Our routine is constantly evolving, and it takes me many weeks to decide on the actual routine. I don’t have what I call a schedule, I have a routine with “cornerstones” ~ things that stay the same daily, while there is flexibility in the other hours. What are our cornerstones for this year? I figured you might ask that!
Family Prayer & Bible Reading ~ with Daddy at 8:30am
Snack and Story Time ~ 10:15am
Lunch ~ 12:00
Although many other things are listed on the chart below, those are the main things that rarely fluctuate. Everything else is free to be moved around if necessary, but I try to stick with the plan as much as possible. It took me almost all summer to decide on this plan, which we have been testing out for 2 weeks now. So far, it is working well.
Code for small print…
- WitB ~ What’s in the Bible
- Virtues ~ We Choose Virtues {discount codes in that post are older and may not work}
- World Geo ~ World Geography {continent boxes, Little Passports}
- Who is God?
- Art ~ Home Art Studio Lessons
- USA ~ PowerPoint, USA Sticker Activity Book
- AAS/AAR ~ All About Reading/All About Spelling
- OPEN ~ this is usually our calendar time, which we have adapted this year to be centered mostly around Ladybug since she really enjoys it. The boys are really sweet and go along with it all!
FAQ…
Does Ladybug nap?
Sometimes. She does have room time each day, and I try to encourage napping, but it’s hit or miss these days at age 40 months. I read her a few books and we snuggle, spending about 30 minutes just together. Then I shut her door and leave her in bed. About 75% of the time she doesn’t sleep but will sing, play with her stuffed animals, read her books, and occasionally come out of her room. Depending on her mood, I either send her back upstairs, or let her play the iPad quietly or watch a tv show while I need 1:1 time with the boys.
What are Contributions?
Chores. We learned to call them contributions from my pal Amy. It makes them feel more a part of the family team, and we really emphasize this now. Each boy has a set of morning contributions and evening contributions.
Current Contributions for each boy, green is Pac, blue is Krash {ignore the point part, that was for summer challenge}
What happens after 3pm?
Daddy comes home! Our official school day ends at 3, but sometimes Pac has more independent work to finish up. Daddy is home from 3-dinner and that is my personal/work time. He leaves again most nights right after dinner for his night ministries.
Is Pac able to get all of his schoolwork done in that amount of time?
Yes, on most days. Pac is in 5th grade and we use Calvert, which a pretty intense curriculum. I still use a blog for his lessons, although I don’t list them daily anymore. In order to help prepare him to manage his assignments more on his own, I post a week at a time, subject by subject. Here’s a screenshot of a small portion of his blog from last week.
We use Calvert’s ATS assessment service also which gives thorough assessments every 20 lessons. These take much prep/review time and actual test taking time. I dread and love these assessments for obvious reasons.
Pac is a daydreamer but he does enjoy school. We have battled, but finally last year he really turned over a new leaf with school and his strong will. I can’t lie ~ K-3rd was a battle with him, but we are definitely on the other side of that. He is fun to teach now and for the most part we get along well and enjoy learning together. If he can stop daydreaming, he gets his work done quickly.
I found that if I let him have breaks in the day {play with Ladybug for 30 minutes while I work with Krash, art, What’s in the Bible, snack and story time, etc.} he works harder and better during his independent school time.
Want to see more about what our days look like {looked like}…
Yes, I realize I totally slacked on the Part 4, but I have about half of it written, I just need to get it done!
Even older routine posts: Routine 2009, Routine 2011
One final note about schedules and routines…
Every family is different! Because I believe in this fact so greatly, I hesitate to even write a post like this. You can glean wisdom and ideas from looking at other homeschool routines, but know that yours can be dramatically different and still be OK! Some of the homeschool moms I admire and respect the most have entirely different routines and different teaching methods and beliefs. I know myself and have to do what works for not only my kids, but also me so I don’t go crazy! A good example is homeschoolers who lean towards a Charlotte Mason method, I admire this greatly and honestly wish I could do homeschool that way, but I know myself. I am more classroom oriented {probably because I was a classroom teacher for 5 years} and I need a different routine. I believe you do what works for you and your own kids, your own home, your own lifestyle, and your own beliefs. Do the best you can and that’s all you can do!
Also-please know that this glorious routine may change in a week! I am constantly evolving and adapting to our seasons of life.
Check out other homeschooling moms and their homeschool days! 