The Introduction
We have girls 10 & 12 & boy 15. We've homeschooled for 5 years. We started out with a pretty strict schedule and learned and adapted as we discovered what works best for us all.
I'm Grandma. I teach grammar, reading/literature and history and Mom teaches everything else. The kids prefer individual assignments and projects vs. being taught together, so that's how we've structured things.
I am at their house in the mornings starting at about 8 a.m. and finishing up before 12. This year, Mom is working part-time, so won't be there for school in the morning at all.
The Schedule
The boy likes independence and self pacing, so this year will go online to a learning management system website (MyHaiku.com) where I put the year's assignments. At the beginning of the month, he clicks on that month's tab and is responsible for getting it all done during that month. We meet as needed when he has questions, quizzes, etc. & a weekly scheduled sit-down together. He has a month to do the work and can schedule it however he chooses.
The girls (younger) prefer more hands-on, so I'll start history with whoever is ready first. We discuss, start a project, answer questions, etc. then the child does any reading, worksheets, watches a video, etc. on her own while I get the next girl started on her history. When girl #1 finishes up history, we spend time together discussing, giving assignments, clarifying assignments, etc for grammar, and she goes on to independently finish her work. About that time girl #2 has finished history and I work independently with her on grammar...white board work, writing assignment, Power Point presentation, etc. It works well in that the teacher/student time for one child usually takes just about as much time as the other child needs for their independent time before moving on to the next subject.
As each finishes a subject if they need teacher time before moving on to the next subject, they're free to take a break, take the dogs out, do a chore, do something from the free time box,(BrainQuest cards, memorization flash cards, games, etc.) so they don't interrupt ongoing sibling/teacher time. Or they can do their daily reading, finish up any unfinished work until teacher is ready to work with them.
We take breaks as desired to take a walk, play with the dogs, go out back on the swings, and some days we take everything to a local coffee shop, park, etc. and school there. We keep pre-packed backpacks so they can just grab and go on those days, just needing to add the latest assignments. We plan to have lunch ready for everybody when Mom gets home from work at 12, so everybody has had time away from lessons, has eaten and had a break so they're ready to school with Mom in the afternoon.
Lessons Learned
- Be flexible!
- Toss the schedule out occasionally & have a totally school-free day (you know they're going to learn something even if it's not officially "school")
- Preplanning allows for maximum flexibility
- Allow children to be the teacher occasionally, planning the day's lessons etc. for siblings
- Stop now & then for a break & goofiness. We stop for music breaks complete with bells, whistles, tambourines, drums, dancing, etc.
- Allow for independence & self pacing as child matures
- Use technology whenever possible...takes pressure off teacher and preps kids for their future techno-world!
