Daily School Schedule

1.       Morning Prayers*

                   Monday - Thursday:  Rosary

                   Friday:  Stations of the Cross

2.       Saint of the Day*

3.       Pledge of Allegiance/Calendar*

4.       Religion       

                   a.  Aubrey - Kindergarten Catechism

                   b.  Alexis - Our Holy Faith, Grade 3

                   c.  Abigail - Faith & Life 5

5.       Arithmetic

                   a.  Aubrey - Counting with Numbers

                   b.  Alexis - Rod & Staff

                   c.  Abigail - Rod & Staff

6.       Spelling/Phonics(Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

                   a.  Aubrey - Little Angel Reader A

                   b.  Alexis - Rod & Staff Spelling

                   c.  Abigail - Rod & Staff Spelling

7.       Penmanship (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

                   a.  Aubrey - Copywork

                   b.  Alexis - Rod & Staff Penmanship

                   c.  Abigail - Rod & Staff Penmanship

8.       Grammar (Tuesday, Thursday)

                   a.  Aubrey - Poetry Memorization

                   b.  Alexis - First Language Lessons - Level 3

                   c.  Abigail - FLL - Level 3

9.       Reading

                   a.  Aubrey - Storytime

                   b.  Alexis - Independent Reading/Read Aloud to Mom

                   c.  Abigail - Independent Reading/Read Aloud to Mom

10.     History (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) 

                   a.  Aubrey - Free Time

                   b.  Alexis - How Our Nation Began

                   c.  Abigail - My World of Neighbors

11.     Science (Tuesday, Thursday)

                   a.  Aubrey - Science & Living in God's World - K

                   b.  Alexis - Exploring God's World

                   c.  Abigail - Concepts & Challenges in Science Book 1      

12.     Read Aloud Time (Afternoon Snack)*

Working the Schedule

At the beginning of every class, I get everyone seated and ready, set a timer for 20 minutes and then Abby and Alexis work on their own.  I work with Aubrey at this time.  At the end of the 20 minutes (or less depending on the subject) Aubrey is allowed to go play.  Then for the next 10 minutes or so, I work with Alexis, then she is dismissed to play with Aubrey.  For another 10 minutes I work with Abigail and then she is allowed to go play.  Then we take a break.  I set the timer for 10 minutes so I don't let the time get away from me.  The ten minutes or so is enough time to fold a load of laundry, make a quick phone call or pay a bill or two.  When the timer goes off we start another academic period all over again.  I learned of this method from the Classical Conversations Foundations Guide.   Although I do not follow their curriculum guide, this method of scheduling has been very helpful to me. 

We haven't had popcorn since our microwave bit the dust!  I found Jiffy Pop next to the microwave brands and bought one just to give it a try.  I remember when I was a kid this was the only kind of popcorn I ever got outside of a movie theatre.  After school, we popped our Jiffy Pop -- It's true!!!  It is as much fun to make as it is to eat!  I thought my eardrums were going to burst amidst all the squeals of delight!

Isn't it amazing how much joy is found through doing such a simple thing?

Tuesdays (and Thursdays) are a bit different for us.  We only have one vehicle (the family van) so I become the family chaffeur on these days.  DD18 has a class at 8am and DH has to be at the hospital at 8am so I have to have everyone up and ready to go by 7:30.  This just thrills the younger set !  Today was a bit of an aggravation because I dropped off everyone and just walked through the door when the phone rang.  It was dd18 - her Comp I instructor didn't show up for class so it was cancelled!  GRRRRRRR!  Fortunately, we only live about 5 miles from campus so I hauled everyone BACK to the van and we picked up Anna.  We were home by 8:20am! 

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Anna worked on her Algebra homework while Abby and Alexis did their morning chores.  Aubrey fell asleep in the recliner.

