Schedule, our regular attempt

Another homeschool Mom had a fantastic outline of her family's regular routine on her blog. Try as hard as we might, our schedule in no way resembles what ideally I would like. First, my daughters pretty much run the school and secondly, there are so many other things going on in this house, it is very hard to be constantly consistent. Our best attempt at a regular schedule is like this:

5-6am Mom up and on the computer to read the newspapers--call it guilt free wandering the net.

(okay, Mom still on the computer at 7:30)

7:30/ 8:00 Girls up, eating breakfast, dressing (including washing, tooth brushing and hair combing) , making beds.

9:00 Math: everyone does Math. It just worked out that I read somewhere it is best to do math in the morning and it was easiest to implement as part of the routine.

10:00 English: this includes grammar, composition and writing workshop. Emily and Emma have been known to use this time to work on their writing projects for NaNoWriMo and Elizabeth has been known to just read instead.

11:00 French: it has been a struggle to learn French. My French is not bad, as in not really good, but we are using a French copy of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and a dictionary. I dictate the French sentences, the girls copy and self-correct. It is taking forever but whenever we watch Harry Potter movies, they are in French.

11:30 Latin: I took Latin all through high school and we are using the same Cambridge course I used. The girls don't seem to mind it.

12:00 piano for whomever wants to do it while I make lunch. Sometimes Elizabeth or Emily will practice guitar.

1:00 piano practice for whoever's turn is next and Great Reading for the others. I know it is dictatorial to make sure the children read specific texts but, until Emily actually acts on her views of open revolt, it is the way it is.

2:00 Geography and Logic/ Rhetoric are taken concomitant with Great Reading and piano; books are switched around and music practice continues and, hopefully, everything gets done.

3:00 Generally, everybody is finished for the day except for Elizabeth. Her whole schedule shifts upwards when she is taking VLC courses. Needless to say, she sometimes skips stuff.

There is Art Wednesday night at a local studio; there is no school on Thursday as there are piano and guitar lessons during the day and ballet for Elizabeth and gymnastics for Emily and Emma at night; Friday, there is school during the day but Emily and Emma are at ballet during the evening and Saturday, there are gymnastics for Emily and Emma. Sunday, we do nothing and periodically, in the winter, we skip school to go skiing and, in the summer, we do school and also go to the beach. The classroom is in the basement; our library is there, too, and we have a lot of books. We do not watch t.v. during the week; if there is one rule in the house, that is it: NO T.V. during the week. The girls read a lot. I read a lot. Even my husband reads a lot--though, since he discovered the application of curiousity to google, he also googles a lot.

Our routine is in no way set in stone. The University of Toronto has been known to offer tutoring sessions in Math on a Sunday morning; there are places and to go and people to see when we want; we love going to the museum to just wander around; we love libraries and Chapters bookstores and second-hand bookstores; and sometimes, there are days when we do nothing and others when we do a heck of a lot but none of it applicable to school. Sometimes I feel more important writing what I think we do down than what we actually do--the girls all sew, knit, embroider, crochet, ride, volunteer--you don't learn all that stuff unless something else gives. So, in conclusion, the bit about Math is true and the "no t.v." rule is true and the reading is true--everything paid for is true and everything else is generally kinda-sorta practiced. Now, I feel better.