I find it so helpful to have examples of schedules and how to organize them on paper!
I'm a fan of the Maxwell family's books Managers of Their Homes (about daily scheduling) and Managers of Their Chores (about doing chores with children). They also have a similar book about homeschooling. The Duggar family used them, as did some friends of our family when I was growing up. The books contain multiple examples of what schedules can look like.
The books are aimed at fundamentalist Christian homeschoolers, none of which descriptors currently fit me. But it's easy for me to "use, adjust, ignore" what I need to. I've actually been using their daily scheduling system (adjusted to a Google Sheet) since before I even had kids.
We don't currently homeschool, but there's some chance we'll try it with at least one of our kids at some point. So I appreciate seeing your approaches. It helps me visualize how it would fit into our day, and how to keep track of assignments if we do try it.
At this stage of life (kids ages 6, 3, 0), our daily rhythm revolves around mealtimes, naptimes for the baby, and outdoor time (mornings during hot seasons, afternoons during cold seasons).
I’ve saved this to come back to later! We’re trying to figure out what we’re doing next year, and while I’m leaning away from doing a full co-op because it’s so hard with the kids it means I will need to be more structured at home in order to stay organized, which probably needs to entail some sort of more organized planning. I find it difficult to strike a balance between planning and flexibility, but I do like the idea of a set number of times touching a subject vs. dictating how much of it you get through. I’ve also liked loop schedules for anything that is not math or reading — we just pick up where we left off.
One other mental trick that’s been helpful is having three “levels” of homeschool day: bare minimum, average and unicorn. I have a set minimum of things that need to happen (usually Bible, math, handwriting and some sort of reading aloud or audiobook) in order to say we “did school” and having pre- decided what my minimum is gives me the freedom to be done after that if it’s all we can manage (like today ha!)
Thanks for sharing your experience Anneliese :) I love your three "levels" and think it seems like a pefect method to keep learning happening with little ones around. It seems like a distant memory for me know, but I know that when there was a newborn around, we would mostly read on the couch while I was nursing, and maybe get a little math and writing done when the baby napped. The most important lesson that I have learned now being at the tail-end of homeschooling is that there is no need to hurry and no need to fret. No university will ever ask to see your elementary or middle school records :) All the best in the New Year to you and your family!
It is so interesting so see all the ways people arrange their lives. We don’t have a schedule - I am quite busy, and the kids are also busy with different activities, so trying to fit things into different time slots doesn’t work at all for us. Instead, my older kids and I sit down every morning and come up with a check list for what I want them to accomplish for school each day. We discuss what needs mom help and what doesn’t, and what - if anything- I have on my calendar that means I won’t be very available (a call, a zoom, etc.). We plan for what they’ll do when I’m busy, and also for when we will work one-on-one together, and any outside activities we have planned. We do much better if we spend a solid chunk outside the house each day, whether that is going to the library, museum, indoor pool, visiting friends/family etc. In terms of homeschool curriculum, I don’t use a lot, but we do have a rigorous curriculum for math and science. I also try to write down what we do for school each day so if we haven’t hit a topic I want to for a while (history, literature, writing, etc.), I can make sure to work that in. I think from the outside it might look unorganized and chaotic, but in many ways a more rigid schedule would lead to less getting done and more frustration for us and how we’ve chosen to organize our lives.
Thanks for sharing your experience Ivana :) Check lists are it! Some days, especially toward the end of the school year, we'll take out a large whiteboard and list all the lessons and tasks to be done and check them off with great satisfaction. All the best to you and your family in the New Year!
I have often felt the same as Dixie, but I have never been able to maintain an early enough start to actually fill my tank before the day begins. I would need at least an hour, if not more, but it only takes a couple late nights or poor sleep and I'm waking at 7am with the rest of the family, and getting right into it. And as much as I wish I could steal a little time for myself during the day for a midday recharge, it's never reliable. If there isn't a chore, there's a squabble, or a request, or, when all-else is quiet, the dog seems to notice that I'm not busy and paws at me to be taken outside. Getting dependable "time for myself" feels impossible, and if I manage to get it and if it's at all good, I'm in a flow state and it feels like it has flown by. Great advice to make it offline, though--your description of how online "breaks" just leave you more addled fits my experience very much.
