[mommy68]

How to incorporate a schedule when we've never had a schedule before?

I had health issues in Jan/Feb and most of March. I'm now okay and for the past couple of weeks I've been doing more and more with my youngest child (age 6). She's the one that needs the schedule (me too). My other children are very independent.

We did great the first half of the school year with no schedule but lately DD doesn't want to do anything. It's such a struggle to get her to do a little bit each day, even 30 minutes of school is a hard experience on us both.

If DH sees DD acting this way he threatens her that she will go back to school. I do NOT want that. I don't feel 7 hours a day in a classroom would make things better for her at all and would likely make it worse for her. She is a naturally hyper child. She would probably get in trouble all the time if in a school.

The reason I've never done a schedule is that I work from home. I feel my schedule is just too mixed up to try and make a set schedule for her school work and figure I'll just get stressed out trying to stick to one. Am I wrong? I suddenly feel like I'm hurting her by not having a more set routine each day. I never felt this way before.

 

[Momma Aimee]

IMO Schdules / rotines are very importnat for everyone -- so they know what to expect, that created safty and security (the expected happneing when expected).

We have a rough routine, as my boys are young.

i also find it keeps ME on track

I am subbing here to see other's routines -- i am all about "not recreating the wheel"

Aimee

 

[nov05mama]

We don't have our days scheduled completely...there is a very loose routine we follow as far as waking up, starting 'school', etc, but I don't stress if it changes.
As far as our 'school' routine, we do a different 'subject' each day. Once he starts kindergarten, I will have a set routine for us. I am extremely flexible with any routine, but I find that *I* need the schedule for myself...not so much for him!

:
One of the blogs I follow just listed her schedule for her kiddos...all different ages:
http://cuddlesonthecouch.blogspot.co...-schedule.html
I have something similar in the back of my mind for when we do start an actual schedule

 

[Marimami]

DD is 4.5, we plan on unschooling eventually, and mostly we're just working on deschooling her since we pulled her out of pre-K over a month ago. So, we're not very schedule-oriented folks. But, she likes to know what she is basically doing on a daily basis so we roughly have:

Monday: Music class in morning. Maybe some errands. They're home by lunch. Afternoons spent doing whatever around the house. DH and DD come up with their plans as they go along.

Tuesday: Horseback riding lesson in morning. Much running around with friend at horse farm. They're home by lunch. Afternoons spent doing whatever around the house. DH and DD come up with their plans as they go along.

Wednesday: Park play date with local group. Maybe errands. Maybe home for lunch or eat at park. Afternoons spent doing whatever around the house. DH and DD come up with their plans as they go along.

Thursday: Soccer play date with local group. (in theory.. it's rained so much they haven't done this yet). Afternoons spent doing whatever around the house. DH and DD come up with their plans as they go along.

Friday: Horseback riding lesson in morning. Much running around with friend at horse farm. They're home by lunch. Afternoons spent doing whatever around the house. DH and DD come up with their plans as they go along.

Basically, we've kept out-of-the-house activities to the morning. Afternoons really are wide open. They cook, ride bikes, garden, do science experiments, art projects, math games, read, play games, etc.... I leave out ideas and suggestions for them and then they come up with ones on their own too. I work from home, but it's a corporate job so I'm not able to really participate much during the day.

Holli

 

[Mama~Love]

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[chfriend]

Have you taken a look around the workbox thread? I set up workboxes for my kids, but because we have an unschoolish bent, I don't require anything. They are available as they want them.

The system is often used with a scheduling strip. It might work nicely for what you are looking for.

 

[elizawill]

we do have a schedule. we don't have time-slots, but i do know what subjects i want to cover on which days. i also meal plan and we eat at the same time each day. this helps A LOT. that's about it though. we also use workboxes...so far so good.

 

[emmsmama]

We just started with more of a schedule/routine this year (this is our second year homeschooling), and it works sooo much better than last year's more laissez-faire routine. I'm not an unschooler, so last year when we didn't have much of a routine, I always felt behind and guilty and I think it stressed my kids out too because they never knew when to expect work or how much time we were going to spend on work each day.

This year our schedule for dd (Gr. 4) and ds (Gr. 1) is usually along the lines of:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Math, Grammar and Writing for ds from 10-11am (yeah, we start late into the morning). Math, Grammar, Writing and Spelling for dd from 11-12 and sometimes 1-2 if we have more to cover or if she's dawdling. Lunch from 12-1. 1ish to 4ish - Together reading time, Science, and/or History.

Tuesday & Thursday: I run a home daycare these two days, so ds has no formal work on these two days. I do a math lesson with dd when the daycare children are napping. Dd also has worksheets to do independently on these two days.

This schedule works really well for us. We throw Art in here and there, but in Sept. I hope to add more art because dd loves it. I find having a schedule keeps me on track and the kids know exactly what to expect. They have plenty of free-time before we start work in the morning and they have free-time as soon as their work is done.

