schedules! how do you ladies do it?

[mamamoon]

freaking out here~i know i only have 2 but scheduling has never really stuck with me. i have always been a "do the next thing" kinda girl.

last year i was doing 3rd & kinder, so i was too worried about K.

but now i think i need to get with it~

 

how do you create your schedules? i imagine you start with one, get them to work independently, then go to the other one.....etc.

just doing this drove me sorta crazy last year. i was jumping back and forth~so my question is how do you do this in a calm way? i want to give my kids the attention they deserve, without bopping bak and forth and having them both asking me questions while i am working with the other~or is this just the way it goes?:lol:

 

i would also love to see some schedules, and any advice on how you create them~

thanks so much!!!!!

lisa

[charlestonmom03]

I'd love to hear some schedule ideas too - I'm only doing 2nd and K (not much work) this year, but I need to figure out schedules that will allow me to not ignore the younger boys too.

[~Amanda~]

I haven't gotten the scheduling thing down; basically at this point I just know "History is 3x a week with extra reading throughout, science is 2x a week, Latin is 4x a week" etc. GL!

[silliness7]

I just finalized my schedule. I am schooling an 8th, 7th, 5th, 3rd, and 1st grader. Here it is:

 

8:00 - 8:20 Bible (T/Th jr. high) (M/W/F elementary) Jr. high does Bible homework M/W/F and elementary does math drill on T/Th

 

8:20-1:50 Jr. high guys are working independently. I won't bore you with their schedule and they don't have to follow it as long as everything gets done on time. I wrote it out so that I would know if I was scheduling the right amount of work and also to juggle the shared resources.

 

Elementary Schedule:

8:20 - 8:50 History/Science

8:50 - 9:10 Geography

9:10 - 9:40 Story Time (picture book with craft 5-in-a-row-ish)

9:40- 10:00 Latin with the 5th and 3rd grader. The 1st grader works on her poetry memory and then goes and plays with the 3 year old and her busy boxes

10:00 - 10:20 Math Lesson with the 5th grader. 3rd grader does Spelling

10:20 - 11:20 I do language arts and math with the 1st grader. 5th grader is doing math work and will move on to spelling and vocab. He works independently now til lunch. 3rd grader is doing vocab and math independently.

11:20 -12:00 Language Arts and Math with 3rd grader

12:00 LUNCH

12:30 - 1:00 Read Aloud

1:00 - 1:50 Language Arts and Math check with 5th grader. 1st grader is done for the day. She can look at books quietly or whatever. She's not reading fluently yet. 3rd grader will work on her poetry memory, reading, and piano practice. She's done at 2:00

 

Back to my Jr. High Guys:

1:50 - 2:00 Latin Drill with my Jr. high guys. My 5th grader will work on his poems, read, and practice his baritone. He also has his independent grammar/writing work to do. He's done as soon as he's done. Hopefully by 3:45 but if he dawdles...well

2:00 - 3:15 discuss and check 8th grader's work. He then practices his tuba for 30 min. Hopefully he's done and homework free.

3:15 - 4:30 discuss and check 7th grader's work. Hopefully he has finished his work and trumpet practice AND had some down time by now. But he is a chronic dawdler so I expect him to take right up to 3:15 for all work and then practice trumpet from 4:30 - 5:00.

4:30 to 5:00 I have home vision therapy with my 5th grader.

5:00 clean-up and start supper.

Whew!! That's a long day.

 

We start Monday. We'll see what kind of kinks need to be worked out then. It's similar schedule to last year so hopefully not too many. I have the whole thing written on post-it notes (cut to my preference) and stuck on the wall, next to a clock, so we can all see where we are hands-free.

 

Anyway, that's just one way out of a million ways to schedule a homeschool day. :001_smile:

[siloam]

 

For me it evolved over time. I am a do the next thing type of person too. I don't do times on my schedules. Doesn't work for me, because if I get off, then I totally break down and don't know what to do and want to simply scrap the whole day. Instead I tend to do that which is most important first, then work to that which is of less importance. Though I do things that are mentally hard for me, and I am likely to skip at the beginning of the day too, get them over with!

