Let's share our schedules!

[Mom of Three]

Do any of you find that as soon as you write a schedule out, your children's needs change and the schedule no longer works?

I like to put a lot of thought into what I think will really work for a schedule first, planning a bit longer for each block of time to account for learning the routine of boxes of plans and of our day. After a few days to a week or so, I can tell what needs to be tweaked, but usually it's not an entire revamping of the schedule, but rather moving this or that around a bit. Then, that schedule works for me about half of the year. I always tweak my schedule about mid-year it seems, especially if we had a baby/toddler, as they often grow leaps and bounds and change their daily habits. About mid-year, everyone is really into the groove of school, and time has usually fallen off the original schedule. Boxes of plans I needed to train our dc to do well, they have learned and everything just flows more smoothly. Looking back, I think I've posted my beginning schedule and a revised one about halfway through most of my years of homeschooling. Really the order of the day is about the same, but we just finish more quickly. So the routine remains very much the same, but the times we are doing things shortens up, and possibly one or two things may be switched around. So all and all, the general gist of the schedule works all year long, but some little tweaking is needed the first week or so, and mid-year or so. Here's an example of what I'm trying to explain...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8140&p=59286

HTH!
In Christ,
Julie

Last year my kids did handwriting first almost every day, but the order of the rest of the subjects changed weekly if not daily, depending on what we needed to do in each subject.
But routine and I are not exactly friends.

[holdinon]

i

[Tansy]

Little Hands to Heaven

LHTH takes about 5 minutes per box, in case that's helpful! Have fun planning!
In Christ,
Julie

Little Hearts For his Glory

Hi gals - I'd be glad to help... here goes...

Approximate Times for boxes in LHFHG...
Left side of plans:
Reading about History: 10 minutes
Rhymes in Motion: 5 minutes
Rotating Bottom left box (Science, Art, Dramatic Play, Thinking Games): 10-15 minutes
Bible Study: 10 minutes (add an additional 5-10 minutes on Devotional days)
Corresponding Music: 5 minutes

Right Side of Plans:
Fine Motor Skills: 5-10 minutes
Phonics: 15 minutes
Storytime: 10 minutes
Math: 10-15 minutes

That adds up to about 1 1/2 hours a day, give or take a bit. HTH - you're all going to have such fun with LHFHG! It is perfect for those ages - just enough school without going overboard. The one year sweep gave a great base of history to build upon and made our dc realize history covers a lot of time - not just the Bible history and now - it helped them begin to fill in the gaps, and piqued their interest in learning more.

In Christ,
Julie

Beyond Little Hearts

No worries, Rebecca! I find the search feature interesting to navigate myself!

For Beyond, I'm not finding any of the past threads on this, so I'll just go from my memory of it. We'll be doing it this year ourselves with our third little guy.

Reading About History Box: 10 min.
Poetry and Rhymes: 5-10 min.
Copywork: 10 min.
Bible Study and Music: 10 min.
Rotating Bottom Left Box (Artistic Expression, History Activity/Timeline, Geography, Science twice weekly): 15-20 min.

Language Arts Box: 15 min. (spelling/grammar)
Reading: 15 min. if doing the Emerging Readers and 20-25 min. if doing DITHR 2/3
Math: 15-20 min.
Storytime: 15-20 min.

Blessings,
Carrie

Bigger Hearts for His Glory

Oh, Teresa! I'm not sure what's happening, but Bigger takes 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours to do including math, DITHR, dictation, everything! Adding part of the right side of Beyond will add a bit of time, but it shouldn't add much more than 45 min. total.

Here are the time allotments that it took us when we did Bigger:
Cursive = 5-7 minutes

Drawn into the Heart of Reading 20-30 min. total (including reading time - we only read one chapter a session)

Math = 20 minutes

Reading About History Box (8-10 min.), Bible Study Box (5- 10 min.), and Bottom left corner box of "Learning Through History" (15 min.) done in one sitting totaling 35 min. (Note: Art days take a little longer.)

Dictation (5 min.), Poetry (5-10 min.), Rod and Staff English (10-15 min.), and Storytime (15 min.- We read aloud only one chapter a day. Some moms do more!) done in one sitting totaling 35 min.

Hymns at lunch (5-10 min.)

Science (after lunch - 15-35 min.- depending on whether there's an experiment or a notebooking entry or just oral narration)

I need to be up front in saying that I am a no-nonsense, check-it-off type teacher and don't stray far from the planned lessons, so these times can vary widely depending on whether or not you enjoy going off on bunny trails with your lessons.

