How do you schedule your week?

[elegantlion]

I'm trying to figure out what might work for us in the fall (9th). Currently ds is not disciplined enough to hand him a weekly schedule and have it all get done. However, daily schedules have flopped this year as assignments take a varying amount of time, and there is no way for me to foresee where that will happen. A one day writing assignment turned into a five hour (over two days) assignment.

 

An hourly schedule wouldn't work, except we do start and stop times, because again I never know how long an assignment will truly take. Well do many subjects together as well. We also have stamina issues, once it's passed a certain time, his brain is just done. That part we've been increasing each year, but 7-8 hour days are not in the ballpark yet.

 

Here are some options that have worked, to a point:

 

1- start and end time, lunch time, work diligently daily, stay flexible.

 

2- modified block schedule. Have some subjects done daily, others done MW, others TTh, and then have F be "C" schedule with some subjects from A and B days.

 

3- daily subjects labeled, usually they are 3-5 times per week. Do same schedule every week.

 

How else could I do this? What works for you?

[regentrude]

What works for you?

 

We take a different approach which allows DD a lot of freedom how she wants to structure her day: we have no schedule at all.

 

She has to spend six hours on school work, and she chooses what subjects she wants to work on for how long. This means that not every subject gets done daily. She goes on binges where she does a lot of math for a few weeks, or a lot of history. It always evens out over time. I remind her when it gets too lopsided and a subject has been neglected for too long.

The work for her college class has priority; there is a set schedule of assignments and she regularly needs to hand in things.

The subjects we do at home are more flexible. I do not grade every little thing; in science she has two tests per semester, in math only one final exam at the end. So, there is no artificial schedule other than "be done by the end of the semester".

In English and history we allow her even more flexibility because the courses are self-designed, there is no fixed "canon", and it varies so much how long certain assignments take. I am fine with adjusting her reading list if she spends more time going into depth with one work - we still do plenty. (Because the course is self designed, I count hours and award credit when enough hours have been accumulated.)

[elegantlion]

Thank you, both. The no schedule at all is my ideal, but he's also the kid that waits until the last minute. Right now he's not doing stellar work if he waits, so we need a schedule.

 

We started homeschooling in first grade. I imagined a world of fun and academics where we would glide through the day on a rainbow of learning, moving freely from subject to subject. I had behavioral problems the first month. I asked dh about it and he asked where my schedule was. Schedule?! I don't homeschool to have a schedule! But I made one and ds was thrilled. It was then I knew he had a bit of dh in his personality.

 

I still don't like schedules, I don't even make a menu plan. Who wants to know on Monday what they are going to eat for dinner on Thursday, where's the joy in that? :lol:

[regentrude]

Thank you, both. The no schedule at all is my ideal, but he's also the kid that waits until the last minute. Right now he's not doing stellar work if he waits, so we need a schedule.

 

 

See, with our "no schedule" there is no such thing as waiting - she has to put in six hours of productive school work each day.

[Deb in NZ]

At that age my dc needed the structure of a schedule to get things done. Our schedules varied from term to term, depending on the timing of their outside commitments. What worked best for highschool-age was having a list of assignments for each subject for the year, not tied to any specific day. My dc knew that they needed to have completed a certain number of assignments by the end of each term. They could choose to work on one assignment / subject each day or work in bigger blocks of assignments in more of a block schedule. During regatta season we would intensively school 3 days a week for longer days, while other seasons we had shorter days but daily attention to most subjects.

 

Plug your extra curr. activities into a weekly timetable. Take into account when your ds finds study most affective. My ds#1 was best in the mornings, but ds#2 gets the most out of his study late evenings. Divide your chosen curriculum into 3-6 terms & use those points as mini goals to keep you on track. HS/ing gives you the freedom to tailor your schedule to your requirements.

 

JMHO,

[happygrrl]

I imagined a world of fun and academics where we would glide through the day on a rainbow of learning....

 

This made me laugh so hard! :lol:

 

(I am so frazzled right now and *should* be in bed. You just gave me permission to laugh and hit the pillow, thanks!)

[elegantlion]

At that age my dc needed the structure of a schedule to get things done. Our schedules varied from term to term, depending on the timing of their outside commitments. What worked best for highschool-age was having a list of assignments for each subject for the year, not tied to any specific day. My dc knew that they needed to have completed a certain number of assignments by the end of each term. They could choose to work on one assignment / subject each day or work in bigger blocks of assignments in more of a block schedule. During regatta season we would intensively school 3 days a week for longer days, while other seasons we had shorter days but daily attention to most subjects.

