Scheduling.....
This was my first concern by far when I began researching How and If I could homeschool my girl.
I recall asking a few parents who were already homeschooling to tell me their secret.
I soon realized there is no secret.
Our homeschool days are scheduled into 4 days a week. Those four days can vary from Monday-Thrusday (ideally) or sometimes we add an extra day, Saturday to complete a specific project.
Most days we begin by 8:00 am. And we are completely done before 10:00 am. By that time we both get ready and I head out to take care of our businesses.
I have realized that I need to "back off" a bit when it comes to her lessons. She is only 5 years old and we are currently doing MFW K curricula.
I want her to have her afternoons off, to play and be a child. Most days she will have her quite time beginning at 2pm thru 3:30 and she can read, nap, or just be still.
This way I can "catch" up on house chores or finalize any paperwork that might be pending in my desk.
I usually set out lesson plans and activities on Sunday afternoons. I separate each lesson on a daily folder where I can just pull out on the morning of our lesson. This way, I feel more organized and prepared.
We usually start our day with Bible time. I choose as part of the lesson a verse to read and memorize and we continue from there. I don't time our lessons. I don't want restrictions when we are working on a particular subject just for the sake of getting the others done.
I only decide to "move on" when I see that she dwaddles on a particular material. I remove it and make a note to present it later on the week.
I take time off for sickness, as we did this week. She has only 2 "school" days. But we were able to complete all four days into 2. If that would not have been the case, well, there is always next week.
I have learned to follow God's lead when it comes to scheduling. You can plan and schedule all you want, but if you don't have God leading you, everything becomes a chaos.
Happy learning.
Blessings.
