Homeschool 2019-2020

This past summer, I bought a homeschool curriculum just as something extra to do with the kids at home. If you know me, you'd know I think anything involving a "curriculum" and "lesson plans" are fun. Even in the summer.  I really enjoyed sitting down with my five and four (it felt like our little one on one time) and I noticed how much my kids were learning. I loved watching how proud they were of themselves for learning how to write a new letter or learning a new concept. I became hooked. A lot of other factors played into our decision, but we decided to give homeschooling a go this year.

It took me a long time to figure out how I could possibly do this along with the other responsibilities  I have as a mother - including all the cleaning, cooking, meal planning, grocery shopping, laundry, naps times, nursing, and did I mention I have a 9-month old? I also wanted to include a time for myself each day to keep me going. Here's a rough draft of what our schedule is going to look like. Each week, I'll share ideas on what we've been doing at home and what worked for us. My hope is to share tons of ideas and resources for other moms. I'll do the planning for you.

Again, this is a rough draft. Occasionally, we are going to bag it entirely and do a day trip at the lake or explore nature on a long hike. This type of learning and play (especially at such a young age) counts as "homeschooling" for me.

Here's a link to the Planning PDF.

MORNING ROUTINE.

I'm a morning person. I usually wake up around six o'clock and exercise (when I'm in one of those phases), read my scriptures (10-15 minutes), pray, plan and go through our day. I do a lot better throughout the entire day if I can start the day off feeling organized and alert. We use this traffic light alarm clock in the boy's room. They know to stay in their room when the light is red and to come downstairs when the light turns green at 7:15 A.M. We also use this method for our bedtime routine. At 8:00ish P.M. the light turns red. They can stay up and read books or listen to bedtime stories (app), but they need to stay in their room.

7:30 BREAKFAST.

I'll be posting breakfast ideas and tips that help in our home but, for now I would really recommend these Blender Zucchini Muffins. All natural ingredients, no added sugar, made in a blender, no chunks (my five appreciates this) and you can make double/triple batches. I often make a few batches to enjoy throughout the week. These go well for any meal/snack of the day. You can also freeze them to make an easy option later in the month. After breakfast, we clean up. I shower and get ready while my 9-month old plays with puzzles in the bathroom with me. My older boys (ages 4, 5) play together.

9:00 JOSH ACTIVITIES

Sometimes I feel like the days slip by and I haven't given as much time to my 9-month old as I'd like. This is his 30-minute slot in the day where I play with him, sing songs, read books or explore around the house. At 9:30 he takes his morning nap.

9:30 HOMESCHOOL

This portion of the day is dedicated to reading, writing and math. I spend about 45 minutes with each boy and I try to make this as engaging and fun as possible. While I'm working with one, the other can either sit on the couch and quietly watch, play in the toy room right by us or play in the back yard. I try really hard to let little things go, but still find the balance of getting through what we need to. I notice when I'm having fun, they have a lot more fun as well.

My Four's Curriculum:

• Reading & Writing: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons
• Math: The Good and the Beautiful Level K

My four knows his letters and sounds, but this summer has been his first experience with reading. This reading book teaches the basics and how to read extremely well. By the time kids are done with the book, they're supposed to be on a second grade reading level. It's very thorough, the lessons are very similar each day (so it's easy to get in a routine of what to expect) and they're short. My four loves the handwriting. My four already knows how to rhyme, but the way it's explained in the book is confusing for us. We do it our own way instead. There's no color and it looks like a textbook. This was unappetizing to me at first, but I've seen the learning value in the book. We do other things (like jump on the couch for 20 seconds after sounding out a word or sometimes I offer a mini m&m for having a great attitude) and make it more "fun" in other ways.  

We LOVE the math. It's colorful, engaging, and comes with its own little math box with manipulatives. My four really loves the activities and has a lot of fun doing them. The activities are very hands on and thorough. We are going through them at our own pace. We usually split a lesson into two days, instead of rushing through them. 

My Five's Curriculum:

• Language Arts: The Good and the Beautiful Level K
• Math: The Good and the Beautiful Level 1

My five went through the BOB books last year and has transitioned well into the language arts book. He's learning a lot. The author of the good and the beautiful is Christian and one of my favorite things about the program is how she incorporates great values into the stories and learning. The curriculum includes phonics, sight words, poems to memorize, spelling, reading lessons and short books to read. 

The math we started in the summer moved at a slower pace than my five needed, so we just ordered the next level up (Level 1).

11:30 PREP LUNCH & LUNCH

12:00 OUTING

Our outings include anything to get out of the house for a change of scenery. Nature walks, hikes, parks, museums, trampoline parks, errands, etc. Depending on the day, we'll do our art/science activity at this point and do an outing later in the day. 

2:00 SNACK & QUIET TIME

This is when my baby Josh takes his afternoon nap. My boys are used to doing quiet times. If you are new to quiet times, I'd recommend one of these timers to get started. My boys can play together inside or outside as long as they're playing well together. If they need a break from each other, I'll have them choose 3-5 toys to play with in separate rooms upstairs. I use this time to clean the house (on Mondays), plan activities or family home evening lessons, take a quick rest, post our ideas, or do something for myself. Quiet time lasts and hour to and hour and a half. 

4:00 ACTIVITY (art, science OR fun)

One of my goals this year is to teach, enjoy, craft and spend a lot of time in nature. The majority of our art, science, books and activities will be nature based. I'm really excited about the things we have planned so far. We'll do one activity per day as see how it goes. As I mentioned earlier, some days we'll do our activity after lunch and do an outing at this point in the day. 

5:00 PREP DINNER

I like to make dinner one night and have leftovers the next, so I'm not cooking every night. I'll be sharing a lot of our favorite meals with you this year.

6:00 DINNER

7:00 TUB, STORIES & BED

8:00 BEDTIME

We try to have our kids in their rooms at this point, so I can get a few things done. On Monday evenings, my husband and I fold laundry while watching a show on Netflix together. This evening almost always includes a dessert. Other evenings I will plan our homeschool or family lessons, spend time with my husband, or order our groceries online (Friday).