Our Homeschool Schedule

Choosing a homeschool schedule and curriculum can feel overwhelming, but the beauty of homeschooling is the freedom to tailor education to each child's needs. I believe that freedom of choice, both student and educator, are key to creating an impactful, fruitful learning experience.

Our children and our lives are all unique and it is important to consider all of those things when making choices and commitments for your homeschool year. In this blog, I am sharing my journey and I would love to hear yours!

My unique child

Snow, who is 8, is incredibly curious about the world. This curiosity is a major reason why we've chosen to homeschool this year. I want to support her quest for answers and exploration, and to help her discover God's purpose for her life through this freedom. Snow loves reading, writing, spelling, art, gymnastics, dance, and horses. Academically, she excels—her teachers have noted how quickly she masters lessons. I’m excited to see how much she can learn without the constraints of group learning.

She really loves reading, writing, spelling (literally asks for spelling tests for fun), art, gymnastics, dance, and horses. I think she is quite gifted academically. Her teachers so far (she has been at Vineyard Christian School since pre-K) have told me how quickly and thoroughly she masters the lessons. My 13-year-old is the same (they didn’t get it from me!). I am excited to see just how much she can learn without being restricted by group learning in math, reading and writing.

I see the value in a child learning to be patient, wait their turn, work in groups, etc., so we are going to incorporate group learning into our weeks. It blows me away how much of a school day is spent waiting in bathroom lines and other nonsense, so I am looking forward to that change! On that note, my child and I agree that thousands of worksheets are not our cup of tea. Neither is sitting all day at a desk.

She needs her home time. She loved school, but every day, she couldn’t wait to get home. It didn’t feel right bringing her to school five days a week. Last year, I worked out at the school which helped, but I really believe she will excel with more time at home. However, I believe it is important for introverted kids to consistently be with other people to continue to challenge themselves to be confident out in the world. Two of my four children are like this, while the other two are as extroverted as they come.

Our lifestyle, schedules and priorities

Homeschooling can deeply bond families, but it also has the potential to strain relationships. My past experiences have taught me that fun and balance are essential. Being at home all day has its pros and cons; losing your identity as a parent can impact your relationship with your child. My husband’s unique work schedule allows him to be involved in our homeschool experience every other week. I’ve structured our curriculum and schedule to align with my work-from-home routine, enabling me to work while Snow learns independently or participates in activities.

We like sleepy mornings, cuddling with tea and books, exploring in the afternoons and staying up late.

My unique self

Maintaining balance and nurturing relationships are crucial for our family's well-being. Personally, I thrive on new experiences, travel, adventure, storytelling, and social activities. I’m both spontaneous and a planner; planning helps me be more effective and present. By preparing in advance, we can make the most of our time together.

Pedagogy and Methodology

In addition to appreciating the power of personal choice, the other two things that my 45 years of life have led me to is a passionate distaste for “teaching to the test” and wasted time. My child loves taking spelling tests, so I will offer her tests in most subjects, but not require them. I will focus much more on experiences that have a long-lasting valuable effect on my child’s desire for learning, ability to problem-solve, and character development.

Homeschooling isn’t just about filling up Monday-Friday with school work. It is a lifestyle that harnesses opportunity for valuable learning experiences wherever you go.

This Summer of Planning

This summer has been an exciting journey as we explored various options. We visited homeschool groups and co-ops, tried demo curricula, and brainstormed with other homeschool parents. We signed up for MyTech High (now Open Ed) for homeschool cost reimbursements, which expanded our choices. I actually talked about this on the Learning Liberty Podcast episode #19

We’ve chosen a monthly theme for our studies, some aligned with seasons or holidays, and others with unit study topics.

Campfire Curriculum unit studies will be a core component of our homeschool experience. I will write about this particular choice in an upcoming blog. Snow and I went through their online store and while she wanted to do all of them, we chose from her favorites, a topic for every other month. They say that depending on how many of the optional components you choose to use, each unit can take 3-6 weeks to get through, so we are choosing a new one every other month.

Monthly Themes:

• September: History’s Mysteries (Campfire Curriculum) - Possible trip to Alcatraz.

• October: Continuation of CC + Halloween - Research and debate Halloween traditions.

• November: US History + Thanksgiving + Veterans Day (Campfire Curriculum + Tuttle Twins) - Thanksgiving celebration and a veterans’ service project.

• December: Christmas Around the World (Campfire Curriculum) + Jesus Timeline - Explore global celebrations and create a timeline of Jesus's life.

• January: The Holocaust (Campfire Curriculum) - Research Jewish customs and host a Shabbat dinner.

• February: Continuation of CC + Valentine’s Day + Presidents’ Day - Various unrelated projects and activities.

