What is one scheduling tip that has helped your school day..

[Carrie]

Ladies,

I was just reflecting on how well our year is going, even though we are fully running 4 different programs right now with our 4 boys. I must admit, I wondered how it all would go, as our oldest is a junior this year (which is a new experience for us), and we have another one now on the very verge of high school (in grade 8 ). Yet, we've still got our 10 year old who really needs us as he's working in gaining so many new skills (in 4th grade) and our little 6 year old who is learning to read, write, and do math along with being a 1st grader.

So, in reflecting over some scheduling changes we've made this year, I thought it might be fun to share a few ideas with one another in this area. This year, I split my 6 year old's LHFHG into 2 chunks. We do most of the left side and the storytime with him in the morning and then do most of the right side in the afternoon. I actually like this split in time with him, and I just couldn't fit all of his school in before our 1:00 lunch. Doing him first in the teaching day makes him feel so important and loved. He also loves coming back after his afternoon break to do more "school". The split in his school also helps it feel less like we're hurrying to get it all in with him in the morning.

As far as my other boys go, one thing that we've done (after I saw my sister do it in her schedule) is to take a break from school between 1:00 and 3:30. My older boys were not in love with this idea, as they love to be "done" by lunch at 1:00. However, in truth we really can't get it all done by then anymore, nor should we really try! I realized this after last year, but I should have realized it before now.

So, now we work hard until 1:00. Then, we break for lunch and the boys head outside for an hour of recess. After this, they come in and each of the older boys has a 30 min. playtime with each of the younger ones. This works great for us because the boys have lunch on time now, are outside during the most beautiful part of the day and are getting physical exercise in the middle of school, and have time to spend with their younger brothers (who are just dying to have time with the older ones)! They are also less "brain-weary" when they return to their school from 3:30-5:30.

I must admit that it can be hard for me to teach from 3:30-5:30 at times, however once I get underway I find that I am more together and less hurried during that time. This is because the break gives us time to catch up on the correcting, get a better handle on what went on during the morning, do a bit of laundry, prepare a bit of the evening meal (or at least glance at the plan for it to see what needs to be done), catch up on some work, etc. So, for us, this is working well this year.

What about all of you? What scheduling change or tips do you have that make your HOD day run more smoothly?

Blessings,
Carrie

[keyjoh]

Thanks for sharing Carrie!

For us, giving up the idea of getting it ALL done in the morning has been great. We work on all the content subjects in the morning (right side) and then break from 11 to 3 and then work on History, Bible Study, Poetry, etc from the left side. This has been a wonderful change for us. Also, giving up the 'time' slots and just having a routine has worked well, this way if we start a little later (time wise) I won't feel like I am behind. We just do the same order of things, Devotional/Prayer, Math and then Language Arts no matter what time we start in the mornings. We all feel so much more at peace.

We are thankful for you and HOD!

Blessings,
Keysha

[mom23]

Scheduling helped my day . I did fight it for quite a while-just looking at all those charts makes my head swim! However, I finally realized my fly-by-the-seat of your pants approach was not doing any of us any favors.

Also getting up early and just getting started helped tremendously. I am really not a morning person. However, when the school-aged kids and I get up before the rest of the household and just get rolling on school work things are much better for our house to function smoothly.

Running a year-round schedule helps us. This is something I started with from the beginning of our homeschooling journey 2 1/2 years ago, and still like it. When I can resist the urge to squeeze in extra school days and just spread those 3 months worth of breaks through out our year in 1 or 2 week chunks we all stay more fresh. Whenever I start to feel burned out or notice it in the kids (normally all of us!) I know it's time for a week off.

[alydar]

I'll second the year-round schooling. I feel such freedom knowing I can take off time as needed (or wanted ) and not feel as though we won't finish the year by a certain date. Also, I took a clue from one of Julie's schedules and made one for us. I do the time blocks and have everyone's "to-do" list under their name myself included. I've always been a schedule hater but it's actually made things easier for us this year. But I'm not married to it either. If we get started 30 minutes late it's no big deal. We just start and follow the routine. And even though the kids don't look at the schedule it keeps me focused and on task which helps them do the same.

