Last week was our first week of school for the season. We were blessed with Adventures in My Father's World (MFW) curriculum this year and are centering our schooling around this. I have done many years with no curriculum but felt we needed a little bit more order and routine this year. I was also looking for something that required less work on my part considering there are 3 school children, two preschoolers and an infant in the house this year and we don't see Daddy more than on weekends since he is working two full time jobs.
The week went remarkably well. We were overdue some routine and order around here as we had gotten out of some good habits with our move, pregnancy, new baby and summer.
It is interesting for me to read other homeschooling schedules so here is ours for this season.
I get up with the baby between 5:30 and 6:30 and take care of him and spend some devotional time/personal hygiene time before waking the kids at 7:00 to do their bedroom chores while I cook breakfast. We eat at 7:30 (unless baby was up tooo much and it's pushed back to 8), clean the kitchen together and head to the music room. We sing a few worship songs and hymns together each morning and then began table time.
We start off each morning with calendar time for our preschoolers and then do our MFW which is mainly Bible, American History and Science. We take recess at 10.00 and corral again for snack about 10:15. After snack we begin math and finish up anything we didn't finish before recess. We incorporate language arts in with History. When we finish one activity we try to clean up before going on to the next to keep things decent.
The week went remarkably well. We were overdue some routine and order around here as we had gotten out of some good habits with our move, pregnancy, new baby and summer.
It is interesting for me to read other homeschooling schedules so here is ours for this season.
I get up with the baby between 5:30 and 6:30 and take care of him and spend some devotional time/personal hygiene time before waking the kids at 7:00 to do their bedroom chores while I cook breakfast. We eat at 7:30 (unless baby was up tooo much and it's pushed back to 8), clean the kitchen together and head to the music room. We sing a few worship songs and hymns together each morning and then began table time.
We start off each morning with calendar time for our preschoolers and then do our MFW which is mainly Bible, American History and Science. We take recess at 10.00 and corral again for snack about 10:15. After snack we begin math and finish up anything we didn't finish before recess. We incorporate language arts in with History. When we finish one activity we try to clean up before going on to the next to keep things decent.
Of course during all this time I am either bouncing a baby or helping a preschooler bottle feed him; or setting up the little ones with legos or puzzles or coloring pages while baby sleeps.
Lunch is at noon followed by clean up together. Then we all go to the living room for read aloud time from the Book Basket (and other requested picture books from the little ones). After about an hour of this, I take the three little ones upstairs to lay down for nap while the older three lay down separately to read silently. After an hour of quiet/nap time whoever is awake begins our after school chores which usually involve cleaning or laundry. We then have a snack and try to fit in an "extra curricular" learning experience like music/piano lessons, Spanish speaking CDs, typing/computer learning games, swimming or baking. After this the kids are free to play outside or create and have fun inside.
Fridays we have art and outdoor nature time in place or normal morning routine and the afternoon is more free.
Supper is about 6:00. Supper clean up is on a rotating schedule, boys one night, girls the next. Sometimes there is time for free time; sometimes we head right into baths and showers, (Again we rotate boys and girls nights - opposite of kitchen clean up- or if pressed we send boys to the garage for showers and the girls triple up in the upstairs bathroom with swimsuits on. -The oldest thinks she's too old to shower with the little girls, but it is so helpful if she does, so this is our compromise.)
The kids all love baby time and beg to feed him so there is usually a pair of hands around if I need to get something down and he is not content to sit. Nursing was not going well so we have switched to mostly formula and the kids love this. I am only nursing usually twice a day now. This was very difficult for me at first (I nursed my last one 20 months) but this has actually
Once everyone is in pjs, we have a small snack and everyone brushes teeth, gets that final drink, goes to the bathroom one last time and gets in bed. The boys room is across the hall from the girls room and there is a small landing in between. I have a rocker on the landing and can rock the baby while I read aloud a chapter book (usually historical fiction) and the Bible. I try to finish up reading no later than 9:00. At this point I pray for them and shut their doors. They can read quietly or go on to sleep.
I then put the baby down and do a quick run through the house picking up a little, turning off lights, locking doors, gathering up whatever I need for night-shift with baby and head to bed myself. I am still up in the night with baby, so with a little wind down time on the internet or with a book and praying I am usually to bed as early as I can be.
Daddy is home from 3 or 4 till 10:00 but he is sleeping during this time.
My parents live in the basement apartment so sometimes they like to take the baby for the evening routine and that frees me up to help more with baths and snuggles and getting kids in bed.
We do laundry Monday, Thursday and Saturday and sometimes Tuesday as well.
We clean upstairs on Mondays, downstairs on Tuesdays and bake bread Wednesday or Thursday.
Saturdays we try to leave open for time with Daddy.
Sundays is church, rest and then kids have free time or possibly a movie while I plan out the upcoming week. (This is the only time we watch a movie if we do!-except a very occasional rainy day or educational film) Sometimes we have company on Sunday evenings.
We do laundry Monday, Thursday and Saturday and sometimes Tuesday as well.
We clean upstairs on Mondays, downstairs on Tuesdays and bake bread Wednesday or Thursday.
Saturdays we try to leave open for time with Daddy.
Sundays is church, rest and then kids have free time or possibly a movie while I plan out the upcoming week. (This is the only time we watch a movie if we do!-except a very occasional rainy day or educational film) Sometimes we have company on Sunday evenings.
I try to plan menus on Monday mornings, Budget on Thursday mornings and I'm trying to squeeze grocery shopping in on Tuesday evenings so we don't have to do that on the weekends but really we only go grocery shopping every other week.
We got out of the habit of library over the summer but we need to squeeze that back in as well.
It's coming together. :)
We got out of the habit of library over the summer but we need to squeeze that back in as well.
It's coming together. :)