 

I personally do do well with the questions in the middle of working with another child, so I tend to work one on one with each. They each have a schedule of the things they are to work on independently, and they can work on that till I get to their school. If there is something they need to ask me they wait till I am between students or save it for their one on one time. Ideally. I often have to remind them that is what they are supposed to do, but they are getting better about it.

 

Here is what the kids do and what I do with them:

 

Sweet Peat, 7th grader, and I do together:

 

Right Start E (will soon become independent with next level)

AAS 4

BSGFAA Unit 2

CW Homer instruction (will soon become independent with next level)

TOG discussion

 

She does on her own:

 

Vocab-Science and History

Singapore Math 5 (4 pages a day)

Right Start E (Worksheets)

Right Start Games (Play one with sisters daily)

AAS Dictation

TOG mapping-One or two places a day

Classical Writing Homer B

Bible Study for All Ages (read)

Reading: TOG D History, Worldview and Literature

TOG timeline-One or two figures a day

Minimus Secondus

Keys for Kids-one story a day

Analytical Grammar

Science, WTM recommendations for Physics

Logic

Artistic Pursuits

 

Pumpkin, 5th grader, and I do together:

 

Right Start D

AAS 3

BSGFAA

CW Aesop Instruction

 

She does on her own:

 

Reading: TOG UG Literature

Handwriting Without Tears

Spectrum Test Prep (2 pages a day-she tests at the end of this year by Oregon law)

Singapore Math (4 pages a day)

Right Start D (Worksheet)

Right Start Games (Played with sisters daily)

TOG mapping-One or two places a day

Dictation for AAS

Keys for Kids (One story a day)

JAG

Typing practice

Science, WTM recommendations for Physics with big sis.

Lively Latin

 

Honey Dew, who will be 4th grade and I do together:

 

Right Start C

AAS 1

Reading: Finishing up Advanced Readers (I See Sam)

AAS dictation

Picture Bible

Visualizing and Verbalizing work

Writing with Ease

 

Independently:

 

Singapore Math (4 pages a day)

Reading: TOG LG Literature

Handwriting Without Tears

Right Start Games (Played with her sisters or with her bother daily)

TOG mapping-1 or 2 places a day

Typing practice

 

String Bean, 2nd grade, and I do:

 

Right Start B

Barton Reading

RS Games (one per day with sisters)

Egermier’s Bible (however it is spelled)

Writing With Ease

 

Independently:

 

Handwriting Without Tears (One page a day)

Kumon books to work on fine motors skills

Typing practice

 

When their independent work is done the girls are free to play. Pumpkin and Honey Dew rarely has any work to do after lunch, but Sweet Pea is very easily distracted (you know the cat meowed at HER and she can't ignore it:rolleyes: ) and often takes all day. I don't feel bad because she takes many mini-breaks and wants to do everything she is doing. At least everything that I would be willing to cut. Grammar, for instance, is not on the table. :D

 

As a group we do:

 

Read Science, 10-15 mins in the morning

Read History (TOG) 10 mins in the morning

Read Aloud after everything else is done, and family read aloud time almost every night.

 

To be honest I think my schedule is pretty heavy. I know lots of WTM people who don't cover subjects daily, but alternate history and science.

 

Generally do the the group stuff, then I start working with my ds, then when is one on one time is done he does his independent work, and I start in with my 9yo. She often will have her independent done already, because I exercise in the mornings. I rarely get to the other two before lunch, most of the time the girls and I do school in the afternoons. I finish up with my 10yo and then my 12yo. My 12 is the most flexible if something gets dropped, and I need to do two rounds the next day, so it works best to put her at the end of the day.

 

Heather

 

p.s. If you want to see the schedules (a total of 8 of them) that keep me going, send me an e-mail. I have one, then one for each child, one for science (which is several weeks worth), one for history, and lastly one for CW Homer. I update them as needed each Friday.

