You will be living with your daily schedule on a…well…daily basis! Don’t be surprised if the final outcome doesn’t look a whole lot like your initial plans. Rather than chisel your schedule in stone, you may want to pencil in a daily plan. When it comes to daily scheduling, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Start the Day Right
Devotionals are a great way to start the day. Praising God and giving thanks to Him helps us keep things in the proper perspective. When things don’t go exactly as we planned, they will see us rely on the One who can best help us. And when things do go well, our children will see us give Him the glory.
Further Reading
- Bible Study Tools
Complete list including devotionals.
Schedule in Blocks
In a homeschool environment scheduling in hourly increments may not be the best solution. First, subjects rarely take an hour in a tutorial environment. Second, as we work at the student’s pace, a subject that takes thirty minutes one day might take sixty the next.
Instead, schedule in blocks of time. For example, use the morning for “one-on-one time,” the afternoon for “group time.” The key is to schedule the progression of events rather the time in which they are to occur.
Further Reading
Determine Your One-on-One Time
As mentioned previously, unless you are very brave you will be teaching some subjects to all of your children at one time — whether through a literature approach, unit study, or some other method. Other subjects will require you to spend one-on-one time with each child. Math for an older student may be as simple as tutoring them in the day’s lesson, working sample problems with them, and then sending them off to work the practice problems. Our younger children will need our undivided attention during their phonics lessons.
Determine which children will need one-on-one time and in which subjects, and schedule those times so as not to overlap. Remember, in a tutorial situation, one lesson does NOT mean one hour.
“Don’t be afraid to revise the schedule! Most schedules will need some fine-tuning once they have been put into use. Give your full schedule two or three weeks, and then evaluate rough areas that may need changing. Your schedule is a tool not your slave driver. You must be willing to adjust it to meet your needs and the needs of your family.”
Steven and Teri Maxwell, Manager of Their Homes
Multitasking
One of our favorite terms! In homeschool lingo, multitasking means every child is working on something productive at once. Imagine the flurry of activity. Imagine the productivity. Imagine Mom with more than a single pair of hands!
So how do you incorporate this time-saving mechanism into your homeschool?
Let’s start with an example: You spend the early morning with Student A working through spelling words, language, and perhaps math. Student A takes his work and moves to a different location to finish the lessons. In comes Student B with whom you spend time in phonics and language. Student B moves to another location to practice math facts on a computer. Student A returns. You go over Student A’s work with Student A, making corrections and suggestions. Then attack math or reading with Student A. Student A moves to the computer to practice math facts while Student B returns to do math. When finished, Student B moves to a new location to work on a project. So forth and so on!
The objective is no child left behind…, without something productive to work on.
Further Reading
Assignment Lists
As you work with your older children have them compile a list of assignments that they can work on independently, including an additional assignment should they finish all the others before you are ready for them. This will prevent them from standing around waiting on you.
Enlist the Skills of Your Older Children
Older children can practice their oral reading skills on the younger children. They may even be able to help younger children with some of their projects or assignments. (Just remember, you are still the one in charge….)
Make Use of “Reading Time”
Reading time gives Mom and the children an hour or so to take a break and regroup. Older children can use the time to read literature selections. Younger children can “read,” color, or listen to audio tapes. After reading time and perhaps a snack, everyone will be ready to move on to the next project.
Make Productive Use of “Play Time”
Have your child make a list of projects he finds interesting. Then during his free time ask him to work on an activity or project from the list. He can always add to the list. This prevents the “I don’t have anything to do” syndrome. It is also a good way to discover his interests and encourage them.
Further Reading
Be Flexible
Your first schedule will almost certainly not be your last. As you may have realized, there are many variables:
- How long will my child need for math?
- How long will it take to go over science?
- What if one child doesn’t finish before the other is ready?
Start by implementing one child and one subject at a time. As those plans become workable, add children and subjects until your schedule is fleshed out.
Particularly in the beginning, it will be important to tweak your schedule as needed. By the end of the year you should have it down perfectly!
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