Before we began our homeschooling journey, one thing I considered was scheduling. Would we have a “strict” schedule, i.e. rise at 8am, start school promptly at 9, always break right at 11 for lunch? Or would we be more laid-backed? Something in between?
I contemplated the benefits of both approaches. Strict scheduling offers predictability. On the other hand, I’m notoriously disorganized, so a laid-back approach suits me better. My daughter tends to like to know generally when she’ll eat or go to Grandma’s, but isn’t terribly preoccupied with time tables.
So I decided to just take a “go with the flow” type approach as we started, and go from there. We’ve ended up in the middle of the two, though admittedly much closer to a “laid-back” schedule.
Workin’ 9 to 5
Wake up! Thanks to the baby, I’m usually the first to rise. She sometimes wakes as early as 6:30 but is content to lay in bed and nurse for a while, though by 7:30 she’s tired of laying in bed with me. If I’m lucky, my husband gets home by then, and gets her changed while I grab a few more minutes (I’m so not a morning person, really!) The other kids are usually up by 8am and eat breakfast in their pj’s (sneaking in some TV if mommy is still in bed). After that I shower while the kids get dressed.
Time for school! When we start school depends on when the baby takes her first nap. Since she gets up early, she’s usually ready to go down at 9am. Otherwise, I do dishes or other chores and we put school off another hour till she is ready. We school at our spacious kitchen table, and we always start the day with prayer (morning intentions) as well as the Gospel reading for the day.
- First comes reading, followed by repeating her “memory gem” for the week and a library book that usually ties in to the week’s “theme.”
- Next comes math, Bailey’s favorite subject! We do a couple worksheets and then a math game, as well as some work on the dry-erase board and some “mental math.” Because she loves math, we tend to spend a lot of time on it.
- Then we have religion, which normally consists of reading bible stories and some hands-on activities
- Twice a week we have science! We read library books on the week’s science topic, do some fun experiments, and ask a lot of questions.
By this point we’ve gotten our core subjects out of the way. On busy or stressful days, this might be all we do. It’s usually around 11 or so, so we break for lunch and I do dishes if I didn’t get to them before school. The baby wakes up around this time as well. After chores and lunch are done, we do mid-afternoon prayers, and then we do social studies (twice a week; character building) and cursive practice. Most days we also do a simple art project. After school wraps up, Bailey makes sure her room is clean and her bed is made, and she’s off to ride her bike!
This set up works well for us. We have a routine and we do our subjects in the same order every day, which gives the stability and predictability most kids like. But, we aren’t beholden to the clock, which gives me the flexibility I need as a busy (and disorganized!) mom. Some days we’re really busy in the mornings and don’t get started till well after lunch. Some days everything just goes right along and we’re done with everything before lunch!
I really stick to starting each day with prayer and the Gospel reading. If we forget, I feel like it throws our whole day off! Does your family start the day in any special way?
Katie is basking in the joy of the wonderful autumn weather and continues to blog over at Just Another Catholic Mom.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s nice to know I’m not the only mom who can’t stick to a strict schedule ;o).
Great post, thanks!
I haven’t begun yet..but just out of curiosity how old are your children? I am awful w/ schedules as well…and I have been thinking about it lately…would I be able to get everything I need done w/out one! It’s good to hear you do even w/out a strict schedule.
Sounds a bit like our schedule (we also have a small baby)
Our day goes like this
I wake up with baby between 8 or 9 normally and nurse her in bed. Sometimes she goes back to sleep (no one in the house is a early riser!)
I go downstairs – start porriage and coffee and say my morning prayers. The children are normally just waking up.
I then set the table prepare my coffee and call the children down. I find that if we don’t eat breakfast together, it becomes very difficult to gather together for school. Porriage has become the symbol for school mornings.
We start school as soon as breakfast is eaten, the table is cleared and I’m ready. We start with morning prayers (which include liturgical year readings and activities) and then school work. The babe either naps or nurses and the two year old spends time with daddy (who works evenings)
We are normally finished work for the younger children by dinner (which is at one). My ten year old can be finished by early afternoon but sometimes she takes most of the day to do her work.
I am soooooo with you on the “not a morning person”. I try really hard to get up but my intentions are just that. We also work around the baby’s schedule.
It sounds kinda like what we do. Mostly the same order of activities, but we have some flexibility on order and timing.
I have the worst time waking up too! Hmmmm…maybe it’s because it’s almost midnight and I’m still awake. ;)
I like that your day sounds structured, yet flexible.
I’m like you Angie, a night owl. That makes wanting to get up in the morning hard. My littlest one, who is 3 months, would be content to stay in bed snuggled till noon but my other little ones have other plans!