[cheryl h]

Our morning starts with Math then LA for the older, and oral reading/phonics/LA followed by Math for the younger. Not that the reading is hard, but ds7 hates it so we do it first or it doesn't get done. We get the basics done before lunch, then do either science or history after as well as music practice or art. You will have to determine via trial and error what order works best for your kids based on patience, teacher involvement, and how independantly each child can do any given subject. It is a bit of a process so don't be too hard on yourself or your kids till you figure out what works for you. I like to use Homeschool Tracker Plus to keep track of our daily/weekly lessons so I don't have to pull out every single Teacher book every day for every subject...and rescheduling something to the next day or week can be done with a click or two. I am a checklist person so it works great for me. You can schedule in any activity you want along with the traditional school subjects.

[J'etudie]

I have a schedule that is quasi-MOTH, I suppose. It's a table with me and each of the kids listed across the top. I used 1/2 hour increments as a starting place and put in times for breakfast, morning routines, lunch, quiet time, house pickup, dinner, etc. Then I knew where I was trying to fit the schooling in and if I needed to make adjustments I would.

 

Next, I listed the subjects that my school-age dc absolutely needed me sitting next to them with undivided attention and staggered them. I gave the other one a break (if they'd been working for awhile) or something they could do independently (not a lot for us this year, but Spanish or typing at the computer works). I then looked over the schedule to see if children who tend to squabble were free at the same time and looked for ways to change that!

 

Deciding what subjects we do and which days was a philosophical issue that dh and I had already decided. I guess it's a WTM-LCC-Charlotte Mason combo. :D If I couldn't fit things into my time slots, I had to decide if I needed more school time or if I needed to alter my expectations.

[Kipling]

I'm schooling a 2nd and a k'er this year. For some subjects, they have their own levels, but where possible, I try to combine them. They are doing the same history, literature, geography, science, and art. So, for my daily schedule, I try to alternate one activity where we all work together for one half hour followed by a separate activity for a half hour. I also tried to plan that when I am needed by one student (to listen to her/him read or to instruct in a new subject) then, the other one has an assignment that she/he can do with minimal oversight.

For example, here is how today went:

8:00-9:00 - breakfast, Bible time, memory work (all together)

9:00-9:30 - dd7 copywork and FLL; ds4 phonics (I can do his phonics while she does her copywork, and he finishes a phonics worksheet while I do FLL with her)

9:30-10:00 TOG history (all together)

10:00-10:30 dd7 writing instruction and prewriting assignment; ds4 free play time

10:30-11:00 snack and break for all

11:00-11:30 science (all together)

11:30-12:00 dd7 spelling; ds4 handwriting

12:00-1:00 play, lunch, clean up

1:00-1:30 dd7 math; ds4 reading

1:30-2:00 dd7 reading; ds4 math (they each learned their math lesson at the beginning of the week, so they needed to practice, but didn't need one-on-one time with me, which freed me up to listen to the other read.)

2:00-3:00 read quietly in bedrooms

I also have a one year old, so I have lined up my schedule to correspond with her nap times. She takes a morning nap when we are doing language and history, and she naps again in the afternoon when the older two are resting in their beds.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Here is my schedule. A is 12, E is 11, K is 7, and T is the 19 month old. I also have ds4 but he pops in and out of school and does his own thing most of the day.

 

Monday

7:00 A\E Latin

7:30 A\E Grammar

8:00 A\E Math

8:30 A\E Math Me\get other three dc out of bed, dressed and fed

9:00 A\E Writing K watch T

9:30 A watch T E Seatwork catch-up K Math

10:00 A Seatwork catch-up E watch T K Phonics

10:30 A watch T E History reading K Grammar

11:00 A History Reading E watch T K Writing

11:30 Lunch

12:00 Break

12:30 A\E\K History T is napping

1:30 A Science E\K Art

 

Tuesday

Morning the same

12:30 A\E\K Science A works on her own program

1:30 A\E Poetry K Penmanship

2:00 A\E Logic K Poetry

 

Wednesday

Everything the same except History in place of Science

 

Thursday

Everything the same except Science in place of History

 

Friday

7:00 A\E Latin

7:30 A\E Gram

8:00 A\E Math supplement

8:30 A\E History timeline and mapwork Me\get other three up ...

9:00 A\E History discussion and closing of chapter K watch T

9:30 A watch T E seatwork catch-up K Math

10:00 A seatwork catch-up E watch T K Phonics\Reading

10:30 A watch T E History reading K History

11:00 A History reading E watch Tara K History

11:30 Lunch

DONE

 

Clear as mud? I have all of this on individual charts for each day so it is visually easier to understand that way. Hope you can understand it written out like this.

