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Our schedule for happily combining LHFHG and BIGGER

Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 9:34 pm
by Carrie
Ladies,

Somehow when I moved this post I deleted it! So, here is the body of the post reposted! Sorry!

Carrie

my3sons says:
Hi Ladies! I always learned so much from looking at other moms' schedules, and I thought you might be able to take something from this schedule I used last year and ended up loving! I included as much detail as possible, for one reason, in the hopes that I'll remember what worked so I can do it again next year - and also - that you might be able to find something that clicks for you too! Here goes...

7:30 AM: Everyone gets up and cannot head downstairs until...
*beds are made
*rooms are neat
*clean clothes on
*teeth brushed
*hair combed
*hands washed
Meanwhile, I am getting the baby up and dressed, etc.

7:45 AM: Chores - 5 yo unloads the dishwasher, 8 yo lets out the dog and does one other chore on a rotating basis

8:00 AM: 5 yo and 8 yo grab juice cups, dry cereal in cups, and dried fruit and head upstairs to eat and play until 9:00 AM
Meanwhile, I am feeding the baby and getting ready myself. Baby has time in his room in his playpen with happy play music on and lots of toys and books, and then he plays out downstairs.

9:00 AM:
Everyone must be ready for school to start. All toys upstairs should be picked up. Dog kenneled. We say a prayer all together and "x" off the date on each of our calendars, noting any special things going on for the week/month.
Baby heads upstairs to watch his Barney video in his saucer for 30 minutes.

I start teaching LHFHG to 5 yo in the living room on the couch, left side of plans first. I read the "Reading about History" box first. Then, we do the rotating bottom left hand box next (Artistic Expression, Thinking Games, Science, or Dramatic play). If there is a science reading for the day, we do that before the activity in that box.
Meanwhile, my 8 yo using Bigger... begins his independent work at the kitchen table. He does his Cheerful Cursive, Preparing to Build (he read this on his own and chose one section to write - or I told him which section I wanted him to write - and then we went over it orally later). He also did his Singapore math workbook unless there was a hands-on lesson for us to do together.

9:30 AM:
Baby comes downstairs to crawl around.
Bigger... son does his educational computer CD at the dining room table.
LHFHG son and I do "Rhymes and Motion" box, "Corresponding Music" box in the kitchen/living room. Baby loves this!
LHFHG son and I head upstairs to our master bedroom to do "Bible Study" box alone where it's quiet. Bigger... son sort of keeps an eye on crawling around baby as he does his computer (doors are shut, house pretty child-proofed).

10:00 AM:
LHFHG son must play with baby in makeshift entryroom/playroom, door shut.
Bigger... son and I read "Reading about History" assignment together on living room couch. (He ended up reading this on his own by the end of the year - he wanted to and could. ). Next, we do "History Activity" box together at kitchen table.
Last, baby and LHFHG son come out and we all sing Bigger...'s hymn together, "Corresponding Music" box, marching around the kitchen, each with a copy of our music. Baby loves this!

10:30 or 10:45 AM:
Baby goes to nap.
LHFHG son does 15 minutes of an independent educational "game" at the kitchen table. We used puzzles, A Buki color by number/dot-to-dot, scissors books, Lakeshore boxes of things, etc. After the timer rings, he switches to listening to audio books on tape for 15 minutes with headset in the kitchen (my sister, parents, and I recorded books on tape, and also I bought some audio books).
Bigger... son and I do "Poetry" box and "Bible Study" box together on living room couch.

11:00 AM:
Baby napping.
We get a snack and a drink (coffee for me, drink box for them). LHFHG and Bigger... sons and I all sit on the living room couch as I read Bigger's... "Storytime" box to everyone. Older son narrates and is responsible for whatever is planned in the box. Younger son may not interrupt older son. He understands his part in this is to enjoy his treat/drink and listen.

11:30 AM:
Baby napping.
LHFHG son and I read and do "Storytime" box in living room on couch.
Bigger... son did his Copywork in the "Language Arts" box, studied for his dictation in the "Language Arts" box, and copied his Bible verse if it was one of the days he had to do that, all at the dining room table (so he could listen in on LHFHG's Storytime as he worked).

11:45 AM:
Baby napping.
LHFHG son and I did phonics on the living room couch.
Bigger... son did 15 minutes of independent reading anywhere he wanted (NOT upstairs near napping baby though). I made a shelf of extra chapter books I owned that I wanted him to read just for enjoyment that he chose from for this time.

12:00 PM:
Baby napping or getting up to crawl around, or just happily on my hip! The rest of us were at the kitchen table.
LHFHG son started on the "Storytime Box's" writing if there was any, then also did his "Fine Motor Skills" box, and last I did hands-on "Math at the kitchen table with him.
Bigger... son and I went over "Preparing to Build" together and his hands-on math lesson (if there was one that day) at kitchen table. If there was something to do for DITHOR first for me, I did that with him too. Then, I sent him to the living room couch to read his DITHOR.

