Mom's of many...schedulers....

[Mommyfaithe]

Those of you schooling several levels...can you please share a what you do when?? I am revamping my schedule and like to see others...both to get ideas and not to forget anything.
If you have it on your blog ....please share the link.

Thanks!!
Faithe...who is absolutely determined to get organized...even if it kills me....because now I have no excuse...no baby...not pregnant...not nursing...kids sleep through the night...for the first time in 22 years!!!!
Also...the ones home are all schooling or in college classes during the day...
BOY OH BOY ...I tell you....my swing from the hip days are showing....

[razorbackmama]

I need to redo our schedule this weekend (HOPEFULLY!!!!!), but the basic jist is this.

I have 5 doing school - 6th, 4th, 3rd, 1st, and PreK. I also have a very, um, BUSY toddler.:001_huh:

We begin around 8:30 (I try to get started but said toddler makes it difficult LOL), and I do alone work (mostly Writing With Ease and AWANA with the older 3) with the kids, in order from oldest to youngest. While I'm working with them they have their independent work to do (copywork, handwriting, typing for the oldest, grammar, math, etc.). The 1st grader I do more with since he's not really reading (at least he THINKS he can't ;) ) - reading, math, writing, AWANA. The PreKer, I just do reading and AWANA with her.

This takes us to pretty much 11:30ish. Then we do Bible all together and break for lunch.

We start back up at 1:30. On TTh we do geography (older 3), and on WF we do science (4th, 3rd, and 1st graders - 6th grader reads it on his own). From 2-3 we do history (older 3) and the PreKer watches her K4 HomeSat DVD (only HomeSat class we use nowadays).

OH the bigs rotate playing with the toddler during the morning. This is a huge help. Of course you don't have to worry about that anymore!

After school I usually give them a bit of a breather, and then they start their chores while I prepare for the next day. I start supper around 5:30 so that we can eat at 6:30. Dh may or may not be home - he gets home anywhere from 6:30-7:30 - it varies wildly so we just eat without him if he's not home. After supper I read a chapter from a read-aloud (much to the kids' dismay:lol: ). Bedtime is at 8:30. We aim for them to head up to bed at 8 and then lights out at 8:30, but it's been more like 8:30 lately for some reason.

Hope this helps!

[Loupelou]

Right now I have a one in 10th, 7th, 5th, 2nd, K, PreK, and a 6 month old.
The schedule changes a lot, still figuring out what works best.

We usually start around 9 every morning with the older four doing independent work for a couple of hours. Then they rotate with the baby while I spend an hour or an hour and a half doing math and reading with the K and PreK children.

After lunch we all get together and read from our history text (currently SL7 with supplements and activities for the youngers, supplemental reading for the 10th grader)

I then go over any weekly assignments and do our poetry and music .

The older three rotate the baby again (so they can finish other subjects) while I do work with the 2nd grader, and then SL Science with the three youngest. Then art with the younger ones a couple of days a week.

We used to meet first thing in the morning, but I'm finding if we break it up like this the older ones do their least favorite subject(s) first thing, and then we get together time later when we won't be as tempted to spend too much time reading!:)

I'm still trying to figure out how to squeeze Spanish in for the whole family! (any ideas?)

Good luck and have fun!

[Jill, OK]

(This is just a variation on what we're doing this year; my youngest will join the fray next fall, and this will be my first year teaching five).

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Get everyone up, maybe take a short walk, get through chores, hygiene, and devotions. Oh, and breakfast. And clean up. ::Sigh::

High schoolers will go off to do their independent work (homework from co-op, online classes, etc.), and I'll sit down at the table with the Littles (next fall, they'll be almost 5, 7, and 9). They'll do math, grammar, handwriting, Latin, and Greek alphabet daily. I'll also read to them, and they'll read to me (this is when we get in our science and history; very laid back at this age). We'll alternate foreign language songs (Teach Me series), geography, nature journals (detailing things we see on our morning walks), and art and music appreciation.

After lunch, the high schoolers and I will go over their work, and cover the subjects I'm "keeping" (not farmed out to co-op, tutors, or online/correspondence classes). The Littles will more than likely go outside, or do Art at the kitchen table. Or both.

