Our 14/15 Schedule

It seems like our schedule is one of the top questions asked.  To be honest, I've never been a schedule kind of gal.  I prefer a routine.  What's the difference?  A routine is a specific order in which activities occur.  I've found that routines are very important for my children, especially in the early years.  They need a rhythm to the day.  A schedule is when that routine is set to specific times.

As much as I dislike it, our routine is becoming more schedule-like these days.  I suppose it was bound to happen as the children got older.  We are now legal homeschoolers in our state.  E is technically in 1st grade, and her daily work is expanding.  While we have less medical needs outside the home, they still exist and encroach upon our time.  We're also in more activities these days.  I'm happy with the balance, but it requires better time management.

If your children are younger, I would encourage you to find a routine that works, but don't feel pressured to adhere to a strict schedule.  You can look at my schedule posts from past years as well.

So here is what we aim for most days:

8:15 Breakfast

8:40 Physical Activity

9:00 Three Hour Work Period

12:15 Lunch

2:30 Afternoon Work

4:00 Fun Activity

If there's one thing I've noticed about my children, it's that they work far better if they've had a chance to go a little crazy before we focus.  This is especially true for my boys.

For those not familiar with Montessori philosophy, she found that children focused best when their work periods were three hours long.  That seems to be a good estimate for us as well.  Now the caveat is that we didn't start there, nor do we generally fall right back into it after a longer break.  It takes time to get there.  And even once we're in a good groove, there are days that we end earlier.  There are also days we go longer.  There's a certain rhythm that develops during a work period.  I can usually sense when everyone is starting to fade for good.

One day per week we attend a Classical Conversations community.  We eat lunch there and are generally home around 1:30.  We skip our standard three hour work period that day since we put in three solid hours of work there.  Once we return home, we start with the afternoon work.

Now that my daughter is older, I decided to add another stint of work in the afternoon.  During this time, I tend to assign things to her.  It's mostly independent work that she can tackle when I'm not in the room.  I ask her to work for at least an hour, but she's welcome to go longer.

Our fun activity rotates throughout the week.  It is something we do outside the classroom.  I try to keep it fairly short so that I can start on dinner.  I recently shifted things around a bit.  Here is the schedule we start next week.

• Monday:  Music Lesson
• Tuesday:  Bible Lesson
• Wednesday: Art Lesson
• Thursday: Scouting or Playdate
• Friday: Science Project

I'm still a big proponent of free time for children as well.  Anything that isn't scheduled is their time,

outside of any family contribution work that is expected (i.e. chores).  I am planning to add one more scheduled item each evening after dinner as a family sharing time.  We're still adjusting to Daddy's work schedule, though.  

So that's our plan!  Or at least until the summer.

If there's anything you'd like me to elaborate on, please let me know!

Bess