Thursday, September 11, 2008 - Homeschool Routines
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Ok, first off- I need to say that I *in my flesh* detest schedules... I don't like being tied down..... there is never a schedule that has worked well for us enough that I have not changed it halfway and then decided to chuck it because some crazy disaster mucked it up. I begin and re-begin each year with high hopes, and then I begin again and again.....and end up cranky, with cranky kids. I may not stick to this routine... but so far, I think we like it:)
I avoided doing this particular theme because I can't quite figure it out yet.
But my kids DO like to have a schedule. God is a being of order, and not the author of confusion, so I really should try to be more like Him and figure something out that works- most of the time- and hopefully keep it.
I also noticed in God's order of things that He has made processes into seasons, and apart from the phases of the moon, and tides, most things to do not happen at EXACT times- the sun rises and sets at differing times each day, and so in nature, the animals adapt to a routine and not necessarily a schedule.
This year, unlike previous ones, my husband has attempted to get on a schedule for his work. Mind you, he only works part time, because of his health, and disability takes care of most of the rest of our needs.
I don't know about you, but I personally find it hard to do school with him around and stick to a schedule- sometimes even a routine is hard. My husband is home at infrequent intervals- sometimes has a weekday off, sometimes a weekend, rarely 2 days off in a row. Our church times( we go in the evenings) are always off though so that is a blessing.
So for the moment, his work is from 9am to 1-pm various days. This is a benefit to me because I am a VERY light sleeper- I cannot sleep if there is a light on in any room of the house or anyone is awake. I have to get up and out of bed before the kids do because I am VERY much NOT a morning person and I need some space and quiet in which to meditate and contemplate before I can focus on them. Therefore I NEED to get to bed early, which doesn't happen if my husband works after 9 pm- I try to sleep but wake up every few minutes- and I find that HORRIBLE.
Mornings are hard- noise grates on my nerves, and they all have ADHD, which means that they are forgetful and sometimes loud until their meds kick in. My youngest does not take medications only suppliments. I have to try to keep them separated to minimize fooling around or argung. We have a small house.
Anyway, this time around I have realized that because of my tendencies to be a bear in the a.m., and my children being on medication that must kick in before they are really ready to learn, and the fact that some days we neglect our read alouds for lack of interest.....
This is what I decided prayerfully to do:
We do not have Bible right away as I have found over the past 5 years that until they are ready to pay attention ( meds work) I am not helping them to love the Lord- they invariably argue, fool around, and otherwise end up getting punished or at the very least yelled at and I am not capturing their hearts this way, but helping them have reasons to dislike having Bible class and prayer. Following Deuteronomy 6:7-9, we will talk about God and his Word frequently throughout the day and night anyway.
Moving formal study to a place after the medication works and after they have had a bit of movement doing chores sets them up to listen, and to have good conversation about what they are learning, and spending much less time being corrected or rebuked. I can really see a difference.
730-9am- I get up, have some time with God, make coffee, maybe talk to my husband before he leaves for work. Someone takes the dog out. Sometimes I make a hot breakfast. Yesterday I threw together some home made cinnamon rolls and got a lot of affection from my husband who had that day off:)
8:30-9am- wake up the kids. Harley is usually awake first and I rarely have to wake him. Many times he is up before me but is quiet and doesn't bother me- although, with my light sleeping, he can be quiet and still wake me up just being awake. Trinity is the most difficult to wake. It's the Bi-polar, but she is getting better. I wake her just enough that she responds to me and tell her that I will be back in 10 minutes and she has to be sitting up or out of bed. Lately she is stumbling through the living room like a zombie before the 10 minutes are up- THAT is QUITE an accomplishment! Rowan usually wakes faster then her, but slower than Harley. It is a 50/50 chance that he will be a GRUMP. But he comes out of it quickly, and we seem to have the same kind of day whether he is happy and excited or ducks back under the blanket and announces that he doesn't want to have school ( he gets up anyway- it's just expressing his opinion, not defiance)
As soon as they get out of bed-
medications are given, and breakfast starts. I try to make sure we have it together. We sit in the living room, in our pajamas, and I start with the read alouds. I find that the eating keeps their hands busy, and keeps them quiet, while the stories engage them and keep them from squabbling and me from going insane. I switch after one person has finished eating, and they read a little so I can eat. This gets the day off to a good start- no pressure for me to try to MAKE THEM learn it- and none for them to try too hard to sit still and be quiet, because it is not an essential subject.
After the read aloud, we take a few minutes to get dressed, comb hair, brush teeth...
When that is done we clean up, make beds, clean off table , make sure clothes are where they belong. This is new. I have tried having them do it before breakfast, but it is too much a of a struggle. After school- some deal, and then they are tired.....this is still a struggle, but at least it is getting easier, and I am not busy trying to catch up on Bible, email or what not while they fight and argue in their room- the boys, that is, my daughter usually makes he bed fine. They are just learning. Again.
After things are in order- just this wee bit, we sit down for prayer and Bible.
After that is math- they all work seperately, and usually I can have a few minutes to recharge myself, since their curriculum is self- teaching.
Next, we have PE- it usually ends up being around noon. We are doing the 10 minute solution, which I enjoy and can commit to. It is a short 10 minute work out- there are many different choices, and it is effective. I always try to do exerecise when dh is out, because he tends to joke about it.
Following PE is language arts including handwriting, vocabulaty, spelling, and writing on varied days according to our curriculum.
Raymond is home between 1 and 1:30, and we eat lunch together.
After lunch, I plan for science and social studies and fine arts, since the medication is starting to wear off then and lunch tends to make the kids a bit sleepy. These are the favorite subjects and if I decide I am tired out and just tell them to read, they are perfectly happy to just learn it that way. They absorb those subjects readily, and often learn more than I would have asked them to.
At times, the science or social studies is a video, which we watch later in the day.
At some point, I will add back in music, but for now, this is the routine.
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About Me
Well, I'm a Mom, a Medical Assistant, a knitter, kite flyer, nature lover...Around here we have special needs, ( Asperger's, ADHD, Bi-polar) a few animal pals, some tattoos and a homeschool. It's our 6th year. This is my 16th year of marriage to a Mr. Visionary who happens to be a walking miracle.
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