Alison in KY Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Anyone else agree? Does anyone out there have a no fail way of scheduling their kids. I get tired of my little non-independent workers, but I don't know what else to do. Sorry, I'm whining today. Alison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I don't really know how to schedule. It seems like a monumental task. I just do the lesson plan and go with the next lesson every day. How's that for a cop-out? If I planned, we'd have more fun doing field trips and games and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patchfire Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Do you mean balancing what to do with which kid at what time? If so, then yes, I agree - it is a pain in the neck! I'm working on the autumn and complicating matters this year is dd1 is adding music lessons, and therefore must practice; but I have to make sure her practice time is at a time that the baby rarely if ever sleeps. Since we don't schedule the baby, this is difficult. :tongue_smilie: Then there's just the sheer fact of adding a second student! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 DS8 (almost 9) requires lots of hand-holding and overseeing while he works, lest he do the first problem on the math sheet but not the remaining 7. DS6 is a voracious learner and is capable of so much, but at that age and with the teacher-intensive programs we use, he needs my time. I have been avoiding putting schedule to paper so far, but see the need for next year, since the older one cannot be left to his own devices for more than a few minutes. And I feel like a whiner when I read of others with many more students... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Even though I don't really "schedule" like I mentioned I would like to use the great stuff I have this year. I vowed I will not just "get through" this year. So if you're talking multiple children. No clue. Heck, I only have one. But today so far, I typed out my science chapters and what they covered, putting it in outline form. This way I can see to pull any games, workbox items, movies or books to fit what we're learning, without last minute grabbing and "oh darn I wanted to use that". I will do it for history as well. Of course this probably works mostly for textbook as this is the route I'm going this year. I'm using those chapters as a spine and utilizing all my goodies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannah Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 I'm working on the autumn and complicating matters this year is dd1 is adding music lessons, and therefore must practice; but I have to make sure her practice time is at a time that the baby rarely if ever sleeps. Since we don't schedule the baby, this is difficult. :tongue_smilie: Then there's just the sheer fact of adding a second student! You have similar ages to mine. What helps me is to make a color-coded chart showing a theoretical schedule for the day. I don't stick to it exactly, especially as the year goes on. But I need to be able to see how it could fit into a day. I need to see which things we can do together (Bible, history) which things DS can do independently (spelling, grammar) and which things DD needs my direct help with (math, reading) so that I can arrange those things to coincide. It also helps me to avoid scheduling difficult subjects a the end of the day. Plus I schedule a playtime for each older child with the little one. (It's always a little hit-or-miss, but there's a learning experience in there somewhere and it usually buys me 15 or 20 minutes.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narrow Gate Academy Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 I make out a schedule each year using Managers of Their Homes. You can look at a couple of our schedules on my blog. Basically, it gives me time to work with each kid one on one while providing the others something to do. I do not follow the schedule strictly, but we stay fairly close to it. On days when life interrupts, I can deal with the interruption then look at the schedule and make sure that the most important things get done. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison in KY Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 Do you mean balancing what to do with which kid at what time? If so, then yes, I agree - it is a pain in the neck! I'm working on the autumn and complicating matters this year is dd1 is adding music lessons, and therefore must practice; but I have to make sure her practice time is at a time that the baby rarely if ever sleeps. Since we don't schedule the baby, this is difficult. :tongue_smilie: Then there's just the sheer fact of adding a second student! Exactly what I'm whining about....trying to do phonics with kid B, while kid C is off playing and kid A is doing something else UGH!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison in KY Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 DS8 (almost 9) requires lots of hand-holding and overseeing while he works, lest he do the first problem on the math sheet but not the remaining 7. DS6 is a voracious learner and is capable of so much, but at that age and with the teacher-intensive programs we use, he needs my time. I have been avoiding putting schedule to paper so far, but see the need for next year, since the older one cannot be left to his own devices for more than a few minutes. And I feel like a whiner when I read of others with many more students... My 10 yr old is as described above...plus the girls noise distracts him from his schooling, so I have to basically do school with him only at the table, and then I have two who are working through phonics...it's just hard to manipulate and still get done with school in a reasonable amount of time. Alison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 I make out a schedule each year using Managers of Their Homes. You can look at a couple of our schedules on my blog. Basically, it gives me time to work with each kid one on one while providing the others something to do. I do not follow the schedule strictly, but we stay fairly