I've also been meaning to post a detailed description of our schedule too - in the hopes that it may be of some use to those of you doing LHFHG and Bigger... next year!
I'm even going to put in the WHOLE schedule we used, including chores, etc. -just because that's come up on the board too and is a constant thing for me to consider (as well as everyone else, I'm sure!) NOT that this schedule is the end all - by any means - but if any of it can be of benefit to someone, then it would be worth it!
7:30 AM: Everyone gets up and cannot head downstairs until...
*beds are made
*rooms are neat
*clean clothes on
*teeth brushed
*hair combed
*hands washed
Meanwhile, I am getting the baby up and dressed, etc.
7:45 AM: Chores - 5 yo unloads the dishwasher, 8 yo lets out the dog and does one other chore on a rotating basis
8:00 AM: 5 yo and 8 yo grab juice cups, dry cereal in cups, and dried fruit and head upstairs to eat and play until 9:00 AM
Meanwhile, I am feeding the baby and getting ready myself. Baby has time in his room in his playpen with happy play music on and lots of toys and books, and then he plays out downstairs.
9:00 AM:
Everyone must be ready for school to start. All toys upstairs should be picked up. Dog kenneled. We say a prayer all together and "x" off the date on each of our calendars, noting any special things going on for the week/month.
Baby heads upstairs to watch his Barney video in his saucer for 30 minutes.
I start teaching LHFHG to 5 yo in the living room on the couch, left side of plans first. I read the "Reading about History" box first. Then, we do the rotating bottom left hand box next (Artistic Expression, Thinking Games, Science, or Dramatic play). If there is a science reading for the day, we do that before the activity in that box.
Meanwhile, my 8 yo using Bigger... begins his independent work at the kitchen table. He does his Cheerful Cursive, Preparing to Build (he read this on his own and chose one section to write - or I told him which section I wanted him to write - and then we went over it orally later). He also did his Singapore math workbook unless there was a hands-on lesson for us to do together.
9:30 AM:
Baby comes downstairs to crawl around.
Bigger... son does his educational computer CD at the dining room table.
LHFHG son and I do "Rhymes and Motion" box, "Corresponding Music" box in the kitchen/living room. Baby loves this!
LHFHG son and I head upstairs to our master bedroom to do "Bible Study" box alone where it's quiet. Bigger... son sort of keeps an eye on crawling around baby as he does his computer (doors are shut, house pretty child-proofed).
10:00 AM:
LHFHG son must play with baby in makeshift entryroom/playroom, door shut.
Bigger... son and I read "Reading about History" assignment together on living room couch. (He ended up reading this on his own by the end of the year - he wanted to and could.
). Next, we do "History Activity" box together at kitchen table.
Last, baby and LHFHG son come out and we all sing Bigger...'s hymn together, "Corresponding Music" box, marching around the kitchen, each with a copy of our music. Baby loves this!
10:30 or 10:45 AM:
Baby goes to nap.
LHFHG son does 15 minutes of an independent educational "game" at the kitchen table. We used puzzles, A Buki color by number/dot-to-dot, scissors books, Lakeshore boxes of things, etc. After the timer rings, he switches to listening to audio books on tape for 15 minutes with headset in the kitchen (my sister, parents, and I recorded books on tape, and also I bought some audio books).
Bigger... son and I do "Poetry" box and "Bible Study" box together on living room couch.
11:00 AM:
Baby napping.
We get a snack and a drink (coffee for me, drink box for them).
LHFHG and Bigger... sons and I all sit on the living room couch as I read Bigger's... "Storytime" box to everyone. Older son narrates and is responsible for whatever is planned in the box. Younger son may not interrupt older son. He understands his part in this is to enjoy his treat/drink and listen.
11:30 AM:
Baby napping.
LHFHG son and I read and do "Storytime" box in living room on couch.
Bigger... son did his Copywork in the "Language Arts" box, studied for his dictation in the "Language Arts" box, and copied his Bible verse if it was one of the days he had to do that, all at the dining room table (so he could listen in on LHFHG's Storytime as he worked).
11:45 AM:
Baby napping.
