Post by Sharon aka thirdstrand on Jun 1, 2014 21:36:29 GMT -5
When I first started homeschooling, I read a couple of books written by veteran homeschoolers about what they wished they had known from the beginning of their homeschooling journeys. This is my version of one of those stories. I can’t remember if the epiphany that I am about to share was mentioned in one of those books. Unfortunately, if it was, it didn’t stick.
We have been homeschooling for 16½ years. From early on I took a fairly structured approach to scheduling. I knew which subjects needed to be done each day and how much work needed to be done each day within each subject. This worked very well for many years especially when our two children were younger. When we got into the higher grades and the workload got heavier, it was sometimes difficult to stay on track. Occasionally, out of frustration, I would think of scheduling classes by the minute. It works in “real” schools, so I figured it would probably help us. But for some reason I never did it, until this year.
This year I only have one student. Our son is a junior. Our oldest graduated in 2012. I think junior year is the toughest year in high school. You have all the regular classes along with a higher level of math and science. Algebra 2 alone can take hours to get done. Both my kids do well in math, but they work slowly. I really am ok with that. I rather they take their time and be more thorough, but it does take a big chunk of the day. In addition to all the school work, junior year is a time to get ready for the PSAT, the SAT, and the Permit Test. There can also be work responsibilities and extra curriculum activities. Our son works part time for his dad and is a Boy Scout. He is an assistant senior patrol leader, so he has a lot more responsibilities this year.
About a month ago, I was lamenting the fact that we were having a hard time getting everything done. My husband said I should make a schedule and list every class and extra work by the minute. This would include the daily Bible reading that we kept falling behind in. We were getting our Bible class done, but not the plan I had laid out to finish the Bible before he graduates. That is a requirement in my school. My daughter made it, but I was beginning to wonder if my son would.
Following my husband's instructions, I sat down with my son to talk about how much time we needed for each item on our to-do list. Then I asked him in what order he would like to do everything. My only request was that we scheduled algebra for right after lunch because that is a good time for me mentally. We listed everything and even included a few break periods. Over the next few days we tried out our new schedule. We had to make some adjustments, but voila! EVERYTHING was getting done! We even had extra time some days. Within a few weeks, my son had his permit which freed up time on the schedule since he no longer needed to study.
What a joy! What a sense of freedom! Why oh why did I not do this sooner? It feels so good to know you are getting EVERYTHING done. Ahhh... A huge plus was that my son liked it too. He could see how much it helped. I highly recommend timed schedules for homeschooling or any big project that needs to get done. I am now officially a big fan!
We have been homeschooling for 16½ years. From early on I took a fairly structured approach to scheduling. I knew which subjects needed to be done each day and how much work needed to be done each day within each subject. This worked very well for many years especially when our two children were younger. When we got into the higher grades and the workload got heavier, it was sometimes difficult to stay on track. Occasionally, out of frustration, I would think of scheduling classes by the minute. It works in “real” schools, so I figured it would probably help us. But for some reason I never did it, until this year.
This year I only have one student. Our son is a junior. Our oldest graduated in 2012. I think junior year is the toughest year in high school. You have all the regular classes along with a higher level of math and science. Algebra 2 alone can take hours to get done. Both my kids do well in math, but they work slowly. I really am ok with that. I rather they take their time and be more thorough, but it does take a big chunk of the day. In addition to all the school work, junior year is a time to get ready for the PSAT, the SAT, and the Permit Test. There can also be work responsibilities and extra curriculum activities. Our son works part time for his dad and is a Boy Scout. He is an assistant senior patrol leader, so he has a lot more responsibilities this year.
About a month ago, I was lamenting the fact that we were having a hard time getting everything done. My husband said I should make a schedule and list every class and extra work by the minute. This would include the daily Bible reading that we kept falling behind in. We were getting our Bible class done, but not the plan I had laid out to finish the Bible before he graduates. That is a requirement in my school. My daughter made it, but I was beginning to wonder if my son would.
Following my husband's instructions, I sat down with my son to talk about how much time we needed for each item on our to-do list. Then I asked him in what order he would like to do everything. My only request was that we scheduled algebra for right after lunch because that is a good time for me mentally. We listed everything and even included a few break periods. Over the next few days we tried out our new schedule. We had to make some adjustments, but voila! EVERYTHING was getting done! We even had extra time some days. Within a few weeks, my son had his permit which freed up time on the schedule since he no longer needed to study.
What a joy! What a sense of freedom! Why oh why did I not do this sooner? It feels so good to know you are getting EVERYTHING done. Ahhh... A huge plus was that my son liked it too. He could see how much it helped. I highly recommend timed schedules for homeschooling or any big project that needs to get done. I am now officially a big fan!