School starts at 8:30 - sharp! We take school seriously, and I have learned that if we start later than this, we don't finish until very late. Sure, they would love more play time before school, but that's not why we're home schooling. They have plenty of play time in the afternoons when school is finished.
It's been a smooth transition so far adding in Tiny Dancer. I was worried about trying to get to all three of them without losing my mind. Our list of rules has helped. I've also added in some "classroom management" incentives that are working brilliantly so far. More about those soon.
School usually starts with Curly working on his assignment list. Little Bear is given a few assignments he can complete on his own. I start with Tiny Dancer. It takes about 90 minutes to get through her school: reading, writing, math, and a project.
After she's finished, she's off to play/ make a mess.
 |
| Those little bears might just be the greatest thing we have ever purchased. |
Little Bear and I then work on some things together while Curly continues to work on his list.
 |
| Math = Love |
 |
| Working on a science report on owls. |
Little Bear has been finishing around 11 up to this point, although he is not yet up to his full list of subjects. Everything else will be added in during the course of this week. It's been nice to transition him into the new year. I still expect he will finish around noon or a little later. When he's finished, he's off to join Tiny Dancer in the play/mess making.
This is when I sit to work with Curly. We work on math, part of history, sometimes grammar, and science together. The list of things we do together has dwindled over the years as he has learned to work more independently. I also spend this time correcting any of his previous work and making sure he understood his lessons.
I have been more organized in my meal planning so far (are you noticing the "so far" theme here?) this year, so lunch is a packed lunch three times per week and a hot lunch twice per week. This is a good compromise between those who want a hot lunch and Mama who doesn't want to make a hot lunch.
 |
| Eating a packed lunch while waiting for Curly to have a swim lesson. |
 |
| This is Curly pretending he can read and eat at the same time. He's not fooling me. |
After lunch, we reconvene for our Bible class. We are using Bible Road Trip, and we are loving it. The kids are really liking the notebooking aspect of the program.
Tiny Dancer and Little Bear head off to play some more, or read, or whatever it is those two do together. Curly finishes any remaining work. Some days he's finished earlier than others, depending on how well he focused and how long his list was for the day.
 |
| Writing = Love |
At 2:00, it's quiet time for the kiddos. I need a little time to recharge - read a little, Bible studying, catch up with a friend, and some time to complete something around the house.
After that is the whirlwind of dinner, activities, and getting ready for bed!
 |
| And maybe once in a while we end the day by forgetting the kids are playing outside in the rain. |
Our days are much less "typical" this year with all of the outside activities we have going on. I like structure and organization, and I thrive in that setting, so I am a bit apprehensive that we are going to be overloaded (and Papa's eyes are beginning to glaze over at the thought of our fall schedule). But we are committed to these things for this year, so we will see how it goes. My general rule for school is to take it one year at a time and reassess each year.
What does a "typical" day look like in your home?
No comments:
Post a Comment