The ability to homeschool together, at our own pace, in whatever manner we like is one of the major reasons we decided to homeschool in the first place.
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Our (weekday) daily rhythm pretty much revolves around homeschool. We spend our days together, learning in one way or another. Last week I showed you our school cart. I LOVE our school cart. I can take it anywhere in the house or on the porch that we choose to do school.
As far as curriculum choices, let me start with Julia, my tenth grader. Thankfully, she’s a very independent learner. I only have to give her a weekly list of what needs to be done, and she does it!
10th Grade Curriculum Choices
History/Bible – Sonlight Core 100
Grammar – Sentence Diagramming from Critical Thinking Company
Science – Novare Science Physics
Math – Khan Academy (right now she’s concentrating on SAT prep)
AP Computer Science (Free!)
Julia does everything, every day. That’s just how she likes to do it. She used to do all of one subject, like history or grammar, for the week in one day, and then focus on the other things for the rest of the week. I guess it just depends on her mood.
First Grade Curriculum Choices (I have two first graders – Max and Caroline)
Some things we do every day and others are looped. By far, the one thing we do most is read.
We have the Sonlight True 4-Day 1st Grade All-Subjects Package and loosely follow their schedule. We read our designated read alouds, plus whatever else the kids are interested in.
We just finished The Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 1, and are beginning The Burgess Animal Book. Neither of those is in the Sonlight reading list, but the kids love animals (and nature in general) so I include it in our daily reading.
Along with reading, the kids do the following (not all on the same day!)
- copywork – the kids either use their AWANA verses or something from this list of free homeschool copywork
- writing – Draw Write Now copied onto Mead Journals and/or Write Shop A
- math – simple workbooks from the Dollar Store, Reading Eggs (Math Seeds), or I make some math facts copywork on a whiteboard for them to copy down
- mapwork – Drawing Around the World USA
- memory work – this can be anything from our address, scripture, the planets, continents, or whatever else is on our loop schedule
- spelling – Tree Valley Academy First Grade Spelling (I LOVE this program! It’s concise and involves grammar, phonics, spelling, writing, and dictation)
Louisa, my preschooler, does pretty much whatever she wants. I do have the Sonlight Preschool Package for her, but we don’t follow any kind of guide. Other than reading and playing games, she “writes” in her own workbooks from the Dollar Store or the one I made for her (see below).
So, now that I’ve told you what all we use, let me give a quick break down of how we do it. Eventually, I’m going to get a post up with an in-depth look at our daily rhythm. But for now, this will have to suffice. (The below rhythm only includes Louisa, Max, and Caroline. Julia does her own thing, often in her room.)
- We wake up and have breakfast by 8:30
- Get ready for the day (brush teeth and hair and put on clean comfy clothes)
- Mom reads while the kids play quietly (here is where I read our bible, history, and nature)
- Morning chores then free time for the kids
- Lunch (around 11:30)
- Outside/Playtime
- Table work (mapwork, spelling, math, copywork, writing, memory work- again, NOT all on the same day – we usually pick two or three from our loop schedule)
- Kids go play while mom preps supper/gets snack ready
- Snack and read aloud time – around 2 pm (this where I read our designated read aloud. Right now I’m reading The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. I might read for 30 minutes, or I might read for two hours. It just depends on how everyone is doing.
That’s it! That’s what we do pretty much every school day. To help me keep track of how often we’ve done each thing, I use my Daily Rhythm Worksheet. If you’d like a copy, just enter your email below!
This post was written as a contribution to the Virtual Homeschool Fair Week 3.
Week 1 – How to Make Homeschooling a Lifestyle
Week 2 – How I Organize Our Daily Curriculum With the School Cart
Several other bloggers are participating in the Virtual Homeschool Fair hosted by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
Looking for more curriculum ideas? Visit my fellow homeschool bloggers!
Note: all posts will be live after 8 am EST on Monday, Jan. 22nd.
Our Homeschool Plan for 3rd, 6th, 8th, & 12th Grades by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
Our 10th Grade Plans by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool
Planning Out Our Unschooling Studies by Jen @ A Helping Hand Homeschool
The Details of Curriculum by Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays
Reflections of a Curriculum Junkie by Brittney @ Mom’s Heart
Freedom through nature journaling. by Kim @ Good Sweet Love
How I pull together a homeschool curriculum without packaged curriculum by Dana @ Life Led Homeschool
Our Favorite Curriculum and Resources – An Annotated Bibliography by Sabrina @ Kids, Crunch, and Christ
Our 2018 Homeschool Curriculum Choices by Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool
Top Home Educating Resources by Sarah @ DeliveringGrace
Homeschooling Curriculum We Are Using This Year by Laura O @ Day by Day in Our World
Use the Force and Complete the Course by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
Choices, choices – how to choose your curriculum wisely by Lizzy @ Peaches@Home
Our Curriculum Needs – grade seven by Annette @ A Net in Time
The Heart of Our School by Laura @ Four Little Penguins
What I Use with 7th and 9th Grader – Virtual Homeschool Fair -Week 3 by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
How to Avoid Gaps in Education by Kristen H. @ Sunrise to Sunset
Tricky Subjects and Starting the Decision Making Process by Lori H @ At Home: where life happens
High School Syllabus by TrueNorthHomeschoolAcademy @ GoldenGrasses
I love a day full of books! I’m reading The Burgess Animal Book with one of my kids this year too.
Proof that you can school many different ages at once! Great list of curriculum!
Yes! Thank you!
I love all the books!! We do a lot of reading in our homeschool as well.
We love the Sonlight core 100. My three boys went through it and now my daughter.
We find looping subjects to be such a huge help too! It allows us to cover it all without burning out trying to cover it all in one day.
I always enjoy seeing how others structure their days a how they use their curriculum resources. I remember the years we had older students and little ones. What a blessing that your high schooler is independent. Enjoy these days!
Thanks for sharing a bit about your days. It is always good to see what others are doing and a bit about how their schooling works.
I do enjoy book-filled days. We are working to get back into reading routines and are definitely enjoying it. – Lori
we did burgess when the lad was younger as well, he loved it! 🙂