What is your schedule like?

[zenmom79]

I am new here. I have a 7y,5y and one on the way here in march. I recently pulled my dd 7 from the mnva (an umbrella program). We found we love the way children learn with TWTM. What is everyone's schedule like? That is the only area we are really struggling is the types of schedules. We are on the go frequently. Any ideas would be great!

 

Edited to clarify: I am looking for what a typical "school" schedule in a day or week looks like. This pregnancy, I am just a scatterbrain. Sorry to be so vague.

Edited December 31, 2009 by zenmom79

[2_girls_mommy]

Schedule for what gets done in a day? Schedule for what other activities we have in a week? or Schedule for what times we do things daily?

 

Hard to know exactly which you are looking for. But I have a 5 & 7 yr old like you, and we use the WTM as our guide, so I will try to help you. We do not have a daily time schedule, like we start school at 9:00 am or anything like what is written in the book like that.

 

What works best for us is a schedule of what must get done daily. We have 4 days at home, and Fridays at co-op. So we start our school year much earlier than the P.S. to get a good start on academics and to have the fridays to do our work before all of the September activities like co-op, scouts, and other things start up. By starting our year at the beg. of Aug. and going until the end of May, we have been able to finish our core books (phonics, math, etc.) and take 2 mos. off in the summers from that. We still keep up studying history, science, and we do reading programs at the library etc. during that time. Just no daily math wkshts.

 

I have a schedule written out for us as to what we do on a certain day of the week. Mons. my 7 yr old does handwriting practice, phonics, English, math, and then art in the afternoon w/both of my girls. My 5 yr old does her K wkbks, math, and reading practice daily.

 

Tues, there is no handwriting practice, we do music instead, plus the other daily subjects. In the afternoon we do History together.

 

Wed. there is handwriting practice again, daily subjects, then Science in the afternoon.

 

Thurs. there are the daily subjects, and dd7 must write her reading narration for the week from something she has read that was not assigned reading. Then History in the afternoon.

 

Fri. is co-op. If we are on break from co-op, like in Dec. We might use Friday as a fun learning day, or as a day to get in an extra math day and to do some additional history for those long chapters.

 

In the past, before we did co-op, Fri. was field trip day.

[Haiku]

I have a seven year old second grader and a seven year old first grader.

 

School starts at 8:30. I do math with one child while the other works independently on Explode the Code (phonics), Daily Word Problems, and a math review sheet. Any extra time is spent reading.

 

After math is completed, we do memory work.

 

After memory work, one child reads while I do grammer and Writing with Ease (or reading and WWE) with the other. Then we switch.

 

Next is a 20-minute break.

 

After break, we do either history (three days a week) or science (two days a week).

 

Three days a week we do Spanish.

 

We usually finish around noon. If we are running late for any reason, we eat lunch and then finish up.

 

Tara

[LoveBaby]

I am new here. I have a 7y,5y and one on the way here in march. I recently pulled my dd 7 from the mnva (an umbrella program). We found we love the way children learn with TWTM. What is everyone's schedule like? That is the only area we are really struggling is the types of schedules. We are on the go frequently. Any ideas would be great!

 

Edited to clarify: I am looking for what a typical "school" schedule in a day or week looks like. This pregnancy, I am just a scatterbrain. Sorry to be so vague.

 

Welcome, mama!

 

I'm also expecting a wee one in March, so I know what you mean by being a bit scatterbrained during pregnancy!!

 

I do not have a set schedule, but I do have a list of things the children must accomplish everyday.

 

Math (everyone)

Spelling (for my 9 and 8yo)

Phonics (for my 8 and 5yo)

Copywork (everyone)

Reading (either out loud to me, or silent readig depending on the age of the child)

Grammar/Composition (for my 9yo)

 

I have a 9, 8, 5 and 2 yo, so we do our work when the 2yo is otherwise occupied. Sometimes during nap, sometimes first thing after breakfast while she plays playdough etc. I'm hoping to get into more of a routine after the new year, though, especially before the baby comes. Trying to keep to a time block schedule puts me over the edge, but I think having things we do before breakfast, before lunch etc. will be a helpful routine.

 

We do science 1 day/week, we are starting a new history program that will be 3days/week. We also have an art program that keeps getting neglected that I hope to resurrect after the new year. One thing at a time though!

[lulubelle]

I also have a 7 ad 5 year old.

 

Start - 8:30ish history MFW, science TTh about 45 min. plus with both

Then, 7 year old read 30min. plus map work 2 or 3 days a week

 

While 7 year old does the above, 5 year old does math and letter work

 

Then, 7 year old does LA and starts a section of math

 

Break for about 1/2 hours (more or less)

 

finish math

 

done!

