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I apologize if this has already been answered somewhere. We've been 'out' of school for a while, except for English, Math, Handwriting, and independent reading and I am just getting us back into the swing of things..or at least trying. My question has to do with how you structure your day. I am using Bigger with my older 2 children, adding the extension pack. We also try to do DITHOR, but I'm finding we often don't get to it. And, we do not get to my other son's work in LHTH very often at all. This is what I have been doing:

We start our morning getting breakfast, showers, and whatever chores have been assigned for the day. Once that is done, we begin school...with a goal of 9 a.m. to start. However, we are very often thrown off 'schedule' because one dear child in particular neglects to get started on chores. We have a chart where everything is CLEARLY spelled out for each person, including me, but that has not helped. It seems to be a case of the lazies which has been a chronic problem with this child. Anyway, once we do get to school work, I have them do their independent work first....math, handwriting, english, spelling words (with me helping if required that day), vocabulary, etc. Usually, by the time we finish this, it is lunch time, and we don't get back to school until near 1 p.m. Then we have Bible and music, poetry, science and history readings and any notebooking or experiments that go along with that, story time, geography, etc. This often takes us until 3 or later...not including DITHOR or ds 5 LHTH. I feel as if I am getting nothing done but school...which I do realize is important, but I really don't want that to be all we do each day. We are not getting to the cooking, outdoor play, field trips, free time that I would like us to have. I know this has been discussed many times on the boards, and with me as one of the 'encouragers' sometimes, but now I need some encouragement and tips for how to improve our day. I have a sample schedule that Julie sent me..and I do plan to go back to take a closer look at it. I'm just beginning to feel discouraged, and wondering how I'm going to do this once the baby arrives and I have even less time!

Any tips will be appreciated. My husband is traveling a lot with his new job...we're just so busy, and we aren't even doing any extracurriculars now that co-op is over. Please help! Thank you in advance.

I just have hugs for you b/c we are in the same situation.

I don't have time right now to jump in and offer suggestions here, as I've gotten tied up in several other posts that took quite some time to answer, but I'm going to pray for you and bump this thread to the top of the board, so it doesn't get buried!

I know the moms will come alongside you with encouragement and suggestions!

Blessings,
Carrie

Wendy,

It's so nice to "see" you again! I've missed you while you've been getting settled! (I hope that's going well, by the way.) We're doing the exact same programs, so I'll give you a peek at our day...which hasn't been as "scheduled" as I'd like recently, but we're moving forward and still enjoying it!

We have a dairy farm that my husband and his dad own. This year, my husband only milks mornings on the weekend which helps with our interruptions in the morning immensely! (I lose the kids when he's home because they LOVE to talk to Daddy and our house is really open so we can't "hide" easily. ) But...my husband's younger brother just left for college this year and he and his sister did all the calf chores up until this year. So, Grant has been going over to the farm with Mike every morning to feed baby calves for over an hour. This was going well until it started getting light later (and we're up to about 25 baby calves!) and we haven't been able to start school until at least 9:30 recently. Grant also plays violin and piano...so we fit those in the morning, too.

Now, that my big intro and background are done, I'll tell you what works for us! When Mike and Grant get home, Grant heads to the piano while we get breakfast on the table. After breakfast, I head upstairs (to get away from the little 2 who are set to play) to do the left page of Bigger with Grant. We read history, poetry, Bible now. Depending what the lower box is, we may do it now, too. Then we move downstairs where we sing the hymn on our way through the living room with the CD player. On into the dining room table where I start him on anything written from the history page as well as setting out Cheerful Cursive, English, and Math (if there's no activity). He also has independent reading time & violing practice that he does every day. I let him go through these things in the order he wants to.

Starting with the left page for us gives us a huge momentum jump for the day. At this point we're only 30-40 min into "school" and we've already done/talked about 6 or 7 boxes for the day!

At this point, I grab my LHTH stuff and parade upstairs with the little 2. (So we don't distract Grant! He just can't ignore us when we're having so much fun! ) We do everything reading/dramatic/tape related here, and then go through the living room stopping to listen to our song, and on to the little kitchen table where we do anything written/cut/glued. (Garret doesn't always join us for this. He's welcome, but I don't encourage him to come if he's found a tractor or something to play with. )

Now, I pop my head into the dining room to check on Grant. I go over the math activity (if I didn't do it earlier), do the rest of R&S orally and give him dictation if it's the right day.

At this point our days kind of vary depending on when my husband wants lunch and if we have somewhere to go in the afternoon. Recently (since it got colder ), I've been slipping out to run at this time. (Ahhh, a quiet break! ) I put the little 2 on clean up duty before lunch, and if they finish before Dad gets home they can watch Veggie Tales, Letter Factory, or PBS. (The TV "carrot" seems to be the only thing that inspires my little Allison to clean fast! But, boy does it work well!) Grant finishes everything independent and has free time until lunch.

