scheduling

[ProudGrandma]

When you guys set up a schedule for your school day, what does it look like? For example, do you have exact times set for each subject? or do you schedule in big blocks...8:30-11:30 is reading, grammar, phonics?

 

What subjects do you do daily and which ones only a couple days a week?

 

Do you look at the big picture...by Dec 31st we need to be to lesson ___ in math, etc...or do you just go as you go? If you are a big picture scheduler, how do you handle it if you don't make your goals? or...if you make your goal by the first of Dec...do you keep on going anyway...or take a break in that subject until Jan?

 

Just trying to figure out how I am going to teach 3 students this year (1st, 3rd and 4th)...need to be organized or I fear I won't get things done like they need to be done.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Kathy

[Heather in OK]

It's only been the last two years that I have scheduled times for each subject. We used to do the subjects done all together (i.e. Bible study, history, science, etc) in the morning, no blocked time, and then individual work in the afternoon. When I started schooling three (and now this year, all four) it helped my sanity to schedule the morning subjects.

 

But I'm not strict about it. If Poetry takes less time than I have blocked off, we just move on to the next subject. If History takes longer we keep working a little while longer. If we decide to do Science earlier in the morning, we do it.

 

I just needed to block off time to keep it all organized, to make sure we didn't forget anything, and to keep us on task somewhat.

 

We do everything except Poetry every day.

 

Do you look at the big picture...by Dec 31st we need to be to lesson ___ in math, etc...or do you just go as you go?

Yes and no. I plan out History, Science, Poetry, and Latin books. It gives me an idea of when we'll be studying what, what supplies we'll need, what library books to put on hold, and when we'll be done with the book.

 

I do not plan out their individual work.

 

But when life happens (i.e. we just need day off, I am gone at a birth or resting from being up all night at a birth, or if something just comes up) I don't let myself get stressed about missing a day. We find the time later to make up the lesson and get caught up.

[gingersmom]

I tried doing a schedule with time blocks but it did not work out at all.

 

So now I try to plan out the week in advance (using a teachers planner I got at Staples).

 

I usually figure out in August/September when we begin how many lessons I need to do per month to finish in the school year. Then I reevaluate again in December/January.

 

Compared to what I read about others I am much more relaxed about my scheduling.

[Desert Rat]

Time blocking didn't work for me either. We do have a set time to start each day and I'm pretty rigid on getting stuff done because I have to work in the afternoons now (a recent development). But, usually, I lay out all that needs to be accomplished that day on the table. We work through it. Pretty simple.

My little one goes first with his seat work while my oldest is in the other room doing independent reading. When my little is finished, right now about an hour, we do history and science together. Then, ds7 runs off to play and my oldest sits down for his work.

We differ from WTM suggestions by dividing every subject into 4 days. This way the times spent on each subject are shorter. Information is also repeated a bit more so retention is greater, IMO. Fridays are catch up days and spelling and latin test days.

We school 5 days a week, 42 weeks a year with a big break in the winter because we live in the desert and weather is better then. We also take a week off for each of the boys' birthdays and a break in August.

HTH

[rwjx2khsmj]

We start school at 9am. Usually our bible study is first, then each dc can pick their subjects. If they need me to help/teach then we try to work it out so everyone stays busy rather than just sitting. I keep a chart of what needs to be done each day and as it is completed the dc check off their lessons. I don't schedule time per lesson.

 

For overall planning, I know what I want each dc to accomplish each week. If they get involved and do more in one subject one day then they'll have less to do in that subject as the week goes on.

[ProudGrandma]

thanks for sharing!

[mom31257]

Here is a summary of what I do.

 

Daily Schedule:

I do not schedule a certain amount of time for individual subjects nor the order we do all the subjects because my kids like to choose the order and don't always take the same amount of time every day. I do decide what time of day we start and the time we do anything together, though. For example, devotions are first thing before we start academics.