• March: Island Life/Pirates (Campfire Curriculum) - Plan a family island trip, research locations, and learn basic budgeting and spreadsheet skills.

• April: Continuation of CC + Rogue River Ecosystem - Research the ecosystem, build a river system model, and engage with local watershed experts. Using a microscope

• May: Survival Skills (Campfire Curriculum) - Guided survival hike and camping trip.

Our Weekly Schedule:

Our days will start at 9am and end at various times depending on what we have going on. Our first subjects will be unit studies or science projects, spending about 90 minutes having fun style. Then 30 minutes on Spanish before independent study for an hour, lunch and then various afternoon activities.

Mondays:

·        Science (Science experiments from box kits I found on Amazon, read reviews, and presenting my child with the options for her to choose from)

·        Spanish (Immerse Me – a virtual reality immersive online way to learn conversational Spanish together! Got a free demo – so cool!)

·        Journal – Snow will write in her weekly journal while I get some work done. I have chosen this Horse Journal because I think she will love it. This is where we will aso work on penmenship and cursive handwriting practice.

·        Math – We have chosen Beast Academy Math, the book and online package because it is very challenging math curriculum that is comic book / graphic novel style (we saw the books at a homeschool fair and she loved it!) and the online package comes with video lessons (so I will never get stuck. Phew.) and a gamified version of the books.

·        Make and eat lunch together

·        Social studies or field trip based on the month’s theme.

Tuesdays:

·       Unit Studies and Language Arts – we are choosing to do Language arts in two ways. Our unit studies have many language arts challenges. Campfire Curriculum website has a great article on the subject of language arts and if you need to do a specific scope and sequence, grammar, etc. Being of the mindset that I don’t like wasted time, teaching to the test, or learning things that have no real life application, I tend to agree with them. We have tested out and chosen a supplementary grammar program called Nighttime Zookeeper, a gamified grammar and writing program that Snow loves. My plan is to have her do Nighttime Zookeeper on days/weeks in between unit studies or if we have extra time.

·        Spanish practice – Immerse Me

·        Kidztype.com DanceMat Typing– one of many free fun typing programs

·        Math – Beast Academy

·        Make and eat lunch together

·        Free choice (see below for the free choice options I am providing for her)

·        Gymnastics class at Motion Matrix

Wednesdays:

·        Language Arts

·        Spanish

·        Typing

·        Make and eat lunch

·        Drive to Medford (Beast Academy math online in the car)

·        Clay studio classes at the Children’s Museum (1-2pm during which I will work)

·        Culinary classes at the Children’s Museum (2-4pm, also work time for me)

Thursdays:

·        Language Arts

·        Drive to my friend’s house to join them for their history class (Math online in the car)

·        History with April (US History with Gather Round unit studies)

·        Lunch

·        Photography – free online classes and then practice using her camera (purchased by MyTech)

·        Write out learning log – While MyTech/OpenEd has very low requirements (only a few sentences each week), I plan to utilize the platform for all it can be: a “pen pal” teacher to be accountable outside to, a space to practice blogging/vlogging, a space to upload and record work samples so that we have a record of all her hard work.

·        Dance class at Southern Oregon Dance Center reimbursed with MyTech/OpenEd $

·        Evening: Youth and Ag Horse lessons

Fridays:

·        Free choice all morning (see below)

·        Co-op (We are joining Schole homeschool co-op in Grants Pass – I wrote about that in a previous blog)

Free Choice Options:

·        MusicQuest (another super cool free program offered in the MyTech/OpenEd homeroom resources)

·        Music practice on the drums or piano

·        Sewing practice

·        Art (free art classes online or diy projects)

·        Career exploration – I have a list of links for student career exploration. Next year for 4th grade, this will be on the weekly schedule and we use Kidvation Global.

·        Horse studies: We have many books, puzzles, video lessons, art projects, and learning goals from Youth & Ag  related to horses or horse care practice (going to help her cousin with her horse)

·        Random fun activities – I have saved a ton of reels and such online that are quick and easy fun experiments and projects with kids. Things like growing vegetables from the stubs of ones you have already eaten, make your own mayonnaise, face-painting skills, or making ooblech.

·        Gymnastics practice (we are buying a bar and balance beam with MyTech/OpenEd dollars so she has extra practice at home)

·        Reading

·        Additional science experiments. Here are the ones I chose to order this year for this purpose: Weather Station , STEM Machines, and National Geographic Science Magician Set

While I have this all planned out, we shall see. One of the other bonuses of homeschooling is the freedom to adjust to your student as needed. I hope you all feel inspired to be creative, have fun and grow deeper in knowledge and connection with your child.

Please comment and share your plans and ideas!

 Note: I included a lot of links, none of which are affiliate links, although that is a good idea and I may do so in the future.