The Schedule

Pin It This is where it gets fun. Our homeschool day is going to be interesting this year. The girls have to share the computer and share the TV.

We have three computers in this house. Our desktop has no sound for some reason or other, plus it's in the family room where the TV is, so it can't be used for classes. Jim's laptop would be fine except he doesn't have a number pad, which is a pretty helpful thing to have in a math class. This leaves my laptop. So, each girl does her math class on my laptop. Each math class takes about an hour.

Then there's the TV/DVD player. Gabbi has one class for which she needs the TV. Mad has three. Gabbi's class should take thirty minutes. Mad has a fifteen minute class, a thirty minute class, and a forty-five minute class.

Then they're doing a fair amount of work together.

(See, those of you wondering how to do kindergarten with a toddler running around? It doesn't get any easier when they get older. The logistics do change, but it's equally chaotic. Sorry to share that particular ray of sunshine with you.)

We have two schedules here. The Monday schedule, because Monday is our co-op day and we do an abbreviated amount of work at home. Then we have the rest of the week schedule.

Here's what I've worked out so far:
Monday -- Co-op ends at 12:15 and it's five miles down the road. Somehow that translates into us never getting home before 1:00. Not sure why that is.
1:00 Eat lunch
1:30 Gabbi - math (computer)
Madelyn - reading (DVD)
2:30 Gabbi - English (DVD)
Madelyn - math (computer)
3:00 Gabbi - spelling (mom)
3:30 Madelyn - English (DVD)
4:00 Madelyn - spelling (DVD)

I'm thinking I might need to find a way to make Mad's spelling four days a week rather than five, or maybe make reading a four day a week class. Her classes take a while because she's a VERY kinesthetic learner and will need to take frequent breaks. I think I'll either have to shorten Mad's Mondays or lengthen Gabbi's, because Gabbi finishing her day's work an hour before Madelyn does is not going to work. That said though, Gabbi is likely to have co-op homework, and we can add it in on Monday afternoons if need be. The times are VERY flexible. I just put them in that format because I know about how long each class should take them.

Oh, and if you're wondering, during all of this, Brendan will be running around pestering the snot out of both of them.

Tuesday - Friday:
I am REALLY hoping we can start our school day between 8:30 and 8:45, and 8:30 is what I'm going to be striving for. This will be the biggest challenge I'm thinking, especially for the night owl. If I can get them going before Brendan goes to preschool though, it will give us a good start on the day.

8:30 Gabbi - math (computer)
Madelyn - reading (DVD)
9:30 Gabbi - English (DVD)
Madelyn - math (computer)
10:15 Gabbi - spelling (mom)
Madelyn - English (DVD)
10:30 Gabbi - quiet time/devotion
10:45 Gabbi - independent/history (Heart of Dakota extension package items)
Madelyn - spelling (DVD)
11:15 start their work together. I'd like for them to get the history portion done and then we can have lunch. After lunch, we'll do the science and poetry portions. This curriculum is completely new to me, so I'm planning to go for a couple of weeks and then revise our schedule as need be. We pick Brendan up at 2:00, so I'm really hoping they will either be finished or close to it by then.

This is a more detailed schedule than I have EVER had before. I know the times will be very flexible and will probably end up not being very close to what I have planned. I'm anxious to jump in to the new curriculum and see how it's going to work. I think the thing that has me wondering the most is just trying to figure out how long it will take. I hope to do reviews of the various pieces in it through the year.

So, that's the plan for the schedule. My prayer is that I will have both the discipline to stick to it and the flexibility to give it a rest when need be. Hm ... maybe it's the kids who need that prayer more than I do. ;)

Coming up soon ... the tips and tricks I've learned through the years. It will be a short post. ;)