What does your day look like?

[Mgs]

From beginning to end what does your day look like with running two or more guides?

[Rice]

It depends on the year. Sometimes it depends on the month! And it depends on the kids (which of my kids are in which guides).

5 years ago I had 3 in high school guides, combined for LA and Science, two more in lower HOD guides (Preparing and RTR) and 2 more doing just 3Rs + Storytime, plus a toddler. My HS days started with phonics at 7:45, and I'd work my up through my kids. I'd be done with the 3Rs kids and 2 younger ones in HOD by 10:30/11:00. At that point we did Dictation with all 5 oldest, then the younger ones would have snack and finish their independent work while I worked with the high schoolers, which usually took till 12:30/1:00 (occasionally 1:30). I was done teaching by lunch. I did have some editing to do with the high schoolers and grading in the afternoon, but the rest of our time was free for living life. It was insane, but with giving ourselves lots of grace, it worked.

Now, I'm down to 5 in school: 3 in 2 HOD guides, 1 in a non-HOD year (so next year he can combine some subjects with his younger brother), and one in K doing just phonics (starting LHFHG next fall). I don't start till 8:30, 9:00, or sometimes later. I still start with phonics, then spend about 1.5 hours with my 2 in CTC. Next all 4 older ones do Dictation before I spend the rest of the morning with the older 2 on LA (grammar and composition), and Bible Study with one. And lunch happens by 12/12:15! So life is a lot more flexible now.

You'll have to find your own groove, but my best advice is to start slow. Take 2 days to finish every HOD day for at least the first unit of each guide, then gradually fit more in to each day until you complete a day each day, even if you need a "catch up day" for each unit for a few months. (Again, this depends on the child: I have one who "forgot" to go half speed in the first unit and another who couldn't do a full day each day until 1/3 through each guide.)

Blessings as you figure it all out,

[Jaimejac]

Here's a link to a great thread with lots of information on schedules in case you haven't seen that.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2093

Here's what our schedule will look like in the fall with running Little Hearts/Beyond/CTC. We only have a few weeks left of Beyond and CTC but this will remain similar once we start Bigger and RTR. If you want to see me specific schedule for when we start Bigger and RTR, I'd be happy to share it, just let me know. I hope this helps. I know how helpful it is to see someone else's specific schedule! I highly recommend Teri Maxwell and Managers of Their Homes if you haven't heard of it before. I found her book to be tremendously helpful in determining a working schedule!
7:00 AM - Personal Bible Time & Room Chores
7:30AM - Breakfast
8:00AM - Breakfast Cleanup and Pet Chores
8:30AM - Morning Time
9:00AM - Little Hearts with my 5yo/ 7yo - Piano/ 10yo CTC - Poetry/History Reading/Project
9:30AM - Supplemental Science w/ 5 yo/ 7yo - Computer time - typing/german/10 yo - Independent History/Science
10:00AM - 5yo plays with 10yo/ Mom does Learning Through History side with 7yo
10:30AM - 5yo - plays alone/ 7yo - Science w/ Mom/ 10 yo - DTHR/Piano
11:00AM - 7yo - LA/Math/Reading w/ Mom/ 10 yo - finishes any independent work she didn't get done earlier
11:30AM - All - Morning Tide and Prep Lunch
12:00PM - Lunch- we listen to an audiobook
12:30 - Cleanup
1:00 - 5yo - Quiet Time/ 7 yo - supplemental geography and nature w/ mom/ 10yo - computer time - typing/german
1:30 - 5yo - Learning the Basics w/ Mom/ 7 yo - Quiet Time - reading/ 10yo - Baking or Sewing
2:00 - 5 and 7 yo are free to play together/ Mom finishes Teacher directed work with 10 yo
3:00 - Outside Time for all
4:00 - Laundry and chore catch up for mom/ Supper helper rotation for kids
5:00 - All help get ready for supper
5:30 - Supper
6:00 - Cleanup
6:30 - Family Bible Time w/ Dad
7:00 - Baths and get ready for bed - sometimes there's some TV time with Dad between this and bedtime
8:00 - 8:30 - Bedtime for all

[StephanieU]

I have four kids in four guides. My oldest is very independent, and since I outsourced literature and Bible, there is/was little she needed me for outside of dictation and grammar. I rotate through my kids, spending 30-60 minutes with each of the younger three. When they aren't with me, they are doing their independent work or finishing up things we started together (it taking a break). And I just keep rotating through then until everyone is done. Normally that is about 9-2 for me. We had things outside the house two afternoons a week, so two days were longer and two were shorter. But 3pm was the latest I ever was doing school with them.

[The2youngs]

I’ve been running 4 guides for years now (my youngest is going into 6th, oldest in 11th), and I’ve always done it one of two ways. When my youngest needed me for most everything, I would start my day off with the oldest and do the couple “together” things with him, then let him loose to do the rest of his work independently. Then I’d pull in the next one down the line and work with him for the couple together items, then rinse and repeat, until I got to my youngest who I could then focus the rest of my time on. Since the younger guides are so short, I could finish with her and then go back and check work for the three older kids. Day over!

However, now that my kids are all older and in more independent guides, I actually do the opposite. I start the morning with my youngest and do dictation, devo, and get her going on writing. Then I move on to my next oldest and do her dictation, and whatever else she’s needing me for. Then move up the ladder. My oldest (just finished WH) is a very independent worker naturally so most of what I do with him is just checking work, listening to narrations, having discussions, etc. Then I’ll cycle back through to check everyone off as they finish for the day. My official time with them is generally done around lunch time although I generally will still have to check kids off mid-afternoon sometime (or evening if I have to work that afternoon).