I need a couple of hours in the late afternoon to either work or relax, and then we'll start dinner.

This will be for the days we're home all day; we'll have one day where we're gone to co-op, and then outside lessons, another that will be started later, because of tutoring for the older kids, and one that will be cut short because of volleyball.

[Colleen in SEVA]

:bigear:

Mine are younger, so I'm still trying to figure this part out.

Right now we do "chunks" of things together -- for example, a math/logic chunk would be all of us sitting at the table, have DS1 start on some work he can do on his own while I teach a lesson to DS2 and answer questions for DS3 while DS4 scribbles in an old workbook and DS5 plays on the floor. Then DS2/3/4 go play while I do a math lesson with DS1 (he needs quiet for learning new concepts).

Then we take a break (usually involves me changing diapers and refilling cups).

Then later we do a language arts chunk that follows the same format as the math chunk, but includes Wordly Wise and HWT for DS1 while I help DS2/3 with their ETC and DS4 scribbles in an old ETC and DS5 sits in my lap. Then DS2/3/4/5 go play and I do AAS & MCT with DS1.

Then we take another break (more diapers, more cups).

History and science follow the same format.

We usually do reading while I feed DS5 -- I help DS1 choose something to read, then he goes off to read while I listen to DS2 read, followed by OPG & Bob for DS3.

This is working... for now... but I find I have to completely revamp how we structure our day as the dynamic of the kids' ages change.

I will be bookmarking this thread so I can easily find ideas to try from those who have BTDT! :) :) :)

[LuvnMySvn]

Oh, boy, I've tried so many schedules! Just when I think I've found "it", things change. Right now I've put together a routine that seems to be working very well, dc like it (yeah!). Hope this makes sense:

6:45 Everyone up, make beds, help w/breakfast
7:00 Breakfast
7:20 Grooming, clean up
7:40 Exercise, devotion
8:00 Homechores and music (older 5); "littles" w/Mom doing Preschool/K
(8 & 6yo do reading during this time after chores)
9:00 Vocabulary (older 3), Spelling (middle 2), hang out together (last 2)
9:15 Snack and recess (usually a run down the street)
9:30 Grammar & Latin/Greek (older 3); younger 4 watch educational show
10:00 Math (5 older dc); 4 & 6yo on computer
11:00 Lunch prep (one older dc makes lunch, next 2 in line are paired up with 4yo, 2yo and baby, 8 & 6yo do Writing w/Mom)
11:30 Lunch
11:50 Clean up, free time
12:15 Bible/Awana
12:30 Literature (Mom reads to little ones, older dc do independent reading)
1:00 Science (littles down for nap)
1:30 History
2:00 Writing
2:30 snack
2:45 Art/Music appreciation/Piano/Drama
3:30 Homework or free time

Hope this helped a bit! It makes more sense when seen in spreadsheet format. What I aimed for was to give time to the littles first thing because I found they were the first thing I would let go of if my day wasn't going as planned. This way I pretty much start my day off by giving them the time they need instead of whatever I have "left over" at the end of my day or snippets along the way. I have also been able to "block" the 3 older dc and the next 2dc together as far as schoolwork goes so I am only teaching a few levels. By putting Science, History, etc. in the afternoon I can take more time, be more relaxed instead of rushing through as I would in the morning; if we go over, no big deal.

[OhioM]

I have a 6th grader, a 4th, a 2nd/3rd, and a K student. (plus a 4yo and 2yo, ACK!)

The key to all of this is that all the kids have certain things that they know to do independently. While I'm cleaning up breakfast and getting ready myself, they know to be doing their chores and starting their independent work.

I'm ready to start at 9:30am usually. I grab whoever appears to be goofing off the most, and I sit with them at the table and go over the work that they've done so far, and then do their math lesson. The other kids are to be working independently, theoretically. When I'm done with kid #1, I move on to whoever appears to be finished with their work or is having trouble or is goofing off. And I just work through all four kids like that through the morning.

After lunch, we practice instruments one at a time with me supervising, then we read aloud for about 1-2 hours, then we do notebooking or narrations on what we read, and finish up any leftover table work. And after that, I am fried.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

Our current schedule (http://narrowgateacademy.blogspot.com/2008/07/our-daily-school-schedule-for-2008-2009.html)