 

The times are just rough estimates but I need them in place to help me get through everything we need to do. We will sometimes run over our "time" but I don't sweat it. We just adjust as we go along. Math rarely takes a whole hour nor do science or history, so we have buffer time worked into the day.

 

Anyway, this is how we do it. Hope you find what works for you!

[Mallory]

I have usually started with the youngest and worked up.

 

So I would do the three R's with the little one while the olders do something independantly. Then let the little one play while I do the next oldest and so on.

 

I would try to get the basics done in the morning then do things we do together in the afternoon.

 

I've always thought the worst thing about a "do math at 11:00" schedule is that it schedules subjects kids need the most help with at all the same time. It must work for some families, but for us it works better to have one kid doing something teacher intensive like math and the other doing typing or reading literature.

 

Each kid has a weekly plan with the amount that needs done each week (like Math 4-5 pages/day) and the right number of boxes (4 or 2, for our 4 day week). Then we fill in the box with what gets completed (so it might say p 12-15). I attached my 4th grader's.

 

We don't have any order to how things get completed they can do what ever they want, even working across instead of down if they wanted. The older ones work until they get stumped (they have a pretty good idea of which things they can get done on thier own) or they play with the babies as I work with the youngers.

 

We don't have a very timed scedule, more of a flow to our days.

I usually start by figuring out how much sleep I want them to get then get out a piece of notebook paper and start playing. First blocking in meals, then school time and chores, and seeing what is left.

 

Right now our plan is to have school from about 10:00-12:00, again from about 1:00-3:00 and fit in some more in the evening maybe 6:00-8:00, or even later, I think my 2yo is about to give up naps and in that case we might be able to work really well by 8 or 9. We have dinner about 4:00 and dh leaves for work about 5:00, so anything too noisy we wait until the evening (because then dh isn't sleeping), that's also why we sleep in so late ;).

miles2.pdf

miles2.pdf

[love2read]

scheduling has never really stuck with me

Probably because you are following other people's ideas and trying to make their approach work for you. It won't. People spend years doing that and wonder why they have so many problems. You need to know yourself and it sounds like you do--

i have always been a "do the next thing" kinda girl.

So you need to put everything in "do that next" kind of order. Some people like to use workboxes for that. You can also just put the kids books into two piles inserting a sheet of paper with a cue for breaks, a science video or whatever. Another way would be to clean off a shelf and set the books and anything you'll be using in order from left to right. A few of my children loved working down the shelf that way.

just doing this drove me sorta crazy last year. i was jumping back and forth

Here's the secret solution. You don't move, they come to you and you nicely put down the book you are reading or close the computer, smile at them and help :D

[jpklehm]

Here's the secret solution. You don't move, they come to you and you nicely put down the book you are reading or close the computer, smile at them and help :D

 

Yep, exactly. Wonderfully put! ;)

 

Pam

[mamamoon]

wow~~ thanks love2read and everyone for sharing your schedules. this step by step info is really what i needed.

:grouphug:

[LindaOz]

I'm not a timed schedule person either. We tend to work in blocks of times though so we have a general idea of what happens when.

 

So.....

 

Between breakfast and morning tea:

 

• Read aloud together - Bible and something else
  
• Morning chores
  
• Math
  
• Language Arts - includes LLATL, writing, spelling, grammar, varies according to day and child
  

 

 

Between Morning Tea break and lunch:

 

• Science
  
• History
  

 

 

After Lunch:

 

• Read Aloud
  
• Quiet Reading - assigned and free literature
  
• Other - like music, art, individual projects, play etc
  

 

[Closeacademy]

I have 2 as well. This is what I do and it has worked for a while:

 

I work with my oldest first (4th-5th grade)

review yesterday's work and go over wrong answers

composition

grammar

spelling

history or science

math

then I send her off on her own with clear instructions for her work

reading, math, grammar worksheet, spelling activity, lapbook, etc.