 

[MyLittleWonders]

I've finally come to the point where we need a schedule. I like emmsmama's description of a laissez-faire routine, as that is what I feel we've been doing for the last few years (this is are second official year of hs'ing, but our lives have been too laissez-faire for far too long

). So, I'm working on a routine (without time-slots, at least yet) that goes something like this:

*wake
*breakfast
*dress/brush teeth
*hs'ing block - math, phoincs, writing/spelling
*quick "sweep" of the house for loose toys/shoes/books
*free time
*lunch
*read-aloud
*free time/TV/park/library (depending on the day)

I'm hoping that by getting most of our responsibilities done first thing, there won't be so much fuss and fighting, knowing that then they can have more freedom to just play/be. My fingers are crossed.

 

[mommy68]

Thanks everyone.

I'm going to start out slowly. I will make a schedule of what we will study on what day of the week at this point and go from there. We do eat breakfast and lunch at the same times each day or pretty close to the same times so that helps. It's funny how I never thought I'd be wanting to do a schedule. But I think it will be good, at least for my youngest child for the time being.

 

[Momma Aimee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mommy68 Thanks everyone. I'm going to start out slowly. I will make a schedule of what we will study on what day of the week at this point and go from there. We do eat breakfast and lunch at the same times each day or pretty close to the same times so that helps. It's funny how I never thought I'd be wanting to do a schedule. But I think it will be good, at least for my youngest child for the time being.

I think, IMO, if you just start with a routine -- no time slots .. just a generally expected "this, then this, then this is next" THTA will help everyone feel more in tune.

With no thought to the HS aspect, my boys do a lot better with routine and excpetations ... the perdictablity is good for them (and me

)

I find that time slots are too stressful -- at least for now -- but that we need the perdicablity the this, then this, then this is next ...

AImee

 

[Momma Aimee]

sorry DP

 

[cappuccinosmom]

I find a loose routine helps us *soooo* much.

We are fairly relaxed, though.

Ds starts his "bookwork" around 9.30, and does a set amount of math at his own pace, with my help if he needs it. We do our reading lesson, and whatever other "paper work" stuff we need to do (earlier in the year it was science and social studies and LA, but we're offically done with those for the year). Usually by 11.30 we are out of the house for a walk and to run errands. He has quiet reading time at 1 pm while I put the baby to bed, and then in the afternoon he gets to do his "computer school" (enrichment program) which he loves.

If we don't have at least a predictable routine through the day, we all go nuts.

 

[Autumn Breeze]

We will have to work into a routine this summer that allows an activity to be replaced with schooling once we start.

But we do have the same routine AFTER school every day. And it really helps if we follow our routine, then the kids know that bedtime is coming up. If i'm going to let them stay up, I let them return to playing after dinner instead of sending ds to the shower immediately. It's a small enough variation that it generally doesn't disrupt bedtime once we get back on the routine. (however skipping showers seems to create an issue

)

Anyway, I'll probably have some sort of routine written down after a few weeks of school that we can just go with the flow.

But I agree with 'everyone needs a routine'. We see it when they're infants and they try to work out their own routine, along with everyone else in the house. Once it falls in place things run smoothly.

 

[nov05mama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Momma Aimee I think, IMO, if you just start with a routine -- no time slots .. just a generally expected "this, then this, then this is next" THTA will help everyone feel more in tune. With no thought to the HS aspect, my boys do a lot better with routine and excpetations ... the perdictablity is good for them (and me ) I find that time slots are too stressful -- at least for now -- but that we need the perdicablity the this, then this, then this is next ... AImee

ITA! That's what works for us. Our routine is so loose, but it's a routine, KWIM? I know the idea of time slots won't really work for us, but DS thrives on knowing what is involved in our day, each day.

 

[mommariffic]

My daughter is only 20 months, but I've tried to get her on a "schedule"

We don't have times set out, but more a list of things for the day
Here's our day from Tuesday

Wake up
Morning cuddle and tea
Breakfast
Clean up of kitchen which means she helps with sweeping, cleaning, or follows me around. I really like to get SOME cleaning done, even if she's underfoot
Out to library for story time
Mall trip to return something, but I let her run around the bookstore and play area for a few minutes, and we got lunch
Home
Outside play and playdate - most play was "free" and she explored the garden and chicken coop
Dinner, tacos, I let her "help me cook..."
Jammies and video time

That's a day out
When we stay in I like to make sure she crafts, reads, and gets outside, but I also let her watch a few Little Bears so she can have "down time" during the day.

 

[emmsmama]

Definitely don't go nuts putting things into rigid timeslots. I remember at the beginning of this school year having this highly detailed schedule and so much packed into it. It only took me a couple of weeks to realize that my schedule was completely unrealistic. Now it's a rough schedule and also a lot less packed, so we don't feel a bunch of pressure that we HAVE to get done x or we won't have time for z.

 

[AngelBee]

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