Let's share our schedules!

[Carrie]

Alright ladies.... Since we haven't talked schedules for awhile, and most of you are probably getting in a little more of a groove... Let's share our schedules.

I know we're all VERY different in the way that we schedule our day (or don't schedule our day ), but everyone has something they can share on this thread that will most likely help someone similar to you in personality. I always love threads like these, because they show the diversity among families using HOD!

So, come on, let's get those words of wisdom out there! What does your schedule look like this year?

Blessings,
Carrie

[MamaMary]

Well the one thing we've been doing since May is starting our day as a family with HOD Bible and then our read a loud. Then we go do our basics and come back mid morning to do History/Poetry. Most times we are done by lunch, but if there is something we've not done, I do it after lunch. I really love opening our day with bible and our read a loud. It sets the pace of closeness/family and brothers seems to have more of a heart to work as a team.

[inHistiming]

I plan to try to come back and post my current schedule later...but I was just hoping everyone could include their START time for the day. This is a biggy for us and seems to set the tone for the day!

[Emilylou]

I like to start our day by 8:30. but somedays it is closer to 9:00am.

8:30- AWANA verses, and HOD bible reading and verses
8:45- Rthmying motions
8:55- science/art -
Break
9:15- devotional and read aloud
9:30- Before FIAR for younger dd, plus a few books
Break
Handwriting and Rod & Staff Workbooks
Math
Reading Lessons

Lunch
This is what an ideal day would look like. sometimes we just spread it out to the whole day with longer breaks. my kids are little and if they are playing constructively I sometime just let them go- to see where their imaginations will take them.
HTH

[Dorla]

Here is our 4 day schedule for Beyond with a 6 year old.
5:30 am (Bible/prayer time for me)
6:30 am (exercise for me, believe me on paper it looks good....it does not always get done)
7:30 am - wake up/ family worship/Breakfast
8:00 am - chores ( I do mine - 6 yr old completes his. And everyday he asks, Mommy do you like to do chores? I say no, but I have to. Then he says, Mommy I really don't like to do my chores! and I whisper a little prayer...)
9:15 am - school begins and we follow the order in the book (adding Spanish, Nature, Art, Music and manners for boys on different days)
10:30 am - snack /recess (20 minutes)
11:15 am - School is done, but if not he moves to the kitchen (while I cook...rice and beans almost everyday. nothing fancy!) to work usually on math.
Piano practice (15 min)
12:15 pm - Lunch ( dad comes home, so it does not change)
1:45 pm - I TRY to go to my office and prepare lessons for my students - but it is always later than this....
STRONG COFFEE (usually Mondays and Thursdays!)
3:30 pm - 7:00 pm teaching at my studio - DS comes with me, goes to work with dad twice a week at this time
8:45 pm - bedtime (yeah right...maybe once a week!)
11:35 pm - I promise not to drink coffee tomorrow...(because now I can't fall asleep)

I love to see this schedule on my computer screen. It seems that I am soooo organized and "with it". Ok, maybe I should say that this is my daily GOAL. And I am tired just looking at it!
Dorla

[inHistiming]

Here is our current 'paper' schedule:

Bible Study & music
Poetry
Handwriting/Copy work
Math
English
Spelling
DITHOR
History
Science
Story time

The below activities are only done 1 day per week, sometimes the day varies according to what is scheduled in the guide...what is shown is what was scheduled for this week.

Art (day 1)
Geography (day 2)
Vocabulary (day 3)
History Activity (day 4)
Timeline (day 5)
Health (day 5)
Igniting Your Writing (day 3)

Now, we often have trouble sticking to our schedule for various reasons. Dentist appointments, out of house because realtor is showing it, Mom's Dr. appt., and often because Mom doesn't get it together and start at a decent time! Our goal start time is 8:30 a.m. When we do get started this early, our days are fairly smooth and we have time left at the end of the day for games, the library, watching a favorite show or movie together, etc. I am still working on myself and trying to be more consisten with when I get up each day and get started. Please pray for me!

My 5 yo ds does some workbook stuff while the others do their independent work. We are still working on his schedule for LHTH....ideally will be done before we start with the older kids? I still have to figure this out.

[Kathleen]

Our schedule has been coming together nicely. Here's what it looks like...

6:45 am Grant goes with Dad over to the farm (a mile away) to feed calves. (We have a dairy farm, and started fall calving this week...13 so far! )
(I'm usually out running or doing some kind of exercising before they leave...)
7:30 Breakfast
8:00 Grant practices piano while I clean up from breakfast and get Allison & Garret started on something to play with
~about 8:30~ Grant & I go upstairs to a bedroom to do most of the learning through history page.
(We read the history, poetry, Bible study...then we head down to the CD player for the hymn singing where Garret & Alli join in. We also do the History Activity now if we want the little 2 to join it or move to the table if it's a vocabulary or notebooking day.)

