One of the greatest things about homeschooling is the flexibility it allows you to have. I've had to stay on my toes and change our schedule quite a bit this year to adjust to K's nap/no-nap schedule, to avoid schoolwork dragging on into the dinner hours, and to keep things fresh and interesting. No two days look the same for us, but a typical day might look something like this:
We wake up to one or two kids bouncing on the bed, while K sings (loudly) in her crib and makes a big ruckus until we go in to get her up.
We eat breakfast, clean up the morning mess, and try to wake up while drinking extremely strong coffee (the adults, anyway).
We usually begin our school day with language arts first. I go over a new grammar lesson with D and then he does some independent spelling work and writes in his journal or works on his handwriting. While he works independently, J reads to me and we do some phonics together.
The kids take a break for snacks and play time and I run around like a mad woman, trying to tackle the laundry, dishes, and general clutter and mess that threatens to take over the house.
Then we move on to math. Again, I work on a new concept with D and we drill some math facts while J works with manipulatives or does a math-related project.
We eat lunch together and listen to the music of the composer we are learning about at the moment (right now, J.S Bach). Again I run around like a mad woman, trying to tackle the laundry, dishes, and general clutter and mess that threatens to take over the house.
After lunch the kids play together, then practice their instruments, read, or listen to books on tape.
In the afternoon we focus on hands-on learning or do a science-experiment. Last week we experimented with cold and warm temperatures and their effects on certain polymers. This week we learned about Russia, made Russian food and art, read a Russian folk-tale and listened to the music of Stravinsky.
We finish up by 2 - 2:30 and are off and running to art, violin, percussion, ballet, soccer, or gymboree, depending on the day. Any schoolwork that isn't finished is put on hold until tomorrow.
After dinner, baths, and books, the kids are all snuggled up in bed and I am thoroughly exhausted, like most parents I know! But again, I run around like a madwoman, tackling the last of the days chores, and organizing the schoolroom for the next day's work.
So, that's a typical day at home. But there are so many days when we are on the go and are hardly home at all. We typically take a field trip at least once a week and also meet with our homeschool co-op once a week. This week we braved the mayhem of the MOS during school vacation week and had a great time, despite the crowds and the chaos. It is, hands down, our favorite place to go at the moment. Today I took the girls to the South Shore Natural Science Center, where we learned about owls and had a great time watching the frogs and turtles, and checked out the exhibit on fossils found in Massachusetts. The kids take all sorts of fun classes through our co-op - everything from theater to nature science to cooking to botany to rocket science (I know! rocket science, how cool is that?!). We're lucky to have a group of smart, energetic, and creative parents in our group who share their talents with other homeschoolers in our community.
So that's our schedule for now. However, I'm sure that the weeks and months to come will bring more changes and we'll have to improvise once again!
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