 

Plug your extra curr. activities into a weekly timetable. Take into account when your ds finds study most affective. My ds#1 was best in the mornings, but ds#2 gets the most out of his study late evenings. Divide your chosen curriculum into 3-6 terms & use those points as mini goals to keep you on track. HS/ing gives you the freedom to tailor your schedule to your requirements.

 

JMHO,

 

We divide our year into 3 terms, and right now 12 weeks is really too far for him to "see". I currently tweak our schedule as necessary and ds simply rolls his eyes when he sees a new schedule coming out. :lol: His best working time is after lunch, we're not morning people at all.

 

I'm going to sit down and discuss some of this with him today.

 

This made me laugh so hard! :lol:

 

(I am so frazzled right now and *should* be in bed. You just gave me permission to laugh and hit the pillow, thanks!)

 

I hope you slept. Ironically, I saw a rainbow outside my house yesterday. We've lived here over a year and that was our first rainbow here. It was so pretty.

[MSNative]

We do certain subjects daily - math, bible, reading, etc. Other than that, my kids focus on one subject a day and finish it. Monday is history, Tuesday is science, etc. I give them a syllabus each quarter and then a weekly reminder. They check it off as they go. So far this is working pretty well.

[laughing lioness]

On Monday we go over everything that is due (as in outside deadline) for the week- he has 2 on-line classes, 2 classes at TC (an academic class day) and Math tutoring. We list everything that is due, then everything that needs to get done in order to finish subjects "on time". It's listed on a sheet (Donna Young.org has several), by course.

We go over it, and list class/tutoring times- it's helpful to him to see it visually. He is very motivated, but is still working on organizing his work/self. AND hewould rather write for hours than do several of his other classes right now.

 

We are only home 3 days a week, so those are intensive school days. If he gets up by 6 he can write for 2 hrs. If he doesn't, he starts with math. Then other stuff, depending on priority of when things are due.

We have just switched some things around so that the 12 yo is doing some of the 17 yo chores and chores don't get done in the a.m. We were starting in the a.m. too late.

[regentrude]

But seriously, do you have a timer and how do you know they aren't staring into space or hiding Joshua Chamberlain's biography behind their math book????

 

I do not have a timer; my children are in charge of their schedules and log what they have done for how long. I am not in a position to monitor their every moment because I work. But I can judge whether what they report is acceptable work or whether they have been distracted.

So, to take your example: if they report doing math and have been staring into space or reading, I can see that they have not done an appropriate number of problems for the time they claim to have spent.

The consequence is that they lose the privilege of working unsupervised and have to come to the office with me and work there or work under my supervision at the kitchen table when I am home. And yes, occasionally we had to resort to this.

 

How do you define productive work?

As "productive" work I define any of the tasks that constitute assigned school work: working problems form the math book, reading and outlining the chemistry chapter, taking notes from their history reading, writing and editing essays, reading assigned literature, listening to TC lectures, researching a topic for a report, doing French grammar exercises...

 

And like I say, how do you differentiate between a kid that reads Animal Farm and it takes him a total of 5 hours to read the work as opposed for a kid that it takes an hour. Which one was more productive????

I do not run a competition in my house and do not give awards for "more productive". I tailor the assignments and expectations to my children's abilities. I know for example that DD is a faster reader than DS (even adjusting for age) and that she can study more and longer literary works than her brother. Consequently, she has the opportunity to learn more in the same time. (Which, to some people, may seem unfair; we homeschool, however, to give our children academic work that is appropriately challenging. If they wanted to have it "easy", they'd attend ps and excel without effort)

[Susie in CA]

See, with our "no schedule" there is no such thing as waiting - she has to put in six hours of productive school work each day.

 

Regentrude,

 

How do you determine if she has been productive or not? My understanding of productive doesn't always seem to be the same as my sons. :D

 

Susie

[lewelma]

Regentrude,

 

I love your approach! Thank you for fleshing it out and listing the consequences for slacking off. I think this could work well for my older when he hits high school.

 

Ruth in NZ

[Susie in CA]

Regentrude,

 

I love your approach as well! I do think we will institute something similar as we get to highschool. I have another year to ponder this.

 

Susie

[rwjx2khsmj]

My dd13 and I sit down on Monday morning with a list of her assignments for the week. I write the list in her notebook then we decide which day each assignment will be completed. Some subjects she works on daily. Others she prefers to complete all at once. At the end of each school day I check the assignments according to her schedule.

 

If she completes the assignments according to schedule she has freedom to work where she chooses. If she fails to complete the assignments for the day, she spends the following day sitting at the table under my direct supervision.

 

For my dd, checking in daily is a requirement. Otherwise, we get to the end of the week and only one or two things have been completed.