After lunch if we're home for the day, I give them until 2 or 2:30 outside (unless it's really nasty weather). Then, the little 2 take naps and Grant and I finish with Storytime, Science, and DITHOR. Occasionally if I have something I really need to get done during the "sleep" window, I do it before getting together with Grant...or if I really need a nap, too! Then we start back up when I'm ready and finish for the day.

I know this post is as long as a book by now, but I'd say if you feel pressed for time to stop doing the Extension Pack out loud as part of your day. I'd just do it "as is" for your part and have your son read them independently like scheduled in the back. (I bet they're great books though! I had a hard time deciding NOT to read them with Grant, but we feel like school is "just right" right now. I plan to get ahold of those books though as ones I want him to read sometime on his own. )

HTH!
Kathleen

Kathleen,

Thanks for the tips. Believe it or not, it had not crossed my mind to stop reading the extensions aloud and just have him read them on his own (which is the way the program is designed to work anyway!). I've been having both my kids spend some 'school' time reading anyway, so it should be easy to just switch his reading to the extensions....why does it take someone else to point this out to me? I'm glad I have you guys here though to give suggestions or I'd still be banging my head against the wall! Another question, too...when you do independent work later in the day, does your child struggle with getting the work done? We switched to doing independent work first because Math was a HUGE issue last year, and getting it done first helped a lot. However, I'd love to try to get my part done with them first, then have the rest of the day to focus on my 5 yo (and the baby when she arrives) and all my other duties. I think I'll try your suggestions during the next week and see how things go. Thanks, again! And if anyone else wants to chime in, feel free. I'll take all the ideas I can get!

when you do independent work later in the day, does your child struggle with getting the work done?

This is where our struggle is. It would be so much easier for me to do my part first and then have my older ones complete their independent work. However, they work better on independent things first thing in the morning. So what I'm trying is to get them started on their independent work and then focus on LHFHG with dd. Then I'll come back and work with them when she's done. I'll be trying this on Mon. so I'll have to chime back in. Scheduling does get pretty tricky with my 3 yo and 10 month old in the mix though. I'll let you know how this works for us

inHisTiming,

The moms on the board are doing a wonderful job of giving you advice. I've got a minute this morning as my kiddos are eating to talk through a few things too.

First off, I just want to encourage you that we all deal with the things you're mentioning, so you're certainly not alone. I, too, have one who is a chore dawdler. One thing that has helped with him is to NOT make his chores first in his day, otherwise we were running late first thing in the morning. He's just slow to wake up and chores first were too much first thing in the morning. I can relate, as I am NOT a morning person either.

With my kiddos who do their chores quickly, I do schedule those children's chores first thing in the morning (like my oldest morning person first born son). In this scenario, not all kiddos are doing their chores at the same time, but the chores still get done. With all of my kiddos, I make sure to schedule something very independent for THEM first thing in the morning. (This looks different for each kiddo). That way they can all get started without me while I am still getting any needed things set for the day (dressing the little one, finishing getting dressed myself if needed, etc.). Here's a link to my schedule to peek at what they're each doing first (notice where the chores are for "Shaw" my little dawdler). Scroll down to see my schedules for either Bigger or Preparing for Shaw, depending on which you're doing.:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2093&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15

Next, I would recommend having kiddos only doing one or two short independent subjects first thing, and then launching into your teacher-directed parts of your day (with the goal of having "your" main teacher part done by lunch or an hour after lunch). So, at our house, the kiddos do independent subjects interspersed with teacher directed ones, so I can rotate working with various kiddos. I break up my teacher time with the kiddos' recess and then their lunch. My kiddos also have independent subjects scheduled last thing in the day too, so if those go on extra long, I don't mind (as I'm not teaching at that point, I'm just guiding a little here and there).

You'll find that your day will go more smoothly too, by not placing all of the "one right answer" subjects together in a row (like math, English, handwriting, vocabulary, etc.). CM says to alternate those types of subjects with inspirational subjects such as history readings, storytime, poetry, etc. You'll find your day will flow better and your kiddos will be more inspired. Really!!

Last, I would recommend placing the subjects you are more likely to "skip" in the morning. I put Drawn into the Heart of Reading pretty early in the morning on Shaw/Cole's schedule. It is my first Teacher-Directed subject I do, and we never skip it. When I had it last in the day (or any teacher directed subject), I was SO apt to just leave it off the end. Now, I make sure that there's no teaching left for me late in the day, as I just lose steam. I do my oldest son's dictation and grammar last thing, but that is very low maintenance for me.

I hope there's something in here that may help. You're not alone, and adjusting the schedule becomes more meaningful after you've tried some other things and know what doesn't work. It makes it easier to see where the problems are and how best to attack them.