 

While my oldest works on her work, I work with my youngest

she reads to me

phonics activity

history or science activity and short related read aloud

math instruction/game/story

lapbook activity

then I have some on her own work for her

a page of math and some copywork

 

I've tried combining them, I tried that alternating between subjects things but working with one then working with the other just works best for us.:001_smile:

[Narrow Gate Academy]

This is our schedule for the upcoming year.

 

how do you create your schedules? I make a list of subjects for each child. Beside each one I write to numbers: number of minutes I need to work with them and number of minutes to complete the work independently. After making sure I'm not trying to schedule more Mom time than is available, I group subjects that require less than 30 minutes together and start plugging it into a table in Excel.

 

i was jumping back and forth~so my question is how do you do this in a calm way? Having a scheduled time with Mom helps us avoid this most of the time. If I've done a good job teaching/explaining the lesson, then they can generally do the assignment on their own. The rule here is that you do not interrupt Mom when she's working with someone else. Either skip the problem that is giving you trouble and move on to the next one, or switch to another assignment that you can do independently until Mom is available. My oldest 2 have weekly checksheets, so it's easy for them to pick out work they can do on their own if they get stuck. HTH

[elfgivas]

I'm not a timed schedule person either. We tend to work in blocks of times though so we have a general idea of what happens when.

 

So.....

 

Between breakfast and morning tea:

 

• Read aloud together - Bible and something else

• Morning chores

• Math

• Language Arts - includes LLATL, writing, spelling, grammar, varies according to day and child

 

 

Between Morning Tea break and lunch:

 

• Science

• History

 

 

After Lunch:

 

• Read Aloud

• Quiet Reading - assigned and free literature

• Other - like music, art, individual projects, play etc

 

 

:iagree: i think it depends on personality type and how we work best. i "weave" parts of the day until they work well for everyone. we do a gradual school start, so that we work on each part of the day as a separate entity. we're still moving science and french around, trying to find where they work best, and we've been at it for a month now.

 

yesterday, we tried something completely different, where i worked with one girl all morning and with the other all afternoon. i would rather be interrupted frequently than do it that way every day. (i felt like i was working forever).

 

good luck!

ann

[jmh]

 

 I always rebel against schedules but I don't mind routine.

 

:iagree:That is the best way to put it. I get very upset at the idea of a firm schedule but I love love love to know what is next in the day.

[mamamoon]

loving all of this!!

[Mimm]

I found this post: http://livelearnandlovetogether.blogspot.com/2010/07/and-here-it-is-our-schedule.html

 

I had been struggling to work out my schedule because yes, I do want a schedule and I want to follow it closely at first and then loosen up as we go along. I want structure to fall back on when things get crazy. But I was writing things out and not seeing how things could fit together. I saw the schedule in the post above and figured that something similar might work for me. But mine is a bit more complicated.

 

So yeah, I went into excel, color coded a bunch of stuff and created blocks of color that I could move around. It made it so easy. I have two kids and they are doing different things on Monday/Wednesday/Friday than they are on Tuesday/Thursday, so I created ten columns and labeled them Imogen, Genevieve, Imogen, Genevieve, alternating. The first pair was Monday, the second pair was Tuesday, etc. Some things are a solid line of color going across, like math, or lunch, happening at the same time every day. But things like music are alternating with history (because they can't practice piano at the same time) on some days but history and science alternate days and they do science together, so music and science can't alternate, see? Or not? (Actually, I think that was clear as mud...) Whatever, take my word for it, it was complicated and driving me nuts and the blocks of color made my life easier. :)

 

I used 15 minute increments, but you can do any time frame. Just fill two cells in Excel, highlight both and then drag down on the little black square in the corner of the highlighted cells, and it will automatically fill the cells with the correct times. I didn't know that and I was halfway done before my husband walked up behind me and told me. Also, if you don't have Microsoft Office, you can get an open source version at http://www.openoffice.org/ which is what I use.

[Pink Fairy]

I use a checklist instead of a schedule to ensure that we accomplish our daily work. The older ones are responsible to complete their lists, and I keep track of my 3rd grader's list, since we work together. They are free to do their work in whatever order they want. We start school at 9:30, and just go until we are done. Different kids finish at different times. I also use the checklist to help with grading. The kids put their completed work in a grading box, and I go through the checklist and write a score next to their work as I grade it. They then make corrections, and I check their work a final time.

