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I know there are schedules posted up top but way to many for me to spend looking through. Can anyone share a schedule for having children both in Beyond and Preparing? Thank you.

I did preparing and beyond last year. I also work from home. Here was my schedule when I started the year:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h54abxwmzuzpu ... =254043698

However, about half way through the year, I switched my work schedule a bit. I ended up starting my time with my oldest dd, who was in Preparing, earlier in the morning and read the history, read aloud and helped her with anything she needed help with for the other boxes on the left side of the guide. Then she did the history project and independent history by herself. During that time, I worked on the left side of the guide with my other 2 kids in Beyond. After my oldest in Preparing finished her stuff on the left, if there was time before lunch, she would complete math. I spent 10 min with her on her lesson and then she spent 15 minutes give or take depending on the day on the lesson. After lunch, we did the poetry and language arts box in Preparing first and then Bible on days I did the teacher portion. After that she did science and or Bible to finish up. To help with time, we utilized the emergency lesson plans in DITHOR about 50/50. My oldest really gets literature and themes and understanding well so this worked well for her. After I finished up with my teaching time for the oldest, I would then work with my younger 2 on the right side of their guide. One thing that I didn't follow the guide for entirely was reading with my youngest. Because my younger 2 kids are close in age and abilities, it was hard for me to listen to both of them read during the day. So my husband and I both listen to my younger 2 kids read out loud in the evenings before bed. They each read approximately 30 minutes out loud to us - currently we get books from the library that they like and they just read them to us. However, during the morning while I work with my oldest, they both read for about 20-30 minutes alone. Again, I let them pick whatever they want to read. This is probably more reading than the guide requires but both kids like to read and read well so that is why they do so much reading. And both finished the Early Readers but we are just having fun with the library at this point.

For me, I think I liked how this 2nd schedule went a little bit better. It seemed like it spread out the amount of independent led work versus teacher led work better for my oldest. Also - I am an accountant for a local ministry that has grown quite a bit. I found I would get interrupted a lot in the morning with things I needed to take care of. So I was having a hard time with stopping work at 10 AM because sometimes I had calls I needed to make or things came up that I needed to do that day. So I started my time with my oldest between 8:30 and 9:00 and I was done teaching by 10:30 or so most mornings. Then I worked for a bit handing things that came up. We would eat lunch and get some exercise or get outdoors for a bit. Then we started school back up around 1:30 or so. My goal was to have no more than 2-2.5 hours of school in the AM and no more than 2-2.5 hours of school in the PM. For my oldest, school would never be longer than 4.5 hours. For my other 2 who were doing Beyond, school was never longer than 2 hours for their days. And my teaching time was less than 4 hours a day usually split between AM and PM. Hope that helps.

Daneale,

Thank you soooo much for sharing your schedule with me. It was very insightful and helpful. Thank you again for taking the time.

Mom Sadie Ezra Noelle
7:00 AM Quiet Time Sleep Sleep Sleep
7:30 AM
8:00 AM Run/Walk the Dog
8:30 AM
9:00 AM Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast
9:30 AM AM Chores AM Chores AM Chores AM Chores
10:00 AM Math/AM Chores Math Math Free Time
10:30 AM Grammar Grammar Grammar
11:00 AM Spelling Spelling Spelling Spelling
11:30 AM Reading/Writing Reading/Writing Reading/Writing Reading
12:00 PM Lunch Prep
12:30 PM Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch
1:00 PM Clean House Clean House Clean House Clean House
1:30 PM Beyond History History Beyond
2:00 PM Beyond Science Science Beyond
2:30 PM Preparing Preparing Preparing Independent Work
3:00 PM Free Time
3:30 PM
4:00 PM
4:30 PM
5:00 PM Prep Dinner Free Time Free Time
5:30 PM
6:00 PM Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner
6:30 PM Evening Chores Evening Chores Math w/Dad Evening Chores
7:00 PM Math w/Dad Evening Chores Free Time
7:30 PM Story Time Story Time Story Time Story Time
8:00 PM Free Time Free Time Free Time Free Time
8:30 PM
9:00 PM
9:30 PM Lights Out Lights Out Lights Out Lights Out

I tried to upload my schedule, but it was docx and so was not allowed to upload. I posted it on the Preparing Facebook Page, so if your connected to that you can find it in the file. I hope the ideas you see will help you come to see what would work for your family. I went through so many possible schedules it's embarassing, but about halfway into the year I came up with the general idea of this one and just tweeked till it was about perfect.

