It is very important to have a good schedule and system in place when homeschooling many children. Otherwise, the kids will play away the day and we will not accomplish what we need to. The kids have checlists for each week. Sometimes they will do extra one day to have a "free day". They just need to check off everything for the week.
Here is our ideal schedule. We seldom do it this way exactly, but this is what we are aiming for, and we come very close each day. The key is for everybody to get to bed early and get up early. The day really starts the evening before. We do this 4 days a week. Saturday is for cleaning, and one day during the week is for field trips and extra projects. This schedule is for the regular days which are my favorite and we try to have 3 days of this:
The evening before school ideally around 7:
Children clean their zones and take baths or showers
Mom finishes kitchen
We read scriptures and pray together
Then I read a chapter book
Then the kids brush their teeth go to bed around 8:30
They can read in bed until 9:15, then it's lights out
Mom to bed ideally at 11 p.m.
6 a.m. Mom up to read and nurse babies, change diapers
7 a.m. Make 2 green smoothie for dad before work and start
oatmeal or quinoa for breakfast for the kids
7:45 Mom exercise, kids get up and clean their rooms, get ready for the day
8:15 Kids eat breakfast, rinse dishes, brush teeth
Mom gets ready for the day and starts daily chores
9:00 Older kids start working on things they don't need help with such as
instrument practicing, and required reading
10:00 Group Time -- We exercise and stretch for about 10 min., then sing for 10
min., then pray, then have scripture study about 10 min, practice poems
and Greek scripture, then end with a little Spanish and French and a
snack of fruit, babies to bed!
11:00 Each of the 4 older kids get my undivided attention for 30 min. each,
alternating between older and younger. The other kids take turns being
in charge of the preschoolers and continue to work on the things they
need to do on their own. We set the timer for this and the kids are
required to give me their best effort and focus so we can be efficient.
I usually help them with math, reading and Greek during this time and
make sure they are doing it correctly.
1:30 Lunch/ Break We usually have leftovers from dinner the night before -- I try
to make extra dinner all the time so we usually have plenty of
leftovers.
3:00 Storytime/ Activity I read our history books, science books, and literature
books during this time. The kids draw, color, or play a quiet game.
Often we do something that goes along with what we're reading and I try
to do a science experiment at least once a week during this time. We
finish with little kids picture books and the older kids finish up their
schoolwork. Or we go to the park or library. This is the fun part of
homeschool.
5:00 I start dinner with the dinner helper. Everybody finishes up whatever they
have left.
6:30 Dinner when Daddy gets home
7:00 Clean up dinner, play and start getting ready for a new day