Blessings,
Carrie

You've already gotten great advice here, and I think just moving the extension pack to being done independently will help a lot. I too have changed my schedule since I emailed you the last one because my ds finished LHFHG and started BLHFHG. (My oldest is still doing PHFHG). I've found we move things around a bit about every 3 months when we have a growing baby/toddler. Its seems like as the toddler's schedule changes, ours needs to too. He's a very attention-grabbing toddler , so it's not so easy to have him right near us doing school. Since my son started BLHFHG, he's matured enough to stop having to have playtime first thing in the morning. He understands starting right away = more playtime at the end of the school day, and he likes that. So, I've been meaning to put up my new schedule on the "schedules" strand - I might as well do it here and copy it there, just in case something might be helpful for you here. (We get up at 7 now, because toddler does, and he is LOUD!!! We might as well get up since we're all UP anyway - though I'd prefer a bit later of a wake up time, it's what makes the most sense now.)

7:00 AM Toddler wakes us all up with loud shouts of "MAMA, MAMA, MAMA!!!" I give him board books to look at in crib, make sure my older boys are up and moving, and I do my Bible devotions in my bed.
By 8:15 AM: PHFHG son has gotten ready, done his "bedroom" chores, cleaned bathroom mirrors/wiped down bathroom counters, eaten breakfast, and is now starting school. He enjoys reading 1 story from his children's Bible on the living couch (for quiet time). I'm showered and ready to start. I bring toddler up to room for playpen time with special toys.
By 8:30 AM: BLHFHG son needs longer to eat and do chores. By this time he has gotten ready, done his "bedroom" chores, fed the dog, taken out the kitchen garbages, and now reads his Beginner's Bible independently on the living room couch. Meanwhile, I am giving dictation to PHFHG son.
Times flow in chunks for this next part. So, I'll just give the order of things in chunks, but I'll put a sunglass face before each thing I am doing so you know where the "teacher" time is happening:

PHFHG: look up Bible Study box memory verse, hi-light it, practice it with hand motions, discuss verse with me, say it for me, sing with CD with me, start him on R & S Grammar
BLHFHG: 3 questions discussion about Beginner's Bible with me, independently does Explode the Code Workbook at kitchen table
Toddler: playpen

PHFHG: finish short written part of R & S grammar independently (whatever I assigned, usually a few problems from each section), listen to book on tape at library table with headphones for a chapter or two (about 15 minutes)
BLHFHG: sing Bible verse with me in kitchen, say verse together with hand motions and discuss with me on living room couch, read poem, read history and science (if it's a science day), get him started on matching activity (bottom lefthand box of left side of plans)
Toddler: playpen

PHFHG: play with toddler in playroom in basement (we used to do this upstairs in their rooms before we got that room done in the basement - any place they can be safe and secluded works well)
BLHFHG: finish whatever above things need to be done - most likely the activity

PHFHG: Reading about History box - read together on couch and do box's plans, read Storytime box and discuss on couch, do as much of rotating box (research, geog., timeline, vocab.) as necessary together, discuss History Project box and get supplies if needed.
Then, send him to kitchen table to finish rotating box if more to do, do Independent History box, and History Project - all of this is done independently then.
BLHFHG: play with toddler in playroom in basement

PHFHG: finish working independently on above things, Go over math lesson our part together
BLHFHG: listen to book on tape at library table with headphones (about 20 minutes or so)
Toddler: Love on him, change diaper, take him upstairs to watch Barney video in our bedroom

PHFHG: does rest of his math workbook independently at dining room table, begin Science box on his own
BLHFHG: do spelling with him at kitchen table, he reads Emerging Reader's Set to me on living room couch, orally discuss questions for book, I read Storytime read-aloud and we do that box's oral narration together, do our Math part together, get him started on math workbook, on handwriting (I'm having him do "A Reason for Handwriting A" since he's not ready to copy the poetry yet), IQ Boosters (a critical thinking workbook)
Toddler: watching Barney

PHFHG: do my part of DITHOR with him, he finishes science and DITHOR on his own
BLHFHG: finishing above work
Toddler: out toddling around with us as I make lunch

All of Us: lunch together, we do PHFHG poetry together at lunch table. And we're DONE!!! With this schedule, we've been able to finish by noon now. But, I kept a lot of the same routine for the most part as our last schedule, so we're about 3 mos. into it, which makes everything go more smoothly. If I was just starting this type of schedule, I wouldn't be able to finish by lunch time, so I'd probably have to do lunch, have them play for an hour, and probably still have to finish up the last 2 chunks above yet. The longer we stick with the general "gist" of the schedule, the quicker it starts to go and the sooner we begin to finish. You are smart to step back and evaluate what schedule would work best for you right now, and that's something that seems to continue to go on at our house. Something changes, and the schedule needs to be tweaked a bit to match that change. I try if at all possible to keep the general gist of the schedule very much the same though if possible. HTH! You'll figure it out - just keep working with it and it'll begin to take shape and be more clear where you need to move this or that.

In Christ,
Julie