Here are the time allotments for Beyond: You'll look at the right side time allotments only.

Reading About History Box: 10 min.
Poetry and Rhymes: 5-10 min.
Copywork: 10 min.
Bible Study and Music: 10 min.
Rotating Bottom Left Box (Artistic Expression, History Activity/Timeline, Geography, Science twice weekly): 15-20 min.

Language Arts Box: 15 min. (spelling/grammar)
Reading: 15 min. if doing the Emerging Readers and 20-25 min. if doing DITHR 2/3
Math: 15-20 min.
Storytime: 15-20 min.

Are you using our grammar, reading, math and spelling? This can make a difference and add time if you happen to be using a time-consuming program in any of those areas. I'd set your timer and note your start and end times for each subject for one day and compare them to our time allotments to see what is taking up your time. Also, if you have a schedule you'd like to post, we could look for ways to save time there too.

Blessings,
Carrie

Preparing

Once we had done school for a month, this is the longest it took us to do PHFHG:
Left side of plans...
Reading about History: 15 minutes
Research/Geog./Timeline: 20 minutes
Independent History Box: 20-25 minutes
History Project box: 20 minutes
Storytime: 20 minutes
1 hour 40 minutes

Right side of plans...
Math: 20-30 minutes
DITHOR: 30 minutes (3 x a week); Creative Writing: 20-30 minutes (1 x a week)
Dictation: 5 minutes (3 x a week)
Grammar: 15 minutes
Bible Study: 15 minutes
Science: 20- 30 minutes
Poetry: 5 minutes
2 hours 10 minutes

This totals just under 4 hours. If you are taking 6 hours to do school, this gives you an idea how long subjects should be taking once you get in the swing of things. Maybe you can see where you can carve some time off here or there to shave time off of your day. Just keep with it, it will get less and less each day timewise as you hit your stride.

In Christ,
Julie

Creation To Christ

Missy,

My3sons did a great job of answering you. In looking at the "Learning Through History" side of the page first, we're coming up with approximately these time allotments:

Reading About History Box: 30 min.(Indpendent)
Storytime: 20 min.
Project/ Written Narration Box: 20 min.(Independent)
Bible Quiet Time: 20-30 min. (Independent)
Independent History Study: 15-20 min. (Independent)

In looking through the "Learning the Basics" side of the page next, we're coming up with approximately the following time allotments:

Geography/Genesis Study: 20 min.
Poetry: 15 min.(Independent)
Dictation: 5 min.
Grammar or Write with the Best: 20 min.
DITHR: 30 min.
Math: 30 min.
Science: 30 min. (Independent)

This equals 270 min. a day, if all subjects were done each day. Grammar, dictation, Write with the Best and DITHR actually rotate through the language arts box, which means they aren't all done every day. This will lessen the overall daily time. Any boxes that are meant to be independent have 5-10 extra min. built into the time allotment above due to the fact that when kiddos are doing something on their own, it often takes longer than anticipated. So, we've built time in for that!

We found with Preparing Hearts that it took a little while to get into a routine, and then the time dropped back substancially as the year wore on and my son knew what to expect. So, you can anticipate after the initial training of getting into a routine with CTC that your child's time will drop back as the year progresses.

Blessings,
Carrie

Resurrection to Reformation

Ladies,

These are the general time allotments that we used at our house when we piloted parts of RTR last year with our oldest son. Since he is an older student as well as a strong reader and writer, he often completed his assignments in less than the allotted time below. However, it's important to note that both he and I are no-nonsense, check-it-off type people purely doing what is in the assignment box and moving on. So, if you add to the discussions or enjoy bunny trails, the times will vary! Also, this year I will be using RTR with my 6th grade son who is very creative and distractible. So, I expect his times to be somewhat longer, especially at first! Anyway, this will give you a guideline as you get underway.

Also, if you are new to our programs, or to a Charlotte-Mason style education, you can expect a training period of about 2-4 weeks at the beginning of the year where your times will be longer and your child will need you more. However, after the training, the time will really fall off of your schedule, once the child gets used to the pacing and design of the guide. We found this to be very true with both CTC and RTR as we did them with our boys last year, even with our sweet distractible child!