 

I've been using a checklist for years now, and even though I've been tempted by all the workbox/file crate/scheduling type threads, I think this method works as well or better for us, without all the mom prep time. I plan out each subject for the whole year, which allows me to see how much we need to do each day in order to accomplish our yearly goals. I'm flexible, though, and if we need to take more time to get a concept down, I can adjust the checklist accordingly. I use Homeschool Easy Records for all my lesson planning (it's no longer available, but Homeschool Tracker Plus is very similar), which is nice because I can reuse lessons for more than one child. My oldest did the same English program that my 5th and 6th grader are now doing, so I just change the name and I don't need to re plan the whole subject.

[KrissiK]

I have a 7 yr old, a 6 yr. old and a 4 yr. old.

 

First the boys and I do Bible, phonics, reading, FLL and WWE. That takes about 70 minutes. Then, the boys do their seatwork, while I work with 4 yr. old DD on her phonics and counting and Bible. That takes about 20 minutes. 6 yr. old generally finishes his seatwork in that amount of time and goes and plays till I'm ready to do math with him. 7 yr. old fusses and whines and daydreams and finally finishes his seatwork by the time I'm done with math with 6 yr. old. Then we all take a break, have snack and watch "Dragon Tales". Then, I do history (SOTW) or science depending on the day with the olders, after that it's math with 7 yr. old and then it's lunch time. After lunch we do fine arts all together. Then we're done for the day.

[sarawatsonim]

This was my first year actually working with a schedule. So I did a lot of research on here going through old threads for inspiration. First I wrote up a year at a glance to know what I wanted to cover throughout the year. I then figured out how many days a week I was going to do each subject and approx how long it will take. I took that info and put it into a schedule outline here. Next I wrote up a weekly schedule template in Excel to use. Here is the first 12 weeks of information put into the schedule. It was a lot of work at first. But now that I have my outlines and templates done I just need to input the information by computer or print them and fill in by hand.

[kmacnchs]

I have a 1st grader, Kinder, and a non-schooler

 

7-7:30 - breakfast (I read History aloud 3x/week)

7:30-8:30 - youngers play in their rooms (Math with 1st grader - 30-45min)

8:30-10-get dressed, play outside (too hot in afternoons)

10-Bible study w/everyone (baby down for nap)

10:30-Phonics (15min), Writing (5-10 min), Math (15min) w/Kinder

1st grader can do spelling or writing on her own. I have special puzzles & games just for school time. She also likes to have her roomtime (since she missed it earlier in the day)

11:10-Grammar(2x/week), writing (3x/week) with 1st grader

-Kinder has special "school time" games or plays w/polly pocket (can only be played with while younger brother is down for nap)

11:30-TV, or science, or bob books w/Kinder

12-lunch

1-play

2:30-youngers go down for naps...1st grader reads to me & narration 2x/week

3-everyone rests - no more school for the day

 

I LOVE the idea of having one do independent work while the other one works with me but that just doesn't really happen here yet (too young or not used to it yet). Sometimes it's easier to just have games they CAN do by themselves so they do not distract whomever you are working with.

 

Oh, in order to keep this schedule, I need to keep to STRICT time limits. Not finish the lesson, just do the time and move on!

 

It covers everything, times are recommended from WTM, and because it is spread out, it is not stressful and there is PLENTY of play!

 

let me know if you want more specifics!

[2squared]

I have a 3rd grader and a 1st grader this year so I don't have to worry about scheduling around a lot of dc. We have a routine which we naturally eased into. I wanted our schedule to look differently, but quickly realized that what I wanted didn't mesh with our natural flow.

 

Here's our morning:

*Breakfast & morning chores (everyone)

*3rd grade schoolwork with mom (math, handwriting, grammar, spelling, WWE, memory - 1.5hrs+) while others play

*playtime, chores for mom or quick errands

 

Here's the afternoon:

*lunch

*naptime for 2yo, quick nap for pregnant mom

*1st grade schoolwork with mom (math, handwriting, reading) while other play

*together schoolwork (science, history, religion)

*playtime, chores for mom

 

Here's the evening:

*pick-up

*dinner prep & dinner

*family time

 

My 3rd grader reads constantly, so that's not scheduled in. Somewhere along the way I play with the littles and read aloud to the bigs. I should mention that my schoolkids and I love the one-on-one instruction.