This is our schedule MWF. Tuesdays and Thursdays my kids are taking a trainging class from 9-10. So I just make all our days work off about the same time, just bumping it up 1/2 an hour on the days they do training. Initially, I had Preparing going on our first two hours of school, the idea being that we covered so many subjects in those two hours, my kids would have the impression that school was going fast (not a necessary factor for my youngest who has never been to ps, but very much so for my older two who I started hsing 3rd/2nd grade year). Leaving the Basics for the afternoon, but they were lengthier, time was not going as quickly, and I was having to drop "must do" subjects just to keep them from losing the joy of learning. Now we do our Basics in the morning when we are fresher and the afternoon seems to fly by quicker as we breeze through the subjects we enjoy and no subject is dropped.

My older two begin with Math (we are actually just covering any gaps they have using Mammoth Math during this time slot as Daddy tries to catch them grade level wise in the evening with Learn Math Fast). I am flexible at this time. I can either assist them with concepts that are difficult or fit in some extra house chores or even work on a couple of subjects with my youngest (She is not a morning person:) We then move on to Grammar (Rod & Staff 3). This was the subject that was getting dropped the most, so I have allotted it 30 min. to get us caught up and may add dictation during this slot once we do. My oldest has a severe reading disablity most likely dyslexia, so I started Sequential Spelling. My youngest is the opposite of my oldest, she could read Indian in the Cupboard by the end of Kindergarten and is able to spell most words correctly on first try. Sequential Spelling takes a bit longer on all the kids, but the same for me as I would be spending 10 min with each kid=30 min. Then we all do DITHOR together.

After our break, the older two work on the Independent History and Science, while I work with my youngest in Beyond. She really is a blessing. She learns quick and can work independently which gives me the time to work with my oldest who obviously is more dependent on me to read things for her. My time in Beyond with her is scheduled for 1 hour and only goes past the allotted time about 1/2 an hour if we have a lengthy Science or Art project she likes to fiddle with. We cover all the subjects. Those she can work on independently once she has received instruction or the assignment from me we set aside in her folder as In Progress, when she finishes them during her independent work time, she moves them over to the Finished section. I have her Independent Work scheduled right after Beyond, but she is able to complete them at her leisure, and she for the most part always has it done by the time I see her again the next day. When I am done with her, the older two and I work on our remaining Preparing lessons starting with Bible, Story Time, History, Poetry, and Rotating Box.

Our schedule is unique in that I am having to help my oldest one more than most would and my youngest if fairly independent. I pray God will give you wisdom to see the your family's strength's and what schedule would best fit your family needs.

Your Sister in Christ,
Elsa

Thank you very much Elsa. This was very helpful.

Mine is simple, I do not do a minute-by-minute schedule.

During breakfast (if I have already finished eating and the kids are still eating) read History and Storytime to Preparing child
After breakfast - littles get playtime while I do Preparing - DITHOR, dictation, English (LA box stuff), Poetry - basically a lot of the T boxes and get her started on some S stuff (spend about an hour with her)
Beyond and LHTH with the 2nd and 3rd born while my oldest does independent work - finishing S boxes herself, doing I boxes, practicing piano (1.5-2 hours)
Prepare lunch and look over my oldest's work, discuss what still needs to be done, listen to oral narration
Lunch/clean up
Finishing touches with my oldest, correcting math, etc. If I did not read History and Storytime at breakfast finish that up after lunch. Usually on day 4 she needs help with the science experiment so we leave that for after lunch, the other 3 days she can do science on her own.

Sometimes the Beyond and LHTH child are at the table doing seatwork together, either right after breakfast while I work on math with the older one, or at the beginning of their block. In Beyond, once they get the hang of it, the copywork, some of the math, and sometimes spelling are things you can start and stay close by but don't have to have continual attention on. My LHTH girl does her handwriting workbook.

There is a lot of interruption because I also have a 2 YO who needs things and needs things to do.

I have found the same as the other person - I have to do things we "like" less first so they are sure to get done with the least amount of dawdling and grumbling. It is more fun to get going on the history project or other things she really enjoys. I have found reading to my oldest during breakfast to be a great blessing. Otherwise, I kept getting interrupted. My other kids enjoy listening to the read-alouds too.