We have started a new rhythm for our homeschooling days and so far I love it. I like to call it a rhythm because we tend to ebb and flow as the seasons change. Homeschooling author, Julie Bogart, says there is a common joke where homeschoolers are Classical learners in the fall, Charlotte Mason learners in the winter, and Unschoolers in the spring. All different philosophies of education that you can adjust to depending on the season you're in. And I find that we are enjoying the more book-heavy schooling with projects sprinkled in as fall begins.
Our days begin with breakfast, morning chores (get dressed, brush teeth, make bed, put clothes in washer, and clean up breakfast plates), and then a little play while Mama prepares for the day (start laundry, unload dishwasher, get ready, etc.). Then we begin our schooling. This fall our new rhythm is basically split into two parts- couch time and table time. We begin couch time by all snuggling up while the little sister plays in a special basket (while also listening). We read ALL the things. Currently we are reading:
- Devotions for Preschoolers (for Bible)
- Read Aloud Bible Stories (for Bible)
- Indescribable by Louie Giglio (for Science)
- The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer (for history)
- A variety of picture books and resource books (based on whatever we are currently interested in or that we have coming up in our life/co-op- right now that's ancient Egypt, the ocean, and apples)
- We finish with some reading practice for Isla. She just started in the BOB book series.
Our couch time is how we get the most variety of learning. Isla is like a sponge. She loves learning about all different things and books are kind of like our doorway to the many, unending pieces of the world. Our couch time probably takes 20-30 minutes tops.
(Eleanor, our family photographer, took this glamorous one ;))
After couch time, I prepare a snack while the kids move to table time. The big kids each have a "morning menu" that they can work in while they wait for me. It's a menu that they can use dry erase markers on to practice tracing, write out the calendar for the day, report on the weather, or do copywork. I change this out when I think about it to include a variety of things to practice every day. Everyone has a snack while the littles play and Isla and I begin table time. Every once in awhile Ewan will join with his own workbook or whatever hands-on learning we are doing. We do a short math lesson that Isla LOVES and usually begs for more. We are using Math with Confidence- Kindergarten level and will probably be ready to move onto first grade soon. Then we do a short reading lesson, which Isla finds a little boring. We are using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, which comes highly recommended by many. She's catching on quick, but I too am bored and I think we'll find something more exciting in a couple months. Our table time probably takes about 15 minutes tops.
(And I just need to be clear, Isla dragged this little desk into the playroom and insists she sit at it to do her work. She LOVES workbooks, sharpened pencils, and the whole idea of school, but without actually going to school. She might be my only child like this and that's ok :))
After that we sometimes do a little unit learning (which Ewan almost always participates in), whether that be an artist study with art to follow, a math game, a video about our current interests, etc. Isla has a journal that she likes to draw and do copywork in. She usually draws something she's interested in or writes a story. She is also very artistic. Even outside of this time of day, you can find her at the art table with watercolors splashed everywhere, oil pastels rubbed across the paper, stencils done from her "how to draw" book, or stickers plastered all over some project. We almost always put some music on (which I count as music appreciation). The kids can identify pieces of Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky, can point out what instrument is being played, can dance the motions to Wheels on the Bus, and they adore hymns. But otherwise, table time is over. The kids then play or "have recess" as they call it. And I encourage this to be outside. This is when I get chores done like baking bread and cleaning bathrooms (or currently, canning all the things).
After lunch the kids have rest time. Isla spends an hour or two listening to her stories. She loves The Magic Treehouse series, Little House on the Prairie series, The Princess in Black series, or standalones like Charlotte's Web, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Mr. Popper's Penguins (to name a few). We get audio cds and read-aloud devices from the library or she listens to books from the library on the Libby app on her ipad. I totally count this as learning. Jack and Annie have taught her everything she knows about history and our place in the world, Laura Ingalls has taught her the joy and beauty of a simple life, Charlotte the spider has taught her what it means to be a brave and good friend, Mary Poppins has taught her that life is too short to be serious, Charlie Bucket has taught her the consequences of our actions and that chocolate is one of the most wonderful things in the world, Pippi Longstocking has taught her that being yourself is courageous and kindness goes a long way (and that wild imaginations are more fun). She's gaining vocabulary, comprehension, fluency and expression... but more than anything, she's learning that books can be magical and wonderful. Hearing other people's perspectives, building empathy, connecting us emotionally to a fictional world... there's no other thing like it. Listening to stories has allowed her to fall in love with books.
