Do you have a schedule you just love- Please share- I'm looking to change things up!

[Soror]

Well, our first year we did read-alouds, games and walks in the am and then did our official work- which wasn't much mind you. Since then we've nearly always did our bookwork first and then pursued the other stuff. All too often however we don't get to the other, especially the previous 2 years when I was quite tired from pregnancy and a new baby, I needed that time to rest. Now the kids are getting older and I've got more energy I really want to make sure we are able to do more - I'm considering switching back to doing most of our skill work in the afternoons.  Perhaps there is something else I've not thought of though....

I'm considering:

9 - 11 for read-alouds (history/science/lit), discussion, songs, games 

11-11:30- snack and break

11:30-12:30 Math for ds and reading for dd (start w/ ds going over new concepts and starting him out- about 30 min and then start reading w/ dd- while ds finishes up- I sit between the 2 of them so can help as needed)

12:30-1:30- Lunch and doco/ed show

1:30-3:00- Writing and grammar for ds/ Math for dd

[PeterPan]

bump

[walkermamaof4]

I'll share because ours is so abnormal I think. My kids asked if we could please do our "dependent" work or work we do together first thing, before breakfast! That way they aren't waiting on anyone to finish their school work each day. Once their dependent work is done, they can take as long as they'd like for their independent work and chores. This has really encouraged them to work hard and steadily at their independent work, and some even do their independent work the night before. So we do dictation and spelling for the ones who are on the same level while the others wake up or start other work, read aloud, scripture memory, poetry, and then they are free. I stay in the school room while the eldest makes breakfast. Recently the fastest worker has decided he wants to help make breakfast and so he does. We get done our school day so much faster with this routine! It is almost unreal how well this works for us. They grab a banana if they want before school starts. Breakfast has protein always and is hearty, just later than it used to be! I think being able to schedule our days any way we want and change it and tweak it all year long is a tremendous advantage to homeschooling! One night this week dh was out of town and they asked to do dependent work for the next day at 8pm after several of them did their independent work for the next day. We did and they had a "free day" the next day. I love homeschooling!

[Soror]

Interesting. I've done some work with dd before breakfast and that has worked ok, especially when she is up fairly early.

[Walking-Iris]

We have to do our math and any writing/spelling work (any thing requiring a pencil!) first thing after breakfast. We don't have the energy later in the day for those subjects. Our afternoons are usually reading and history or science. Friday is our art and nature study day.

 

 

 

[Berta]

Our schedule is pretty unusual too. We get up by 8:30 and have breakfast. Then we do our outdoor chores and tidy up the house. We have lunch around noon and then we start our schoolwork. It gets too hot here in the summer to be outdoors for long in the afternoon, so that is school time. My daughter is in competition training which takes up about 15 hrs per week. On Tuesdays we don't do school work because we have training and library time. On Wednesday (the only day we have nothing scheduled outside of the house) we concentrate on getting a lot of school work done. It usually works out that we work on schoolwork 3-4 times per week. Because we spend a lot of school time on Wednesdays, we are actually ahead this year.

[LindaOz]

We have recently changed our schedule and we are finding it really good. There were two things that bothered me in our day. Firstly, that I spent the whole morning doing schoolwork but didn't get to do special things with my preschoolers. Secondly, that sometimes school would end up taking too long and my kids didn't get much chance to follow interests like I wanted them to.

So this is what we now do:

Together time around or after breakfast consisting of Bible, singing together, some memory, and maybe a read-aloud. And morning jobs :)

9-11am (ish) we have two hours of concentrated bookwork - no breaks. Math, spelling, English or writing, science or social studies workbook. It's straightforward and predictable - but it's working.

Then from 11 till about 2 it's own time. I spend time with my littles doing painting or reading to them or going for a walk. It's a precious time. My school age kiddos basically amuse themselves doing craft, gardening, Lego, jigsaws, music pracs - whatever their interests are. Sometimes we go for a walk or play in the park.


After lunch I take my little two upstairs to read and settle for a sleep while the others clean up then go off to read quietly. When I come back downstairs I spend time with my next two doing history/science reading and projects, poetry, art etc. The older kids finish any work still needing to be done. The house is quiet 'cause the little girls are asleep so things get done.

I'm liking this routine because I feel like we get decent work done in the morning, I don't feel like I'm ignoring my littles all morning, and my kids are getting more time to spend on their interests. Win win.