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Abby, Alexis and I moved to the "schoolroom" and did our morning read-aloud from Angel Food.  We worked on our memory verse:  Luke 10:16.  (Aubrey - was sleeping in the recliner)

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The girls did their math drill sheets and I timed them.  They will be moving on to the next tomorrow since they made 100 per cent.  They each did one lesson in their Rod & Staff math books. (Aubrey was asleep)

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Alexis finished her math lesson before Abby so she moved on to her spelling work.  She studied her words for the week and she took her spelling test.  She made 100 per cent.  Abby was still working through her math lesson so Alexis and I did her penmanship lesson.  She is improving her cursive writing.  We use the Rod & Staff penmanship series for this. (Aubrey was STILL asleep!)

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Alexis started playing with her paper dolls in the living room.  I gave Abigail her spelling test. (100 per cent, yeah Abby!)  Aubrey woke up and I fixed lunch for all of us while Anna dressed for work (she is a Teller at a local bank).  Abigail and Aubrey joined Alexis in the living room to play with the paper dolls.  (It was so adorable - Kateri Tekakwitha meets the Ingalls family!  Then St. Therese and her family came over for a baptism!) 

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We ate lunch and cleaned up.  Then we went on our mid-day run.  We dropped Anna off at work, picked up Dh from the hospital and headed home.  I fixed Dh his lunch and the girls continued playing with their paper dolls. 

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Back to the van!  We dropped Dh off at his office downtown and then we went to the courthouse.  There are several war memorials and plaques around the courthouse that the children have always wanted to see.  I was excited because I was going to get a copy of our deed!  We finally paid off the house and I needed a release of mortgage for our records. 

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We poked around the courthouse and the memorial.  We even saw two prisoners.  I need to take the girls to a trial sometime.  When I taught 6th grade, I took my students to a trial.  It was a great learning experience.  One of the boys that I taught then is in law school now!  (I can't believe I just wrote that!  yep, i'm an old woman )

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We can never have the van without going to Wal-Mart.  We needed bubbles (for my 5yo dd), Coffeemate and a pizza - oh, and Fudge Rounds.  The essentials of a happy life.  I also picked up a copy of Brisingr by Christopher Paolini for Anna.  She has been waiting a loooonnnnggg time for it!  I put it on her bed for a surprise.

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We made it home about 2:30 and I had a message from Dh.  I called him back while the girls started playing paper dolls again.  By the time I hung up they were having so much fun that I didn't have the heart to interrupt them.  So we didn't do anymore lessons.  I played on the computer for a while.  We started our afternoon chores when the girls saw their Daddy through the window.  He had been at a reception at the clinic and one of his friends brought him home!  YEAH!

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The girls did a quick pick-up and I put the pizza in the oven.  I completely forgot to make the salad so we just ate pizza.  I packed pizza, a coke and the Fudge Rounds for Anna.  I had to pick her up at 6pm at work.  Then I drive her to her night class.  All the sections were closed when she registered for college so she had to take this class at a nearby (haha) satellite campus - 30 miles from our home. yep.  The three youngest girls go with me.  Tonight we didn't have a book on tape to listen to so they colored pictures (while it was still light enough to see).  Then we played "I spy" and they generally crawled around the van and made nuisances of themselves! 

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Anna's class got out early and we headed home about 8:15.  By this time I was a tad bit cranky!  When we got home I sent the girls to bed, made a cup of hot cocoa and curled up with dh to watch TV. 

Today we started school on time with our morning prayers and a story from Angel Food for Boys and Girls.  Next, we worked on our memory verse from the Friendly Defender Catholic Flash Cards series.  We are supposed to work on a hymn during this "together time" but I keep forgetting about it!

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Math time was next.  Abigail and Alexis began their math period by working on a math facts drill sheet.  Each day they do 100 problems in 5 minutes or less.   It helps them learn the facts (I make them write each one they miss 5 times) and it keeps them on their toes.  I know from experience that it is absolutely vital that they have their math facts down cold!  Oddly enough, they seem to like it!  After they finished their drill sheet, they worked the next lesson in their math books.  We use Rod & Staff and we absolutely love it! 

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While the older girls were working on their math lessons, Aubrey and I were playing with her number line and reviewing quantities up to 10.  She then did 2 pages in her math book - Counting with Numbers - also published by Rod & Staff.