RTR (Left Side of the Plans):
Reading About History: (30-35 min. including reading and assignment)
Storytime: (15-20 min.)
History Project: (20 min.)
Rotating Box: (20 min.) Longer on the Shakespeare Day
Independent History Study: (10-15 min.) (Longer on Draw and Write days)

RTR (Right Side of the Plans):
Bible Quiet Time: (20 min.)
Math: (30-35 min.)
Science: (25-30 min.)
Rotating Box: Art Appreciation (15-20 min.), Devotional Bible Study (20 min. - twice weekly), Poetry (10-15 min.)
Language Arts (not all areas are done daily):
Dictation (5 min.) 3 times weekly
Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons: (20 min.) 3 times weekly
Drawn into the Heart of Reading: (30-40 min.) 3 times weekly
Grammar: (20 min.) 2 times weekly (much done orally)

Blessings,
Carrie

Revival to Revolution

Hi ladies! Carrie and I talked about the RevtoRev times as we laid out our plans, and though I shared this on some other threads, I thought it would be good to give it its own post here...

Left Side of Plans - Learning Through History
Reading about History: 25 min.
*Note: This may be longer on the written narration day, though this will balance out as there is no history project on the written narration day.
Storytime: 15-20 min.
History Project: 20 min.
Rotating box (Geography, Worthy Words, Timeline, Poetry): 10-20 min. (depending on length of poem and length of primary source document)
State Study: 20 min. (3 x a week)
*Note: One day will be shorter when there is no state study.
Independent History Study: 10-15 min. (longer on "Draw and Write" days)
2 hours (using the longest times)

Right Side of Plans - Learning the Basics
Bible Quiet Time: 15 min.
Music Appreciation: 20 min. (2 x a week)
Biblical Worldview: 20 min. (2 x a week)
Math: 30 min.
*Note: Add 15 min. more if doing "Discovering Mathematics".
Language Arts Box:
Dictation: 5 min. (3 x a week)
DITHOR: 35 min. (3 x a week)
Creative Writing: 25-35 min. (1 x a week)
R & S English: 20 min. (4 x a week)
Science Exploration: 25 min.
Inventor Study: 15-20 min.
2 hours, 50 min. (using the longest times)

HTH!
In Christ,
Julie

[Daph]

Personally, I can't handle a strict schedule. If we get one minute behind, I start to stress out, so ours looks like this:

Get up
Eat breakfast
Older does Language Arts on her own, while mom does Math and Phonics with the Kindergartner
Work with older: Left side of HOD
Older does Math on her own while mom surfs the internet and Little plays in her room
Chores and dinner
Set up workboxes for the next day
Mom Time while kids are in bed at 8pm

And we may or may not get out of our pajamas, depending on what we have planned for the day, and if the mood strikes us. Having said that, I also only have two. If I had more children, I may make a more advanced schedule.

[Mom4Him]

I love this board full of so many wonderful ideas!
I thought I would share our schedule, so you can see how things work at our busy house. I actually posted this on our blog before we started school over a month ago, but I wanted to make sure it was actually working before posting it here. There is really very little that has been switched... only the order of who reads to me each day, but otherwise this is "exactly" how things go at our house!
http://ourfamilyforhisglory.blogspot.co ... amily.html
Now, if I could just figure out how to get the laundry done!! Any tips??
Jessica

[my3sons]

Our Schedule for Revival to Revolution, PHFHG, and LHTH...


In Christ,
Julie

[my3sons]

For those of you teaching "Preparing Hearts for His Glory", here is a link with pictures that shows specifically what a few of us moms did to get ready to start teaching PHFHG and to organize our materials...

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10426&p=76846#p76846

In Christ,
Julie

[keyjoh62080]

I do blocks instead of times. However, we usually get started at about 8am and while the kids are eating breakfast I am sitting with them doing any of our read-a-louds, we do narrations and copy work right later. After the first block of about 60 minutes we break to get dressed and do other chores for about an hour. We come back to the second block and that takes anywhere from 90-120 minutes, we then go into lunch and break to go out and play after. We have quiet time and then while my 2 yr old is sleeping we go into our last block which takes about 60 minutes. Blocks are less stressful for me not having to watch the clock like I used to do.

[sharonb]

Julie asked me to share this here, so here's a copy and paste of one of my posts. (It's my new secret to designing a schedule!)

Ever since I decided to bump my oldest two children to Preparing, I was wondering how I will schedule our days (we are also doing Beyond and Little Hands). It seemed too overwhelming to write or type it out and to hope I'm not forgetting anything. Last night I had a lightbulb moment:

POST-IT NOTES! (Yes, I know that this is not a new idea, but it's something I have never tried before.)