 

Art, music, fitness all outside classes in the afternoon

[Julie Herbster]

We've incorporated different schedules and routines (strict, laid-back) over the years, depending on our needs and stages of life. I remember feeling so guilty (as a pregnant mom of three kids under 6yo) about napping in the afternoons instead of doing history and science with my then-1st and 2nd graders...but you know, it didn't turn out to be a really big deal.

 

Right now (when we get back from break) what we'll need is a strict schedule to wipe these party grins off our faces, and help us transition from Bacchus's realm to Athena's. Sometimes we've made this transition more gradually, 'easing in,' as it were. But this time I sense the need for something stricter.

 

The basic idea behind any routine we do is that I've always started out working one on one with the youngest child (K-5 this year) while the older ones do as much work as they can independently. After I do a few things (usually phonics/reading, spelling, and handwriting) with the kindergartener, she is able to do some seatwork in those subjects independently while I work with the 2nd grader, who has by then completed her own 'morning independent work.' I work alternately with the two youngest while the two older ones (4th and 6th grade) continue working on their own until I meet with them. Sometime in the middle of all of this, we do our 'memory period,' which right now consists of singing various VP history songs and the Presidents song, reciting Ephesians 6, catechism, the states and capitals, the Preamble to the Constitution, various English word lists (helping verbs, prepositions, etc.). Our 4yo loves this time, because he gets to dance/march around the room to the music, and he knows the states and capitals as well as anyone else (without knowing what they really mean, of course).

 

We just keep at it until we're done, which (on an ideal day on the strict schedule) is around lunchtime. Then, it's violin and cello practice time. (We do piano practice in the morning; all four kids take turns during the 'independent morning work' time.)

 

HTH! I know my life is different from yours...Back when I had just two, I did basically the same thing; it was just simpler. (It didn't seem simple at the time, though! It's harder when they can't read and do as much on their own.) I think the basic idea is still just to alternate between the two for the core subjects and then at some point meet all together for read-aloud time, and whatever else you're combining them for.

Edited December 31, 2009 by Julie Herbster

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I just posted our new schedule on my blog.

[gandpsmommy]

I have an 8yo third-grader and a 6yo kindergartener.

 

We use a flexible schedule, meaning we have a plan to keep us on track and make sure we're getting things done, but we adjust it frequently to allow for the individual differences of each day/week. It gives us a rhythm to work with, but sometimes we have to change it a bit.

 

Morning:

 

I try to read our history and literature selections at breakfast time. If I don't, then I read them at lunch. Someone once suggested that tying certain things in with mealtimes ensures that it will get done because you have to eat everyday. This has worked really well for us with history. We read one section of SOTW at breakfast/lunch everyday, and it definitely gets done! This year we're reading through a book of Norse myths for literature. We usually read one myth a day at breakfast/lunch.

 

Sometime after they eat breakfast, brush teeth, etc., we start our morning work. I work with dd first because she she has more work to accomplish each day and ds seems to do better after having some free time to play.

 

First we do math, then writing, and grammar. These subjects usually take about 20 minutes each. Then we take a break. The kids get to play for awhile and eat a snack. I get to do some laundry or work on some other chore.

 

If there's time before lunch we do spelling and reading. If not we do them in the afternoon.

 

After lunch and recess I do phonics, math and handwriting with ds, while dd does some independent work (cursive practice, free reading, piano practice.)

 

Then I finish up anything with dd that we didn't accomplish in the morning. And if it's a day that we need to do science (only 2-3x a week) we do that.

 

Dd takes private music lessons and both dc will be taking art classes this semester. Dd also does competitive gymnastics.

 

This semester I'm planning on making one day a week more of an activity day. Our art classes are one hour away. Ds's is first thing in the morning and dd's is last thing in the afternoon. So, I figure in between we'll go to the library (since they have an excellent library system in this city), visit family (since most of our relatives live there), and do some light schoolwork (e.g. audiobooks and AudioMemory Geography songs in the car on the way, fun math supplement and writing for dd/phonics for ds while sibling is in art class).

[momto2Cs]

We are working on having a schedule! Here's approximately what we do (6.5 y.o. and 8.5. y.o.)...

 

Daily (M, T, Th, F)

ETC (spelling, phonics)

Copy work for handwriting

Math

Ds does Writing Tales and G.U.M. (Grammar) plus independent reading

Dd does phonics & beginning reading work

 

M - History

T - Science

Th - Projects related to above

F - Park Day

 

Wednesdays the kids have art and gardening classes at a charter school, and dd has a dance class, so we only do ETC and Geography on that day. Many Tuesdays we also have 4H projects (crafts) in which case we move science to Thursday.