We have all of our lessons planned for this week, however today I had a "few" errands to run....which ended up taking up the majority of our day. How/when do you get your errands done (groceries, shopping etc.) without de-railing your lessons?
I usually do breakfast, am chores, lessons, nap and then after the naps we have the day free for playing, errands, and special projects.
I wonder the same thing and wonder just how much schooling time we need to put in for 4th and K....Maybe we are over doing it.
My day with the boys both doing kinder takes 1-2 hours per day. We do math, phonics, handwriting, and bible every day. Then we do Social Studies twice a week, science twice a week and they do a health lesson 4 times a week every other week. They play outside or swim daily for phys ed. And projects are ALWAYS done in the evening on days when we have no errands to run.
I have specific days that we do our regular errands. Also, with the price of gas we combine a lot of learning errands and household errands. Tuesdays we go to the larger town about 30 minutes from us to visit the library and meet our local homeschool group for P.E. class. After that's finished we do our grocery shopping at the discount stores there. Thursdays we go into our town (we live about 7 miles out) to go to the bank, visit the local grocery store if they have things we need on sale, and during the school year we will also use this day to attend the after school computer club that ds participates in and the school library is open to the public on Thurs. afternoon. Since this is a pretty regular schedule we aren't too derailed when something unexpected pops up. Its usually pretty easy to get back on track. I also used to teach ps and I learned early on to write my lesson plans in pencil because there would be an assembly or something to derail my plans. To make sure I was on track I would make long term and short term goals. Once a month (sometimes more often depending on my schedule) I would sit down and see if I was making progress or if the "extras" were interfering with my goals." 9 times out of 10 we were okay, if not we could make minor adjustments to get us back on track. I hope that helps!
We tend to start class at 9 in the the morning. With my kiddos being 11 and 14, we tend to work for 5 to 6 hours each day. We do all of our errands in the afternoons unless something unavoidable occurs. Then we will complete the rest of our school day once we get back home.
I try to get most of my errands done during the weekend or evenings when hubby's home. Of course....i try not to do errands at all! LOL. Of course, school takes priority and gets done first. The other thing I do is if we have a light school day, I try to plan errands that way. It helps a lot when you plan a few weeks ahead b/c then you know the days you can fit errands in.
I'm planning my school year around a 4 day week. That way I have at least one weekday to get errands done. We'll go Mon-Thur with Monday being light on the academics due to all afternoon being spend at Academy for Art, Drama, Music, and PE.
I do the same pretty much as Amie. You just have to pick a day for errands and stick to it as much as possible. Just makes things go smoother if you already know what days you will go.
We get up with Daddy at 6:00. Our school day is starting between 7 and 7:30. That means we get a good solid chunk of time in before we have to go anywhere or do anything.
I don't interrupt school for anything except classes. This year her specials will start after 12 each day, so we'll work till about 11:30. we'll pick back up after we get in each day. I get my husband to do any running that needs to be done.
I get up around 7, get the kids going by 8 have breadfast then outside chores. We start school by 9 or 10 at the latest, go until lunch. The afternoon classes are from 1 or 1:30 to 3:30 or 4. I have to leave for work by 4-4:30 ( I work 5-12 Mon-Thurs) depending on where dh is working, I drop the girls off with him. I have a lot of variables in our schedule so I plan Fri and Sat for catch up days and big projects.
Thanks for all of your advice! I feel a little guilty reading how disciplined you all are! I find little things here and there that I need to get done in town...and end up traveling to town (7 miles) to get them done. I think sometimes I get "bored" at home because we live out in the boonies. And although my 2 and 5 year old are quite talkative, sometimes I feel the need for outside distraction. I am going to have to get focused and make a schedule and stick to it -- and even more so because of gas prices! Have ya'll always been this disciplined...or did it take some years of homeschooling under your belt?
:lol: I have techincally been hsing for 5 yrs now and this coming school year is the most confident / organized, I have ever felt. It does take some practice and there is a learning curve. I am still tweaking my schedule. I probably always will be.
Thanks for all of the input. I've also been wondering the same thing. I am going to have to be more discipline and make myself stay home and do my job!
You mean we are supposed to do ERRANDS??? LOL Actually - I will sometimes give them work that can come with them. Audiobooks.... even worksheets for math etc. It depends on WHAT my errands are... 1-2 times per week I have to go deliver eggs. I try and combine other stuff with that but it doesn't always work. We will do some work in the afternoon as needed. This is what I am completely LOVING about hs'ing. Nothing is set in stone. I have goals to finish for the week (based right now on the schedule provided at oldfashionededucation.com) then I can edit as needed. With a 6th and 3rd grader it does get a little hectic sometimes - but it does seem to be working it's way out. Oh we have even done school on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon because of the planned week ahead of us where we won't be able to do stuff.
I am up early and run errands before school; unless the place I need to go to isn't open yet. We are early birds. It allows us to come home and begin schooling and still get it done. If I have to go out during the day, usually Thursdays and every other Monday, then we work in the morning and go when we need to go. If we do not finish, we pick up the next day. With chores, I try to do what I can in the morning. Then we finish up as we go.
DO NOT feel guillty!!! If you need to make changes to make your schedule work better, GREAT! Do it!!! But I am a firm believer that, over time, it evens out. If you miss history on Monday because there was a doctor's appointment, you can make it up on Tuesday. If there are errands that are a regular part of your routine, you can schedule around those. LIFE HAPPENS! That is PART of the homeschooling adventure, and it's OK!
Okay remember this is Summer too we have longer days! We can actually do our errands later in the day most o f the places. We do our errands around school too. I give them a recess and a lunch break, that comes to nearly 1.5 hours and so pleanty of time for errands we need to do. Chores get done after school like they would if they went out to school.
Remember that this is just advice. We have all offered up what works for us concerning this one issue. It may or may not be whats right for you. Don't feel guilty! Use this advice as a springboard to figure out what works for you. I am really not all that disciplined with our schedule. I am with errands due to gas prices but when we are at home I'm not. A strict schedule is not my ds style and one of the many reasons we decided to homeschool to begin with. He learns best when he feels inspired so I go with that. I still review my goals periodically to make sure we are on track and we don't take a break for summer so that we have plenty of time without trying to force everything into 9 months. I guess what I'm trying to say is if you feel the need to run into town sometimes because you all are feeling restless and need the break thats okay if thats what works for you. Just remember to evaluate where you are and where you want to be and in the long run you'll be fine.