close to it. On days when life interrupts, I can deal with the interruption then look at the schedule and make sure that the most important things get done. HTH It's excellent for scheduling help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HayesW Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 I too feel your pain. This will be our first year with ALL of the children home. My oldest will being attending a co-op two days a week. I have curriculum, but with a boy who spaces, a girl who likes to be the center of attention, a smart as a whip four year old, a two year old (that says it all doesn't it?) and a baby who will be walking shortly after school starts, things will at the very least be interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2cntrykids Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 This is one of my biggest challenges for next year with schooling. I have a rough idea, but I'm hoping it will work out as we go. Hopefully, not too painfully either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeegal Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Anyone else agree? Does anyone out there have a no fail way of scheduling their kids. I get tired of my little non-independent workers, but I don't know what else to do. Sorry, I'm whining today. Alison When my crew was little (5, 6, 7), we did group schoolwork at the kitchen table. They would sit at chairs working, while I wandered around behind them supervising and explaining. It worked fairly well. Now, at 10, 11 & 12, we no longer do schoolwork as a group at the kitchen table. :001_unsure: Sometimes I miss those days... MOTH has also helped a great deal, although it quickly turns into a morning routine versus a schedule. Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I found the Workbox system to have helped the problem of what one child is doing while I work with the other. It is not a perfect solution and it is still tedious for me to plan that out, however, it did help. Also, having learning centers set up to go to if one was waiting for me helped. Woolybear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willowcreek Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 This IS hard. Sorry for the long, rambling post, but it includes elements of scheduling and motivation for independent work and how it has worked successfully in our family. I have three spaced just far enough apart to complicate things a lot. I will do science with the younger two together, and they will all do be doing ancients, but at very diffierent levels. Lots to juggle. I am not good at this and wish I had better ideas, but I will throw out what we actually do. Suggestions for improvement, welcome! Here goes: I use a curriculum planner form I found on line, and I line up all the things each child is doing. That gives me a view of the year. Then I use Donna Young's semester planning sheet and do one for each child for the subjects that are not obvious (like math, where the next lesson is just there). Language arts for instance--so I can see spelling, grammar, writing, reading, literature, vocab. Then I can "look" and see when I can sequence some weeks where one child will do more intense work that requires my time and try to space things out. Or I try to create some space for "catch up" in a subject. From there, I make an excel spreadsheet and try to plug in the time and order of subjects in general for a weekly/daily schedule. It includes music practice, time to go to Latin co-op, etc. I try to see if my semester subject planning can fit in a regular week, etc. This is a snapshot, and I aim at "real time" for things, but we use it loosely. It is, however, a guide I can send children back to when they are off-track. Then I do a weekly excel grid for each child. They get it Monday mornings. I use pencil to write in assignments in boxes. Nothing fancy or technical. Pencil means I can alter it on the spot when life steps in. They can check it off. This drives their work and independence. They feel like they are "buying" free time, and they are, when they work efficiently. I push harder subjects, things that are difficult, and things that require my time earlier in the day. If we leave those things till last, they won't happen. What really drives the day is the kids knowing what they have to do and figuring out what they can do independently. (Their books are organized like a locker in a wardrobe, each having their own. That means they are not dependent on me to get their stuff together to do work on a subject). By the time I get downstairs in the morning (having thrown in the laundry, dressed and dried my hair) the kids have made their own breakfasts, done kitchen chores, and they are working at the school table on the subject first on their list or one they can do without assistance. (This morning habit, now consistent, makes me realize how cool these guys are!:D) It is habit--their fannies are supposed to be in their chairs working at 8:30. When they were learning this, I would go through the list of things that were to be done--beds made, teeth brushed, dw unloaded--and if they weren't done, I would have them leave the school room and take care of it. I would tell them they weren't ready for school, reminding them that if they start their day later, they will end their day later. There is something about this structured morning routine that has helped them to understand the "independent work expectation." They are proud of being on the spot when I bring my coffee and cereal to the table to catch up with them. Now, the rest of the day may get chaotic, and it could easily look/be disorganized, but this kind of start everyday helps. This frames the day and makes the chaotic more manageable. It works. Not pretty, not technical, not necessarily smooth. But we really do stay on track and get done in a "school year." I wish I had some magic master planner thing that made this simpler or smoother. This "non-system" system works. Looking for improvements always. Hope some of this ramble is helpful.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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