As for the checklists and routines, we struggle to maintain consistency here at Kendricademy. On the one hand, I have failed to maintain any sort of daily or weekly subject schedule like you show, with consistent time blocks for history, science, etc. On the other, I have managed to get my 10 and 12-year-old to set their own expectations and have some sense of both agency and responsibility to meet them. It's a plus when I ask, after a morning of goofing-off, i.e. art/craft projects and playing Legos, "have you done everything on you need to do today?" And they ask, "what do I need to do?" I can then respond, "what did you put on your checklist for this week?" At least I can comfort myself that, even if they aren't doing as much work as I think they could, they feel a sense of responsibility for the work that they have chosen to do. We've never been good at doing anything *every day*; instead, even basics like reading and writing seem to come in waves of intense interest followed by active avoidance.
I always tell people, I won't have any clue how good or bad a job I've done until it's too late to do anything about it. I don't know whether my constant feeling of falling-short is normal anxiety, or a sign I need to do better.
Lots of helpful visuals and advice here, thank you. And I appreciated hearing Dixie's thought process in changing how she front-loads her own needs and aims to focus from there. It's helpful to see that flexibility and attending to needed changes is a constant in homeschooling and family life. :)
Glad you found something useful :) I always like seeing the details of people's plans and often wish that others would share more of them. Yes, Dixie is always excellent at sharing her thoughts and experience and thus makes a most wonderful homeschool mentor!
All the best to you and your family in the New Year!
p.s. That was a superb article in The European Conservative - Congratualtions! (not sure if I had already said this...)
I find it so helpful to have examples of schedules and how to organize them on paper!
I'm a fan of the Maxwell family's books Managers of Their Homes (about daily scheduling) and Managers of Their Chores (about doing chores with children). They also have a similar book about homeschooling. The Duggar family used them, as did some friends of our family when I was growing up. The books contain multiple examples of what schedules can look like.
The books are aimed at fundamentalist Christian homeschoolers, none of which descriptors currently fit me. But it's easy for me to "use, adjust, ignore" what I need to. I've actually been using their daily scheduling system (adjusted to a Google Sheet) since before I even had kids.
We don't currently homeschool, but there's some chance we'll try it with at least one of our kids at some point. So I appreciate seeing your approaches. It helps me visualize how it would fit into our day, and how to keep track of assignments if we do try it.
At this stage of life (kids ages 6, 3, 0), our daily rhythm revolves around mealtimes, naptimes for the baby, and outdoor time (mornings during hot seasons, afternoons during cold seasons).
That seems a most perfect schedule for this stage of life (and we did much the same during those ages)!
I’ve saved this to come back to later! We’re trying to figure out what we’re doing next year, and while I’m leaning away from doing a full co-op because it’s so hard with the kids it means I will need to be more structured at home in order to stay organized, which probably needs to entail some sort of more organized planning. I find it difficult to strike a balance between planning and flexibility, but I do like the idea of a set number of times touching a subject vs. dictating how much of it you get through. I’ve also liked loop schedules for anything that is not math or reading — we just pick up where we left off.
One other mental trick that’s been helpful is having three “levels” of homeschool day: bare minimum, average and unicorn. I have a set minimum of things that need to happen (usually Bible, math, handwriting and some sort of reading aloud or audiobook) in order to say we “did school” and having pre- decided what my minimum is gives me the freedom to be done after that if it’s all we can manage (like today ha!)