I wrote each and every box from our guides onto post-it notes, with "T", "S", or "I" so I'd be able to see my involvement at a glance (I also wrote the approximate amount of time the box should take). I also wrote activities for the preschoolers on post-its. Then I started arranging them to come up with a schedule. I started off doing this on the cover of a notebook, but quickly ran out of room, so I switched to the wall. Because everything was on individual post-its, I was able to shift things around until I got a schedule that should work. Once I was satisfied with the schedule, I wrote it down on paper; that way I won't lose everything if the dc decide to play with my post-it notes! Today I'm going to type up the schedule, and we'll give it a try this coming week! I'm going to take the post-its off of the wall and put them away somewhere so I can use them again if I find that the schedule needs tweaking later on.

I hope this idea helps someone! I'm a very visual person, so it REALLY helped me to plan a schedule this way.

BTW, I have our start time at 9:00 a.m. and we should be finished by 2:00 p.m. at the latest (this includes 30 minutes for lunch and adding botany and a couple of quick odds-and-ends for the oldest two, like piano theory); I'm happy with that!

[aspenskies]

I loved reading through the schedule thread. My situation is different in the fact that I also run a family daycare home. I hired a good friend to join me as co-owner this year, which will be a big help. (she has a toddler she plans to homeschool, I sent her a link to HOD).

We will be starting CtC next week or the week after. I planned my son's schedule around the daycare schedule. My son enjoys picking and choosing which lessons he would like to do when. A blocked out time for independent lessons and lessons with mom works best for us.

edited to add: the schedule is not showing up right, so I bolded and changed the color of my son's activities.

2012 Schedule: Daycare and Colin (Creation to Christ)

6:00 am – 7:30 am mom wake-up; morning routine; quiet bible time; check email; computer time; prepare for the day
Daycare Colin
7:00 am – 7:30 am wake-up; get dressed; quiet bible time
7:30 am - 8:00 am arrival; free play morning routine; pick-up and put-away
8:00 am - 8:15 am clean-up; wash hands set table for breakfast; help with serving
8:15 am - 8:50 am breakfast breakfast; help with clean-up
8:50 am - 9:00 am clean-up, gather for circle time “ “
9:00 am - 9:30 am circle time independent lessons
9:30 am - 10:00 am station time; arts and crafts; lessons “ “
10:00 am - 10:15 am wash hands; morning snack morning snack or break
10:15 am - 10:50 am station time; arts and crafts; lessons independent lessons
10:50 am - 11:00 am clean-up “ “
11:00 am - 11:45 am outside play outside play; nature study; help w/daycare kids
11:45 am - 12:30 pm wash hands; lunch, clean-up help with lunch prep; lunch; help with clean-up
12:30 pm - 1:00 pm stories independent reading
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm nap/quiet time (soft music played) lessons with mom; free time
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm wake; wash hands; gather at table help prepare snack
3:15 pm - 3:30 pm afternoon snack snack
3:30 pm - 4:15 pm outside play outside play; nature study; help w/daycare kids
4:15 pm - 4:45 pm free play afternoon routine; pick-up and put-away
4:45 pm - 4:55 pm clean-up help w/daycare kids
4:55 pm - 5:30 pm table play “ “
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm help with dinner prep, dinner, help with clean-up
6:30 pm – 7:00 pm finish lessons; (if complete) free time
7:00 pm – 9:30 pm free time; read-aloud, evening routine
9:30 pm prepare for bed; prayers; have a good night!

Mom usually prepares for bed, says prayers, and is in bed at the same time or soon after.

[Homeschooling6]

Here is my block schedule.

6:30~Mom wakes, showers, dresses, get coffee going.
7:00~wake children, they dress, eat, brush teeth etc.
8:00~I work with my Preparing boys, rotating box, storytime, history, Bible, and dictation if schedules. Get them started on their independent work.
9:00~work with my oldest son Josh, English and Math
Here is where it gets tricky, just depends on how long Joshua's 1-on-1 takes. Sometimes it's 30min. other days 40. So I'm going to use an hour. If we finish earlier, great, I'll move on or take a mini break.
10:00~work with Ethan using Beyond
11:00~work with Lance using Little Hearts and see if I can fit in phonics and math
12:00~lunch
1:00~Finish with my Preparing boys, usually at this time all they have left is English and spelling.
2:00~Quiet time We have a two hour quiet time five days a week.
4:00~Play outside, finish any school work or find a comy spot to read.

