Our Daily Schedule Fall 2020

 I feel like we're in a pretty good daily rhythm right now; not every day goes perfectly of course, but overall our systems and routines are working well for us.  

I started our school schedule out a little differently, but it sort of naturally evolved into what it is, and it's working, so we're going with it!

Since Seth got a new job this summer and now works from home, we can sleep in a bit and my alarm goes off at 5:30.  I prefer to get up before the kids and have a few minutes of quiet.  The kids can get up at 6, although some sleep in a bit.  They get to play for a while, and I use this time to read, get started on chores, and shower/dress.  

At 7:30 our job alarm goes off, and the kids clean up and do their daily jobs, which include getting themselves ready, cleaning around the house, folding laundry, and putting dishes away.  Breakfast is next, and afterwards they help get the kitchen cleaned up to start school.

Our "normal" school days are Tuesdays through Thursdays, and we have Mondays set aside for "extra" things that we don't have time for on the other days.  The kids still do their quiet reading, but then we do some baking, and the kids help me make bread and snacks for the week.  Benjamin and Joanna now have several things they can make on their own, while Ezra and Toby usually help someone else.  By doing this on Mondays, I often don't have to do a lot of other baking during the week, which is very helpful.  We often write letters to people on Mondays, as well, and this is also our day to do our science lesson and experiment.  

 

Then, we have Tuesday to Thursday to focus on our daily lessons and tasks:

Their first task is quiet reading from the Bible and an assigned book.  If they have extra time they can read something of their own choice.  Then they start their independent book work, or "table work", including math, grammar, spelling, and writing.  Sometime in here I sit down with the younger boys and do a short morning time, reading a book, a Bible story, and practicing the letter we are currently learning.  Their table work is practicing writing the letter or a craft.

Benjamin and Joanna are both doing Saxon Math, and Ezra and Toby are doing Abeka arithmetic.  The three older kids all use G.U.M. Drops for grammar.  We keep it short and sweet, and they just do one page a day.  We all really like this curriculum.  For spelling, we use the Natural Speller, and on Tuesdays I give them all a list of words for the week.  Wednesdays they write a few sentences using some of the words, Thursdays they look up and write out two definitions, and Fridays they practice any words they misspelled the first time.  For writing this year, we are using The Write Stuff Adventure, which gives a different writing assignment for each day.  It has been working well for us so far! Benjamin is also working through a geography workbook, partly to learn more about maps, and partly just to fill time since he usually gets through his work quickly!

Since Toby is only in second grade and still learning to read, his only table work is math and Explode the Code, which we have found helpful in reinforcing phonics.  He practices reading with me, and then writes a few of the words he read.  He still needs a lot of help with his work, since he's not reading independently, but the three older kids need very little assistance.  I try to correct their work each day before we move on.

After table time, we do "morning time".  This has had different iterations over the years, but this year this time includes reading a devotional, a poem, learning about a character trait, and prayer.  We are using charcter lessons from "Kids of Integrity", which is put together by Focus on the Family Canada.  We've been enjoying them more than our previous character study.  Simon and Linus aren't required to be a part of this, but they often choose to.  

After this we do history, and this year we are on Story of the World book 3.  I've chosen to go at a slower pace this year so we have time for some of the projects as well.  One day we listen to a chapter and color the picture, and the next day we do a project for that chapter.  Last year with a smaller baby, we just listened to a chapter every day, but this year I have a little more energy to devote to it!  :)

The last thing on our school schedule is an activity from our "extra" list, which this year includes drawing, nature study, Life of Fred, and occasionally a game or movie.  I just choose one of those things to do, depending on time.  This year we have nature journals that I printed off the internet, and they're working great.  I've always wanted to do nature journals, so I'm glad we've found a way to fit them in this year!

We recently took a little field trip
for a "nature scavenger hunt".

We usually start school around 9 and finish between 11:30 and 12.  When we finish our work, the kids go outside to play while I relish the quiet and make lunch! ;)  While the kids eat lunch, I read aloud from a book (right now, Baby Island).  This fall I started having the three older kids do the kitchen clean up after lunch, and everyone else heads to rest time (the big kids join in when they're done).  They get to read or draw during rest time.  When that's over we have a snack, followed by play time.  They usually get 2-3 hours to play in the afternoon.  We clean up for the day around 5 or 5:30, eat dinner at 6 or so, then get ready for bed.  We try to read some stories before prayers and bedtime.  The younger kids go to bed between 7 and 7:30, and the older kids usually get a few extra minutes to read before going to bed around 8.  Seth and I clean up the kitchen, start laundry for the next day, then watch a movie or read before we go bed.  

And that's our day! :)