Help
With Your Rule
How do You Homeschool?
DearHolly,
I was wondering if you could share your school schedule with us? I know you said it varies but it might be helpful to see what you have planned. Thank you!
Labels: Homeschooling
posted by Holly at 11:23 AM
2 Comments:
It really does change all the time, depending on the season. Brace yourself for a long answer... :-)
Early in the year, September to December, I homeschool very actively.
I have designed my own year by year curriculum. Each child has a crate with all their books and supplies for the year, as well as all the topics/lesson requirements set out for the year. I write this up over the summer, and keep them for future years.
My program is standardized in that all children pass thru the same grade level material, with mild adjustments depending on talent and interest.
When school starts, they just grab their crate and bring it to the large table we have which seats six comfortably.
Usually at this time of year - we also have group work - like sign language, or art activities, or phys ed activities - interspersed between the seatwork lessons for variety.
I usually have a detailed (very) schedule which puts me with certain children throughout the morning - so I might do Luke's phonics first while Virginia colors and the others work on Spelling and English. Then I might switch to Anna's Math, and have the middle 2 do Math until I get to them, and the youngest might do computer, while Luke does printing. I set this up in the same fashion as chore charts- itemized per person and in order.
AND I ONLY do this to get the children used to routine! We do not live our entire year like this. I can count on a full six weeks of intense structure before I lessen it - to provide practice in the habit of doing school again. And we all usually find it a relief to get back to work anyway, so we're motivated.
The rest of the time until Christmas, we work, but it's not as 'exact', and I let the older ones work more independently.
We have our time set out - usually 9am to 12 noon - with Mass three days a week at 9:00 and recess daily from about 10:30 to 11:00. I consider Mass 'school'.
During this time of the year, I usually sit down with them in our big classroom to get them all back in the swing of things. I tend to school with them 2-3 afternoons during this time of year too.
From January to March, it is not so intensive. I find winter more difficult personally and adjust our school schedule accordingly. We work only mornings, and usually only 4 days a week, with other days we drop things and go out or do crafts or clean a room.
From April to June, I usually switch format again. The oldest three (grade 4,6,8) are put on independent work completely, with their general plans written out for the remainder of the year.
They have a set amount of time they are to spend on studies. For example: My Gr 4 daughter's daily work looks like this: 2 pages of Math; 30 minutes on geography/Map Skills/OR Science; English 30 minutes; Catholic Reader 1 story; Religion 20 minutes; Spelling lesson. She has a checklist.
For Gr 8, it looks like this: Math - 1 lesson OR 45 minutes which ever comes first; Science OR Geography OR History - 20 minutes; Religion - 15 minutes; Spelling - 10 minutes; English - 30 minutes; Catholic reader story;
The children are free to do this at any time throughout the morning and afternoon, incuding in their scheduled free time. When they are done,they are done. When they have completed the remainder of the school work,they are done for the year - whether it is May or June. I don't have them work past mid June.
My job during this time of year with the older children is tutoring if they have difficulty; going over reviews and testing with them; being there to answer a question if they need me.
Meanwhile, I work with the littest two out in the living room- spending about 2 hours doing reading, Math, phonics, printing, etc. And sometimes I catch up on computer work while they do their seatwork (like printing or Math) beside me at the computer desk.
In a couple of weeks, my littlest ones will probably be officially done and they will help me get the garden done up, and some home projects tackled.
My oldest will continue their independent work in the same fashion as they work now. They too are free to take a morning off if they want to make sure their work is finished by bedtime - they usually choose to do it in the morning.
Does all this make any sense to you? :-)
Now! That was the 'academics'.
But I consider providing a Catholic Education as 'more' than this - dealing with all of life. And so I can afford to be more relaxed about the academics. What do I mean?
Education is really ALL the experiences my children have in their daily life. And it deals with their whole person. So it is just as important to include all the other areas of life as part of their formation or 'school'.
So,for me, school is all day.
I am forming their bodies by providing decent healthy meals with a limit to junk food and sweets. I ensure they get exercise by providing 2 recess periods everyday,and getting them to visit friends twice a week, whether at our house or at other's homes - so they run around and get their exercise and socialization. I have a bedtime to ensure proper rest. I consider these things as important as academics.
I also consider as important as academics the formation of their will - their ability to choose good and avoid evil; the ability to be consistent in their chores and personal habits. So I ensure chore time and meal and clean up responsibilities all happen.
And I think,the most important aspect of all regarding my children's education is the formation of their heart! So there are things I focus on to help in this direction - something I consider even 'more' important than academics:
I try to find stories that will inspire them - with the love of God because they FEEL He loves them; with the desire for sainthood because they WANT to place themselves at the service of God and man; so I take those mornings where we don't have Mass and spend 45 minutes reading and discussing saints' lives, catechism stories, etc... They love this. We talk. We sometimes do this before the rosary every evening.
I ensure there is prayer.
And next, part of their education is the experience of unconditional love. I need to be totally 'available' to them - 'accepting' of them - happy to see their 'person' and it's uniqueness. So I need to be able to stop what I am doing and just love them.
I'm not perfect with this yet, of course, but it's a main goal of mine, surpassing everything else.
I figure, what good is it to send children out into the world as walking encyclopedias if they don't feel secure knowing someone really loves them? I think our world is populated by people like this right now, and it doesn't seem to help society very much.
As Pope John Paul II said, "It is only love which will change us..."
I have had periods of great stress in my life as a result of homeschooling ,as the pressure of providing a thorough intellectual training for my children worried me. I have had many other mothers tell me this too.
But when I began to look at specifically 'Catholic' education - the formation of the whole person - I came to realize I was more anxious about the intellectual study than I ought to be, and needed to bring balance to homeschooling - so I could be more attentive to the other very important areas of their lives too...
Hope this rounds things out for you to understand how I homeschool.
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