Edited August 13, 2010 by 2squared

[NanceXToo]

I could never schedule things by time slots. That just doesn't work for me. I don't like being that tied down, and I wouldn't want to feel like I wasn't doing what I was "supposed to be doing" if (when!!!) I didn't stick to "the schedule."

 

With that said, I do take my weekly lesson plans (provided by Oak Meadow) and break them down into daily lesson plans. So now at least I know which specific things I want to aim to get done in a given day.

 

I then take my list of "things we want to get done today" and cross them off as we go. But I don't tie myself down into what time (or even what time of day) they must be done or the order in which they must be done or anything like that.

 

If nothing else is going on, maybe we'll just work our way through and get it all done (4th grade took us about 3 hours a day). If other things are going on, maybe we'll work a bit, then go out and do a field trip or whatever we wanted to do, and then get back to it later. If we didn't get to something at all, it'd stay on the list to get done some other time that week, but usually we got things done.

 

This has worked very well for me- it's allowed me to be both flexible and organized to an extent, and it puts less pressure on me and I don't have to start stressing out that "oh no we didn't do X at 10:30 AM and now my whole day is thrown off!" That would make me batty. :)

 

Here are sample schedules for what Oak Meadow 5 will be like for my daughter the first week of school next month and what Oak Meadow K will be like for my son the first week of school next month to give an idea of what our days will be like:

 

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/126296.html (5th grade sample schedule)

 

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/125979.html (Kindergarten sample schedule)

 

and for the heck of it, here's a sample schedule from 4th grade (with pics), which we finished last year:

 

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/126472.html (4th grade sample schedule)

 

This will be the first year I'm teaching two kids/grades using the OM curriculum so I still have to see how it goes in regard to working with both of them at once! I do know there will be times my daughter can work more independently this year, though she does still like individual attention, and I guess those will be times I will work with my son for K (which I can't see taking more than like an hour a day anyway)! I just have to see how it works out in the end... wish me luck :D

[branycbur]

This was my first year actually working with a schedule. So I did a lot of research on here going through old threads for inspiration. First I wrote up a year at a glance to know what I wanted to cover throughout the year. I then figured out how many days a week I was going to do each subject and approx how long it will take. I took that info and put it into a schedule outline here. Next I wrote up a weekly schedule template in Excel to use. Here is the first 12 weeks of information put into the schedule. It was a lot of work at first. But now that I have my outlines and templates done I just need to input the information by computer or print them and fill in by hand.

 

This is so helpful, thank you! It does look like a lot of work up front, but then I think it will help make the rest of my year more manageable. :001_smile:

[Underdog]

I cannot upload my schedules. I keep getting a message that says my single page word doc is too large...it grossly exceeds the limits. How do I "trim" it down so that it can be uploaded?

 

TIA,

Jenny

[Embassy]

I have a 3rd and 1st grader this year and count hours. You can see our schedule here. We usually start mid-late morning and have "school" about 5-6 hours.

[Mom_Abear]

I found this post: http://livelearnandlovetogether.blogspot.com/2010/07/and-here-it-is-our-schedule.html

 

 

 

Thanks, Mimm for recommending my post! I'm flattered!!:001_smile:

 

I wanted to add that I don't really stick to the time frame, I treat my schedule as more of a routine ... I just like to know that it really will all fit in the time provided! We're usually done well before the schedule says we should be finished!!

 

Also, one thing that has helped me a lot (even though it took about a week of work this summer) is making an Independent Notebook for my oldest (3rd grade this year ... we also did it last year for 2nd). All of the work he can do independently is included with a checklist: memory work, vocabulary cards, logic worksheets, etc. This notebook gives me about thirty minutes with my Ker first thing in the morning and then he can go off to play until my older has another 30 min window of independent work (usually reading). I also plan to combine them for history, science, art, and music, so it's really just the three Rs that are the scheduling issue.