I then leave Grant at the table to complete any writing that may have had to do with history as well as Cheerful Cursive, Poetry Copywork, Math, and R&S. He works on these independently while I head upstiars with Garret & Allison to do LHTH. (He will mentally join us if we're close enough that he can hear us. )

LHTH finger plays, Bible story, any kind of acting out Bible story, devotional, then letter activities...then we go downstairs to listen to the music...then to the little table in the kitchen to do anything that involves writing, gluing, etc.

I check Grant's progress and go over R&S orally with him. We also do our math activity now if there is one. THEN, we head back upstairs to do storytime, science reading, and DITHOR. This last section is based on what time it is and what time Dad is coming home for lunch and what we're having for lunch. We may do all 3 or just 1 of those things. The kids all play outside for at least 20 min while I get lunch.

Lunch

More play time outside...usually at least an hour.
Grant & Allison practice violin.
Garret, Allison, (and sometimes Mom ) take a nap.
Grant & I finish whatever is left from the storytime/science/DITHOR chunk of the day.

On Wednesdays we have violin lessons right after lunch...and then I teach piano from 4-6:30...so our afternoon time is more limited. Thursday we go to our homeschool group (more of a playgroup - not classes) at 1:00. We get home at about 3:45 and I teach piano from 4-7:30...so our afternoon time is gone!

Start time makes a HUGE difference on my stress level for the day (esp. on Wed & Thurs). My husband is making a real effort this year to do breakfast at a more consistent time which is really helping us! (Where's that big kiss icon? ) I really wouldn't mind if he ate at a different time than us, but I lose Grant's attention totally if Dad is in the house...so we have to wait till he leaves. We're into calf-pulling season, so we don't start at an exact time...but hopefully at least within an hour of our "schedule". My husband and father-in-law are the absolute most patient people I have ever met! They're such an example of trusting God and rolling with whatever circumstances come their way with a good attitude. Maybe it's a prerequsite for being a "happy farmer" because it seems they get to practice it about very day. Flexibility! I try to be as flexible as they are ...not quite as succesfully.

Kathleen

[beandip71]

I am doing Beyond with my 6 y/o dd. We normally start between 8:30am and 9am and are finished between 10am and 10:30am. I try and do things in the same order each day because I find my dd works better with that kind of structure. Here is a list of what we do:

Bible Verse-Awana
Math
Explode the Code
Spelling
First Reader-Phonics
R&S Reading & Workbook
Poetry
Copywork
Read-alouds-I read to her while she writes
Science experiment/Art/History Project

I do some things a few days a week w/ my 4 y/o ds as well while my dd is doing her math and ETC.

HTH!

Gina

[Leslie in TN]

We're doing Preparing with my 10yos and Beyond with my 7yo. We try to start between 8:30-9:00 and are usually finished by noon if not sooner. Now that we are seven weeks in, everything flows so smoothly that our actual "school time" has decreased. Our mornings Mon-Thurs look something like this:

Together: Storytime from Beyond during breakfast
French

Block 1: Bible, Poetry, English with the girls. Then they begin their independent work: History, Science, review Math (they have daily checklists, so they work on whichever thing they like next).
During this time I work with Sam on Bible, Spelling, phonics review, Poetry/Copywork, Math

Block 2: Preparing: History, Geog/Research/Vocab/Timeline, Project, and Dictation with the girls; Preparing's Storytime is sometimes done here, if not saved for a bedtime readaloud. Sam has free time once he is finished his math, copywork, etc.

Block 3: Beyond: History, Science/Geog/Art. The girls finish up any independent work not yet done, or I might go over new math concepts with them.

Together: DITHOR

On Tuesday (our non-DITHOR day since we're working 4 days per week) we also do some art during that time. On Fridays, I'll do Beyond with Sam, our music/art appreciation, and a little math.

[water2wine]

I am going to need to come back to this one later when we get back into our groove so we will just try to categorize this one under wisdom if we can. But Leslie echos some thing that I have really found for myself. She is my fellow block buddy. I have found that I just have an adversity to the time schedule. This will sound weird but I am just sharing it in case it helps some one like me out there. I do not like being told what to do. When I worked I made sure I had something where I got to control my own time and I found something weird that when I put a time next to a homeschooling activity I become resistant. However when I work by blocks and a general time theme I am actually more "on time" than if I wrote it out by the moment.

So our general thing usually goes like this we have just a few "rules", breakfast, chores and reading are done by 9:30 for the older kids doing BHFHG.
The first thing we do together is always Bible I usually connect the history in too but Bible sets the pace and this includes something extra to HOD we are doing and HOD. Then we complete all the LA items plus what we add in that area that is customized for our kids in that time as well. I do also the History Reading and Science. We save all activities of Science, History and Notebooking for the afternoon after lunch and Math sometimes happens then and sometimes after lunch but that block of their reading, Bible and devotional items (except sometimes for our reading through the NT that is not HOD this sometimes comes later and sometimes then depending on how our day is going) and LA is done before Lunch and 99% of the time History read alouds are done also including the extension pack which we also read aloud. It essentially leaves the after lunch block for things that are all independent so I can focus completely on my little ones doing LHFHG. Their schedule is more flexible. I try to get their independent work done in the AM and I do this in the gaps of working with my other kids , this is Math etc that I lightly guide and their read alouds and Bible happen after lunch. I just have these bench mark for both groups that are absolutes before lunch happens and we are more flexible on the start and lunch time within a certain range of time. It works for us. I find having a large family requires more flexibility rather than rigidness to a schedule.

