Tomorrow officially begins a new year of homeschooling. I'm excited, more so, I think, then the kids. but once they get started I think they will enjoy it. I tried to make the schedule and choose the activities with their interests in mind.
Trying to make schedules for kids on two different grade levels plus a preschool/daycare schedule, plus factoring in for the babies' different schedule was interesting to say the least. Using Google Calender helped a lot with making and comparing the different schedules. And since I could put in what I wanted and have it repeat throughout upcoming calenders, it will be a great time saver in the future.
Both kids were adamant that they didn't want to lose any of their "work" time or earnings just because they had to start school. So their "school" schedules had to be arranged around their "work" schedules. In reality though, I believe learning to work and taking on responsibility, along with earning and learning how to manage money, is a vital part of education so I don't feel we've lost anything with this arrangement.
Now let me see if I can post these schedules without too much confusion.
7:00 kids wake up, dress, make bed, eat breakfast
8:00 daily chores, take care of pets, housework, help with kids;
9:00 Preschoolers (Michael and daycare kids) - story, songs, craft, game
10:00 Preschoolers - outside; Austin - math and reading; Amanda - reading
11:00 Preschoolers - games; Austin - help with kids; Amanda - finish and serve lunch
11:30 lunch
12:00 - Preschoolers - free play, Austin - load dishwasher and sweep kitchen, Amanda -math
12:30 - Preschoolers - storytime; Austin and Amanda - History or Nature Walk
1:00 - Preschoolers - Quiet activities or nap; Austin and Amanda - Bible, Literature, Sign Language. Bible and Literature are subjects that we enjoy doing together and I read these aloud to them. Sign Language we are also learning together.
2:00 Preschoolers - Quiet activities or nap; Austin and Amanda - varies- video or tv show related to subjects being studied, displays related to subjects being studied, science projects, health, nature walks, etc.; Me - get a head start on dinner, plus other little things that need to be done.
On Thursday or Friday of each week Austin and Amanda will use a block of time to work on their blog. On Friday afternoon our read together time will be spent catching up on some favorite blogs together.
By 3:00 our "'homeschool" day should be finished but we all still do a lot of learning, working and playing together the rest of the day. Usually after dinner Austin reloads the dishwasher and sweeps the kitchen floor and Amanda gives Michael his bath. Thursday evenings they spend with extended family, and starting in September they will be at church in a children's program on Wednesday evenings.
I'm sure our schedule will change and evolve as the year goes on but this is our starting point. We will see what tomorrow brings. I'm looking forward to it.
Seems like you have things under control.. (It really does..)
ReplyDeleteThe google cal is a good idea. That's what my husband and I use to sync our entire lives on. I did try it for homeschooling, but it became an animal too large to tame for me and in the end I had to go back to paper. But I really really like the idea of using the google cal. Good job!
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