[MinivanMom]

We have always started schoolwork immediately after breakfast. We did skill work first (math, grammar, writing, French) and then gathered together to read. Then everyone had silent reading/naptime in the afternoon. This worked really well when I always had a baby napping in the morning and I was always pregnant and needing an afternoon break. Now my last baby is 2 and has given up his morning nap, so he and his brother were getting into all sorts of chaos in the morning and I worried that I wasn't giving them enough attention while I was working with the big kids. The big kids were also getting frustrated with each other for taking too long on their skill work since we had to wait for everyone to be done before we started reading. Once they were done with their schoolwork, they couldn't practice their instruments like they wanted, because the little boys were taking their afternoon nap.

 

We flipped everything about 3 months ago. Now the big kids are practicing their instruments in the morning, and then we're doing schoolwork in the afternoon while the little boys are napping. We are switching to reading together first and then splitting up to do skill work. Everyone can take as long as they want to finish up. It's been an adjustment for me, because I feel like I have less personal time without the big afternoon naptime/quiet time; however, I'm loving that I can spend the whole morning with the little boys. I find that I have more time to read to them and take them to the park. It's been a great switch.

[LindaOz]

MinivanMom. We must have been typing at the same time yet our stories are quite similar - even down to music prac being limited in the afternoon because the little kids are asleep. And I can relate to you finding you have less personal time without the afternoon quiet time, but I agree that it is worth it. I like your solution :) .

[KeriJ]

Ours has finally clicked for us.  We are up around 7 and have breakfast together. Then everyone gets ready for the day and does a few minor chores.  My oldest 2 start music practice while I help the littles finish getting ready.  Often I have time to read a story with the youngest before the others finish practicing.

 

We all meet together and have "prayer and praise" time. We alternate between scripture, poetry or memory work during that time.   We talk about what's coming up in the week and what my general plans for the day are.

 

From about 9:00-11:30 we have focused school time.  We get through math and language arts with me rotating through everyone that needs me.  My older 2 have some independent school reading at that time also.  I'm usually able to fit in another story with the younger 2 and get them started on something hands on.  Otherwise they play nearby and have a short computer turn. Then we usually do a family subject...history, science, geography or drawing.

 

Afterwards, we clean up, they have free time while I fix lunch and switch laundry etc. Then lunch.

 

After lunch we put away laundry, listen to music.  I then read to the littles, put them down for a nap and read to the olders.  

 

Quiet time for all.  Mom rests, reads, computer etc.  The older 2 do spelling workbooks and study Bible verses before having free reading time.  My k-er listens to a book on tape and draws.

 

The rest of the day is free time, outside time, dinner, errands, clean up.

 

Before bed, we have Bible time with dh and then he reads to them.  

 

I don't do as much housework during the week other than dishes, laundry and clutter.  We have a big cleaning slot on Saturday morning.  Friday is errand day and some catch up.

 

This has been what has worked for us for awhile now.

 

 

[birchbark]

We have relaxed mornings here. My 7th-grader does his math first thing after getting up while the rest of us are getting ready for the day. Then we do breakfast and chores. The rest of the morning is read-aloud time, first the youngers and then the older. The older picks away at his seatwork or music during the youngers' reading. After lunch everyone goes outside for an hour or two. I found this works best during our winter days, which are many. :)  Then they come back in around 2pm, the nappers go down, and we hit the rest of the academics hard until they are done. It's a very productive time because there is no noise or distractions from the little ones.

[mamamindy]

We have recently changed our schedule and we are finding it really good. There were two things that bothered me in our day. Firstly, that I spent the whole morning doing schoolwork but didn't get to do special things with my preschoolers. Secondly, that sometimes school would end up taking too long and my kids didn't get much chance to follow interests like I wanted them to.

So this is what we now do:

Together time around or after breakfast consisting of Bible, singing together, some memory, and maybe a read-aloud. And morning jobs :)

9-11am (ish) we have two hours of concentrated bookwork - no breaks. Math, spelling, English or writing, science or social studies workbook. It's straightforward and predictable - but it's working.

Then from 11 till about 2 it's own time. I spend time with my littles doing painting or reading to them or going for a walk. It's a precious time. My school age kiddos basically amuse themselves doing craft, gardening, Lego, jigsaws, music pracs - whatever their interests are. Sometimes we go for a walk or play in the park.