I am taking the rest of the week off but next week I will write out clearly which blocks we do when since we do two programs, add our own things and have more than a few kids. I need to do it for myself but hopefully it will help others as well. Until then this is sort of the loosey goosey thing I have in my head that guides me day to day.

[my3sons]

Hi gals! I have to confess that I don't like my "in a hurry" handwriting (which is the only kind of handwriting I typically do now ), so I have a tendency to type just about everything. I also need to have a detailed schedule because when I travel to book fairs with my dsis, my dmom teaches from my schedule. Hence, this long typed out schedule! I always take so much from reading your schedules too - sometimes my trying just the tiniest bit of someone else's schedule can make a HUGE difference in my overall day, so thanks for this thread, Car'!

In Christ,
Julie

[Jessi]

I love reading these schedules.

It is so inspirational!

I really ought to have some type of schedule set for Emma and the rest of the day care kids, so all know what to expect. hmm...food for thought.

[busybee4]

Okay so this is what our schedule looks like most days with three little ones and the fourth due at ANY MOMENT!!! Becuause of the new little blessing coming I'm not sure how much longer we'll keep this schedule but we'll do our best!!

8:30 b.fast
We do our HOD Bible time during b.fast as well, it's great to start their day with the Lord and they LOVE to hear the lessons and Bible verses.
9:00 I normally try to have my 6 year old do reading at this time because she is most alert and can focus better in the am.
9:30 phonics or math (this depends on which I think will be tougher for her, we do the easier one next.) with spelling following if we do phonics.
10:00 RME w/little sis while big sis does any workbook type pages she has
10:15 math w/ little sis while big sis continues workbook pages
10:30 -11 break!!! They get to just do what they want, inside play, outside play, whatever while I get some things cleaned up and look over what's left for our day.
11:00 is either phonics or math with big sis depending on how we did it in the am
11:30 we finish up whatever activities from the learning through history side that we've not done.
If we start on time we're done by lunch and things are great, however because I'm so huge I've been kinda slow at getting things done so sometimes we'll have a subject lingering with us until after supper. (Which I don't mind too much cause then Daddy's home and can help and he usually has more patience left at the end of the day than I do ) It's good for him to get involved too right?
We do our read aloud at the table with lunch. They LOVE the Thorton Burgess books!!!

But like I said this is very relaxed...that's how I am. I don't always start on time, I'm not so organized that way but we have a routine and we know what needs to be done and we get it done...some days are happier than others but for the most part we're doing great!!!

I do try to make excpetions for special weeks like this one for instance cause we are having "FIre Safety Week" here at the house so we've been doing more of those activities than our actual curric. but I've snuck in some organized learning here and there and it's worked out wonderfully!! They've not even noticed...hee,hee,hee

[Tiffini]

Let's see - like many others, I have an ideal day and a real day, but we do usually have a flow to our days that works really well if we stick to it. I am using Bigger Hearts with my 3 children - 11 and two 8 yos.

The night before I write on a white board (that is eye level for the kids) all their next day tasks. They mark off each one as we go through our day and this allows me at a glance to see what each child has done and still needs to do. This really saves my sanity.

I get up at 6:15 for quiet time and exercise.

The kids are all up by 7:30 and are doing their chores. They have the option to do independent work or just play until 9:00 if they get their chores done early. Sometimes, they get lots done in that time frame and sometimes just their chores - it depends on their mood.

We meet on the couch at 9:00 and do the Bible, Music, and Poetry boxes together. Then we move to the kitchen table and do Science and History as well as the Activity Box for the day. I try to have this finished up by 11:00. Often, we finish early earlier than that.

At 11:00 or so, we split up. My oldest goes off to do her independent work, which includes Math, R&S English, Extension Pack, Piano, Spanish, DITHR. I will do Dictation and DITHR and listen to her oral narration throughout the rest of our school time as I am available.

With the twins, I do R&S English, Reading, and Spelling. They do Spanish, Book Basket, Piano on their own as independent work. We often finish around lunch time or just need a little time after lunch to finish.

I do the Read Aloud while the kids eat lunch. This works well for us and then I try to sneak in a quiet 15 minute lunch for myself after they all get settled doing various things after lunch. My lunch doesn't usually happen until 1:30 or 2:00, though.

My 11 yo then finishes her independent work after lunch until she is done.

I really love the extra time that HOD has added to our day after using several other more time-consuming programs!

[SoaringEagle]

We are doing LHFHG but only parts of it. My daughter wasn't enjoying the history or storytime or rhymes in motion or devotions/Bible.

So we do this when scheduled in the guide:

BJU math
The Reading Lesson (going great by the way.)
Science
using the devotional from LHTH
Fine motor skills: Do It Carefully/A Reason for Handwriting
corresponding music

Next year we'll use LHFHG again but the whole thing for grade 1.