It's not really the same thing day after day when you add a four year old in to the mix of homeschooling, but we do keep a routine that has worked for us eight years and counting.
When I encounter a newbie homeschooler, the first thing they ask me other than how to get started is what is your day like and how do you keep on track. I make it easy and tell them my schedule.
My oldest child is in the 7th grade and is about to turn into a teenager. I remember her sweet little face and the frustration I felt the first week of homeschool Kindergarten. I wanted to cry when she wasn't an avid reader after week number one. What was I doing wrong? I figured it out about a month later. I needed a routine that wasn't fluid, but flexible. I found out that if we just did everything in the same order every day there was much less tears and more anticipation for the next subject.
My daughter's favorite subject was Science at the time. She was excited to learn about how everything worked and about God's creation. She was very excited to do experiments with the slight chance of blowing something up. If we could get through all of the subjects that she fought through she would be happy to crack open that great big book of science experiments.
I came up with a schedule and told her this is how it goes:
- Bible
- Penmanship
- English/ Reading
- Math
- Social Studies
- Science aka blow stuff up
This was our Kindergarten schedule. As we have progressed in grades and in the amount of children we are homeschooling, we have kept the same order of subjects but added to them. This is what my 3rd, 5th, and 7th graders do in order. We start at 8:30 every day, break at 11:00 for lunch and then complete our work no later than 1:00.
- Bible (together)
- Penmanship (not the 7th grader)
- Spelling (all, but given individualized lists)
- Writing
- English/ Grammar
- Reading (not the 7th grader)
- Math
- History (7th grader has Literature incorporated into this subject plus it's writing intensive)
- Science
- Health (5th and 7th grader do their study together)
My three year old does basic numbers, shapes, colors and letters three times a week. He also learns a Bible verse twice a week to say at his Awana Cubbies Club. He will do his work while the others are doing book work.
We also include life skills via chores after school work is complete. After all of the above is done, the children have 30 minutes of quiet time which is typically spent reading a book of their own choosing. I allow video game playing three times a week based off of how well they have done their work and chores. We also include outside time and our extra activity is Awana.
We are honestly thrown off if we stray from this schedule or if we skip a subject for the day. I catch my children working ahead just to keep things going in order if we take a day off of a subject.
My questions are: do you have a routine? What works for your family?
My questions are: do you have a routine? What works for your family?
