ~ 

~ ~ ~ Childhood memories are made of this ~ ~ ~

9:00-10:00 ~ "Morning Routine"/ Baby naps/ Big kids practice piano/ Mama gets ready...



Our "Morning Routine" is when we all go upstairs so that I can do hair/ make-up, and re-boot the laundry while the children tidy their rooms, make their beds, brush their teeth, etc... 

10:00-12:00noon ~ School (Part One)


By 10:00, my washer, dryer, and dishwasher have all been put to work and are humming along... The kitchen table and counters have been wiped clean... Our tummies are full...The children are dressed and their rooms are tidy-ish... I am dressed with hair and make-up done... The baby is in her crib, and we can...

Get to work!

I have divided our school work into two parts. A morning part, and an afternoon part. 

The morning part consists of lessons and seat work, Pledge of allegiance, Bible memory, and reading.

We have a view of the flag from our living room where we say the Pledge:


Then we get comfortable in the living room for memory work and reading. 

By reading I mean, I read aloud to all of them. I gather ahead of time the books that I want to use, as well as a bowl of some sort of treat... (you know, for bribery, haha.) 


I happened to snap this picture once the treats were eaten, so the bowl is empty here, but through the years I have used candy such as mini-marshmallows, fruit snacks, and candy corn. I've managed to get them to memorize huge chunks of scripture this way, so please don't judge me, haha!

~ "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." -Ps. 119:11 ~

All of this takes the full two hours. By noon we're ready for a break!

12:00-1:00 ~ Lunch/ Re-boot the laundry/ Play time for the kids


I want to say a few things here before I continue. First, there are moments within these two hours when I can break away for a little bit to do some housework such as clean one of the bathrooms, or do some dusting. I try to encourage independent seat work, so I will set the big kids up with their books and give them their instructions and tell them, "I'm going to slip away for a quick chore, but call for me if you need help."

Second, remember back to your school days... Were you public schooled? I was! (Most 80's kids were!) We did not spend the entire eight hours with our heads in the books. Remember what a day would consist of? Remember how much time was spent on nonacademic activities such as bus rides, snack time, waiting in lines, recess, lunch, etc... All of these types of things can either be eliminated from the homeschooler's life, or done better at home.

And third, if homeschooling has taught me anything so far, it's that kids don't need to be doing technical, literal "school" in order to learn something. 

~ "Don't let schooling interfere with your education." -Mark Twain ~

1:00-2:00 ~ Nature walk/ Get outside


Time should be scheduled everyday for fresh air and sunshine! Fresh air lifts your mood and clears your head. Sunshine kills germs and provides vitamin D. 

Healthy skin, strong bodies, and good circulation are some of the many benefits of time spent working and playing outside. 

Our farmhouse sits on 20-acres of trails, woods, and fields to explore. We like to use this time to go on nature walks on our land.


We have to pass by the orchard to get to the trails. We enjoy stopping here first to check on our growing fruit. The kids get a kick out of selecting a piece of fruit as their snack for our walk.


Once everyone has their snack...


We walk down to the trails.


~ "O the green things growing, the green things growing, the faint sweet smell of the green things growing! I should like to live, whether I smile or grieve, just to watch the happy life of my green things growing." -Dinah Craik ~



2:00-3:00 ~ School (Part Two)

Once we're back in the house, we finish up school for the day. Roman does arithmetic seat work,


and independent reading.


3:00-4:00 ~ Kids quiet-play hour/ Mama free-time

The children use this hour to play quietly.

~ "It is a happy talent to know how to play." -Ralph Waldo Emerson ~


~ "Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning." -Mr. Rogers ~


And I use this hour as my own personal free-time- I may use the time to do some ironing or maybe some baking...


Sometimes I do an overall house tidy, or just focus on cleaning one area well...


I most certainly do not neglect the house in the name of homeschooling, however. It's all important, and it's all intertwined. A beautiful, well-cared-for home is a reflection of our Creator and His work in our hearts. 

~ "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace." -1 Cor. 14:33 ~ 

4:00-5:00 ~ Mama stops to freshen up for the evening/ Close down school and laundry for the evening

My thinking shifts at 4:00 from daytime to getting ready to move into nighttime. I put away all of our school books, and close down the laundry room for the evening. Let me say a few things about laundry. I do not have an appointed "Laundry day"... Every Day is Laundry day! I complete several loads per day and try to never let it go into the evening. I clear out the machines, place the leftover dirty laundry in baskets for the next day, and put all clean things away at this time. Then I can consider myself "done" for the day.

I also use this hour to freshen myself up. I think about this: My husband will be home soon, and while he's away in the work world it is likely that he encounters beautiful, professional-looking women. I certainly don't want him to come home to a wife who looks sloppy.


So I brush my teeth, comb my hair, and freshen up my make-up before moving on to dinner preparations.

5:00 --> on... Supper/ Family time


I try to have a home-cooked meal at our family table most nights of the week. There are some exceptions, of course, and those are Wednesday nights and sometimes Friday nights. Our kids attend an on-going bible class at our church on Wednesday nights, so we usually just eat hotdogs quickly at the kitchen island before we have to leave. And sometimes it's nice on a Friday to go out to a restaurant. But other than that I want my children to have a childhood full of mama's cooking and eating with family at the table. 


Once the kitchen is cleaned up from dinner, Micah plays with the kids and we work together to get them all ready for bed. He usually is the one to read them a bedtime story. I like for my evenings to be low-key and peaceful. I dim the lights, and maybe read a little from a book or one of my favorite blogs. 

I take a hot shower every night, and watch the time to get to bed early enough for a good night's sleep. I aim for 7-8 hours of sleep. 

And that my friends, is the end of my day.

~ ~ ~ It's a wonderful life ~ ~ ~

I really hope you enjoyed today's post and found it helpful for your own life. Let me encourage you to create a schedule that would make your home life the best that it can be!

"That we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." -1 Tim. 2:2

Take care my sweet friends!

xo,

~ Courtney ~






4 comments:

  1. Oh the never-ending laundry...just when I get caught up I have to start all over again. My least favorite chore. I would rather mow the lawn, shovel snow or clean toilets. You seem to have a system down and I bet the kids enjoy the routine. Glad you take time to recharge.

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    Replies
    1. Sadie, you are always so kind to leave such nice comments for me! :) :) Thank you! Yeah, it doesn't take long to get behind on laundry! Sometimes a kid will throw in a pair of shorts or something and I think, didn't I just wash these?!!!! Lol

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