Block scheduling has worked well for me this year. The one above I will start on Monday, I had to change a few things because I am adding Little Hearts guide (separating him and Ethan). I dropped Latin and am now starting at 8:00 with my Preparing boys.

[rockridgegal]

Moms...... I am really loving this subject !!!

My problem which I am not seeing on any post .... I WORK OUTSIDE HOME ,I AM AS A NURSE!!!! YICKS !!!!!!!!WHAT TO DO !!!!!

I am getting ready to start BHFHG soon and am trying to wrap my head around when to get these possible 3 hours into the day without him having to sit there solid for 3 hours when we finally get home from work ??
I am very blessed that he is able to attend work with me everyday and goes upstairs and hangs out and plays and watches TV,, etc....while I work from 730 am til 1230 pm . I check on him once in a while and he is fine and does not mind coming to work with me . I would love to hear any ideas you gals have about what to do ?

Kim

[lissiejo]

Here is my kids' schedule...I'm working on getting up earlier than they do, but it hasn't become routine yet. Once I do that our day will be much smoother and the housework will actually get done!

E: 7-year-old Daughter - Bigger
M: 5 -year-old Daughter - Little Hearts
K: 2 1/2-year-old Daughter - Little Hands

Dependent: Mommy has to be actively involved for the entire assignment
K - Everything
M - History, Science, Bible, Reading, Rhymes, Read-Aloud
E - History/Geography, Science, Poetry, Spelling/Dictation, Bible

Semi-Independent: Mommy teaches something and the activity can be completed alone
M - Math, Handwriting, Thinking Skills
E - Math, Literature, Writing, Grammar

Independent: The entire assignment can be competed without Mommy
E - Journal, Handwriting

7:00 - Breakfast, Get dressed, Morning Chores
7:30 - Begin Lessons - Family Devotions, Calendar Time
7:45 - K: All lessons, M: Semi-Independent, E: Independent
8:15 - M: Dependent , E: Semi-Independent
9:00 - Break (Outside if possible)
9:30 - E: Dependent
10:30 - Break
11:00 - Lunch
11:45 - Nap Prep
12:00 - E: Finish Lessons if Needed
1:00 - E: Quiet Time
2:00 - Up from nap/quiet time & Snack
2:30 - Piano/Voice Practice, Afternoon Chores & Study Awana
Afternoon - Play!!!! (Some indoor, some outdoor)
6:00 - Dinner
7:00 - Bath
7:30 - Read in Bed
8:00 - Bed

[Larica]

Hello Ladies! I don't know if this will be of help to anyone, but I thought I'd share in case. I know that I have gained SO much from reading about how others structure their time and tasks. When I read Julie's schedule, I saw that she has something called Body Check and Room Check for her dc. I'm not sure what that involves for her family, but I took the idea and made two charts for each of our dc, one chart for morning and one for evening. I put them in a special plastic protector (with a hole on top for hanging) and hung them on the wall by their beds. Morning and evening are back to back in the same plastic protector. I also taped string to a dry erase marker and small dry eraser. Those are hanging on hooks next to the charts. In the morning, dc do each thing on the chart and cross it off. Then they wait in their room for me to come do Body Check and Room Check. After I check, they erase the marks and flip the chart to the other side to prepare for evening. Evening is done similarly. It has helped so much, especially for my one dc who is organizationally challenged . I have attached the charts for my oldest daughter so you can see. She has the most on hers. The others have less, especially my 3 yo, who is just learning. I could only figure out how to attach the charts as jpg files, but if anyone is interested in them in Excel format, let me know and I'll send them to you.

Blessings,
Erica

[Carrie]

Ladies,

I somehow didn't realize I hadn't posted my schedule for the 2011-2012 school year until I was ready to start this school year! We did use our 2011-2012 schedule all year with good luck, so I'll post it now.

Rather than being a strict time-keeper, I follow the same routine or flow to each day. That way my boys know the order in which to do things and what comes next, without having to ask me all throughout the day. So, even if you are not a particularly scheduled person, I'd encourage you to have a set order or routine that you follow. I'll repost some of my same comments from my previous schedule, as we still follow these same ideas, so they're worth repeating.