Thanks for sharing your experience Anneliese :) I love your three "levels" and think it seems like a pefect method to keep learning happening with little ones around. It seems like a distant memory for me know, but I know that when there was a newborn around, we would mostly read on the couch while I was nursing, and maybe get a little math and writing done when the baby napped. The most important lesson that I have learned now being at the tail-end of homeschooling is that there is no need to hurry and no need to fret. No university will ever ask to see your elementary or middle school records :) All the best in the New Year to you and your family!
It is so interesting so see all the ways people arrange their lives. We don’t have a schedule - I am quite busy, and the kids are also busy with different activities, so trying to fit things into different time slots doesn’t work at all for us. Instead, my older kids and I sit down every morning and come up with a check list for what I want them to accomplish for school each day. We discuss what needs mom help and what doesn’t, and what - if anything- I have on my calendar that means I won’t be very available (a call, a zoom, etc.). We plan for what they’ll do when I’m busy, and also for when we will work one-on-one together, and any outside activities we have planned. We do much better if we spend a solid chunk outside the house each day, whether that is going to the library, museum, indoor pool, visiting friends/family etc. In terms of homeschool curriculum, I don’t use a lot, but we do have a rigorous curriculum for math and science. I also try to write down what we do for school each day so if we haven’t hit a topic I want to for a while (history, literature, writing, etc.), I can make sure to work that in. I think from the outside it might look unorganized and chaotic, but in many ways a more rigid schedule would lead to less getting done and more frustration for us and how we’ve chosen to organize our lives.
Thanks for sharing your experience Ivana :) Check lists are it! Some days, especially toward the end of the school year, we'll take out a large whiteboard and list all the lessons and tasks to be done and check them off with great satisfaction. All the best to you and your family in the New Year!
Thank you Ruth! Same to you!
I have often felt the same as Dixie, but I have never been able to maintain an early enough start to actually fill my tank before the day begins. I would need at least an hour, if not more, but it only takes a couple late nights or poor sleep and I'm waking at 7am with the rest of the family, and getting right into it. And as much as I wish I could steal a little time for myself during the day for a midday recharge, it's never reliable. If there isn't a chore, there's a squabble, or a request, or, when all-else is quiet, the dog seems to notice that I'm not busy and paws at me to be taken outside. Getting dependable "time for myself" feels impossible, and if I manage to get it and if it's at all good, I'm in a flow state and it feels like it has flown by. Great advice to make it offline, though--your description of how online "breaks" just leave you more addled fits my experience very much.
As for the checklists and routines, we struggle to maintain consistency here at Kendricademy. On the one hand, I have failed to maintain any sort of daily or weekly subject schedule like you show, with consistent time blocks for history, science, etc. On the other, I have managed to get my 10 and 12-year-old to set their own expectations and have some sense of both agency and responsibility to meet them. It's a plus when I ask, after a morning of goofing-off, i.e. art/craft projects and playing Legos, "have you done everything on you need to do today?" And they ask, "what do I need to do?" I can then respond, "what did you put on your checklist for this week?" At least I can comfort myself that, even if they aren't doing as much work as I think they could, they feel a sense of responsibility for the work that they have chosen to do. We've never been good at doing anything *every day*; instead, even basics like reading and writing seem to come in waves of intense interest followed by active avoidance.
I always tell people, I won't have any clue how good or bad a job I've done until it's too late to do anything about it. I don't know whether my constant feeling of falling-short is normal anxiety, or a sign I need to do better.
Lots of helpful visuals and advice here, thank you. And I appreciated hearing Dixie's thought process in changing how she front-loads her own needs and aims to focus from there. It's helpful to see that flexibility and attending to needed changes is a constant in homeschooling and family life. :)
Glad you found something useful :) I always like seeing the details of people's plans and often wish that others would share more of them. Yes, Dixie is always excellent at sharing her thoughts and experience and thus makes a most wonderful homeschool mentor!
All the best to you and your family in the New Year!
p.s. That was a superb article in The European Conservative - Congratualtions! (not sure if I had already said this...)