June 28, 2010 5:42 p.m.

WARNING: This might be a boring post!


A couple of posts ago, I mentioned something about the loose schedule we have for completing our lessons each day.  I also mentioned that Chips decided to try to do his work independently last week, so I will update you on how that went.

On a typical day, we begin at 7:30 by working on memory work in the book Training Hearts, Teaching Minds by Starr Meade.  This book teaches, explains, and facilitates the memorization of the Westminster Shorter Catechism at the rate of one question and answer per week.  We are up to question #51, and we go back every day and review a third of the previous questions, so that they always remain fresh and available in our children's brains.  We then read Scripture and have a shared prayer time before beginning the duties of the day around 8 o'clock.  The children complete their morning chores, and we try to have breakfast around 8:30.

Our goal for beginning Calvert is 9:00 each morning, although we don't always begin that early.  Depending on how the morning goes, we have been known to begin as late as 9:45.  At this time, I sit down with Chips, and "roll out" all his subjects for the day.  This includes teaching what needs teaching, reading aloud what needs reading aloud, and discussing what needs discussion.  I then write down in bullet form all the independent work tasks that he needs to accomplish during the remaining part of the morning / early afternoon.  Then I "cut him loose".  He completes everything on the list, and at some time in the afternoon I sit down at the table and check all of his work.  Once this is done, we go over the discussion, comprehension, and critical thinking questions that pertain to the Reading, History, Geography, and Science assignments from that day.  Chips is in 5th grade.  The "rolling out" period takes between 45 minutes and 2 hours, depending on the activities (longer if there are more read-alouds and science experiments)

After rolling out the subjects for Chips and cutting him loose, I jot down the day's objectives in a work log I keep for our local homeschool county requirements.  Chips' independent work time is a large block of time during which I turn my attention to Sweet Girl.  Sweet Girl is in 2nd grade, so her work does not allow for a big block of independent work time like her brother's level.  So I pretty much work my way through the lesson plan for the day in the order of the lesson manual.  There is much more oral teaching, discussion, and working through things on the dry erase board with Sweet Girl's lessons.  When we get to a place in the lesson where Sweet Girl is supposed to do something (i.e. "seat work") I will take the opportunity to step out of the room and do something that needs doing around the house.  Her seat work chunks usually last less than 10 or 15 minutes, so I can't do much during those times.  I might use these snippets of time to test and check on the pool water, to transfer or fold laundry, to tidy part of the house, to plan dinner, to tend to the dog, or to check Facebook.  I forgot, I dropped Facebook, but I will still take a few minutes to check on email, online news, or blogs.  Anyway, I work steadily with Sweet Girl with the daily hope of finishing up by 1:00.  I wish I could say this happens every day, but it doesn't. Some days, not even close.

Nevertheless, when 1 o'clock rolls around, we do break for lunch, finished or not finished.  Then we head out the door to any afternoon lessons or appointments of the day.  If there aren't any, we go back to finish up what we left undone before lunch.  If there are no appointments, we are usually done by 2 or 3, including checking and discussion.  Then I put all the books away in their place, and store all the written (unbound) work pages in a hanging folder that is set up for each child.  Then I feel like I have really accomplished something for that day!

Now Calvert's daily lesson load is not always the same.  Some days are lighter, and some days are heavier.  On the light days, we finish unexpectedly early, and I can go about the rest of the day feeling no guilt because I know that we have, in fact, accomplished an entire lesson.  But those heavier days can be rough going, especially as the late afternoon comes around and my patience dwindles.

A bloggy friend commented on a previous post with a reference to her children planning out their outings, which included planning out their use of public transportation to get to and fro.  Or whose parents will drop off and whose parents will pick up.  Living as we do, out in the country, makes our situation somewhat different.  First, there is no public transportation out here.  Second, we don't live that close to anybody with whom we share activities and social life.  Everybody lives about 20-25 miles away, so it would be a true hardship to ask a parent to deliver our kids back home.  I have found that one afternoon activity can cost us a whole afternoon: typically 60-90 minutes in travel time, and 1-2 hours for the event or appointment.  When I return, it is often immediately time for me to begin cooking dinner.  We often complete cleanup of dinner around 7:30 or 8:00 p.m.  Then, and only then, can I return to check the work and discussion questions.  If there are many things to correct, it is possible that 9:00 can arrive without my having put Calvert to bed for that day.  Those are not happy days for me, but I have to remind myself that I would be living the daily evening crunch if my kids were in a brick and mortar school.

Speaking of brick and mortar school, I have often heard mothers of children in those schools remark to me that they could never do what I do every day.  I have to disagree with them, though, and tell them that I think I have it easier than they do.  When they look surprised, my explanation goes something like this: "you can't control the relative workload in your days like I can.  When yours are in school, life slows down for you a little bit, and that part of the day is pretty calm.  However, after they get home, you have the daily evening crunch.  You have everything to do in the limited space of a few hours: interact with the children, provide afternoon snacks, supervise their homework and often help them to do it, prepare, eat, and cook dinner, prepare for the next school day, get the children cleaned up and in bed by a reasonable hour, and you have to get them out on time the next morning.  This can be a stressful rhythm, living by someone else's schedule!"  At which these moms often have to agree.

Anyway, about Chips.  Last week, he wanted to try taking on the responsibility of accomplishing an entire 5th grade lesson by himself.  So he took the lesson manual, read it, and accomplished almost everything he was supposed to.  I have to say he did a pretty good job that day, only missing one activity that needed doing, but otherwise completing everything.  After he was through, I sat down and checked his work, I asked him discussion questions about his reading material, and found things to be fairly okay.  However, when the next school day began, he wanted no part of it.  I said "Why not? You did pretty well yesterday," to which he replied "It was too hard".  So we are back to our regular routine (described above).  He is a young 5th grader, so it will be interesting to see how he feels about it when he gets into 6th grade.