amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

mama_frog · 03-08-2004, 03:32 PM

What does your homeschooling day look like? Are you structured in terms of learning, or do you tend to teach as the occasion comes along? Are there certain routine things that you do on a daily or weekly basis that you feel are essential to you child's leaning?

I have a 4 year old and a 1 1/2 year old. We don't use any sort of curriculum or anything, because I don't consider my son old enough for structured "school" yet (he wouldn't be eligible to start kindergarten until this fall). So we just blissfully go about our day, but I'm teaching all the time.

Generally the kids play a bit before breakfast, then we read a story while we are eating. After breakfast, we do a bit of some sort of art or craft - I start the kids at it, and then I tidy the house while they are doing it. I stop in all the time to encourage them, comment on what they are doing. When they are finished, we go outside for a little while - either a walk in the woods, or just into the yard. They help me with gardening, or we find treasures, or we just play. Sometimes we take a trip to the library or do our grocery shopping during this time. When we come back inside, we get our lunches ready, and the kids help me tidy up the dishes after we eat. Then we sit and read quietly for a little while, and the kids go down for their naps. After naps, the kids play on their own a bit, or my son will do a couple of worksheets if he feels like it. Then they help me get dinner ready. Our evenings are far less structured, any semblance of order pretty much dissolves as soon as my husband comes home.

I try really hard to keep to a bit of a routine during the day. Not that we are strict about what we do, o how long we do it, but I like to keep the rhythm of the day pretty much the same from one day to the next. This way I ensure that the kids get some quiet time, some outside time, some time to play together.

Now it's your turn. I'd love to hear what you all do during the day.

mamabear · 03-10-2004, 07:29 PM

Your day sounds a lot like our day.

I get up around 6 am with my husband and from 6 am-8 am is when I get any "me stuff" done. I check e-mail, organize the day, list phone calls, errands, maybe do a chore.

By 7:30 or so my son wakes up and usually plays happily on his own after a cuddle and a nurse at the computer. He usually eats a banana.

My dd doesn't get up until around 9, and we usually eat breakfast pretty much right after that.

The main "school" portion of our day is a 30-40 minute circle time, which I try to do at 10 am. But for example, tomorrow we are meeting a friend at the park at 10, so if they are up early, we'll squeeze it in, maybe a shortened version. Or we'll just skip it. We do fingerplays, songs and verses, and end with a story (same story repeated each day for a week).

After that we usually play outside until lunchtime. I might stay in the house and fold laundry or clean a bit, or I might take a book out to the hammock. Or I might sew or do handwork. Usually I end up doing nothing, hanging out in the yard while they play, or making phone calls. Next week we'll be ready to start gardening so I will dig and prepare the beds while they play and join me if they like.

We have lunch, then usually pursue something Katie's interested in. For example, we might look up the lady slipper flower online since we heard about it in the story. Today she asked me to help figure out how much her Barbie would cost at Big Lots that she has been saving up for. ($3.99 plus tax, I showed her how to calculate tax, so $4.27, we counted out the 27 cents change together, then she played with it and another dime to make different quantities and counted them to herself. Then she made a game where I had to guess how much she had if she had 2 dimes and 3 pennies, say -- she told me if I was right.

)

Around 1:30-2 we will do our project of the day -- nature walk, baking, painting, or a craft.

After that we pretty much veg out until dh comes home. Maybe play outside again, or watch a little TV, have a rest time.

The evenings go: dinner, clean up dinner, pick up toys, bath?, brush teeth, pj's, stories, sleep.

Oh, my kids are 5 1/2 and 3 1/2.

And things are totally different if we go anywhere! But I'm trying to keep to circle time right after breakfast.