With 2 days left in the month of June, I've completed my preparations for the upcoming school year. I am 37 weeks pregnant with our son, & my overwhelming need to nest has proven quite productive! By the time we wrapped up our previous school year at the end of May, my mind, plans, Pinterest board, & efforts were already directed towards this Fall. This post is all about our Set Up, Schedule, & Strategy for our 2015-2016 school year.
Set Up:
Our schoolroom set up is organic in nature & is frequently modified throughout the year. With every schoolroom reveal, I'm utterly certain that the arrangement is perfect & that I wouldn't change a thing...and invariably by the end of a term countless alterations have been made. This time is no different. I LOVE our room & have high hopes of its function meeting our schooling needs, & I'm equally as certain that I'll be switching things up during our first term break!
The far wall contains our AMAZING work box cabinet. A dear friend, fellow homeschooling momma, & my mentor gifted us with her work box system as her boys had outgrown it's use. After hours (and hours) of perusing Pinterest for alternative storage options, this piece of furniture far surpasses my wildest dreams! If you are new to homeschooling and have yet to hear about a Work Box System, I highly encourage you to look into it (especially if you are teaching multiple kiddos in multiple grade levels). This cabinet houses all of our books, workbooks, & curriculum. On top of this cabinet are our lesson plan books (1 for each girl), a globe, & our Discovery Toys microscope. In the strategy section of this post I'll explain how we will be using the planners in conjunction with the work box system. Above our work box cabinet is another INCREDIBLE gift...Maps! An aunt & uncle of ours hunted down & generously gifted us with pull-down maps. I cannot put into words how pumped I am about these bad boys! My husband bought a special map mount & secured to it a piece of antique barn wood. We will use both the maps & the cabinet throughout all of our homeschooling days...and years! I am completely & unabashedly geeking out over this portion of our schoolroom.
By the window we have a small round dining room table that was given to us by my parents. At the end of last year, my girls began preferring to sit together rather than in separate desks. This setup greatly aided me in being able to interact with both at once rather than constantly moving back and forth between them. It also provides an area for Belles to join us & feel included. On top of the table is a kitchen caddy that's being repurposed for supply storage. I like that all art supplies are handy & that we aren't losing time by searching for them endlessly. As a side note, I do put this caddy away when school time is over. One unnamed member of the Gaggle has proven herself to be less than trustworthy when it comes to proper art supply use! 😏 A big bowl of crayons sits on the table during non school hours. On the wall behind the table we have a pin board that contains our weekly Christ quality & weekly letter for the littles. Below that hangs a handy white board.
On the striped wall, we have the toy portion of our schoolroom. The top 4 cubbies of the 8 cubby unit contain books & games. The bottom 4 boxes hold all (literally ALL) of our Gaggle's toys. On top of this cabinet is a toy barn (built by my husband) & our "Suitcase" which contains our monthly subscription to Tiny Passports. I highly recommend this as a way of introducing Geography & Social Studies to early learners. My parents purchased a year's subscription as part of the Gaggle's Christmas gift. The 3 cubby vertical unit holds additional craft supplies, school games (Discovery Toys), & supplemental materials.
Schedule:
Yearly:
Last year we began transitioning to a more year-round timetable. The state of Indiana requires a completion of 180 days in each calendar year, but we will easily complete more. We school in 6 terms with each term consisting of 6 weeks on, 1 week off. We have extended breaks (approximately 4-6 weeks) between Thanksgiving & Christmas as well as another lengthy break at the end of June & beginning of July during our county fair. I anticipate that we will use the July term for health, safety, arts, & enrichment activities that are hard to fit into the regular school days. I've been very pleased with how this system functions for us. The breaks seem to come at just the right time, & inevitably our girls are asking to resume by the end of break week. Last year I made the error of preplanning the entire school year, & wound up having to scrap plans (& make a sloppy mess of my planner)....this year the break week will be used for planning the upcoming term. Appointments & 'field trips' will also occur during this time.
**This year's Thanksgiving/Christmas extended break is skewed due to our little man arriving**
Year:
Term 1: August 24-October 2 (30 days)
Term 2: October 12-Novermber 20 (30 days)
Term 3: November 30-December 18 (15 days) & Jan 4-Jan 22 (15 days)
Term 4: February 1-March 11 (30 days)
Term 5: March 21-April 29 (30 days)
Term 6: May 9-June 17 (30 days)
Daily:
I initially began our homeschooling journey with a fairly regimented daily schedule, but have a new approach to try this year. Rather than confining our day into a strict timetable, I'm hoping to function in relaxed segments. We already more or less have been settling into this routine. By nature I am a very regimented individual, and operate better with a plan & a schedule...I've found that this also leads to my being uptight & anxious. As silly as it sounds, I truly have found much freedom in the Segment vs. Schedule mindset. Here is our day in a nutshell:
-Early Morning: We are early risers by nature. Most mornings find us meeting up in our living room just a little after 6:00 am. The next couple of hours are very low key. I get breakfast for the Gaggle, & they lounge around in various rages of wakefulness. Once they are occupied with their meal & a cartoon, I settle down with my coffee & my Bible. (I foresee this one day being a designated quiet time for each of us as my girls learn to read) Following this we make beds, do morning chores, & dress for the day.
-Mid Morning: When the previous is completed, we'll head to the school room & begin that portion of our day. We typically open with joint activities such as prayer & calendar time, Recitation, & Literature. (Even Belles participates in this portion.) When we have concluded our joint learning, each girl will get her Lesson Plan Book & her first work box. For the next couple of hours we will work through several work boxes.
-Late Morning: At this time I'll begin lunch preparations while the girls will independently finish mid-morning work & take a break to play. Lunch tends to be an early affair in our home due to being up early, & afterwards the girls will continue playing for a bit while I prep for the afternoon portion of our school day or complete my own chores.
