Our 2013-2014 Homeschool Plan

It’s August and school is just around the corner!  So the question I am hearing a lot these days is: “What are you doing this year for school?”

(For the record, I did not originally intend for this post to come right after my ranting and raving about consumerism. It just happened that way. Our choice to homeschool is not because we think all the evil is “out there.” The evil is in our own hearts as much as anywhere else! But we have a conviction that homeschooling is right for us. So, there you have it. And since I’ve been asked about it a lot recently, I thought it might be helpful to just share our whole nitty-gritty plan right here.)

My philosophy is, if we only get through the first 2 hours most days, that’s great. The rest is optional. I just talked to a woman who has 9 children and has been homeschooling for 18 years (and her older children have been National Merit Scholars) and she encouraged me again and again to take it slow at the start and not overwhelm young kids with too much. The 3 R’s (reading, writing and ‘rithmetic) plus character development (i.e. not punching people) are our big goals for the year. Also, we’ve been slowly implementing this schedule so it’s not a big shock come September 3rd. I’ve been introducing one new subject/element a week and will continue that through August. So, without further ado, our 2013-2014 homeschool plan (my kids are 6 & 4):

Monday through Friday begins like this:

8:00-8:30am — Bible reading, devotions, prayer. This is during breakfast, so that Jeff can lead this time with our kids.  (We use a variety of Long Story Short: Ten-minute devotions to draw your family to God, Jesus Storybook Bible, Gospel Story Bible, Big Picture Story Bible, and Children of God Storybook Bible), scripture memorization (Letter lessons here), prayer, and just talking and relating to each other about God.

8:30-9:00am — Math (Saxon 1st grade curriculum) Dutch can do this at the kitchen counter while I’m cleaning up the kitchen and prepping food for the day. Heidi can count money, write numbers, or help me measure and work in the kitchen.

M-W-F we continue with this:

9:00-10:00am — Language (Writing, Spelling, Grammar, Reading).  This includes writing (5 minutes–Handwriting without tears OR copy work, writing verses, writing to sponsor children, making thank you/birthday cards, etc.); Spelling (10 minutes–Spelling Workout Level A); Grammar (15 minutes–First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind); Reading (Dutch 30 minutes reading, then we’ll write a narration together to recap what he read. Heidi & I are doing Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. After “100 lessons” Heidi and I will do BOB books.)

10-10:15 — Snack/break (run around, duel with lightsabers, etc.)

10:15-11:15am — History (The Story of the World curriculum, which uses Kingfisher Illustrated History of the World, Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, Usborne Book of World History, and the Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History.)

11:15am-12:15pm — Science (Various science encyclopedias, books from the library, some *Classical Conversations memory work, and experiments from VanCleave’s)

FREE to play and explore and continue learning!

2pm — Heidi naps, Dutch has 30 minutes – hour of quiet reading while Mommy writes this blog! 🙂

Tuesdays we continue with this:

9:00am – 12:15pm Bible Study, or play date, or field trip, AND library.

2pm Heidi naps and Dutch has quiet reading while I write.

Thursdays we continue with this:

Drive to Papa & Oma’s house

10:00am-11:00am PE with Papa (My dad was a PE teacher and Athletic Director for 30+ years, so he’ll teach them games and time them on certain physical activities to see how they progress through the year.)

11:00a-12:00pm Art with Oma (Often the history curriculum and/or Classical Conversations has an art component, so we do that OR use Ed Emberley drawing books OR use the Felt, Button, Bead book for craft/sewing activities, Heidi’s favorite. I’d also love to incorporate some cooking lessons, like Jamie does here. Since this is right before lunch we can incorporate lunch-prep into this time.)

2pm — Heidi naps and Dutch reads while I write

*Also, we’re incorporating some  Classical Conversations memory work into each subject (We are not part of a CC group, we just use the curriculum.)

That’s it! I’m basically following the Well-Trained Mind (LOVE this book!) plan for a classical education at home. I lean more toward unschooling in my approach however, which simply means within the structure of the classical curriculum, I see great freedom for us to explore, change directions, and dig deeper into what my children are fascinated by.  I also love Educating the Whole-Hearted Child. 

I am SO not a homeschooling expert, but if you have any questions or thoughts I’d love to hear them! It’s fun to share ideas and work together to raise, nurture, instruct, and educate our Littles! And even if you don’t homeschool, any or all of these resources may be helpful along the way. Enjoy, and thanks for reading!