12:30 PM:
Lunch for all of us. Children help with baby as we eat a simple lunch. We have quick and easy lunches the children love, sort of on a rotation (i.e. mac & cheese, hot dogs, nachos, chicken fries, salmon patties, PB & J, ham sandwiches, frozen pancakes reheated in microwave etc. with easy fresh fruit -bananas, apples, pears, grapes; cheese slice; go-gurt, and muffin). We often listen to an audio book on tape for about 15 minutes sometime while we're eating too. (Supper is a more elaborate and is more for dh and I to enjoy than the dc.)
Middle son dustbusts high chair and under the table.
Older son clears table and loads dishwasher.
I clean baby up, change diaper, etc.

1:15 PM:
Outdoor playtime for older 2 sons. If weather doesn't permit outdoors, indoors then. Baby does downstairs playpen time for 30 minutes, sometimes with a Gaither music video on within eye range. Then, he's out and crawling around downstairs by me.
Meanwhile, I set out frozen meat to unthaw for supper if necessary. Make as much of the supper as I can, either putting it in a crock pot or getting it ready for the oven if need be. Check what my wonderful friends at the HOD board have to say, check emails, make phone calls, throw in laundry - eat chocolate chips - whatever needs to be done most.

2:00 PM:
Baby makes a real mess of things, usually standing near the tupperware drawer and chucking it over his shoulder.
LHFHG son does his educational computer CD at the dining room table.
Bigger... son finishes DITHOR if it's a workbook page day. Then, he reads science (I read to him at the beginning of the year, but he took it over by end). We do experiment, narrating, etc. for science together.

2:30 PM:
DONE WITH SCHOOL!

Boys take 15 minute turns playing with baby. I pick up whatever needs to be, return phone calls, etc.

3:00 PM:
Older boys outside or inside for playtime (probably whichever they didn't do during morning playtime). Baby plays with them or just is by me.

3:30 PM:
Baby goes to nap.
Older sons continue to play.
FREE TIME FOR ME - which means I'm probably back talking to all of you!

The rest of the evening is meant for family time and relaxing. One other thing that we started that may be of use to you is the "Cleansweep". This is something Carrie and I came up with. The children and I "sweep" through every room in the house and make sure it is all picked up and ready for school the next morning. It doesn't take long with all of us working on it together, and I feel so much better and ready for school the next morning!

One last thing, when Carrie and I were talking about schedules, we both came to the conclusion that there are 2 VERY important things we needed to keep in mind...
1. We keep the order of things the same, no matter if we got started late or got "off" somehow.
2. We keep the time allotments for things about the same, that meant no going off on tangents and taking an hour for poetry when we've planned 5-10 minutes for it, etc.

So, sometimes school started later or ended later, due to unforeseen things, or maybe even just due to their outdoor playtime going longer because it was a beautiful day... but whatever the reason may have been that the actual time we scheduled got off, all things were still done in the same order, and subjects were not skipped. This helped the dc immensely because the schedule "felt" the same, and the same amount of work was expected of them each day - no "getting out of work" if we got off the times planned for school, and also no "flipping" between different days of the HOD guide of plans either. Forward motion... that's the goal!

WHEW! I know that got very long, but if it can help someone plan their day to fit their family better - great! HTH!

In Christ,
Julie
_________________
2 time user of Little Hands...
Using Little Hearts... now for 2nd. time
Used Beyond Little Hearts... once
Using Bigger Hearts... now
Using Drawn into the Heart... for the 2nd. time now



MamaMary says:

I love this Julie. I know this is going to be very helpful to new Mama's coming along. I wonder if we could *star* this thread and everyone could post their schedules since this is a very popular question?
_________________
Mary, Mama to 4 amazing sons and wife to one incredible husband! Come check us out on the blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MamaMary/



Rebecca says:

Thank you very much for this!
It is extremely helpful...

Rebecca



water2wine says:
Wow Julie that is great. I think my day would greatly improve if I just added what you have between 7:30-8:00.

One thing that comes to my mind too with what you and Carrie discussed about keep the same schedule, which I agree with (although I do not think I am anywhere near as organized as either of you, hahaha!). It brought to mind one thing that has really helped us. I have found that having my daughter who has learning delays get her phonics/reading done first thing and even before everyone else starts really helps. Same thing kind of in that it keeps the same flow, she knows there is a time limit and she gets my full attention but just for that limited time. That gave me sanity and it has made us way more productive.
_________________
~Mom to six amazing gifts from God~
Currently using
LHFG BHFG DITHR for kids!
And GHILLM for mom!



beandip71 says:

Wow!! That was so helpful. I am only doing one program now, but eventually I will be doing 2. Thanks so much for sharing your day with us.

