As many of you know, it is hard to stay on a strict schedule while home schooling. Interruptions happen no matter how hard you try to evade them. We are no exception to the rule. Our Home school day begins around 7:00 a.m. and ends around 8:00 p.m., if nothing happens to disrupt it or we don't fall prey to that "want to know everything attitude" my grandson is famous for. Our regular "normal" schedule is:
| 7:00 - 8:00 |
Out of bed, take showers, eat breakfast |
| 8:00 - 9:00 |
Math |
| 9:00 -10:00 |
Language Arts |
| 10:00 - 10:30 |
Break (get snack and pick up in bedroom) |
| 10:30 - 12:30 |
Unit Study (sometimes longer) |
| 12:30 - 1:30 |
Lunch |
| 1:30 - 2:35 |
Computer Lab / Typing |
| 2:30 - 3:00 |
Silent reading / study time |
| 3:00 - 5:00 |
Pick up all school items and grab a snack / watch TV |
| 5:00 - 7:00 |
Cook supper / eat / clean up |
| Five minutes is allowed between classes for whatever needs done (water, personal run, etc.) |
| Saturday and Sunday - 7p.m. - 8p.m. Sign Language |
Although we have a full schedule, it is a fairly relaxed one. Sometimes we go over our allotted time for a subject but we aren’t’ really concerned as we pick up what we missed doing on the others the next day. We don’t rush to complete everything that is on the agenda for the day. Matthew likes having a schedule because he feels more in tune with what he is to learn and there is no guess work or frustration for
him. We tried using a curriculum book last year but it didn't work for either of us. Matthew was bored with all the worksheets and the text books were a bit overwhelming for him. We changed the way we worked so many times that we lost track of what we did and what we didn't do. Believe me when I say that we were thoroughly confused before the first half of the school year was over. No one was happier than I was when the end of the school year came!
Through all our frustrations trials and errors, we found that Unit Studies work best for us and math
is done as an addition. Matthew works in his math text book one day and does real life situations the next. I have found that he does not get bored by working this way and his math computation skills are improving. He has typing practice fifteen minutes a day, every day, which he really doesn't care much for.
Our Unit Studies always include the subjects of spelling / vocabulary, history, geography, language arts, math, science (when possible), art, reading, computer research, typing (he uses the keys to type in the search box) and cooking. Depending on how involved we get, or how interested Matthew is in the subject matter, they can last as little as a few days to as long as two to three weeks. Each Unit Study involves a lot of craft work, making a bulletin board (which for the moment is a makeshift construction paper one on the living room wall), and cooking something from that country. We made a list of countries, famous writers, inventions and inventors and will alternate our Unit Studies accordingly. You'd be surprised at how much information can be gathered and what country is associated with an inventor, invention, or writer.
We have no special room set up for a classroom. Our living room seems to be our main focal point and the kitchen is second. We like to sit on the floor or (when Matthew can tolerate it) outside. The whole world is our classroom and we're just one huge looking glass of curiosity! We are adjusting much better to this new world of home schooling and are looking forward to the year Matthew graduates.
