So, the schedule. Our schedule seems to constantly be changing and adapting. This is our current loose schedule. I'm not saying this is how it should be done, it's just what works for us at the current moment, for this current school year. When I get pregnant again and have morning sickness, I'm sure it will all change :)
Awake by 8:00 AM (My children are not naturally early risers, so we usually have to wake them up between 7:30 and 8:00 AM.)
Downstairs for breakfast by 8:30 AM - we do simple meals that the kids can do all by themselves (More on my meal schedule in another post.)
First Pomodoro begins at 9:00 AM - the older students independently decide when they will study each subject for that day. Occasionally there will be a conflict because both children want to play the piano at the same time, but miraculously they always seem to work it out. Since they have their own individual timers, sometimes a child will want to get a head start if they finished breakfast early. I'm fine with that. I actually find that they are more productive when they have their own timer, because when they are in sync and working with one timer, they have a tendency to get more distracted with one another. I don't know why.
Flex Time for Mommy 9:00 - 12:00 - this is time that I try to keep flexible for helping students with their work, getting some chores done around the house, spending time with baby and younger students, and checking facebook.
Mommy starts getting ready for lunch 12:00 PM.
Lunch at 12:30 PM
Playtime/recess/Mommy cleans dishes 1:00 PM
Older students time with Mommy 1:30 PM (More on this in another post.)
Reading time with Kindergartener 2:00 PM
Reading time with 1st Grader 2:30 PM
Math Time with Mommy 3:00 PM - This includes 1st Grader and Kindergartener with the Preschoolers hanging out with us.)
Mommy's free time 3:30 PM - this is when I can just take a moment to rest, regroup and prepare myself before making dinner.
Clean up 4:30 PM - we have a rotating schedule of clean up chores. (More on this in another post.)
Dinner is usually around 5:30 PM.
Family scripture study and prayer 6:45 PM.
Getting ready for bed 7:00 PM.
Class with Daddy for older students 7:30 - 8:30 PM.
Also note that our children are not involved in any outside activities at the moment. When that happens, it will also shift the schedule some.
Tune in next time for Sprint Planning.....
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Subjects
Most states have the basic requirements of reading, writing, math, social studies, and science. This is a good thing because if I wasn't required to teach them, I would probably skip over a few and only teach fun stuff like doing science experiments all day long. We also add a few more subjects to enrich the curriculum. So, the subjects included on our homeschool curriculum are:
Reading
This includes reading selections in all genres (fantasy, realistic fiction, historical fiction, mystery, classics, science fiction, biographies, autobiographies, informational, poetry). It also includes reading comprehension.
Writing
This includes learning the different types of writing (narrative, expository, persuasive). Also includes grammar, punctuation, research, penmanship, typing, and oral presentations.
Math
This includes teaching the appropriate skill for the appropriate grade level. It's not too scary in the elementary years. I haven't reached the high school level yet, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
Social Studies
This includes history, current events, and sociology. I'm not a history buff, so my husband teaches a lot of history. A lot of it is taught simply through conversation at the dinner table, road trips, and reading historical fiction.
Science
This includes teaching things related to science in the areas of biology, microbiology, physiology, chemistry, nutrition, astronomy, geology, and physics. These titles can be frightening, but don't worry, they are quite easy and fun to teach young children. I tend to forget that the world is so brand new to them, and it's fun to see their excitement in the simplest of experiments.
Music
This includes both music theory and performance. My husband is a musician with a degree in music composition, so obviously he is the one to teach the theory. Our children are required to play the piano and they play one other instrument of their choice. They rotate the optional instrument to get a well rounded experience with a variety of instruments. We do not use a piano teacher. Our children so far have been able to self teach themselves how to play with some basic instruction on reading music.
Foreign Language
Neither my husband nor I are fluent in a foreign language. (Aside from the few years we took Spanish in high school and college.) Therefore, we use Rosetta Stone Homeschool to teach them language. We started them out on Mandarin Chinese. My husband wanted them to learn a character language to challenge the brain. After one or two years of Mandarin, we added Spanish to the curriculum. We hope to add more languages too.
Self Study
This is time allotted for our children to select the subjects they are interested in learning about. For example, baking, pottery, art, etc.
P.E.
This is not a strict course of study, but time allotted for the children to play outside or participate in a sport or dance.
I will elaborate on each of these subjects in future posts.
Reading
This includes reading selections in all genres (fantasy, realistic fiction, historical fiction, mystery, classics, science fiction, biographies, autobiographies, informational, poetry). It also includes reading comprehension.
Writing
This includes learning the different types of writing (narrative, expository, persuasive). Also includes grammar, punctuation, research, penmanship, typing, and oral presentations.
Math
This includes teaching the appropriate skill for the appropriate grade level. It's not too scary in the elementary years. I haven't reached the high school level yet, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
Social Studies
This includes history, current events, and sociology. I'm not a history buff, so my husband teaches a lot of history. A lot of it is taught simply through conversation at the dinner table, road trips, and reading historical fiction.