After lunch I take my little two upstairs to read and settle for a sleep while the others clean up then go off to read quietly. When I come back downstairs I spend time with my next two doing history/science reading and projects, poetry, art etc. The older kids finish any work still needing to be done. The house is quiet 'cause the little girls are asleep so things get done.

I'm liking this routine because I feel like we get decent work done in the morning, I don't feel like I'm ignoring my littles all morning, and my kids are getting more time to spend on their interests. Win win.

This is my ideal day, LindaOz.  And I have had the same two complaints about my day.  This schedule has worked perfectly for us (when the kids are perfectly on schedule, that is ;)) because I do still have a baby that naps between 9 - 11ish while we're working on skills.  Thanks for sharing!

[MinivanMom]

MinivanMom. We must have been typing at the same time yet our stories are quite similar - even down to music prac being limited in the afternoon because the little kids are asleep. And I can relate to you finding you have less personal time without the afternoon quiet time, but I agree that it is worth it. I like your solution :) .

 

The change has been completely worth it and I love having more one-on-one time with my littlest boys, but the first few weeks I was burnt out by the end of the day. I finally had to tell my husband that I just needed 45-60 min to be completely alone every evening. So I guess I'm still managing to work in some personal/alone time, but it's later in the day.
 

[abba12]

As a child I preferred to get my LA and math done before breakfast (I didn't like eating first thing in the morning), which meant by 9am I was usually ready for sci/his/fun subjects

 

With younger siblings my mum continued a similar pattern of having them do their independent work first thing in the morning. It wasn't unusual in our house to see kids doing math at 6am. We seem to have been blessed with morning people who were quite able to function and do well with that routine. Mum would check and do any dependent work (new math content, discussions, etc) over/after breakfast. Then little ones would get attention/schoolwork between 8:30 and 11, alternating as older kids got help with things or needed mum for 20 mins for a dependent subject (mum had us working quite independently, each child probably needed no more than an hour, usually closer to half an hour, of mums actual one-on-one attention each day). So she might read a book with LOs, then do the dependent part of science with me, then work on some preschool math for a half hour, then spend 15 minutes on dependent LA with my sister, then do reading with preschool/kindy, then do 20 minutes of whatever other dependent work there was.

 

As a result, even into high school everyone would be finished by lunchtime, allowing for quiet time, free play, and special activities in the afternoon. We did science experiments, hands on history projects, and other group activities after lunch as well.

 

Oh, and in some teacher intensive subjects she would work with us after dinner. Almost all my work for home ec as a high schooler was done after dinner on nights when other siblings were assigned to dishes and evening chores. Those subjects in the higher grades that really need uninterrupted, quiet one on one time are great for evenings.

[...................]

Start with coffee

Add chocolate

When in doubt stop and hug and have more chocolate. Share chocolate.

Best schedule I've had ever

[Loowit]

We start our day with Bible at 9.  Then we do history.  These two things are done with all three kids.  After that oldest goes off to do her own thing for a while and I work with the boys on science and then math.  After that boys take a break while I make lunch. Lunch is usually around 11:30 or noon.  After lunch is read-alouds with all three.  Then I do Language arts (reading, spelling, english, etc) with the boys.

[stm4him]

I just posted our summer schedule on the curriculum board under Robinson type schedule. It doesn't have a set start time because I always have health issues in the morning, but my kids can wake up as early as they want and get going on their list.

[happypamama]

I generally aim to have my older kids start their independent work first, right after breakfast. That way, I can clean up the kitchen/switch laundry/dress littles/get preschoolers settled with something, and then I can check in with the older kids, and we can either do the together subjects like science, or I can work one-on-one with each of the big kids. But in order to make that one-on-one time most productive, they need to have looked at their work first to see what help they need; sometimes DS1 needs math help, and sometimes he doesn't. He needs to have read his WWE passage first so that we can go over it. Sometimes DD needs help with math or writing, and sometimes she doesn't. They like to start with their literature assignments, and I'm not opposed to that, but I have recently started insisting that DD start with history or writing (intense subjects for her because they require a lot of writing and can take a while, so it's frustrating for her to come to them at the end of her work and still need to do them), and I have asked DS1 to start with math, which is his favorite subject but also one that requires some concentrated thought for new concepts and challenging word problems). But we're not terribly scheduled, and especially since we have a lot of littles, things are different every day. :)

[Soror]

The change has been completely worth it and I love having more one-on-one time with my littlest boys, but the first few weeks I was burnt out by the end of the day. I finally had to tell my husband that I just needed 45-60 min to be completely alone every evening. So I guess I'm still managing to work in some personal/alone time, but it's later in the day.
 