[gyetvaimom]

oops

Edited April 23, 2012 by gyetvaimom
oops wrong quote

[gyetvaimom]

We do certain subjects daily - math, bible, reading, etc. Other than that, my kids focus on one subject a day and finish it. Monday is history, Tuesday is science, etc. I give them a syllabus each quarter and then a weekly reminder. They check it off as they go. So far this is working pretty well.

 

This is very interesting. Hmmmm... something to really think about if it might work for us. Thanks!

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

Thank you, both. The no schedule at all is my ideal, but he's also the kid that waits until the last minute. Right now he's not doing stellar work if he waits, so we need a schedule.

 

I still don't like schedules, I don't even make a menu plan. Who wants to know on Monday what they are going to eat for dinner on Thursday, where's the joy in that? :lol:

 

 

:iagree: This is me too! ( PS: Isn't procrastination a sign of a Perfectionist?) I remember getting behind with work in 4th grade and not knowing why.... In college, I was so last minute and still did not know why, as long as I got the grade, I did not care. I think it has helped to realize I am not a morning person at all!!!

Edited April 23, 2012 by TGHEALTHYMOM

[Musicmom]

I'm trying to figure out what might work for us in the fall (9th). Currently ds is not disciplined enough to hand him a weekly schedule and have it all get done. However, daily schedules have flopped this year as assignments take a varying amount of time, and there is no way for me to foresee where that will happen. A one day writing assignment turned into a five hour (over two days) assignment.

 

An hourly schedule wouldn't work, except we do start and stop times, because again I never know how long an assignment will truly take. Well do many subjects together as well. We also have stamina issues, once it's passed a certain time, his brain is just done. That part we've been increasing each year, but 7-8 hour days are not in the ballpark yet.

 

Here are some options that have worked, to a point:

 

1- start and end time, lunch time, work diligently daily, stay flexible.

 

2- modified block schedule. Have some subjects done daily, others done MW, others TTh, and then have F be "C" schedule with some subjects from A and B days.

 

3- daily subjects labeled, usually they are 3-5 times per week. Do same schedule every week.

 

How else could I do this? What works for you?

I've tried all different kinds of scheduling over the years, with varying degrees of success, but most of our schedules have broken down sooner or later... for all of the reasons you mention above! :D

 

Weekly assignments and a general routine for school have kind of been my ideal, and it worked well for my ds (now a sophomore in college), whose weekly mantra was, "Just put it on my assignment sheet, Mom, and I'll figure out how to get it done." HOWEVER, dd is a different story. After 2 years of doing weekly assignments for her, I have finally realized it is just not working for her (and she's 11th grade.) Looking at the weekly list makes her feel overwhelmed and lost. She works diligently but figuring out when to get everything started--and when to stop and move on to something else so that it all gets done is very difficult.

 

One thing you might try, which is what I started doing with dd a few weeks ago, is micro-managing for awhile--where you look at what needs to be accomplished for the week (or for certain deadlines) and break it down into bite-sized, accomplishable assignments for each subject for each day--essentially doing what you envision your ds ideally doing himself to plan everything out. Once he starts getting the hang of accomplishing each day's list (and along with that figuring out how to schedule himself one day at a time) and seeing how it translates into a chunk of work for the week, then turn over 1 subject for him to plan out for the week. When that's going smoothly, turn over another one, then another, etc.

 

I resisted going "backward" to a daily list for a long time, thinking my dd was too old for it, but I'm finding it is working very well for her so far. She already manages her online chemistry course--in which a ton of weekly assignments are given--completely on her own (and does extremely well at it! :confused:) and I manage her home courses. It is harder for me to figure it all out up front, but then probably good too in that it makes me really think through how much I'm asking and how long something is likely to take--not to mention showing me what my dd is really up against in planning out a week's work. I write it all out on the old weekly list, with each day's piece labelled. From dd's standpoint, she looks at the list for the day (e.g. all the items labelled Monday) and feels in control--each piece looks finite and doable and she can see how to fit it into her schedule for the day. Also, things are not getting put off but worked at gradually and she's beginning to see the value and power in that (vs. the old pattern of spending too much time on some subjects and ending up trying to do an entire week's worth of a neglected subject in 20 minutes late Friday night :eek:, which overwhelms both of us!!) I just turned over history to her (something that would usually get pushed out till it falls off the end), and she told me excitedly that she'd discovered that doing just a few pages a day was not only enjoyable, but made it really easy to accomplish the week's goal. I think there's hope! :001_smile:

 

Anyway, just another idea to throw into the mix in case it might be helpful for your situation.

