26.8.13

Not So Scheduled

    Two out of my three kids slept late this morning. Today was typical in that it was not scheduled. We started back to our homeschool this fall on August 5th which makes today the 4th week of our school year. A teacher's guide in one of our chosen lessons included a suggested lesson plan including time slots for meals and cleaning in addition to the kids' individual lessons. I tried following that plan this year, and we stuck to it a few days. Chores and music practice were added to the list as we completed other things. It was quickly apparent, though, that their plan was too regimented for me. 

    The more and more I homeschool, the more I feel that the "relaxed homeschooling" label describes my style as much as eclectic does. One of my children thrives on schedules. I put her in charge of planning more of her own. My son needs structure to stay focused, and he seems to be more focused right after he wakes up, whenever that is. 

     So, here is a peek at our loosely followed schedule. 

     First things first- The days are without a doubt better if they are started with prayer and Bible reading. Last week I joined in with a group of ladies for Hello Mornings. We are studying Ephesians with a focus on grace. My hope was to wake up and start that at 5am, but with our family's late night's continuing, my mornings start a little later than that. Another component of Hello Mornings is exercise. I pulled the rebounder out of my closet and have been using either that or the wii fit. My mom cleaned out her VCR tapes and brought me a stack of exercise videos, so that routine will get changed up soon. The kids have been working on their Bible Bee lessons and memory work, but that competition was Saturday so that is changing, too. Emily already started her new Bible study, Beauty by Doorposts. I'll be sharing a review of that soon. Heather's next plan is Experiencing God. Joseph is going to continue with the Bible Bee book a little longer. 

     That original plan I mentioned had the kids up, dressed, Bible study complete, their bed made, and done with breakfast all before starting school at 8am. My scheduled daughter liked the plan and was up as planned with me this morning while the other two slept. I take one-on-one time with my kids whenever it happens, so today we discussed her school year so far. Until that discussion I hadn't paid close enough attention to the amount of time that she was spending on her math, so I didn't realize it was taking her 2 hours a day to complete the lessons she thought it was necessary to complete in order to be done by the end of the year. Ugh! I wanted to cry for her as she likes math even less than I do. So that time was well spent adjusting that. She also helped me form the bread and add ingredients to the crock pot for lunch. And the other two continued to sleep until I finally woke them. 

     We are doing our history, geography, Greek (just added today), and to an extent literature and science studies together. I prefer doing the together things first then letting them do their math, grammar/writing, music lessons, and other individual studies on their own while I assist as needed. 

     There are days that we stray even further from this schedule. This morning I finally had our Greek resource, so I spent extra time with the kids focused on that. I thought it was the 5th week of August, so I took them through 5 weeks of Greek roots. It worked, they all enjoyed learning, and now they have a little time to review them before we move on. The girls and I have spent about one day each month sewing with my aunt. Last week we didn't complete all that we wanted to do that day, so we will go back one day this week to continue the projects. Joseph goes with us, and I work with him on some of his independent work at times like that, similar to how we did in the past when we went to music lessons and it wasn't his turn. Other days, we all get snuggled in the living room and take turns reading aloud. When we are enjoying the story, we don't stop reading just because a teacher's guide suggests that we should. We keep reading and working through any worksheets or coloring pages that accompany our read-alouds. 

     Art and other extras happen when we fit them in. Often, art with me takes the form of whatever craft activities are suggested to complement their lessons. My mom paints with them some afternoons when their lessons are complete. 

     For pictures of other days, take a glimpse of some of my First Day posts. 
Jennifer
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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous8/26/2013

    Stopping by from NBtS blog hop. I see you do Hello Mornings. I do as well. Certainly helps me get things done...at least a little bit. :) Have a great school year.

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  2. We are pretty relaxed too. We've got an overall rhythm to our days, but nothing set in stone. I love routine but I don't like having set times/dates to learn. You can learn anywhere, anytime! Have a great year!

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  3. We are waiting to have a set schedule until the summer is really over and our garden is done producing. Right now our schedule is very different from day to day.

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  4. Same here, my kids are late sleepers (so is my DH) and I believe since my husband works a mid shift he just lets them sleep until I get there because he doesn't feel like doing school with them.

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