stm4him Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I have a chronic illness and some mornings I wake up in pain or exhausted and I am expecting a baby in June so I know mornings will be tough then too. I am interested in seeing some alternative schedules for school, especially if you have a big family and don't do a lot of group learning. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Mornings aren't ideal for us, either, but we have to make them work because I work part time outside the home and need to be out of the house 3 days a week before dinner. On days I don't work, we shift our schedule later and things work much better. Of course, I can't shift too late on my days off because then the sleep pattern doesn't pan out for the following day, but if left to our own devices with me not working, we likely wouldn't start school until noon or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I prefer mornings, but with homeschooling anything goes. So if that doesn't work then start later. No big deal. Or have stuff your kids can do on their own in the morning. Like reading a book to themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 For the kids who can do work alone, I'd assign stuff for them to do alone in the morning. Then, just start one-on-one later in the day. It might be hard for the little ones. I found that my kids' brains stop working in the afternoon, especially when they're little. For my 9 year old, he's finally able to focus more in the afternoon than in year's past. So, I guess you should start one-on-one work with the littlest and move up to the oldest who may be able to focus more in the later afternoon. Is there a way to change their sleep schedules so they all go to bed later and wake up later? Then, they'll be fresh later in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 We have been on an alternative afternoon schedule for the past year. Mornings are free for play and piano practice (which everyone can do independently). My oldest two have been doing some schoolwork in the morning, but they have checklists so they can get started and work independently. I save the one-on-one work for the afternoon. Basically, it looked like this: 8 - kid1 & kid2 start their checklists while kid3 practices piano (kid4 & kid5 play) 9 - kid1 continues schoolwork while kid2 practices piano (kid3, kid4 & kid5 play) 10 - kid1 practices piano (everyone else is free to play) 11:30 - lunch 12 - I work with the oldest 3 (kid4 has rest time in his room & kid5 is napping) 2 - I get kid4 up from his rest time so I can work 1 on 1 with him, while kid1 continues working (kid2 & kid3 are done & read independently; kid5 is still napping) We are generally done by 3 pm each day. It takes time to make up those checklists ahead of time, but they make it so easy for the oldest two to jump in and work independently. I am also very diligent about checking their schoolwork either right before or right after lunch, so there is feedback and a sense of accountability. I was surprised at how much I liked this schedule after years of doing all our schoolwork in the morning, but our littlest guy has had a shift in his needs so we will be changing back to a more traditional schedule after the holidays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stm4him Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 MinivanMom, From 12-2 are you working with the oldest 3 as a group or individually? What do you do from 8-10? Thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I have a chronic illness and some mornings I wake up in pain or exhausted and I am expecting a baby in June so I know mornings will be tough then too. I am interested in seeing some alternative schedules for school, especially if you have a big family and don't do a lot of group learning. Thanks! Congratulations!! Some days we do afternoon school here too, on those days we morning time, free play or some ipad school in the morning. At about 11 we do math, writing, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 When we lived in south Floruda we schooled throgh the summer. It thunderstorms every afternoon there- when it's not storming its too hot and humid outside. So, from MId April throgh end of October we went to the pool or drove to the park with water feature every morning and then had lunch and schooled from 12-4:00 and then the kids could go play in the back of they wanted, as the day cooled around 5pm while I made dinner. It was fine! They never missed out because most of the school kids weren't home till 5 anyway. If our homeschool friends invited us for an afternoon out, we just took the day off or completed math in the morning. As long as your kids go out and play in the am it should be fine. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Also they actually focused better because they got all that vitamin D and sun and exercise! So in some ways you may find a 12-4:00 schedule preferable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 MinivanMom, From 12-2 are you working with the oldest 3 as a group or individually? What do you do from 8-10? Thanks for your help! In general, I do not combine my children; they work individually. I do read aloud to both the 2nd and 3rd for a short time each day (30-45 min), but they work separately. I sit at the table and bounce between the three, checking work or going over new concepts. I usually sit right next to the 3rd, since she needs the most supervision and assistance, but I'm available to all three. The oldest two have a checklist, so if they see that I am busy with someone else then they will jump ahead to the next thing on their checklist that they can do independently. After the 2nd and 3rd are done with all their work, they spend time reading independently. That gives me a chance to work one-on-one with the 4th before the littlest wakes up from his nap. The littlest naps for a solid 3 hrs everyday, so it gives me a nice long block of time where I can