Scheduling

One of the most frequently asked questions of homeschoolers a like, no matter what your method or unmethod, is "What is your schedule like?" We are constantly trying to figure out how to fit everything we want to accomplish into our days, how to be more efficient or just how to make things better. The answer is always the same "Follow your family's natural schedule and do school work during the times the children are most receptive to learning; when they are not tired and have their bellies full." Still somehow scheduling school time is a mystery and puzzling enough to make us doubt if we are doing it "right."

So I thought I'd offer a look into how our schedule flows throughout the day, but before I get into times you should probably know what a Montessori day entails in a classroom of 3-6 year olds.

I cannot speak from experience but I have read probably over a dozen different articles on this subject written by directresses or instructors of some sort. The order of the day varies depending on preference of the school, but it always involves a circle time, a 60-90 minute lesson time where the children either have one on one instruction or free range to practice anything out on the shelves, a snack time, a lunch time, a nap time, play time (preferably outdoors), and depending on how long the day is, a second work period, a second snack time and a second play time.

That seems like a lot to fit into a day, and believe me it is if you're trying to pull all of this off at your home, because unlike in a school setting, life happens at home. Dishes, laundry, doctor's appointments, and all the other things that make life life. Not to mention all the additional distractions at your home like toys, guests, pets, TV, etc. So you really have to pick what is most important to you and your family and make it fit into your day.

For instance, to me play and lessons are equally important as well and eating and napping. A scheduled "circle time," however, is not so much a priority for me. In our house things that happen during play involve so much of what happens in circle time that it doesn't really make any sense to have a set amount of time for story telling, reading, songs, movement, finger play or dress up so I dropped circle time from our schedule.

Our schedule changes often. But here's what it looks like right now for my 2 and 3 year old for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. As mentioned in previous posts Wednesday is our "Freeday."

8:00-8:30: Girls wake up
9:00: Breakfast
9:30: Change clothes, make bed, brush teeth, comb hair.
10:00: Lessons
11:00-11:30: Play time
12:00: Lunch
1:00: Nap
3:00-3:30: Up from nap
4:00: Snack time
4:30: Playtime
5:30: Delores' music lessons (tues & thurs)
6:00: Dinner
6:45: Bath
8:00: Bed

Right now the girls do not have a second work period. I probably won't have one until they start grade school and/or they outgrow naps. They are most receptive to learning first thing in the morning and I have a hard time holding their attention after nap. I had also planned to start teaching Delores Latin this year but dropped that from the schedule when I realized that she had a hard time concentrating after nap and I just couldn't fit it into our morning.

Also, Our girls know we will probably go out somewhere on Wednesday and Saturday and go to church on Sunday. When we don't they get antsy and are much more temperamental. We don't have to go to the same place every time they just know we will be going somewhere. Another example is that Delores knows she has to clean her room and make her bed (chores) before she can brush her teeth and come do lessons or get ready to leave the house. That is a cushioned block of time to do chores so if I ask her to do extra things or add more chores to her list it doesn't throw her off.

So you see, scheduling is more going with the flow than it sounds. The important thing is just to have some sort of structure set in place for the child so they learn to know what is coming up next. When a child is blind sighted by a change in schedule or a sudden task require of them that wasn't there before they become frazzled and show their discomfort in some sort of fit.

One of the great benefits of homeschooling is being able to make your own schedule and do school when and how you want to do it. You can really follow a schedule that works best for your child(ren) and your family and that's something we all can embrace and maybe stop fretting so much about whether or not we are doing it "right."