heidip2p Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 We have pretty much ironed out all of our curriculum issues. The last big thing is our schedule. I have been trying to have the older kids work on their independent work in the morning. Then we do our group work when the little ones are napping. At this point in our life....this schedule does not work. I feel like I am spread too thin accross the board in the morning. So I was thinking of trying to open up our mornings for crafts, reading, chores, outside time. Then we would do the bulk of our school from 12-4 or so. The little ones nap from about 12-2.....on a good day. lol My dh is in from work at around 2pm everyday. So this would mean there is a parent with the schoolage kids and one for the little guys. Just wondering if anyone else has tried this and what were your thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momsuz123 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Yes I do. I too have a little one that naps, most of the time. What I do in the morning is more of the one on one work with one child, while the other one is playing with their little brother. Then, when he naps, I do some of the curriculum that is for both of the girls (grammar, SOTW) or go back and do one on one. I also find that we do well on weekends. A little here, a little there. The kids really don't mind it, because they understand that it is less during the week. I know of one family of 4 (with 2 little ones) that doesn't even start school until the afternoon. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahv Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Half of my children nap in the afternoon, so we school during nap time. It usually ends up being anywhere from 1 to 4, sometimes 5. I try to squeeze as much as I can out of naptime. :lol: It's precious work time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustybug Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 My DH works second shift, so we often do our schooling in the afternoon. I do my DS's preschool work in the mornings (30 min. tops) and then when he and my youngest take their afternoon nap, and my DH leaves for work, my oldest DD and I settle in for her schoolwork. It isn't ideal for me, but it is what works for now. DH prefers this schedule because then he can spend time with the kids in the morning before work, but there are two days a week at least that this makes my day more stressful because we have other late afternoon/early evening committmens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heidip2p Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 My DH works second shift, so we often do our schooling in the afternoon. I do my DS's preschool work in the mornings (30 min. tops) and then when he and my youngest take their afternoon nap, and my DH leaves for work, my oldest DD and I settle in for her schoolwork. It isn't ideal for me, but it is what works for now. DH prefers this schedule because then he can spend time with the kids in the morning before work, but there are two days a week at least that this makes my day more stressful because we have other late afternoon/early evening committmens. I totally get it. I think the hard thing for me is working out a schedule that isn't ideal for me. In my head I want the day to go one way but our reality is quite different. I know it is silly but I feel like I am breaking the "rules" if we aren't doing school in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Sometimes we start at 9pm. Usually we do either 10-11, 11:30;or more recently 12:30-1:30 and maybe finish that night after dinner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I think for the time being that we're gonna do most of it in the afternoon. I only have one school-aged child right now, and even though my young child has dropped his naps (at 18 months :glare:) it seems to work well for us. We do out-and-about stuff in the morning while they're fresh and then do some sit-down type stuff together when they're ready to snuggle. All the children's programs seem to be in the morning too. And I do plan on having more babies (I hope) so once the dust settles, we'll also be taking advantage of nap time :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Sometimes we start at 9pm. Usually we do either 10-11, 11:30;or more recently 12:30-1:30 and maybe finish that night after dinner. Did you really mean 9pm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I totally get it. I think the hard thing for me is working out a schedule that isn't ideal for me. In my head I want the day to go one way but our reality is quite different. I know it is silly but I feel like I am breaking the "rules" if we aren't doing school in the morning. :iagree: It also just bugs me. :D I like to leave the afternoon free for seeing friends or whatever, but often it doesn't work out as well for us to do school in the morning. I try to let go of my idea and sometimes we manage it. It's hard for me to flip back and forth between morning and afternoon school, but it's just how it is this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txhomemom Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 We pretty much do all of our homeschool work in the afternoon and evening. We also do work on the weekends as well. I have a toddler that is at the age that makes it impossible to do any school work in the morning. I focus on giving her one on one time in the morning and then when she takes a nap I can switch gears and work with my older daughter. Since she is more independent now I usually just give her assignments at that time and then throughout the evening she can ask questions. A couple of days a week we sit down and go over everything and if