We have found that our start time is very important each day and that the next most important thing is keeping the same flow or routine to the day. For my oldest two sons, I made sure to schedule independent tasks last in their day. In that way, if my oldest two get up early or get ahead of schedule, they can simply jump to the end of their schedule and do one of their independent subjects. My boys love this, as they feel they are chipping off their ending time by doing these subjects earlier in the day.

In order for my day to flow well, I don't necessarily have to be on the exact times it says on my schedule (and often I am not ), but I do need to have each of my kiddo's time with me in the same order each day. This keeps my routine very similar and makes me able to calmly move on to what is next. My boys know that when I call them to do any items scheduled with me that it takes precedence over whatever they are doing. This is because there is only 1 of me and 4 of them!

I give each child his own schedule, and I keep a copy of these individual schedules in plastic page protectors on a ring on my fridge so that I can easily check at any given time who is supposed to be doing what (and where). I have a one-page schedule for me that includes only the items I am to be doing with my children in the teaching capacity or the maintenance capacity. This keeps my notes to a minimum and shows me at a glance what I'm supposed to be doing. The kiddos each have a copy of only their own schedule in a 3-ring folder in a plastic page protector for them to check off each day with a dry erase marker. We use the same routine every day, which really helps the kiddos memorize it.

Here are my boys' schedules for 2011-2012. The items in blue are the ones that are done specifically with me each day. I have not put mealtimes in blue, nor all of the overseeing I do as I move kiddos from task to task, but my teaching times are noted in blue. This way you can see how it works for one teacher to teach multiple programs. We do eat lunch and dinner together as a family, but our breakfast is in two shifts with the olders eating as they get up and the youngers getting up later and eating later. This allows for the olders to have some quiet work time before the youngers descend upon us for the day.

Don't let this detailed schedule scare you, as it is honestly the order and routine (not the times) that keep us steadily progressing forward each day. Although you may never get to the point where you are doing 4 separate programs, I just wanted to let you know that it can be done and is manageable. You may never have the need to finish as early in the day as I do so that I have time to work, but if you do I also wanted to let you know that is possible. So keep that in mind as you read further. Rest assured that this is just one way among many, and HOD is flexible enough that families are able to make the same guides work in a completely different order and manner to find what is best for them.

Shaw's Grade 7 Revival to Revolution Schedule:
6:30-7:00 Make Bed/Clean up Room/Dress/Groom (30 min.)
7:00-745 Pick Orders/Tape Boxes/Tear Down Boxes (45 min.)
7:45-8:00 Eat Breakfast (finish eating during first subject as needed)
8:00-8:20 Bible Quiet Time Box (20 min. morning room)
8:20-8:25 Dictation (5 min. kitchen table)
8:25-8:45 Grammar (2/3 orally or on white board, one exercise on paper) (20 min. kitchen table)
8:45-9:10 Reading About History Box (25 min. morning room)
9:10-9:25 Independent History Box/Research (15 min. morning room)
9:25-9:45 Rotating History Box (Poetry/Geography/Timeline/Worthy Words) (20 min. morning room)
9:45-10:05 History Project Box (20 min. kitchen counter)
10:05-10:25 State Study (20 min. kitchen counter)
10:25-10:45 Play with Beau (20 min.in playroom/living room with games from kitchen cupboard)
10:45-10:55 Mom goes over Shaw's work from A.M. with him (In reality, this took 20-25 min.)
10:55-11:15 Biblical Worldview/Music Appreciation (20 min. morning room)
11:15-11:45 Math(I go over the lesson and am available during the assignment time.) (30 min., as the year wore on it became 45 min. kitchen counter)
11:45-12:15 Drawn into the Heart of Reading or Creative Writing(30-40 min. morning room)
12:15-12:40 Science: Exploration Education (25 min. kitchen counter/on computer)
12:40-1:00 Inventor Study (20 min. morning room)
1:00-1:40 Eat Lunch (40 min. kitchen table)
1:40-1:45 Clear Table/Counters (5 min.)
1:40-2:45 Play Outside for Recess (60 min.)
2:45-3:00 Greek (15 min. kitchen table)

