many of you had questions about how i organize our homeschooling days and just how our schedule goes. i'll do my best to answer these questions with what works well for us. every family is different and there is no right way to homeschool. i am by no means a pro, but this is how we do things...
i created a weekly planner for each kiddo with the days of the week and all of the various subjects and activities that we do. i have yet to find a planner on the market that i like or that fits in well with our homeschooling routine. i think that making your own is a pretty good solution and can easily be put into a binder or bound at kinko's into a spiral book if desired. there is a space for each subject, including a space for outside classes and activities to keep track of music lessons, ballet and other things. i arranged each subject, somewhat in order on the charts, although we do not do every subject everyday, to keep a loose schedule in mind. there are a lot of subjects and activities on our charts so that i can see everything in front of me. i'm a visual person. if it's not there then i won't think about it and it most likely won't get done.
the charts make staying on top of things pretty easy. we do short lessons each day and only cover one topic at a time. here is a basic breakdown on what we do each day:
daily - poetry, history, math, literature, narration and free reading.
3 x a week - nature study, science, geography, handicrafts, art & homemade.
2 x a week - grammar, spelling, french, music study, artist study, handwriting, typing.
once a week - science project, documentary and however many various outside classes and group activities the kids are involved with at the time.
we start school at 9am and usually end off around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. some days we go later, some days we finish early. we're still getting back into the swing of things with the new year and so i am sure our schedule and routine will adjust accordingly. after school activities like ballet, group art classes, and music lessons will be starting up within the next few weeks as well. we are going to be a busy bunch and my mind is kind of spinning just thinking about it, but we will figure out our routine and everything will settle into place like it always does.
i hope this gave you a little bit of a better idea of how we do things. feel free to keep asking questions, but again, please no rude or judgemental comments about our choice to homeschool. i understand that all people are different and have different ways of doing things and i respect that. please do the same. this is my space here on the internet and i would like to keep it a positive and encouraging one. thank you.