With 4 children, 3 grades and 1 pre-schooler, a schedule is a necessity. If I tried to fly by the seat of my pants, we would never get anything done.
First, let me say that I am definitely NOT an over-acheiver when it comes to homeschooling. We learn the basic subjects and everything else is life. I really believe that a good bit of school is living life and learning through daily activities (cooking, shopping, playing outside, etc...). I admire and am awe struck at some homeschool moms who teach 10 subjects a day and have their lesson plans written out for the year. That's not me.
I stick with the philosophy, the simpler, the better. This is the first year I will have a child tested at the end of the year, so I will get to see for sure how well I am doing. I'll let you know.
I also don't spend my entire day doing school. We do school in the afternoon because that is when my pre-schooler takes his nap. The mornings are spent getting ready for the day, eating breakfast and cleaning up around the house. After lunch, I put my little guy down for a nap and we start school around 1:30. On a good day, we are able to be completely finished by 3:30 or 4. Although, there have been "those days" where we are still trudging along at 5:30. Those are not fun days for anyone.
My best piece of advice for any new homeschooler is make a schedule that fits your family. Don't try to replicate anyone else's schedule because it probably won't work for you. Even though we do school in the afternoon, most moms I know do the majority of their school in the morning sometime. Some moms incorporate their 3 year olds into their lesson plans. Some moms do their schooling in the evenings. You just have to find the time and place that works for you. It took a lot of trial and error for me to figure out what works in our home. Don't be discouraged if things don't run smoothly at first.
3 comments:
I have to have a schedule to keep the day running smoothly, too! So great to get caught up with your sweet blog...hope your family is doing well! (and seriously - you have a 3 year old? I still think of him as the tiny baby boy in your arms!) How precious! :)
Like what you say. I would normally do work with Sean in the morning but my life is so busy that we both have got used to being disrupted and work either in the morning or the afternoon. I found this hard in the beginning but now it's ok.
Always good to hear the opinion or a normal mum.
Keep up the good work.
Hi, I am a newbie at homeschooling--I brought my 6th grader home from a private christian school he had been attending since pre-k
I have 4 children too, 7 month old, 4, 9 and 12. All boys. I have chosen to keep my prek home too--My 3rd grader is still at the school but will likely come home next year.
I have been struggling with the scheduling thing--I am a relaxed schooler (it least I think I am) But honestly my 12 year old is a pain to get out of bed. I also like to get my house cleaned up in the morning and my dinner prep done so I am thinking perhaps I need to do like you and just make "school" time be in the afternoon and not feel so guilty about it.
I guess it is just ingrained in us that school is suppose to be from 8-3 pm.!
I will still make my 12 year old get his butt out of bed, but I will set him to physical work as oppposed to mental work. He is just not in the mood to do it and trying to force a kid to do math when they feel so "tired" is hopeless. I know that if I just wait till closer to noon he is more "awake" and in a much better mood.
So when do you get your kids up for the day?? Do you guys do a morning routine or chores??
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