Greyson's Grade 3 Finishing Bigger Full-Speed Schedule.He also began Preparing Hearts full-speed toward the end of the year. The schedule below reflects Grey's Bigger Hearts schedule.
8:30-9:00 Eat Breakfast (We have oatmeal on a kettle on the stove ready for differing breakfast times or eggs in the microwave.)
9:00-9:30 Go back upstairs/Get dressed/Make Bed/Brush Teeth/Pick up Room
9:30-9:45 English (15 min. kitchen table)
9:45-10:05 Storytime (20 min. morning room couch)
10:05-10:45 (All items listed below during this time on morning room couch)
Reading About History Box (5-10 min.)
Bible Story Box (10-15 min.)
Poetry Box(5-10 min.)
Bottom Left Rotating Box (15 min.)
Hymn (5 min.)
10:45-11:15 Play with Beau (30 min. in Grey's room/playroom/or living room - at end of playtime Grey starts Beau on computer)
11:15-11:35 Math (20 min. kitchen table)
11:35-11:45 Spelling/Dictation (10 min. kitchen table)
11:45-12:15 Drawn into Heart of Reading (30 min. living room/with Shaw)
12:15-12:30 Cheerful Cursive (15 min. kitchen table)
12:30-1:00 Science (30 min. kitchen counter - I'm available to help as needed, but we've done it long enough Grey can do much on his own now.)
1:00-1:40 Lunch (40 min. kitchen table)
1:40-1:45 Dust Bust
1:45-2:45 Recess Outside (60 min.)

Beau's Age 5 Little Hearts for His Glory Full-Speed Schedule:
8:00-8:30 Get Dressed/Brush Teeth/Groom
8:30-8:45 Eat Breakfast
8:45-9:15 Educational Video (30 min. living room)
9:15-9:45 Play with toys from kitchen cabinet quietly (30 min. kitchen table/playroom)
9:45-10:25 Play alone in his room upstairs (30 min. Mom sets out toys and starts music)
10:25-10:45 Shaw plays with Beau games from kitchen cupboard (20 min. living room/playroom)
10:45-11:15 Grey plays with Beau (30 min. playroom/living room/Grey's room)
11:15-11:45 Educational Computer Game (30 min.)
11:45-12:15 Eat snack, then play in living room near mom and other boys (30 min.)
12:15-12:30 Phonics (15 min. in morning room/playroom)
12:30-1:00 Little Hearts for His Glory(half-speed left side one day/right side next)(30 min. kitchen table/morning room)
1:00-1:40 Lunch
1:40-1:45 Clean Up
1:45-2:45 Recess Outside (60 min. all boys together)

Cole's Grade 10 School Schedule(Piloting Some Possible HOD Plans for the Future):
7:15-8:00 Make Bed/Get Dressed/Groom/Unload Dishwasher/Eat Breakfast
8:00-8:45 Pack Orders (basement)
8:45-8:50 Dictation (5 min. kitchen table)
8:50-9:10 Spanish (30 min. kitchen table T/R/F) Greek (30 min. kitchen table M/W)
9:10-9:40 Grammar (Go over lesson/Assign portion to do on own) (30 min. kitchen table M/W/F) Health (30 min. kitchen table T/R)
9:40-10:25 Math (45 min. Cole's room - need computer) I'm available as needed.
10:25-11:10 Biology (45 min. Mom's room - need t.v. or computer) (Labs -kitchen counter)
11:10-12:00 Government (40 min. Mom's room M/W/F) History (40 min. T/R)
12:00-12:45 British Literature/Composition (45 min. Family Room couch)
12:45- 1:00 Begin Bible if time/ Finish after lunch recess (15 min. Family Room)
1:00-1:40 Lunch (40 min.)
1:40-1:45 Load dishwasher
1:45-2:45 Recess (60 min. all boys together)
2:45-3:15 Bible Study (30 min Family Room)
Note: Typically, Cole gets up on his own by 6:00 or 6:30 A.M. So, he does his Bible Study and often his literature study before breakfast. In this way, he is done earlier like the other boys. I also do much of my discussing with Cole after our lunch recess, in the afternoons, and early in the evening.

In all honesty, out of necessity I have gotten more scheduled as the years have gone by, due to needing to have work time for ME in the afternoons. I work hard with schooling until 1:00, but this truly leaves my time free from teaching after that! This is such a huge blessing to me, so I am willing to work harder to stay on task and keep interruptions at bay in the morning to have my afternoons for my much needed worktime and for maintaining my home! I also have to say that I am truly feeling blessed this year, as my two oldest sons are very independent, allowing me time to work with my younger two during school. I enjoy the things that I still do with my oldest sons, but I am also enjoying time spent focused on my younger ones. I can see the fruits of years spent in training my older sons in so many areas. They are truly becoming young men!

Blessings,
Carrie