there is anything I need to teach like math concepts or history topics then we go over that as well. My dh gets home fairly early in the afternoon so once he is home then I can have him watch the toddler as well. I think there are just different stages of homeschool and sometimes you have to switch things around to make things work, but that is the beauty of homeschooling! BTW, my oldest dd is a night owl so it would not be unheard of for us to be doing school at 9 or even 10 pm at night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 We have pretty much ironed out all of our curriculum issues. The last big thing is our schedule. I have been trying to have the older kids work on their independent work in the morning. Then we do our group work when the little ones are napping. At this point in our life....this schedule does not work. I feel like I am spread too thin accross the board in the morning. So I was thinking of trying to open up our mornings for crafts, reading, chores, outside time. Then we would do the bulk of our school from 12-4 or so. The little ones nap from about 12-2.....on a good day. lol My dh is in from work at around 2pm everyday. So this would mean there is a parent with the schoolage kids and one for the little guys. Just wondering if anyone else has tried this and what were your thoughts? Our schedule is similar. My dh leaves for work at 2:30 and gets home about 2 am. Therefore, we go to bed late, after 11 pm, and get up late. We usually start school after 12 in the afternoon, the ittle kids play outside for a couple hours, then we go back and finish school by 7or 8pmish. The only time this is hard for us is getting up for church on Sundays. lol It works for us. My dh can sleep without the kids waking him up, the kids get to play outside for hours, and I'm not a real scheduled person anyway. Btw, it's 10:27 am and no one else is awake here yet. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Did you really mean 9pm? Use, 9pm. We own a performing arts academy. I teach from 4-8:30 twice week, 4-7:30 twice a week. We eat dinner between 8&9 pm and the kids go to bed at 11, I go to bed around the.same time or at midnight. Dh owns a window cleaning business as well. Some days he works 8-3ish. After dinner is our family time. Last night we looked at protazoa with the.microscope until 10:30, then the kids went to bed. We even do Sunday night church rather than the morning. This insane schedule was one of the reasons we chose homeschooling. We need that flexibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 We are another family with an afternoon schedule. Dh gets home late between late, so we eat late and go to bed late. I mean we typically eat dinner well after 8 and it is typical that we are all up at midnight. It isn't uncommon for us to all be up at 1 or terribly unusually for us to be up at 2. Dh and I get up between 7:30 and 8, but that is our alone time. Kids do not get up until after dh leaves for work. Actually, whenever an offspring manages to get up before 9, it irritates me... unless I have already managed to finish my coffee. So, obviously we are doing school in the afternoon. Even my 18yo's dual enrollment classes don't start until 12:30! Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess4879 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I have an 8, 5 and 2 year old. I *aim* to get a chunk done with my 8 year old in the morning, she then has her solo-work to do in the afternoon, while I work on letters and math with my 5 year old. However...chaos often ensues and a lot of times we end up doing the more teacher-intensive stuff in the afternoon with my 8 year old. Afternoons are not her prime-learning time though, so her focus is off. We actually started doing Art and Science on the weekend. Art on Saturday and Science on Sunday. This is working out so far. It frees up our weekday time, as both subjects are typically time-intensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMS83 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Mine are 6, 4 1/2, and 18m and I can't find it easier to do anything at anytime! I still send them all off for nap/quiet time. They are best behaved in the morning (and the earlier, the better), which makes it ideal for school and errands. Hard to decide which I'd rather have them behave well for. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloggermom Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 We start school at 6 AM. I find they work best between 6 AM - 8 AM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 there are some days we get to do school in the morning, if DS is amenable to it. Usually if it's bad weather and he can't go outside. If he can go outside I let him play for several hours then we do some school in the afternoon and then more later in the evening. we've often done a history lesson at 9pm, right before bedtime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maizeydaizey Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Certain days of the week, like today -- yes! We work around our activities, but when we are just home for the day, like today, then afternoons are just smoother and mellow for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 mostly yes--my kiddo's not a morning person and with me trying to get things ready to start our studies-get showered-get everyone fed breakfast/make lunch for dh to take to work....sometimes it's just easier to do afternoon/evening studies---whatever works I say.