Gina
_________________
Mom to dd 5.5 and ds 3.5
Using LHFHG for the 1st time
You can visit my blog at http://www.beandipblog.blogspot.com/


:oops:

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:41 am
by Christy in Texas
This is great, I'm printing this for sure!

Re: Our schedule for happily combining LHFHG and BIGGER

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:52 am
by Tiffini
Carrie wrote: 2. We keep the time allotments for things about the same, that meant no going off on tangents and taking an hour for poetry when we've planned 5-10 minutes for it, etc.

Julie, thanks for taking the time to post this! I love schedules and routines! My question has to do with the above quote. I really struggle with this concept. I want to stick with the time allotments, but then I feel guilty when the kids want to go longer and think, "Well, isn't this what homeschooling is supposed to be about...following the rabbit trails and their interests and questions?" But then we do end up way off schedule and may have to leave something out or I am pressured and stressed trying to cram the rest in before we have to be somewhere, etc...

So, how do you deal with this??

Re: Our schedule for happily combining LHFHG and BIGGER

Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:10 am
by my3sons
Tiffini wrote:
Julie wrote: 2. We keep the time allotments for things about the same, that meant no going off on tangents and taking an hour for poetry when we've planned 5-10 minutes for it, etc.

Julie, thanks for taking the time to post this! I love schedules and routines! My question has to do with the above quote. I really struggle with this concept. I want to stick with the time allotments, but then I feel guilty when the kids want to go longer and think, "Well, isn't this what homeschooling is supposed to be about...following the rabbit trails and their interests and questions?" But then we do end up way off schedule and may have to leave something out or I am pressured and stressed trying to cram the rest in before we have to be somewhere, etc...

So, how do you deal with this??
This is a GREAT question, and not one with an easy answer! I do think that if a neat and worthwhile "rabbit trail" presents itself, it's nice to hop along it... for awhile. However, if I do this, I try to remember that I'm consciously choosing to go longer with school that day, because no matter how I try to "catch up" later, it always ends up to be - well, LATER that we finish. If the "rabbit trail" is worth that, then I hop away. If not, and if it's really more of a "rabbit trail" I'M interested in :lol: and my dc really aren't (I've realized I do this sometimes), then I don't usually take the time for it.

I've come to the conclusion that the best way I can keep happily homeschooling is to complete a day in the plans each day because my stress level just keeps going up and up if I'm getting more and more behind. :shock:

Carrie does a super job of coordinating each day's plans to have a great balance of hands-on, reading, activities, writing, etc., and if I have to skip parts of her plans for my random "rabbit trails", I've decided the trade-off of messing up that nice balance probably isn't worth it. So... in our house "rabbit trails" still get hopped on, but not for hours, and not daily. But that's just what I've found works best for us! :wink: You're an experienced "rabbit", so you'll know which trails deserve to be "hopped on"! :lol: :lol: :lol:

In Christ,
Julie :D

Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:09 pm
by Tiffini
Thanks, Julie, for taking the time to respond to my question. Your answer was helpful. Your words about your stress level going up and up as you get more and more behind totally describes me! I like staying right on track. :D I guess your words have helped me be more okay with sticking with the plan and having less guilt for not always being willing to be Mother Cottontail! :)

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:40 am
by Carrie
Tiffani,

I'll just agree with you here and mention that the only way I'm o.k. in heading off with a bunny trail is if it's not going to stress me out later in the day! :lol:

We usually schedule a lighter Friday, so we can hit those bunny trails as desired. During the week we forge on with what is scheduled and the kiddos have bunny trail time once their school work is finished. So, if they come up with something they'd love to pursue while we're doing school, I'll just say, "That's a great idea, why don't you do that this afternoon when we're done with school." (and they often do)! :D

Blessings,
Carrie

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 12:51 pm
by holyhart
Great schedule! Now to implement one for my family! I'm going to start working on one now and tweak as I go along if it isn't working as I'd hoped or planned. And I'm sure I'll have to tweak more when the baby comes to fit in nursing and other baby needs....

About the bunny trails. I have a thought that may or may work out for you. If you feel it is a good trail to venture down but don't want to disrupt the time schedules, what about setting up either a notebook or a dry erase board (which I like better so we can see it to be reminded...out of sight, out of mind) and write the topic for later discussion. Could be saved as something dad could be part of when he is home later too....more of a family topic/discussion/experience.

Just a thought...

Thanks!

Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:23 pm
by Benelli
I really appreciated seeing this schedule! I'll be dong LHFHG and BHFHG (I think...) and LHTH (part time), and it was so useful to see an actual schedule! I even have a baby to "schedule" in, too, so I will start by your schedule... and tweak for us this Fall when we start up! Thanks so much fore sharing!!

Lisa