[elegantlion]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm mulling them over. We have six weeks left and we're going to play with arrangement.

[gyetvaimom]

:iagree: This is me too! ( PS: Isn't procrastination a sign of a Perfectionist?) I remember getting behind with work in 4th grade and not knowing why.... In college, I was so last minute and still did not know why, as long as I got the grade, I did not care. I think it has helped to realize I am not a morning person at all!!!

 

I've been struggling ALL MY LIFE to rise early. My dad says, to this day, that he had to peel the sheets off of me every morning to get me to school on time. In college, I didn't sleep for 36 hours to finish my thesis! Talk about procrastination. (love the perfectionist part, by the way - heehhehe)

I am more of a night owl. This is probably because all the distractions of the day are in bed! :) The trouble is, my kids are morning risers and do their best early in the morning (like a lot of people!)and my husband is the type who doesn't need as much sleep. Ugh! So, I continue to struggle. I make checklists for my older students so they can get started before I have my morning coffee. I also use HomeSchool Tracker Online - I just started using it. It has helped quite a bit, but I'm still a newbie at it. If I can't get down the stairs at the same time the older kids do because the baby woke up a few times at night, the kids can use their lists to smoothly get their work done. From one struggling scheduler (and early riser) to another: cheers! :cheers2:

[Brenda in MA]

I've tried all different kinds of scheduling over the years, with varying degrees of success, but most of our schedules have broken down sooner or later... for all of the reasons you mention above! :D

 

Weekly assignments and a general routine for school have kind of been my ideal, and it worked well for my ds (now a sophomore in college), whose weekly mantra was, "Just put it on my assignment sheet, Mom, and I'll figure out how to get it done." HOWEVER, dd is a different story. After 2 years of doing weekly assignments for her, I have finally realized it is just not working for her (and she's 11th grade.) Looking at the weekly list makes her feel overwhelmed and lost. She works diligently but figuring out when to get everything started--and when to stop and move on to something else so that it all gets done is very difficult.

 

One thing you might try, which is what I started doing with dd a few weeks ago, is micro-managing for awhile--where you look at what needs to be accomplished for the week (or for certain deadlines) and break it down into bite-sized, accomplishable assignments for each subject for each day--essentially doing what you envision your ds ideally doing himself to plan everything out. Once he starts getting the hang of accomplishing each day's list (and along with that figuring out how to schedule himself one day at a time) and seeing how it translates into a chunk of work for the week, then turn over 1 subject for him to plan out for the week. When that's going smoothly, turn over another one, then another, etc.

 

I resisted going "backward" to a daily list for a long time, thinking my dd was too old for it, but I'm finding it is working very well for her so far. She already manages her online chemistry course--in which a ton of weekly assignments are given--completely on her own (and does extremely well at it! :confused:) and I manage her home courses. It is harder for me to figure it all out up front, but then probably good too in that it makes me really think through how much I'm asking and how long something is likely to take--not to mention showing me what my dd is really up against in planning out a week's work. I write it all out on the old weekly list, with each day's piece labelled. From dd's standpoint, she looks at the list for the day (e.g. all the items labelled Monday) and feels in control--each piece looks finite and doable and she can see how to fit it into her schedule for the day. Also, things are not getting put off but worked at gradually and she's beginning to see the value and power in that (vs. the old pattern of spending too much time on some subjects and ending up trying to do an entire week's worth of a neglected subject in 20 minutes late Friday night :eek:, which overwhelms both of us!!) I just turned over history to her (something that would usually get pushed out till it falls off the end), and she told me excitedly that she'd discovered that doing just a few pages a day was not only enjoyable, but made it really easy to accomplish the week's goal. I think there's hope! :001_smile:

 

Anyway, just another idea to throw into the mix in case it might be helpful for your situation.

:iagree: This is almost exactly the approach I have taken.

 

My older one was much better at planning and managing than my younger one. With the older one, once high school started, I'd give him a weekly list on Sunday night, and he'd write out each day's work in his planner. By the end of high school, when he was part home/part CC, he was doing all the planning himself. He has transitioned very well into college and managing his workload there.

 

The younger one needs more hand holding and direction, but I can start to see some maturity and ability to plan an prioritize now that he's 15 yo. He will be taking over more of the planning job in the next couple of years.

 

One other thing I'd add is that at the start of the year, I usually look at all the courses and suggest an overall daily schedule of how much and which subjects to do each day. We typically try that out for a week or two, and usually need to change the approach one we see how it's working out -- so I'd advise you to be flexible and not be disappointed if the initial plan doesn't work.

 

Best wishes,

Brenda