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After math we took a break.  The girls rode their scooters while I checked their math lessons.  Then I took the girls on a short walk so they would be ready to sit at their desks again for spelling and penmanship.

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During spelling/penmanship class I also teach phonics to Aubrey.  We are using Little Angel Reader Book A and Workbook.  Today we were working on the letter T and she did an art project involving popsicle sticks, yarn and lots of glue!  She also practiced writing a row of Tt 's and the numbers 1 - 8. 

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Abigail and Alexis each chose an activity to work on with their spelling words.  Abigail used the Scrabble game tiles to spell out her words and Alexis typed her spelling words on the computer using a different font for each word.  I found many great spelling activities (ready to be printed on card stock!)HERE.

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Spelling and Penmanship took about 30 minutes so we took a break to make some Pumpkin Muffins for our snack.  After we put the muffins in the oven, the girls and I went outside to play "Spelling Baseball".  They had a blast.  Aubrey rode her bicycle (in our driveway) while we played.

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We came back in to check on the muffins.  We couldn't wait to eat them so we had them for dessert after lunch. 

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Next we did Grammar.   I had been doing this separately with the older two but most of the time it didn't get done at all!  Today I started using First Language Lessons - Level 3 for both of them.  The only grammar that Abigail has had is through Latin.  Alexis did First Language Lessons levels 1 &2 already.  FLL-3 is a good fit for Abigail and Alexis is right on target so I'm happy.

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Aubrey doesn't have any work to do during this time so I let her watch a TV show of her choice.  She always falls asleep.  This is a good way to get her to take a nap!

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Finally, we did our history lessons.  Abigail is reading George Washington's World and is making entries in her History Notebook.  We are waiting for her history textbook to arrive.  Alexis read about Marco Polo in How Our Nation Began.  She answered the Study Summary questions in her workbook and did the mapwork for that lesson.  That ended our history lessons and our school time!

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Today I received Drawn Into the Heart of Reading and I am excited about using this for the girls' reading program.  They are doing alot of textbook/workbook stuff this year and this program allows me to choose living books for their reading assignments.

At the Back of the North Wind

by George MacDonald

Your result for The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test...

The Prioress

You scored 5% Cardinal, 69% Monk, 53% Lady,  and 41% Knight!

Today was our first day of school.  Phewww!  This year is very different because my oldest daughter is in college and I'm only homeschooling three!  I decided to be much more structured this year than I have in the past.  I wrote the following schedule out for the girls so they would know what to expect.  They loved the structure and there is plenty of "wiggle" time built in.

Morning Meeting:  Morning Prayers, Pledge, Devotions, and Friendly Defender Flash Cards 

Math

Break

Spelling and Writing

Break/Snack

Grammar

Reading

Break

Lunch/Break

History (M,W,F) or Science (T,TH)

Art or Music or Baking or Quilting or Nature Study

We started school today at 9:30 and we finished around 2:30.  We took an hour and a half off for lunch too!

"Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours." 2 Thess. 2:15

In the past, we have been laid back about our school schedule.  We basically had a routine that frankly often degenerated into chaos. Eventually everyone would get their work done but it took a lot of coaching from Mom in order to "get r done" Imagine that! : ) 

My dh and I decided that since this fall we would only be homeschooling our 3 youngest (dd18 started college Monday!) that it would be a good time to make some changes.

Change # 1 - We have purposefully planned our days. We have come up with a wonderful schedule that includes "EVERYTHING".  Chores, laundry, reading, schoolwork, reading, play time, did I mention reading?   We began implementing the "bare bones" at the beginning of August so that the girls would get used to the schedule before fall. For the girls it means that they have to get up at the same time each day AND go to bed at the same time each night.

It may sound silly but our children have never had a definite bed time or wake-up time.  When the girls were younger, dh often had evening appointments at his office and for one whole year the family didn't eat dinner until 9pm!  So the girls have been used to staying  up late and sleeping in.  Now that my youngest is 5yo, sticking to a schedule is much easier!  After a few grumpy mornings the girls seem to enjoy the new schedule.

"Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours." 2 Thess. 2:15