We have snack time between 10:00 and 10:30 and that's when I'll read Beyond's Storytime selection. They love this time! Even the 3 yo has learned to listen quietly but loves getting in on the questions afterwards. Then they get to run free for about 20-30 minutes or so (coffee break for me!) before we start again.

Another thing is having one of my olders always available to help out with my 3 yo. While I work with one the other is playing with him. That has helped tremendously with cutting down on the interruptions by him and we get more done.

My need-to-work-on list includes:
~ getting to bed at a decent hour - I'm a night owl and it definitely hurts the next morning.
~ accepting that it's ok for school to go past 1:00 pm - I'm spoiled (and so are they). Last year with LHFHG and BLHFHG school was a cinch. This year it's BLHGHG and Bigger plus a very active 3.5 year old who wants to "do school" occasionally, too. Our school day now has a lunch break vs. lunch being at the end. We're slowly getting use to it.

[MomtoJGJE]

I'm opposite What helped me most in the day was letting go of a schedule. Short term schedule I suppose, daily. I have a long term plan (like a month at a time) of where I want to be, and as long as I'm somewhere near that I'm happy!

Also, letting go of feeling guilty if we just don't do school with my younger two every day, or even every week. My older two are compulsory, and while I know that shouldn't drive me, some days it does (keeping in mind I have a 5 week old )

The other thing, letting go of perfection. Realizing that on difficult days or days where the activity is not a favorite or whatever that it's ok to just let their creation be their creation... Like yesterday Grace did the activity in Beyond where you tear the tops off of the different colored paper and layer them to be mountains. She didn't want to do it and claimed to not understand it... So I took a paper and showed her once how to do it then left her alone. It looks like it took less than 5 minutes because it did take less than 5 minutes.

[annaz]

Going in the same order every day. At least doing the same subjects before lunch and the same subjects after lunch. Otherwise we lose track of our timing completely and the day takes longer.

[TrueGRIT]

For me the hardest thing to do, but also the most helpful was realizing that we didn't have to be done before lunch.
In fact right afterward, is when my children are more ready for storytime and crafts. So after reading Julie's post on scheduling
I changed our Schedule to an hour after lunch for this very purpose. I don't always like having another thing to take up part of my afternoon, but it has really
taken a lot of the stress off - so I suppose it's worth it!

[mrsrandolph]

What a great topic!

I am also a year round schooler. I LOVE it. This allows me to teach art one day a week out of the home. I also have children with special medical needs, so when a day of school is missed because of a doctors appt., I don't have to worry about it.

Also...I just start one guide when I finish the previous one. What I mean is, we may not complete a guide in a set time frame. I hit the ground running on Monday. If something gets missed, it gets done on Tuesday before we start what would have been Tuesdays work.

I also let my kids sleep until they wake up. No alarm clocks or set start times. Compared to most, we probably start the day late (8:30).

Any way...that's how we roll. I have loved reading your tips!

[alydar]

What a great topic!

I am also a year round schooler. I LOVE it. This allows me to teach art one day a week out of the home. I also have children with special medical needs, so when a day of school is missed because of a doctors appt., I don't have to worry about it.

Also...I just start one guide when I finish the previous one. What I mean is, we may not complete a guide in a set time frame. I hit the ground running on Monday. If something gets missed, it gets done on Tuesday before we start what would have been Tuesdays work.

I also let my kids sleep until they wake up. No alarm clocks or set start times. Compared to most, we probably start the day late (8:30).

Any way...that's how we roll. I have loved reading your tips!

We do this, too. Of course, mine get up before the rooster next door does. But 8:30 is our goal start time. Some mornings we get to start at 8:00 and sometimes it gets pushed to 9:00 but we just drive on.

[moedertje]

What helped my schedule this year after we moved, are several realizations
1. If my goal is to be done early, than I am stressing and rushing and missing part of the beauty of individualizing school for my kiddo's.
2. If I go to bed on time, I can get up on time my day ends earlier, I have more energy to teach... I fall in the night person CATEGORY!!!! NOT morning person
3. If I stress to be done early, than my kiddo's think there is something wrong with not being done before lunch
4. Consistency is best, but flexibility is key when things don't go as planned
5. When I want all subjects done in my timing, I am teaching a subject, not the child!!