 

 

MinivanMom. We must have been typing at the same time yet our stories are quite similar - even down to music prac being limited in the afternoon because the little kids are asleep. And I can relate to you finding you have less personal time without the afternoon quiet time, but I agree that it is worth it. I like your solution :) .

Yes, I've been fighting this change because I fear the lose of my time, which is why I was throwing in a documentary in the middle of the day. I can veg a bit and nurse the baby. If I sleep well I wake up before the kids so I can get some time in there. Perhaps we can just move quiet /outside time to 3pm, we do that on some days already and it is kind of nice because it gives dh and I some time alone as he usually gets home around 3:30ish. 

 

I was also considering continuing to have dd do part of her work before ds gets up so I can finish her up completely before lunch.

 

I'm also thinking that it will make school time a little smoother. I've been fighting to do our more intensive work in the am as it is always the most chaotic then, especially with the baby- goodness- she can be so loud. 

 

I love the thought of working with the little ones earlier too, like many of you mentioned they can get pushed aside all too easily. Thanks for sharing everyone I'm continuing to read to see how I can best tweak it to work the best for us.

[birchbark]

One thing I should have mentioned in my pp was that I have my oldest fill out a planner at the beginning of each week. That way he always knows what needs to be done and he is not waiting on me for assignments or suggestions. We use this one: http://www.christianbook.com/high-school-homeschool-daily-planner/carey-taylor/pd/827002

[happypamama]

One thing I should have mentioned in my pp was that I have my oldest fill out a planner at the beginning of each week. That way he always knows what needs to be done and he is not waiting on me for assignments or suggestions. We use this one: http://www.christianbook.com/high-school-homeschool-daily-planner/carey-taylor/pd/827002

I don't use a planner for my kids, but yes to this. I use workboxes and fill them the night before, but even if I don't get to them, the kids always have a few things they know they can start on, because it's just the next thing or next chapter. I also went through their history programs and marked what I thought was a reasonable amount of work for a day, so DS1 knows that he can find the pages in Usborne to read and do the map, without asking me.

[MinivanMom]

One thing I should have mentioned in my pp was that I have my oldest fill out a planner at the beginning of each week. That way he always knows what needs to be done and he is not waiting on me for assignments or suggestions. We use this one: http://www.christianbook.com/high-school-homeschool-daily-planner/carey-taylor/pd/827002

 

I make up a checklist for my oldest each week. I just made up my own template on excel, and I fill in the blanks each week. I put everything on it including music practice and dance classes. She can see what she's doing at a glance, and it really helps with motivation and work ethic. She jumps in and does the next thing instead of waiting for me to tell her what to do. I'm going to start doing the same thing for her little brother in the fall (he will be 9).

[lea_lpz]

Interesting. I've done some work with dd before breakfast and that has worked ok, especially when she is up fairly early.

My dd is an early riser and my son sleeps like a bear. Occasionally if she is up early and he's still sleeping we do her Lang and math. I encourage her by saying lets get it done before ds gets up. It'll be easier! Which really it is :( He's 4 and has been challenging this year.

[Soror]

Well, we did a trail run yesterday and it went great.

 

I was up around 5ish and did a few chores and had some time to myself. Baby woke up around 6ish and I got her back to sleep around 6:30. 

 

7- dd1 up- Math done

7:30- Shower for me- by myself- woohoo!

8:00- Making breakfast, kids all up and some chores

9:-11ish- Read alouds- Goodbooks (Redwall), non-fic (Story of Science) and picture books (misc)

11-11:30 break-snack- a few chores for me and a bit of computer time

11:30-12:45- Math-Beast Academy with ds and Logic of English w/DD

12:45-1- prepare lunch

1-2 Nova Science and lunch

2-3:15- Writing- Grammar and Spelling w/ ds

3:15-10 min tidy- not sure if it is due to me being more with it or the different schedule but the house was significantly less trashed at the end of the day

 

Today is not looking as good as dd1 is sleeping in a bit, hopefully she is up soon and we can get started. I have my chores all done around the house though.