give all my attention to the big kids. I've been using the time from 8-10 to spend time with my youngest two. The littlest gave up his morning nap about a year ago, and I didn't like sending the pair off to play while I did schoolwork with the big kids all morning. They were getting into trouble and fighting with each other, and by the time I was done with schoolwork, they would go down for afternoon naps and the whole day was gone. I felt like I was missing out on an important time: they would never need me so much or be so little again. By flipping the schedule, I was able to spend several hours with them in the morning and save the schoolwork until they were napping in the afternoon. It has meant that I have less downtime during the day, but I've felt like I was better balancing myself between the needs of the older children versus the little ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stm4him Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 That's interesting, MinivanMom. I will have to think about that..... My youngest right now is 22 months old and she still often takes 2 naps, but not always at the same time. And I'm not sure what the total time is so it probably isn't enough to cover everyone else's schoolwork. The three year old puts herself to bed when she is ready for a nap (she has always been strangely good at knowing when she needs a nap and going to lay down) and that is also unpredictable day by day. So I'm not sure that we could always work around nap times, but I see your points.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy to monkeys Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Goodness, I read your siggy. And said a prayer for your son. You have a ton on your plate and I'm sure you're feeling it. So, the first thing I'd do is make sure you give yourself lots of grace with what you get done. 7 children, chronic illness, pregnancy, and a child with leukemia? God bless you. I like the idea of having the older children do as much independently as they can in the morning. Maybe go over some of the "together" things right after lunch? My littles are always happy to run away and play happily right after lunch which buys me a little time with my big kids held hostage at the table. You said naptime in unpredictable but I'd still use it regardless of when it happens to work one on one with your older two. And then maybe work with your middle children while your older 2 play with/occupy your younger ones. But really, I think you need to feel 0 guilt about each day turning out just right. I'm crazy overwhelmed right now and I have fewer children, I'm not pregnant, and no one has any health problems. Just so you get a glimpse of our normal (HA!) days right now Mornings-Older 2 work independently while I spend time with my twins then work with my 5 and 6 year old on math, phonics, handwriting, and some simple read alouds (science/history etc) My 10 year old daughter is super motivated and works well while my 12 year old ds is easily distracted and takes longer. Same amount of work for the 2 of them, but he takes almost twice as long. We go outside or hang out together before lunch After lunch I put my twins down for a "nap", I work one on one with my older two while the other sits and reads with my middle two. Then I read with my middle 2 Then Snack Time for everyone at 3ish Chores/Piano/Freetime I make dinner at 5 while the big kids entertain the twins eat around 5:30 or 6 Twins down at 8 and then I have devotions and read to the older 4 till 8:45 or 9. Then I go sit in the twins till they fall asleep as they WON'T go to sleep unless I'm in there. . . So I keep my 5 and 6 year old together and have a bedtime read aloud session for my 4 oldest but everything else is pretty much one on one. I tried having everyone together, but it was just too chaotic, noisy, and stressful for me. I feel more like a tutor this way. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stm4him Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 That's why I'm thinking of switching to CLE.....so that I can do everything more one-on-one. I wouldn't even *need* to do Bible together since they all have their own Bible plus AWANA. I am feeling guilty about dropping our Bible time lately, but I am just trying to establish a basic routine with chores and such right now (after just moving and having Christmas this month.....Did I mention we moved?). And I'm not doing the greatest at shepherding their hearts with discipline right now. I am happy if I enforce something since I haven't done much of that in the last few months. But I know all of this takes time and is a process and Daddy may have to be very involved as we get back into a rhythm. Thank you for the encouragement. I do try to give myself grace nowadays and I do try to surrender daily my plans and hold all things loosely. And I do know the importance of not stressing and resting now because I have to! But I also want to not give up and let go of their educational needs because I was headed in that direction and I am finally getting some interest back inside to work on educational things again...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy to monkeys Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 We are using CLE for LA and Math for my older two right now and it's getting the job done. They can complete it mostly independently, but we still go over every lesson every afternoon to make sure they understand and mistakes they made. If you need to let Bible time together go for awhile, so be it (especially since they have their own plus Awana). They're getting the Word, and I'm a big believer that kids seeing you LIVE the Word impacts them just as much as you reading it to them. And you're having plenty of opportunities to live it out right now with what you're going through. Again, prayers for you and your family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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