Year 8, Week 2: Scheduling, Part One

     Let me start first with acknowledging that I know how lucky I am to be homeschooling.  I know in this current season many parents are being forced to navigate working at home while trying make sure their kids are set up for distance/virtual learning; trying to get through meetings while making sure the kids are in their own virtual classrooms paying attention; trying to get their work done while ensuring the kids are completing their assignments as well.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg.  I applaud you.  I hope this two-part post helps in some way!

     Now, homeschooling for us is not public school at home.  My son was in public school up through 6th grade and I've been homeschooling since 2012 so I think it's safe to say that I have a bit of experience with both.  I don't have 30+ students to teach and keep focused.  My students don't have to line up to make their way to the cafeteria and then wait in line to get their lunch with the rest of the school.  I don't have to log into a portal or make sure everyone is logged in before I can start teaching.  My kids don't need time to get from one class to another, stopping at lockers on the way and the only constant distraction we have is our dog barking at the delivery trucks and neighbors walking by.  So, my school and schedule is different.  It's likely even different from other experienced homeschoolers.  We're usually done with a full day of school in about five hours, sometimes less, very rarely more than five and a half.  I use a schedule to keep track of our day and so that my kids know what needs to be done.  Plus, they need to learn time management skills.  Does that mean we stick to it perfectly every day?  Nope!  Sometimes, especially when we're deep into a discussion, we'll get off track.  Sometimes, when Math is confusing, we have to put it off until The Principal gets home in the evening to make it clear.  Sometimes, if I'm sick....well I can't call a sub so I do what I can and we adjust as necessary.

     Whether you're homeschooling or having to do distance/virtual learning, first find what type of planner works best for you AND your kids.  Find one that is easy to use and will be used.  If it's too complicated or time consuming for your family, it won't work.  For me, I have a regular paper planner for my personal needs but I use a web-based one for our homeschool.  Last year, after purchasing paper planners for my kids, I learned that they much prefer to use the one online!  So, take a bit of time to find one your family will actually use and will help keep everyone on track.  It may take a bit of experimenting.  Here are some options:

• Spiral Notebooks  (Very simple, inexpensive and can be used by student and/or parent.)
• Paper Planners (Available for students and teachers.)
• Family Wall Calendar (I like this one because it can be used in different ways)
• Online Planner (I use this one for our homeschool and I'll share why in part two.)

     If you don't need something to track daily assignments then the wall calendar or something similar will be best just to help guide your child so that they know where they should be (virtually) or what they should be working on at certain times during the day.  It might help to also put YOUR work schedule on there as well so that the kids know when you're in a meeting or can't be disturbed or when you might be available to ask a quick question.

     If you have little ones who don't understand the concept of time or can't read yet I would suggest purchasing a timer (this is a fun one) and setting it for them, explaining to them that they can stop whatever they're supposed to be doing when the timer stops.  You can use it along with their own task list too, even if they can't read yet.  When my kids were little I printed pictures of what they were supposed to do every day, laminated them and put velcro on the back of them.  I created a laminated daily sheet for the tasks pictures to stick to with the categories "TO DO" and "DONE".  It was similar to this one here.  I ended up making my own because I wanted it personalized and I had very specific tasks for each child.  Some of them were timed, like "Reading for 30 minutes" or "Geography Game for 30 minutes".  I think I titled mine "A380's Daily Tasks."  Upon my search for this post I found one titled "I Have Jobs Too" which I think is a clever way to remind kids that mom and dad have work to do as well; everyone has a job to do!

     In my next post I'll share our actual schedule to give you an idea of how our day flows and how I work my schedule around theirs!  I'll also share why I prefer the web-based planner over the others.

     As for our week...we're slowly ramping up.  The last of the books I ordered have arrived.  Next week we're full steam ahead.  Have a great weekend!