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 We live in a condo in a very hot climate. In the summer, it is too hot to go to the pool after about 10am. The water itself will stay at 80 for three months, and the heat will be 90 and 70% humidity. Therefore for about 3-4 months of every year we go to the pool in the mornings and do our schoolwork in the afternoon. Then the kids might get a little more playtime when the sun sets before bedtime. I can't say my kids do better in the afternoon. They are less focused, and snack time and lunch time and prepping for dinner make many interruptions. However, this is the only way I have found to work in July, August and September. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 We pretty much do all of our homeschool work in the afternoon and evening. We also do work on the weekends as well. So do we. Of course, that is in part because I work outside of the home in the mornings, but realistically, my kids are not morning people, so even if I were at home we wouldn't school very early in the day! We generally start around 2 or 2:30 and finish up by 4 or 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 (edited) We mostly stick to the afternoons except on days where we are doing a big project and my son is eager to get going. T and Th he has a class outside of the house that starts and 10AM. That main reason the afternoons work for us is because my younger son is usually asleep for a reasonable chunk of the afternoon. As his nap fades out, we may shift to a morning schedule. My son is usually asleep until 8AM, sometimes a bit later, so I don't imagine we would start much sooner than 9AM or 10AM. I am a morning person and like my early mornings to work and exercise and hear myself think. Edited February 27, 2012 by kijipt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in MN Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 We are happy at not be alone! Some days we don't get started until the school bus is going by - to take kids *home*. My dd and I are not morning people, so we wake up late and it takes a while for our brains to "boot-up". We're still doing the table work right now, but we've really only been at it about three hours. Our area is also hot and muggy in the summer, and our winters frigidly cold. I tend to let us take the spring and autumn off and work summer and winter. My daughter wants to have a "true" summer vacation, so we will be working through the spring this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyrjoy Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Sometimes, yes! I always thought I must be strange, but this year, with the way things go, it seems I do best in the afternoons too. LOL! I have a hard time getting my kids to bed early so they end up sleeping in a bit, especially my DS. So, we get started later, anyways! I'd love to implement all afternoon schooling IF I knew we'd get done in time, before 4:30ish!! But, I think we better stick with some school in the morning just to make sure we don't try to cram everything in the morning. Truly, though, we only get one or two hours done in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 A few years ago I simply refused to do school before 1pm. My kids needed time to wake up, and be ready for the day. Usually just after lunch time they would be ready to go. We would work from 1-4 or 4:30. It was perfect for us. I say give it a try, worst case scenario, you have to go back to what's not really working well now because the afternoon school was a bust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POPAcademy Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 We are afternoon school-ers. We've never done anything different,so I think it's normal. My 2 yr old naps from 1:00-3:30,and the minute she hits the bed,we get to work. I spend 1-1.5 hours doing K work with my big girl. I really like it,because we have quiet time to really focus,and talk,and be,without a toddler in the way. I fully plan to continue on this schedule for 1st grade. I know the toddlers naptime will shorten next year,but we will try to make it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIS0320 Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 We *always* school in the afternoon. My littlest is napping, my middle is either having rest-time or he's at afternoon PreK. It is the only way for us to get anything accomplished right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlcspcarcetc Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 We have get it all done in the morning. Some days, we get started around 10 and get one kid done before lunch...but most days, I don't start until after lunch. I am not a morning person. It's enough for me to get up with them and get breakfast into them... I feel good when I do get started early...it's just really tough for me. I feel like I'm setting them up for failure and for procrastination (I am the world's worst procrastinator). But, I also have to do what works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tricia Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I do our school when it works. But it normally stays the same from week to week. We have a large family and we love our daddy time when he is off. He works rotating shift work and isn't always working on the weekdays. So we do our together school when daddy is gone. On the weekdays he is here I can some times do my teaching but mostly the kids just do their daily latin, math, french, bible, copywork on their own. Well, I'm here but they don't normally need help with it. I teach geography, history, classical writing, and christian studies one day a week each. Some times twice if I can work it in. I follow the Latin Centered Curriculum schedule and we love it. I do evenings and Saturdays, depending on daddy but by the end of the week we have completed everything so it works for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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