Scheduling days: timetables vs. time blocks

[momee]

Was reading the SCM posts about scheduling and found this...

"With a time-box approach, you simply divide your day into blocks of time (called time boxes) and determine which Subjects you want to accomplish during each block."

 

Do any of you use this style instead of a strict timetable? I cannot stick to specifics of using a timetable but the blocks sound doable.

 

Just wondering how YOU organize this to happen in your day.

 

ps here is the link in case someone wants to read more...

http://simplycharlottemason.com/2008/04/23/your-day/

[mrs.m]

I did that without knowing it last year. I thought I was flying by the seat of my pants. :lol: Actual timed scheduled don't work for us. Math may take 30 minutes but what happens if it takes 45 to complete the lesson? Then everything has to be adjusted until we get back on track and that drives me crazy. I start out with everything scheduled and as the year progresses we know what needs to be accomplished before morning break and lunch break. And it usually averages out. Somedays LA takes longer, other's Math will go slowly.

[elegantlion]

We're starting our 8th year of homeschooling and never used a timed schedule. The only time we've ever scheduled is start time, and that has been flexible most of the time.

 

To me it's just one of the perks of homeschooling, being able to almost ignore the clock. We naturally fall into 30-45 segments of working, some days longer.

 

Our schedule is similar to what is mentioned in the article. Each day we doing subjects in a specific order.

[Aubrey]

I do MUCH better w/ blocks of time. When #4 was a baby, I noticed that we never started school before 10. Instead of freaking out about that (for a change), I wrote up a block schedule that *planned* for that. The 8-10 block included fixing & cleaning up breakfast, cleaning up the kitchen, fixing lunch/dinner ahead of time & changing diapers (2 at that time).

 

This year I've noticed that I wake up wanting to DO school w/ the kids, but instead, when I call them to the table, they pull out stuff they can do on their own & I just sit & watch. So I've done another block of time: 8-10 is whole-class discussions. We'll talk about history or science, or we'll go over Latin or Spanish together.

 

We've only done it this way once so far, but it seemed to have a very positive effect on all our moods & efforts for the day.

 

10-12 is amorphous: it includes snack, lunch, & whatever the littles need. Maybe school, maybe not, but that way--if NOT--I'm not surprised or stressed by the time they lie down for naps, which is our next block of time, used for more independent work, so I can get MY work done.

[alpidarkomama]

My first draft of my schedule is done down to the minute. My next draft transforms into time blocks. The minutes give me a good idea of how long/often to schedule various subjects. We have a hefty dual secular/Jewish curriculum so we don't have much wiggle room if we want to finish our learning at a normal hour.

[johnandtinagilbert]

I do what works at the time, which seems to change annually at our house.

 

We've done both and now do an incorporated version of the two. For grammar school, we don't schedule start and stop times strictly, but we do a few "timed activities" like...study your math flashcards for 10min.; personal free reading for 30min.; memorization practice 5 minutes each thing (15 min. total). Otherwise, last year, I dropped the exact time schedule b/c I felt like the Rabbit in Wonderland...I'm late! I'm late! Too stressed and rushed to actually enjoy or project joy. Just knowing that we have Language Arts, computer work and History before lunch and Math, etc. after makes for a complete, but stress free day!

 

For Middle School, I do something a little different. I often refer to it as block teaching. I have a 2-hour block with Darling, yet Diva, so I know that I will focus my time on her for 2 solid hours and then she can move on (she's rising 6th grader). I teach her for 2 days of school. The next day, in the same "block" I teach the other middle schooler, who doesn't take as much time, and needs less instruction, but still needs some teacher time.

 

For the high schoolers, who will dawdle the day away, I do "periods" like public school. This ensures they will get to each subject daily and shows them: get your work finished and you have free time; don't get your work finished and you have homework. It has helped them with time management and also to respect MY TIME. They know that once they hit homework time, Mom is off the clock. I will not teach them anything new, although I will help them through a trouble spot. They also have time with me daily, about 45-1hour for accountability and we spend discussion times for science and history, and Algebra for the struggling math one, but otherwise, they fly solo. They also share the time block for accountability, so I follow behind them every other day.

 

I guess, you just figure out what works NOW. As you can see, that means something different for each of my children. Enjoy that about home schooling. Do what works best for you and enjoy the journey. Before you know it, they're heading off to College (mine will this coming spring). Boo hoo, sniff sniff, waaaaa!

Edited July 14, 2011 by johnandtinagilbert

[ChandlerMom]

We do something like this. I have set start times for the core subjects and the kiddos know when they complete their work the remainder of that "block" is free/play time. So, an hour long block may just have a 20-40min "class" plus maybe a 5-10min chore time. Our start times are also flexible, in that the "schedule" is more an order of events, so if X comes after breakfast and breakfast ends up 30min late, then things just shift. There's usually enough playtime built in so it only affects the next block.

 

ETA: THe "fun" blocks come after lunch, so if the kiddos don't complete their core they start losing their fav activities. I also agree you've gotta use what works for you NOW -- what works today may not be right next year, so you have to be willing to adapt, but hey, if it got you through today.... :D

 

Not exactly like you're talking about, but I can see we do better with a functional list of the day than a rigid "schedule" -- I got overwhelmed when we got off track. :p

Edited July 14, 2011 by ChandlerMom

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

We, in theory, have school from 10-11 and then 12-1. Then we cover history/science from 2-2:30-ish. They get done what they get done, which is quite often above and beyond, since they tend to work quickly through their work. I do include extras in their workboxes, like maze books, puzzles, and dot-to-dots.