After rest time, I try to have something set up for the big kids. That could be a science experiment, art project, board game, etc. I don't always do this, but I find it helps our afternoons go much smoother if I do. I also encourage them to get outside until dad gets off work.
The evening is also full of learning when they build towers with daddy, dance in the living room as a family, share highs and lows at the dinner table, explore nature on an after-dinner-walk, read stories before bed. Our learning doesn't fit in an 8:00-3:00 school day. It's everywhere, all the time. We are learning how to care for a home with the family chores we do, how to share and be kind with our siblings, how to observe the plants and animals of our world, how to use tools with their grandfather or sew with their grandmother. We are living our life which inevitably teaches personal hygiene, finances, cooking, gardening, cleaning, self-care, exercise, communication, love. I can't put all the things we are constantly teaching and learning into a neat little box. We don't go to a separate place with strangers to memorize facts and learn to comply to a system. Our education is much richer, in my opinion, because their whole life is their education.
This fall I'm really trying to have slower days and weeks. Or at least much slower than the summer. So I had to be picky about our extracurriculars and time away from home. Once a week we have co-op. The day of the week changes based on who is planning it, but we at least have something every week. Our co-op day is our "school" for that day as it includes field trips to places like the firestation and local farms; or learning/teacher days like when one of the mamas who is a part-time Spanish professor hosted a spanish game day for us; or special days like the NOT back to school party I hosted at our house and the holiday parties like an Easter egg hunt and a Halloween bash; or just good old-fashioned playdates at the nature preserve or a park. This is our time to socialize with friends and learn about things that one mom couldn't possibly accomplish on her own.
And then once a week we have a flex day. This fall I'm reserving that for our weekly trip to the pumpkin patch. We got a season pass this year and plan on meeting friends weekly to play and learn together there. I'd also like to start poetry tea time and correspondence on the afternoon of our flex day. We will bake something in the morning before heading out so in the afternoon we can read poems and eat our baked good, while writing letters to people we love. (Check back with me in a month to see how well this goes ;)). Other flex days might include a doctor's appointment, a trip to the library, or whatever else we need to get done. Every once in awhile we have a one-day class like at the zoo or the art station. And every other Friday we have horse riding lessons and then time at the nature preserve across the street. I'm hoping to incorporate nature journaling and drawing on these days.
And although evenings and family dinner are sacred in our home, one night a week is spent on extracurriculars that the kids asked to do. Ewan started gymnastics and LOVES it and Isla is starting Spanish lessons soon with a group of local elementary students and a Spanish teacher. She is very interested in learning another language. Luckily, both of these fall on the same night so we're only busy one night a week!
That leaves 2-3 solid days of couch/table time, depending on the week. And you wouldn't believe how much learning we get done in those 3 days. Since I taught kindergarten in two classrooms for a year I feel knowledgable enough to say Isla is way "ahead" of what she would be doing in our district right now. In September, they are learning how to do school (sit in a circle, stand in a line, put the glue stick cap back on). They are starting their letter identification and sounds (they'll finish that up in February before starting on CVC words). They are beginning to learn numbers 1-10 and will move to the "tricky teens" by Christmas. Meanwhile Isla is starting to read, can do basic forms of multiplication, can tell you exactly how the mummification process was done, and can say the Pledge of Allegiance, Psalm 23, and all 50 states. That's what unlimited time and catered education will do for ya. So I think 3 days of what others might say "looks like school" is plenty for us.
Our days are relaxed, simple, and pleasant. There is no coercion, rushes to get out the door, fights about doing homework, busyness to muddle our day. I love our days together and I am enjoying learning right alongside my kiddos.
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