-Early Afternoon: After lunch and our break, we will meet back up in the schoolroom to complete the remainder of our daily curriculum. I anticipate that this will be a shorter segment than the mid-morning one. Once the girls finish up their work, I will refill the work boxes and prep for the next day. During this time we...and by 'we' I mean 'they' do a thorough pick up of the house.
-Mid Afternoon: Once my prepwork is completed, we move into a couple hours of quiet time. The big girls begin this time by watching a movie in their room (this is a huge treat at our house), & once that is over, they play quietly for awhile. Belles still naps most days, & momma just needs some time to herself. I have found that it's in the best interest of all parties to have some set-aside quiet, independent time so I'm definitely a stickler about making this time happen.
-Late Afternoon: Once quiet time is over, the Gaggle is ready for a snack & more play time...I am a firm believer that kiddos learn far more from productive play than they do from restricted & structured learning...particularly in the early ages. I finish up my household work, & the Gaggle complete their chores.
-Early To Late Evening: The Lone Ranger usually gives us a heads up that he's headed home so we scurry about picking up toys & ridding the house of cluttered chaos. I usually settle the girls down with a movie while I begin making supper. When the Lone Ranger gets home, we have dinner, give baths, do devotions, & etc until the girls' bedtime (between 8:00-8:30).
-Late Evening: Once the Gaggle is settled for the night, it's date time! The Lone Ranger & I usually snuggle up on the couch with a show & a snack soaking up the quiet until we head to bed ourselves.
**I have read blogs where a reverse scenario is more effective (unstructured time in morning, school in afternoon & some even school during the evening hours). When the weather is nice, outside time is a priority so our schedule will shift to accommodate that (during summer we play in the morning & school during the heat of the day)...the coolest thing about homeschooling is it's about whatever works for YOUR family!**
Strategy:
In the homeschool world there are resources out the wazoo, & it can be more than overwhelming trying to figure out how to navigate this crazy journey. Spend some time researching what fits best for you & your family...no one thing works for everyone!
We practice the Classical Christian Education method. This method uses 3 stages of learning (Grammar, Logic, & Rhetoric) & progresses as the student matures. (For more on this visit: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/classical-education/). We use Memoria Press curriculum which is set up with the classical method in mind. We also use a variation of Sue Patrick's Work Box System (just search that phrase on Google or Pinterest to learn more).
As a parent/teacher trying to juggle multiple learners on various levels this system proves time & again to be a sanity saver. One of our homeschooling goals is to focus on Learning How to Learn rather than merely force feeding knowledge. I want my children to be strong & independent lifelong learners. Independent learning is something that we are striving to cultivate at a young age. This year Goldilocks is completing 1st Grade curriculum, Sweet 'N Sassy is in Kindergarten, & Belles is simply learning by listening & interacting. On top of our work on cabinet, each girl has a Lesson Plan book with her daily tasks written out in it (numbered 1-6) & each girl has 6 work boxes (also numbered 1-6).
Each morning my big girls will get their lesson plan books and their first work box. The first subject in the lesson book is found in the work box, & so on through all 6. When all 6 work boxes are completed, the school day is done...this leaves the duration of school in the hands of the learner (particularly in upper grade levels). With each of my girls, I will be working on their ability to independently read the designated assignment in the planner, get the proper work box (& materials), to complete the task at hand, check off the task in planner, return work box, & retrieve the next. Goldilocks is very inclined & drawn to self-reliance...she actually prefers to try to figure her lessons out herself vs. me teaching her. As such, most of Goldi's morning work subjects/work boxes will be able to be completed independently (subjects like journaling, spelling, & reading practice) while Sassy's will require my assistance (particularly at the beginning of the year). Sassy is quite opposite from Goldi in her learning style. Independence will be a learned process for her. My hope is that by the end of the year she too will easily be carrying out the work box system with only my help in the area of instruction. Our dining room table setup allows me to be hands on with Sassy but also right there to answer Goldi's questions or to give her aid as needed. The vast majority (if not all) of Sassy's work will be completed in the morning portion of our school day, leaving me to teach & directly help Goldi in the afternoon...because despite her preference for independence, she will certainly need direct instruction in some subject areas. During this time, Sassy will most likely practice learned skills with our Discovery Toys games, flash cards, white board work, & etc. She will also be free to simply play. Here's the current Subject setup for each girl:
*Corporate Learning: Prayer, Calendar Time, Recitation, & Literature (I read a book to all girls & Goldi later competes an independent assignment based upon it)
1. Goldi: Journal & Spelling (Independent)
Jordyn: Phonics (with Mommy)
2. Goldi: Reading Practice (Independent & then read to Mommy)
Jordyn: Journal & Penmanship (begin with Mommy & then independent)
3. Goldi: Copybook & Penmanship Practice (Independent)
Jordyn: Math (with Mommy)
4. Goldi: Cursive (with Mommy & Independent Assignment)
Jordyn: Copybook (Indepedent)
5. Goldi: Phonics (with Mommy & Independent Assignment)
6. Goldi: Math (with Mommy & Independent Assignment)
As I mentioned the true emphasis is on learning how to learn. To me, this trumps the importance of particular curriculum. I've no doubts that my children will competently learn the appropriate skills needed for adulthood, but my true success will be in their ability to learn & discover anything & everything they should like to know throughout the duration of their lives.
These ideas have been brewing in my mind for the latter half of last school year, & so putting them into words might be clear as mud...so please don't hesitate to ask questions if you have them! If you're new to the world of homeschooling, don't be afraid to dive right in! You'll find your groove & what works for you! Years from now...Most likely even next year, I'll look back on this very post & be amazed at how organic this journey is!