 

Weekly Schedule:

Dd:

5 Days per week:

SL Core 100

4 Days per week:

LA, Math, Science

3 Days per week:

Writing

1-2 Days per week:

Fallacy Detective, LoF

SAT Vocabulary Prep class outside home

 

Ds:

4 days per week:

Bible, Reading, Math, LA, History

2 days per week:

Science, Geography, Critical Thinking

1 day per week:

Art project

 

Together:

Artist/Music Studies (1-2 times per month)

Poetry (once a week)

Who Is God? (2 times per week)

 

Yearly Planning:

I make spreadsheets for each semester, listing subjects across the top and weeks down the right. I plan lesson numbers, units, chapter, etc so that the whole year is planned. I try to be flexible within the plan, but it really helps me stay focused on where we need to be.

[ProudGrandma]

wow..that's helpful...thanks. I need to find spreadsheet program I can use...I am not very computer savy...

[Diana B]

We just started - by accident really - a loop schedule. And love it!

 

I made a list of all our topics. Then sat down with my son and he helped me order them. I figured we'd try a check list style, but then we just started working down it. The next day, we continued on from where left off and loop back to the beginning. The whole list can be done in about 3 hours if we work hard at it. But I don't want to make him move on if he's not ready. And some days we just don't get 3 hours worth of time to work on stuff.

 

We'll still cover everything approx 4 days a week, but I don't feel stressed about needing to move onto the next thing. And my son loves knowing what is coming up, but not being stressed about having to get to it. He spent at least 1/2 hour the other day working on a card for my aunt. He did a wonderful job and felt really proud of it. It was longer than I had planned for 'letter/card writing', but it would have never gotten finished and would not be so nice if I had made him put it aside and work on something else.

 

As for yearly, I am a move on to the next thing person. I have stopped making goals like that. I will reevaluate a few times a year to see if we are on a proper track to actually FINISH a program, but try not to freak if we are not. We have a lot of "Life Happens" breaks throughout the year. I am finally realizing this and I'm trying to embrace it. I'm also embracing the following motto:

 

"there will be gaps, and that’s okay!"

 

Good Luck!

[elegantlion]

When you guys set up a schedule for your school day, what does it look like? For example, do you have exact times set for each subject? or do you schedule in big blocks...8:30-11:30 is reading, grammar, phonics?

 

We schedule a start time and then go in a subject, not time, order. We take breaks after the same subjects, but our timing can vary depending on what we cover that day.

 

What subjects do you do daily and which ones only a couple days a week?

 

We have followed an LCC type schedule for the last two years. This year I'm working on something similar for core subjects and a block like schedule for other subjects.

 

Daily:

Reading

Memory

Latin

English (writing, rotate Megawords & Grammar)

Math

 

3x/week all year:

Japanese

Literature

 

4x/week: 1st semester/2nd semester

History/science

 

2x/week: 1st/2nd

Logic & Philosophy/Religion

 

1x/week: 1st/2nd

Art/Music

 

This is subject to modification. We usually tweak the schedule after the first couple of weeks.

 

 

Do you look at the big picture...by Dec 31st we need to be to lesson ___ in math, etc...or do you just go as you go? If you are a big picture scheduler, how do you handle it if you don't make your goals? or...if you make your goal by the first of Dec...do you keep on going anyway...or take a break in that subject until Jan?

 

I try to pinpoint where we need to be by a certain date. I try to do this with flexibility, so that I'm working at my child's speed, not just trying to stay with the schedule. So if ds needs to slow down, we do. We continue moving if we get ahead before our goal dates. Is more fun to just finish school a week or two early in spring.

 

Just trying to figure out how I am going to teach 3 students this year (1st, 3rd and 4th)...need to be organized or I fear I won't get things done like they need to be done.

 

:grouphug:

[iquilt]

We started trying to block certain times for subjects, but have switched to a checklist system. We start by 9:30 in the morning, sometimes earlier, and each has his/her own list of work to do that day. They can do their individual subjects in any order they want, then around 11 we do our together work (history or science rotating days) and any work left can be finished after lunch. The block schedule just didn't work very well for the younger two.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

yes and no. I do write out a schedule but just to make sure everything fits. I think it will take about an hour for grammar and spelling so I build a day that accounts for that amount of time for grammar and spelling. I figure it out for each subject and then make sure we have the time. I then just build a schedule that has blocks of time that say "school" or "homework" and then if it isnt' an online or outside class, we have a list and do what we feel like doing next.