While I have a written schedule to keep some normalcy, I also keep in mind that my job as a teacher is full-time and that some times our days end later than others, that I become more flexible to be able to hear the Lord's voice on training the children, and not just have my check lists in my mind and "get it over with".
Homeschooling is the best thing that ever happened to me, to teach me continually how not to be selfish and controlling with my time!!!

[countrymom]

Scheduling the art project, or any other more involved project last. We have our set order for the boxes, but if it is the day we do an art project, or the science experiment is more involved, we moved it to the end. This allows us (ok, me ) to enjoy the project and not worry about falling behind because everything else is done. If we start a project and still have 5 boxes left I start worrying and want to rush or cut corners. DS is used to this by now and has become quite adept at running the arrow on our schedule down to the end of the page. I can fold laundry or something while I assist him and he ends up with a lovely project and I am not stressed.

[funkmomma71]

I keep a loose schedule, mainly because my husband leaves for work at different times throughout the week, but the most important thing for staying on track is staying OFF the computer. Times seems to evaporate when I'm on the computer. Our days go so much more smoothly when the computer is off until, and if, it is actually needed. I have friends who have other "screen" or phone problems, they are constantly complaining about not getting things done. My response is to turn off the "screen" or phone, problem solved.

As for schedules, do what works for you and your family. Not all families are made the same, so your needs will not necessarily be met by doing what someone does. The corollary to this is, don't be afraid to make changes to your routine as your children get older and their needs change.

Nancy

[4Hispraise]

Scheduling is a tool to HELP us, and we are not slaves to it. I used to push my oldest to finish each activity in its allotted time frame. Rush, RUSH, RUSH leads to push, PUSH, PUSH - end result, everyone is miserable! We are relaxing, enjoying our homeschooling adventure and each other so much more.We do the big boxes that Julie shared, a time frame with a list of things that should be accomplished instead of scheduling every 15 minute block like I used to. SO MUCH BETTER!!

[GrannySimplicity]

I am always looking at ways to make the days go easier. This is my second time around with homeschooling, having homeschooled 2 of my now adult children. I found that this go round, I am able to do the days more smoothly. Here is what I am doing differently with my younger children.

1. They each have a visual schedule. I started this in part due to my youngest being autistic and needing the schedule to know what is happening next. Our daughter, though she is a typical child & not special needs, also benefits from the visual schedule as a method of time management.

2. We use workboxes for their independent schoolwork. This is probably what really helps the most. For our daughter, she has her math, reading materials, copywork, etc. that can be done without much aid from me in her workboxes. I schedule her independent work for the times when I have to work one-on-one with our son. I am available for her to ask questions, but she is able to do much of it without a lot of aid from me. Her work that requires more of my attention is done when I am finished working with her brother.

3. We take scheduled breaks. A mid-morning snack break, lunch break with a rest period, and recess in the afternoon. Having the kids take the 1 hour rest period after lunch is very beneficial. They don't have to take a nap, but can read or watch a video quietly in their bedroom. The idea is to doing something restful and quiet. If they want to nap, that is fine also.

Having the kids on a schedule makes my day a lot easier to manage. During times when they work independently or are taking a break, I am able to work on household chores. Most days, they are finished schooling by lunch, so have the rest of the day for themselves.

[my3sons]

Oooh, I love scheduling tips, so this has been fun to read for me! I have read and tried so many good tips over the past 10 years, but this year, here are my new favorites...
1) LHFHG - we read Storytime cuddled up in my bed together first thing in the morning. My little guy crawls in my bed in his pj's, and we cuddle up and read. It's a great way to begin.
2) MTMM and CTC - I call my dc in to my room one at a time after reading to the little guy to hear each of them say their Bible memory work. It gives me a moment to hug each of them, and they just did their Bible Quiet TImes in their rooms, so it makes great sense to listen to their verses and check how their quiet times went.
3) For MTMM and CTC: Right away in my first teaching block with each I knock out dictation, R & S English/Writing, and Math. I also look at DITHOR and do what I can for my part there.
4) For all... pick a stopping time. 1 PM is it for me. We stop no matter what, and have lunch. Take a break. Then after 2 hours (outdoor playtime, indoor playtime, work for me) we finish out whatever needs to be finished at 3:30.

Great topic - I enjoyed reading everyone's posts!

In Christ,
Julie