Our Homeschool Schedule

Friends!!!

We have completed our school year!!!

 ~ Woohoo!!! ~

Aren't you proud of me?! Haha...

It always feels like such an accomplishment! 

We settled nicely into a comfortable school schedule that worked great for us this year. 

I'd like to record it here in today's post...

But first! ...

It's lilac season!

Out of everything that blooms in our farmhouse gardens, the lilacs have always been my favorite!

(Well, I say that every year until the peonies open up in June, then I say those are my favorite.)

Of course, the only sane thing to do is take pictures at every direction...

Until I hear a crash or scream and then I remember, Oh yes! There are children here... back to my responsibilities! 

One, of course, being our homeschool day!

I realize my children are still young, and I haven't been homeschooling for years upon years, but so far I have really enjoyed it!

It is such a nice life!

I love having all of my children all to myself every day!

There is no one telling me what time my children have to be at school, and what time I can get them back... There is no one telling me what books they must read by a certain deadline... And there is no one telling me when we have off for holidays or when we can vacation... I call all the shots!

(Hmmm... Maybe I have control issues?? ... Nah, that can't be it. *wink)

Anyway! 

We had a very diligent year, and I am proud of these kiddos...

Roman completed his 3rd grade curriculum...

And Nola completed 1st grade...

At the start of the year I wrote out a general guideline for how I wanted their day organized.

I taped it above their school book shelf so they could look at it easily and stay on task throughout the day.

Here it is...

(Keep in mind, this is the children's daily schedule, not mine. I have a master schedule I use for myself but that's a topic for another post...)

* Wake up  

1. Get dressed

2. Folder worksheets

3. Quiet free time

* Breakfast 

1. Morning routine

2. Moring chores

3. Piano 

4. School lessons 

* Lunch

1. Finish up school

2. Elsa nap

3. Select books for quiet hour

* Quiet Hour

1. Snack

2. Free time

3. House tidy

* Dinner

1. Clear table/ table chores

2. Dad time/ family time

* Bedtime

You'll notice I didn't include times on their schedule.

This is because I don't prefer to live according to a rigid schedule, where I might feel stressed if I were supposed to begin something at 9:00 sharp, but couldn't get to it until 9:15.

I want our home life to feel peaceful.

I figure as long as we're all working hard throughout the day, and everything's getting done, we can go about it at the pace that suits us.

The schedule above was written in a way so that the children could clearly see what was expected of them before the next big break or meal in the day.

Some things on their schedule that I may have to explain...

Morning routine and chores:

I've written about my children's morning routine on this blog before, but in case you are new here...

The morning routine is what I call four basic morning habits I have taught my children.

They are - brush hair and teeth, make bed, tidy room, take dirty laundry down to the laundry room.

They each have their own separate chores that I assigned to them individually.

They are tasks such as - empty bathroom trash cans, sweep kitchen, switch laundry over from the washer and start up the dryer, etc...

Another thing from the schedule that I may have to explain is folder worksheets.

These were school worksheets that were separate from their school books.

I had supplementary workbooks that I would tear pages from, and keep the children's folders continually stocked.

Each child had two folders...

One was for fresh worksheets that they were working on, and one was for completed work.

I used these cursive and manuscript workbooks...

The last thing I'd like to explain is our quiet hour...

I would like to keep this going through the summer because we would spend the hour reading, and it always felt like a nice break every afternoon.

First, I would read to Elsa then lay her down for a nap. Sometimes I would make myself a cup of tea, then I would tell the other children to find two or three books and a cozy spot to sit and read.

Soren's not a fluent reader yet, so I would read out loud to him, whatever books he would choose. (Usually books about sharks or dinosaurs. *smile)

With Nola, I would read one book to her, and she would read one or two to me.

(Usually Golden books or books from the Step into Reading series.)

Roman had a few chapter books he read through this year, so I rarely saw him during quiet hour. He liked to go to his room where he could read without distractions. Since he's older, he was also responsible on a regular basis for writing one-page essays about whatever he was reading. 

This was our schedule on days we stayed home... Of course we incorporated other activities into our homeschool life that took us out of the home, such as art and gym classes at our community center, church commitments, and piano lessons - but I'll have to write about that on another day. 

It's easy to feel inadequate and overwhelmed when homeschooling. But I'm learning to take one day and one lesson at a time. It's also important to create and follow a reasonable schedule, and pray continually for wisdom and patience.

"May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us - yes, establish the work of our hands." Psalm 90:17

If you're a homeschooling mama, how was your year?! I'd love to hear about it!

I look forward to your comments!

xo,

~ Courtney ~