[Mallory]

I did that without knowing it last year. I thought I was flying by the seat of my pants.

 

We do this too!

 

7-9- big boys work on independant school (think 3R's)

9-10:00- breakfast, free time kids/I exercise

10:30- 1- group subjects (hist, sci, geo, art, music)

1-2- luch and chores

2-5- free time (this is the time DH is home and awake) and dinner

5-7- finish up any school

7-9- snack/finish up chores/read aloud or independantly

9- bedtime!

 

Of course times are not nearly that exact, but that is what we aim for!

[Sue G in PA]

I wanted to be uber-organized so I tried a "to the minute" schedule approach last year. It worked for about a week. :tongue_smilie: I got too stressed when we got off-track and so switched to a block format. Much less stressful for me. My blocks were simple. Schooltime, Choretime, Lunch, Freetime, etc. My older kids did their work independently for the most part and chose what subject to do when. That freed me up to work with my littles. Next year will be a bit different. My dh thinks we need more structure. :glare: So, I will modify block time to include specific subjects/children. Presto! More structure. :glare: Anyway, I need the flexibility or I will get overwhelmed. It's good to know what type of a person you are. What works for some moms may look very good on paper, but be disastrous for you.

[rlugbill]

I know that no one actually does this, but the 15 minute time periods intrigued me.

 

In my experience, if there isn't a time cut-off, you often go beyond the child's comfort zone. So, it gets to be no fun and difficult and then you stop.

 

Instead, I have found that if you stop while it's still enjoyable, it works much better. You stop while everyone is still having fun.

 

Few people actually do this. They go to the end of the lesson, rather than going for a set period of time. Or they go until they feel like quitting.

 

I am really curious about a structured approach where you have 15 min. segments, varying the types of activities and building in some breaks. Some subjects you could schedule 2 or 3 time periods for, such as math and language arts. But instead of doing 30 or 45 minutes straight, you do 15 minutes at a time and do other activities in between.

 

There is a lot of research showing that spaced learning is more effective than massed learning in terms of retaining the information. In other words, doing 4 sessions of 10 minutes each is more effective than doing 40 minutes straight.

[DragonFaerie]

I don't schedule much of our day. We do get up at a specific time. I do read alouds during breakfast followed by any "together" classes (I teach history and geography to both kids together). After that, they can work on whatever subject they feel like doing. They have a planning book into which I write down their assignments for every day that week (so they can work on just one day's stuff or work ahead and get the week done early) and they choose what order they do what. A lot of their work is independent so I can just wander back and forth and help where I'm needed. We usually break for lunch around 12 and then they finish up whatever they still have afterward. They do know that they are expected to get all of the day's work completed before they can go play. However, I have been known to let them push something to the next day if it gets late or they are getting frustrated or overwhelmed.

[lucyfan70]

I refuse to block myself in like that. We start or try to start at a specific tome each day. We just do the subjects for that day until they are done.

[alpidarkomama]

My first draft of my schedule is done down to the minute. My next draft transforms into time blocks. The minutes give me a good idea of how long/often to schedule various subjects. We have a hefty dual secular/Jewish curriculum so we don't have much wiggle room if we want to finish our learning at a normal hour.

 

Commenting on my own comment. Now that I'm done figuring it all out, I'm planning to give each kid a "ticket" that has a check off list of what s/he needs to do in each block of time. We'll have 3 morning blocks and 2 afternoon blocks. I'll do a little bouncing around between kids, but I'm hoping it works well. Last year, I had no idea how I was going to teach a 2nd grader and a Kindergartener at the same time, and it worked! This year I have no idea how I'll get to the Kindergartener, 1st grader, and 3rd grader, and not completely ignore the preschooler, but somehow it will work out! :)

[kristinannie]

I have two blocks of time. We do the morning session which is first thing in the morning. We do religion, handwriting, math, phonics and spelling. We then have a long playtime. Then we do another block where we do the unit study, art, music, etc. It works really well for us. I definitely don't work well with a set schedule. Since we are at home, why bother? I know some people might thrive on that, but it just stresses me out!!!! Plus, there is some leeway there. If we get done early...more playtime! What a great incentive ala Charlotte Mason!

[kolamum]

Have you read the book or seen the video How To Schedule Your CM Education? It helps with block timing. ;)

[boscopup]

I schedule exact times, BUT... I feel free to ignore those times and change subjects around if I want to. :D I make sure things like lunch and break are close enough to their regular time. Just yesterday, we followed my schedule mostly and got done before 11am (our end time on the schedule) since we had started about 15-20 minutes early. I didn't follow the exact order of subjects though. I swapped a few around, doing a couple subjects before mid-morning break that are usually done afterward and vice versa. Worked just fine!

[JudoMom]

I do what works at the time, which seems to change annually at our house.

 

...

 

I guess, you just figure out what works NOW. As you can see, that means something different for each of my children. Enjoy that about home schooling. Do what works best for you and enjoy the journey. Before you know it, they're heading off to College (mine will this coming spring). Boo hoo, sniff sniff, waaaaa!

 

Isn't that the truth. About the time I get it figured out and comfortable, needs change. It's always a juggling act, though!

[Little Blue House]

I agree that finding what works NOW is the key. Right now, block scheduling works for us. However, my oldest is needing some help managing how long some of his schoolwork takes. Thinking out loud here.... This might be a good time to introduce him to a more specific timed schedule. Not to frustrate him with how long something takes, but to show him that he is wasting time dwaddling.