The Kids Daily Schooling "Schedule"

I was asked by a mom who is thinking of homeschooling, mainly because her kids are so busy with school and homework that they are not having enough time to play, what my day looked like. Here it is:

Right now it varies, because I am working in an elementary school two days a week, which gives me the perspective of seeing both first hand. Typically, though, I wake at 6ish, make my husband lunch and get him off etc. by 7:15 then I bring the older children on to my bed and we read and discuss books for about an hour. Then Kamron and Aubrey do their independent work. We usually eat in the middle of this work. Kamron is somewhat assigned, becuase he just preferred that I assign it to him and every time I asked him if he had any ideas he typically said no I like what you are doing, but when he does have a suggestion we usually try to incorporate it without letting him "study playing" all day. Aubrey has very minimal requirements of a math page and a couple chapters of reading each day. That's her only requirement, because she adds all kinds of things to this. She has several things she has put in her backpack that she calls her backpack work. This includes journal writing, spelling, four reading books, which includes right now The Book of Mormon Reader, History for Little Pilgrim's, McGuffy Third Grade Reader, My Father's World (science), a collection of worksheets she asked me to copy and a composition book. They do most of this work on their own unless they want my help. They bring me their work when they are done and we go over it and they often correct or redo anything that is not done really well. Kamron often is working until a little after lunch, while Aubrey is done by about 11 a.m. and then she sometimes does a class with her three younger brothers, where she does some songs, reads to them and makes up other activities. Sometimes we skip all of this and do an activity or go on a field trip.

Then they will pick what they want to study. For awhile Aubrey was doing science experiments everyday and Kamron was playing piano. Kamron still does a lot of piano, but now they are both really into this really good art computer program which has some great lessons about art topics-it's called Creativity Express. Kamron also does a lot of music theory through computer programs. Aubrey will often do art projects, too.

While the older two kids are doing their independent work I do a reading lesson with Brennen, he does a handwriting page and a math activity and then I usually read two or three things to him. Sometimes we do a piano lesson and often he does a computer program. It takes about an hour. The younger two are playing or joining in with Brennen typically.

The kids also do classes. Kamron and Aubrey are in a science club that does one science field trip each month and one huge science project each month (they built the entire digestive track last time and watched how it worked). They also joined a Science in the everyday environment class at the library. Kamron does voice lessons once a week and scouts once a week. Aubrey does a drama class at the Sacramento Theatre Company once a week, she is taking riding lessons and has activity days every other week. Brennen is taking riding lessons and all of the younger three kids are in a kindermusic type class that is done as an enrichment class down here each week. All of these classes are either free or paid for by the school. I don't typically recommend doing this many classes, but in our circumstances it worked, partially because I am not driving them to some of these and since I am busy they can go and do them without me really being involved.

So that is basically our schedule as it pertains to the kids school. Not very scripted or set in stone. I have done it more set, like 8-9 we do this and 9-10 we do that, but right now this is working better for us.