 

Happy Homeschooling!! Hope you can take some nuggets here and there and find a schedule that works for you! ;)

[robsiew]

Probably because you are following other people's ideas and trying to make their approach work for you. It won't. People spend years doing that and wonder why they have so many problems. You need to know yourself and it sounds like you do--

So you need to put everything in "do that next" kind of order. Some people like to use workboxes for that. You can also just put the kids books into two piles inserting a sheet of paper with a cue for breaks, a science video or whatever. Another way would be to clean off a shelf and set the books and anything you'll be using in order from left to right. A few of my children loved working down the shelf that way.

Here's the secret solution. You don't move, they come to you and you nicely put down the book you are reading or close the computer, smile at them and help :D

 

You sound a lot like me... and this is GREAT advice! When we got back to school this summer I toyed with the idea of everyone doing the same subject at once. That was a complete failure... I have 4 kids who need me intensely during math... that just does NOT work for me. So... I've gone back to the way we've done it the past 2 years and I'm feeling much better!

 

We use workboxes (or a form thereof) and they are WONDERFUL!! My kids know exactly what they need to do and when they've done it all they are done with their independent work. They then take care of their chores and then they are free.

 

We start with Bible and History together. We usually do Science right after lunch. That's our "everyone together" subjects. Then I just work through each of the kids doing all their "with mom" work at once. I usually start with the younger kids as they have less independent work to keep them busy. The older 2 have plenty to keep them busy while I'm working with the younger boys.

 

The one problem I tried to fix is that my oldest child always got me at the end... but really, I'm thinking that's not such a bad thing. He's the slowest worker anyway... and compared to the problems of me feeling pulled 20 different ways when they were all working on the same thing... it's not such a problem!

 

I also stay put. I'm seated at the "school table" always working one on one with someone. The kids come to me if they have questions. If the child I'm working with is not deep into something I answer the question of the "interrupting" child. If we're in the middle of something important I motion to them to wait.

 

I line up all the materials I need for each child in 4 piles on the table and I just move through the piles. I always let them choose the order we do their subjects in. Gives them some input. With the older ones, they bring their independent work they've completed to the table with them and we go through it together. This streamlines "correcting" time for me and we can fix errors right away the same day.

 

Really, this is what works for us... you have to find your own groove.... don't worry about what others are doing.

[ReneTL]

Last year was our first year and it was not a lot of fun for any of us because we never got to the fun stuff. I wanted to get the hard/important stuff done first and we just never moved much past that. After last year, I decided to add a little warm up to the day to get the blood flowing to the brain. I'm being very specific in my loop, so instead of say "writing", I'm putting in all the different things I want to do for writing, e.g. keen observation exercise, nature journaling, write a letter, communication game, tea and poetry, movie time, etc. These activities will be distributed throughout the loop. So here is my plan, so far:

 

Warm Up - 15-30 minutes

Geography trails

A Marcy Cook math tile card or tangram exercise

Daily message (copy work created using StartWrite so we'll get handwriting done then too.)

 

Math/Language Loop - 2.5 hours

Singapore math textbook/workbook

WWE

Intensive Practice

FLL

Extra practice

Spelling

Singapore math games

 

Everything else loop - 2 hours

I don't have this all laid out yet, but I should have it put together before the weekend is up.

 

I'm crossing my fingers this works!

Peace,

Rene

[SailorMom]

I want to have a plan.... I need a plan.... no plan yet.

I keep telling myself I'll have time soon - but we start school in less than a week now. No time in sight.

DH just deployed again,have to go grocery shopping, and I have three papers due in the next three weeks (a total of 40 pages...):tongue_smilie:

I think I'll just be starting at the beginning of the books and seeing what our pace is after a few weeks - and then try to extrapolate that over 36 or 37 weeks.

[mnllj7]

Wow!!! I am impressed at everyones organizational skills. We are going into 5th grade, I am getting better but i still have a long way to go. I have a hearts desire to do my own lesson plans, and use books the way i want, but I am just not organized well enough, or knowledgeable enough to put it together in a sensible manner. Thanks all of you, nancyt.