In addition to moving up to a 5 school days/week, the Lone Ranger & I have also decided that a year round schedule is more beneficial (& practical). Davidson School for Girls will now be operating on a 6 Weeks on/1 Week Off schedule. We hope to complete 90 days by Thanksgiving so that we might have an extended holiday during the month of December.
Our school days (day in general) will look something like this:
5:30-6:00 I wake up & begin my day with coffee & quiet time (the two are inseparable)
6:30-7:30 The Gaggle wakes up & drags in
7:30-8:00 Breakfast, Morning Chores, Get Dressed, Brush Teeth, & etc.
8:00 School begins with Morning Meeting & Recitation
8:30 Alphabet/Phonics
9:00 Math
9:30 Copywork
10:00 Literature/Storytime
10:30 Enrichment/Activity
11:00 Lunch
12:00 Recess/Play Time
1:00 Naps
3:00 Playtime & Afternoon Chores
6:00 Supper & Family Time
8:00 Devotions with Daddy
8:30 Bedtime
Yes, I really am that anal. I like order. Our family functions best with a schedule. We also do best by having school in a designated room. Last year it seemed as though I was constantly rearranging our schoolroom. I mentally made notes of what worked & what didn't. If we aren't in our schoolroom they can't/don't focus & neither do I...so schoolroom it is.
2014-2015 School Room
View from the doorway. Our morning meeting takes place at the table.
This area is new, & the result of a poor setup last year.
View from the back of the room.
Our shelves contain from top to bottom: Books, Binder System (more on that in a minute), Resources & Games, & lastly toys.
The top of our shelves hold our 'treasures': Globe, Microscope (Discovery Toys), Plaque, Musical Instruments, Giant Pig, Antique Lunchbox, 'Crown of Thorns' (Grapevine Wreath)
The plaque hung in my Grandma's classroom, & she passed it on for our schoolroom. It's such a reminder that modeling Christ is vastly more important than the teaching of Him.
This is our command center complete with easel, bulletin board, & white board.
My girls each need their own space to work...we found that out the hard way. The desks are divided by a cube shelf. Each girl has a 'Do' & 'Done' basket above her desk to help cycle through material. She also has a tote with her curriculum, & the bottom tote holds my manuals, Planner, & etc.
My binder system is my (inexpensive) version of the workbox system. If you're considering homeschooling or new to it, you'll want to google 'Workboxes'. Each day's work is placed in it's given binder. The material is divided by subject. As my girls cannot yet read, I simply labeled them numerically. Daily each girl will work her way through her binder. When she's done with the final tab, she's done with school for the day. Some tabs hold an activity or game as an opportunity for one to work independently while I teach the other.
In the pockets I will also place supplemental material so that we simply have to grab the binder to begin our day.
This is my corner of the schoolroom. My desk holds our prayer jar & 'untouchables'.
It's not much, but the truth is, 'There's No Place Like Home'...and I wouldn't change a thing! We are so blessed & so grateful to live our life as we feel led! I cannot wait to see what The Lord has in store for us!
'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.' -Deuteronomy 6:5-9
