Wednesday 17 November 2010

A New Schedule

We have been back home for over a week after being away for 6 weeks, and still getting back into the groove of school. I suddenly feel like we are very behind in well everything:(. We probably aren't really behind since we home school all year but for some reason the feeling we are behind is firmly in my head. So what did I do...I decided to schedule our day.

This is new to me as up to now we haven't really had much of a schedule. I had always just gone with the flow. If we wanted to spend most of our day working on just history that is what we did. I would say most days we did at least 3 or 4 activities but it was very flexible. In my defense last year my youngest was only in Kindergarten and I really only "taught" to my oldest who is in "3rd grade". I put that in quotes as I am really trying to get past grades but old habits are hard to break:) Any way I taught or engage activities more towards my oldest and what ever my youngest got out of it was just great.

This year however I need to consider my son and add more to his individual learning plan. So my old schedule just wasn't working. Some things like history and science can still be done together, but I need to separate other things like Math, English etc.

So here is new schedule...and so far the kids like it.
(Picture will enlarge with a click)
Basically M W F we do one set of courses and T TH we do a different set of courses. Which gives us 7 school topics to accomplish each day. Some things only take a few minutes and others take up to an hour to complete. Some things we do together but other things the kids need to be separated in order to met their own set of needs. As you can see I have already made a few adjustments and we only started this week:). Are we missing anything?



We are tackling more topics every week which is a great thing. I am also able to do more individual work with each child so their needs are being met. My only concern is school is lasting at least 1 to 2 hours longer each day and honestly I am exhausted trying to do it. So I have to wonder if this is going to last. So we will see...

Of course field trips will throw a wrench into the schedule but we are giving it a try.


Please join Tracy, Lynda and I on the "No ordinary Blog hop--Thankful Hearts" for the month of November. Any time you post something you are grateful for link up and spread the word.
Next month we are doing a giving away don't miss out:) Hope to see you there.

I am thankful for my family, I would be lost without them:)

13 comments:

  1. This looks like a great schedule to me!
    I'm trying to stick to our "schedule" but it seems to get interrupted in one way or another and it's difficult for me to get back in the swing of things sometimes, but I'll keep trying!
    Clicked a vote for you today!

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  2. My daughter enjoys schedules, so I try to do them for her sake. I do find that always starting with math makes a tremendous difference in our day. We do have a rough schedule, but like Tracy said--those interruptions!

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  3. The great thing about homeschool schedules is that you can re-do and make it work for you. I have made them before and had to re-do after a week. You can always change it to meet your needs. I have been going with the flow a lot lately, but realize with the upcoming holidays (and traveling) I need to get a little grip on things.

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  4. My kids also really enjoy it when we have a schedule. It helps them to know what to expect.

    Thanks for leaving the link at Helpful Homeschool Hints.

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  5. Looks like a good schedule, easy to read and follow.
    I love having a schedule that we can refer back to but I also love having flexibility to change or rearrange our schedule as needed.

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  6. Hi Tracy
    So far the schedule is working and today we even stopped at a reasonable time so here is hoping it will iron out a bit more.

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  7. Hi Pam, Marissa and Angie
    Thanks for stopping by and commenting and it is good to know others are doing schedules too. I always worried about being too structure as I don't want to necessarily do school at home. I want to keep it more free flowing if that makes sense:)

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  8. Hi Anna-Marie,
    I clicked a vote for you on the Picket Fence :) #6 Woo Hoo! :) Have a blessed weekend!

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  9. I know how you feel! We're feeling "behind" after only ten days of traveling! And now the holidays are nearly here...Yikes!

    Our schedule is very basic--we've done some rearranging and tweaking since the beginning of the year. I guess it's more of a "daily goal" than a firm schedule. If I'm organized enough, I like to make a checklist of activities for the kids so they know what to expect.

    Once you adjust to your new schedule, it probably won't take so long. You're just learning the new rhythm right now. Good luck!

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  10. Hi Sparklee,
    I am struggling using a schedule as I haven't ever used one before. I don't want to be too school like in my day as I want a little more flexibility for the children but I think we needed this to kick us into gear after being away so long. Will give it a try and see if it helps or smothers us:)

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  11. Following you from Raising Future Leaders - hope you can visit me at www.thejoyfuljungle.com Thanks!

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  12. I so wish I could have home schooled my own kids. I am seriously trying to figure out a way to home school my grand kids.

    doreenmcgettigan.blodspot.com

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  13. Hi Melissa and Doreen
    Thanks for following and I am following back:).

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