Science
This includes teaching things related to science in the areas of biology, microbiology, physiology, chemistry, nutrition, astronomy, geology, and physics. These titles can be frightening, but don't worry, they are quite easy and fun to teach young children. I tend to forget that the world is so brand new to them, and it's fun to see their excitement in the simplest of experiments.
Music
This includes both music theory and performance. My husband is a musician with a degree in music composition, so obviously he is the one to teach the theory. Our children are required to play the piano and they play one other instrument of their choice. They rotate the optional instrument to get a well rounded experience with a variety of instruments. We do not use a piano teacher. Our children so far have been able to self teach themselves how to play with some basic instruction on reading music.
Foreign Language
Neither my husband nor I are fluent in a foreign language. (Aside from the few years we took Spanish in high school and college.) Therefore, we use Rosetta Stone Homeschool to teach them language. We started them out on Mandarin Chinese. My husband wanted them to learn a character language to challenge the brain. After one or two years of Mandarin, we added Spanish to the curriculum. We hope to add more languages too.
Self Study
This is time allotted for our children to select the subjects they are interested in learning about. For example, baking, pottery, art, etc.
P.E.
This is not a strict course of study, but time allotted for the children to play outside or participate in a sport or dance.
I will elaborate on each of these subjects in future posts.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Pomodoro Technique
So I think these first few posts are going to be a little bit of an explanation of how we homeschool, our technique, curriculum, and philosophy. Today's topic:
My husband gets free books in the mail for a sort of techy geek club that he started. (He's a web developer by profession.) Usually they are technical geeky books, but one month he received a book called The Pomodoro Technique and I read it. I found it fascinating and tried the technique for my own daily activities, and I found it to be successful. So we experimented and put our older children to the test with it for their school work and it was successful with them as well, and we continue to use it.
What is the Pomodoro Technique?
Basically, you have your own personal timer and everyday you write a list of the things you want to accomplish that day. For every task on your list you plan to spend 25 minutes working on completing that task. These 25 minute sessions are called "Pomodoro". After each Pomodoro you take a strict five minute break. During these breaks you can do whatever you want such as get a drink, go to the bathroom, check your email, check your Facebook, read, etc. After the five minute break you set the timer again, and work on another task on the list. The official technique, of course, goes into more detail and addresses things such as "What if I don't finish my task?", "What if I get interrupted?", and "What if I finish early?" You can download and read the entire book here. Cool, eh?
For our children the daily list remains pretty constant and includes the variety of subjects that they study and their daily chores. My third grader uses the microwave timer. My fourth grader uses an electronic timer she carries around. I've been impressed with their ability to stay focused on each task. It has definitely solved issues of procrastination while working on their least favorite subjects.
As for myself, I loosely use the technique during the day due to the plethora of interruptions that I have with seven children. I use it in the evenings though to help me get some cleaning, reading, school planning, corresponding, and TV watching completed. I recommend to attempt the technique all day long for at least one week to help you get an idea as to how it works and its effectiveness. It's cool.
More next time about the subjects and activities that we study...
My husband gets free books in the mail for a sort of techy geek club that he started. (He's a web developer by profession.) Usually they are technical geeky books, but one month he received a book called The Pomodoro Technique and I read it. I found it fascinating and tried the technique for my own daily activities, and I found it to be successful. So we experimented and put our older children to the test with it for their school work and it was successful with them as well, and we continue to use it.
What is the Pomodoro Technique?
Basically, you have your own personal timer and everyday you write a list of the things you want to accomplish that day. For every task on your list you plan to spend 25 minutes working on completing that task. These 25 minute sessions are called "Pomodoro". After each Pomodoro you take a strict five minute break. During these breaks you can do whatever you want such as get a drink, go to the bathroom, check your email, check your Facebook, read, etc. After the five minute break you set the timer again, and work on another task on the list. The official technique, of course, goes into more detail and addresses things such as "What if I don't finish my task?", "What if I get interrupted?", and "What if I finish early?" You can download and read the entire book here. Cool, eh?
For our children the daily list remains pretty constant and includes the variety of subjects that they study and their daily chores. My third grader uses the microwave timer. My fourth grader uses an electronic timer she carries around. I've been impressed with their ability to stay focused on each task. It has definitely solved issues of procrastination while working on their least favorite subjects.
As for myself, I loosely use the technique during the day due to the plethora of interruptions that I have with seven children. I use it in the evenings though to help me get some cleaning, reading, school planning, corresponding, and TV watching completed. I recommend to attempt the technique all day long for at least one week to help you get an idea as to how it works and its effectiveness. It's cool.
More next time about the subjects and activities that we study...
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Mom's Education
I have to say one of the coolest aspects of homeschooling is the educational benefit it provides for me, the mom. Last night we went to the library to check out some books and DVDs. One of the books we checked out was a book titled Who Was Claude Monet?, by Ann Waldron. (I love the Who was.... series.) I learned so much! Before today I did not know Monet was a chain smoker and died of lung cancer, painted the same scene at different times of the day, liked to paint outside, as well as many other things. Now my nine year old is reading the book. We can share in the experience.
Just a cool thing about homeschooling. I feel enriched.
Just a cool thing about homeschooling. I feel enriched.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)