A Little About Our School Time

First, I have to say, this year has been our best year of homeschooling. Main reason it has been our best is because we have changed our perspective on what homeschooling is all about. The second reason is because I made some practical changes through prayer -seeking solutions to issues we faced.

In September 2007, I had already felt frustrated because I just couldn’t be hands on with the 3 younger ones like I wanted to be. I was rushing through the schoolwork just to get to the next kid. I decided to do something about it…PRAY!

Honestly, as quickly as I prayed God gave me a plan of action (That is not always how it happens). First, I threw out the ridiculous schedule I had set up. It was causing more frustration than anything else. Second, a new system was established. I have partnered the kids. Each day the kids are put together with either a brother or sister. It changes each day.
Example: Monday- Ethan and Rebecca / Sarah and Anderson
Ethan and Rebecca do school time together. Sarah and Anderson do activities together. We do 20-25 minutes each and then rotate. I set a timer. We rotate back and forth until the schoolwork is complete.
They each have a checklist to check off the schoolwork when it is completed. We do Science and History all together and then I add age appropriate activities for each child. Before “school time” starts each morning Mike(my husband) leads us in a family devotional time. We have a weekly memory and a catechism we go through with one question a week. We absolutely try not to miss this time together. There are times we miss it because of sick kids/parents, appointments etc. There are more specifics to our school days and I will post more about it in the coming weeks.