 

This is what it looks like if you want to know.

 

SCHEDULE

Tuesdays and Thursdays

8.00 - 8.30 am -- Mass

8.45 - 9.15 -- Breakfast

9.15 - 10.30 am -- Latin online

10.45 - 12.00 -- Math online

12.00 - 12.30 -- lunch

12.30 - 2.30 -- Memory and T: Grammar, U.S. History; R: Logic, GK History

2.30 - 4.30 -- T: German; R: Writing

Practice Violin in the evening.

 

Mondays and Wednesdays

9 - 12 -- Homework/practice/projects

12 - 1 -- lunch

1 - 4 -- Homework/practice/projects

 

Fridays

9 - 1 -- Alternating Riding Lessons/Girls' Club

2.30 - 3 -- Fiddle Lesson

plus finish any incomplete assignments.

[Lightly Salted]

When you guys set up a schedule for your school day, what does it look like? For example, do you have exact times set for each subject? or do you schedule in big blocks...8:30-11:30 is reading, grammar, phonics?

 

Generally in big blocks, with an estimated start time - I didn't assign times until we'd done a few weeks of work with a new schedule, and based times off of how long it generally takes us. And I'm not rigid with the time, but it helps me to estimate what to do if we need to change our school routine for some reason.

 

What subjects do you do daily and which ones only a couple days a week?

 

Last year we tried alternating history and science, and while it worked fairly well, I think we'll go back to doing them daily. We only do art once a week, generally, but everything else 4-5 days a week.

 

Do you look at the big picture...by Dec 31st we need to be to lesson ___ in math, etc...or do you just go as you go? If you are a big picture scheduler, how do you handle it if you don't make your goals? or...if you make your goal by the first of Dec...do you keep on going anyway...or take a break in that subject until Jan?

 

I go week by week. Sonlight schedules out history, literature, geography and science for me, so I retype into my master schedule, adding in reading, LA components, math and electives. I assign specific pages each day, then adjust as needed. We stick pretty well to the Sonlight schedule, so I know we'll finish that stuff each year; if we don't finish the other stuff, we'll just let it flow into the next year, but I do try to finish within a calendar year if not the actual 180 days of 'school.'

[Closeacademy]

Our daily schedule is more of a routine/rhythm/order that we do things in. It looks like this:

 

work with oldest

grammar

composition

spelling

history/science

math

on your own

work with youngest

reading

phonics

history/science

math

lapbook

on your own

 

What subjects do you do daily and which ones only a couple days a week?

 

We do math, spelling, phonics, grammar, lapbooks and on-going projects daily. We alternate science and history.

 

I do schedule out the big picture. First I take the subjects and materials we are going to use and schedule them out to see how long they will last and what we will cover. Each subject has its own sheet.

 

Then I start looking at months. I sort of set the months into units. I know what days we are working and what days we will not be working on school. I lay out the school weeks for phonics, math stories, history, science and project. I also add any notes on resources I have to enrich these lessons.

 

On a week to week basis I add in daily math practice and lapbooks because these are the most likely to change.

 

If we get behind it is OK because I like to work with my schedules and am fine with redoing them to make them better and/or more up to date. I used to stress about being behind but I don't anymore. Some times we go slowly and some times we go quickly. It all evens out.:001_smile:

[mom31257]

wow..that's helpful...thanks. I need to find spreadsheet program I can use...I am not very computer savy...

 

I'm glad I could help! You wouldn't have to do it on computer. You could get bigger paper like 8.5x14 and draw off a grid to work with.

 

I only have Microsoft Works on my computer not Excel. If your computer can open that, just pm me with your email address and I'll forward planners to you. I don't know how to post them on here.

[Based on Faith Academy]

"We differ from WTM suggestions by dividing every subject into 4 days. This way the times spent on each subject are shorter. Information is also repeated a bit more so retention is greater, IMO. Fridays are catch up days and spelling and latin test days."

 

 

How does this work for you? So you teach one subject per day? Im looking for a different approach to try this year.

 

Thanks,

Christina NY