LHFHG son and I did phonics on the living room couch.
Bigger... son did 15 minutes of independent reading anywhere he wanted (NOT upstairs near napping baby though). I made a shelf of extra chapter books I owned that I wanted him to read just for enjoyment that he chose from for this time.
12:00 PM:
Baby napping or getting up to crawl around, or just happily on my hip!
The rest of us were at the kitchen table.
LHFHG son started on the "Storytime Box's" writing if there was any, then also did his "Fine Motor Skills" box, and last I did hands-on "Math at the kitchen table with him.
Bigger... son and I went over "Preparing to Build" together and his hands-on math lesson (if there was one that day) at kitchen table. If there was something to do for DITHOR first for me, I did that with him too. Then, I sent him to the living room couch to read his DITHOR.
12:30 PM:
Lunch for all of us. Children help with baby as we eat a simple lunch. We have
quick and
easy lunches the children love, sort of on a rotation (i.e. mac & cheese, hot dogs, nachos, chicken fries, salmon patties, PB & J, ham sandwiches, frozen pancakes reheated in microwave etc. with easy fresh fruit -bananas, apples, pears, grapes; cheese slice; go-gurt, and muffin). We often listen to an audio book on tape for about 15 minutes sometime while we're eating too. (Supper is a more elaborate and is more for dh and I to enjoy than the dc.)
Middle son dustbusts high chair and under the table.
Older son clears table and loads dishwasher.
I clean baby up, change diaper, etc.
1:15 PM:
Outdoor playtime for older 2 sons. If weather doesn't permit outdoors, indoors then. Baby does downstairs playpen time for 30 minutes, sometimes with a Gaither music video on within eye range. Then, he's out and crawling around downstairs by me.
Meanwhile, I set out frozen meat to unthaw for supper if necessary. Make as much of the supper as I can, either putting it in a crock pot or getting it ready for the oven if need be. Check what my wonderful friends at the HOD board have to say, check emails, make phone calls, throw in laundry - eat chocolate chips - whatever needs to be done most.
2:00 PM:
Baby makes a real mess of things, usually standing near the tupperware drawer and chucking it over his shoulder.
LHFHG son does his educational computer CD at the dining room table.
Bigger... son finishes DITHOR if it's a workbook page day. Then, he reads science (I read to him at the beginning of the year, but he took it over by end). We do experiment, narrating, etc. for science together.
2:30 PM:
DONE WITH SCHOOL!
Boys take 15 minute turns playing with baby. I pick up whatever needs to be, return phone calls, etc.
3:00 PM:
Older boys outside or inside for playtime (probably whichever they didn't do during morning playtime). Baby plays with them or just is by me.
3:30 PM:
Baby goes to nap.
Older sons continue to play.
FREE TIME FOR ME - which means I'm probably back talking to all of you!
The rest of the evening is meant for family time and relaxing. One other thing that we started that may be of use to you is the "Cleansweep". This is something Carrie and I came up with. The children and I "sweep" through every room in the house and make sure it is all picked up and ready for school the next morning. It doesn't take long with all of us working on it together, and I feel so much better and ready for school the next morning!
One last thing, when Carrie and I were talking about schedules, we both came to the conclusion that there are 2 VERY important things we needed to keep in mind...
1. We keep the
order of things the same, no matter if we got started late or got "off" somehow.
2. We keep the
time allotments for things about the same, that meant no going off on tangents and taking an hour for poetry when we've planned 5-10 minutes for it, etc.
So, sometimes school started later or ended later, due to unforeseen things, or maybe even just due to their outdoor playtime going longer because it was a beautiful day... but whatever the reason may have been that the actual time we scheduled got off, all things were still done in the same order, and subjects were not skipped. This helped the dc immensely because the schedule "felt" the same, and the same amount of work was expected of them each day - no "getting out of work" if we got off the times planned for school, and also no "flipping" between different days of the HOD guide of plans either. Forward motion... that's the goal!
WHEW! I know that got very long, but if it can help someone plan their day to fit their family better - great! HTH!
In Christ,
Julie
Can anyone help?