Getting Back on a Schedule

During this past week, during which I was eight weeks postpartum, I tried putting us back on a schedule. Since having the baby, I had been using the spiral notebook method to have the children do as much independent work as possible. Each week, I was adding back another subject as we built up our stamina for them to work and me to enforce.

However, I remembered how well we did last year when I kept us on a schedule, so I decided to try that again, even with the baby this young. Could David just tag along with us, even though I have no idea when he will sleep or cry or nurse, and he'll be in arms virtually all the time? Could we still have an effective home school?

I thought hard and made charts showing when and where each child should be to complete all his work. I had to be precise so children wouldn't bump into each other, needing a piano, a room, or a computer at the same time as another child.

Our new schedule looks like this:

8:30-9:00

We met at the dining room table for prayer and catechism time, which the children have for years been doing independently at a little prayer table I set up. Right now, I want to try us all doing our prayer together so I'm sure it's being done seriously.

Meeting for prayer

New this week: I dimmed the lights and lit a candle to set the mood, just like we do for family rosary at night. (It works for adults at Mass: it works for little kids too!) I led us in the Morning Offering, then mixed it up:

• We might sing the Gregorian chant pieces the kids are learning at CCE, 
• have us read aloud the Daily Blessing that the godparents send via email to all their godchildren, 
• read about the saint of the day,
• or study the Daily Scripture memorization (that we haven't done in ages).

Then I concluded by leading us in what I call our Five-Point Prayer, letting each child pray silently in his or her heart.

Then I left the older children reading their catechism and holy reading alone while I took my First Holy Communicant and her little brothers into the den to personally teach her her catechism.

Mary doing her holy reading in the quiet, fresh air outside

9:00-10:00

I took the first grader, preschooler, two-year-old, and baby up to the Bonus Room and tried actually teaching instead of just leaving the first grader to do her independent work. I even did a little bit of preschool with Joseph! Meanwhile, the toddler played and got into mischief, and the baby nursed or cried.

John practice piano, Mary practiced violin. (Sometimes the toddler went with Mary and listened to her violin, dancing around her, during her whole practice.)

Doing school with the younger set

10:00-11:00

Margaret did her own piano practice plus tutored Joseph in his piano practice (on the upright): win-win-win on that latter point! Then Margaret finished any independent seat work. (Her day consists of Math, Spelling, Penmanship, CCE memory work, writing her CCE presentation, Music Theory worksheet, and a rotating subject of Geography, History, or Science.)

Piano tutoring

Mary practiced her piano (on the grand).

John did his Math and Latin.

I occupied the two-year-old and baby, and sometimes even took the little guys outside to play.

Re-introducing Latin lessons

11:00-12:00

Margaret got 30 minutes on the computer to do her daily Keyboarding Without Tears and then any of approved educational websites.

Mary did her Math and Latin.

John started his seat work.

I occupied littles and started preparing lunch.

12:00-1:00

Lunch and recess

1:00 Onward

Thomas was napping, while Joseph and Margaret were in Quiet Time.

Mary and John finished their seat work: CCE memory work and writing presentation, Music Theory worksheet, Spelling, Penmanship, and rotating subjects of Geography, History, Health, and Science. (I still have Grammar and Composition, both of which I teach, to add back into our schedule since last year: at some point, that will become possible!)

When John and Mary finish--which, ideally, should be soon after 2:00--they also each got 30 minutes on the computer to do their daily Keyboarding Without Tears and any remaining time on an approved educational website.

In the evening, I continued to try to read aloud to the children and, at bedtime, they each do their independent assigned literature reading. This week, I've been reading aloud each night poems from A.A. Milne, "The Odyssey for Boys and Girls," and "Heidi."

I note that in designing the schedule, I built in "padding" to each hour. I looked at each hour block of time and I assigned 45 minutes of work into it. The extra 15 minutes gets eaten up by bathroom breaks, snacking, wandering aimlessly, perhaps helping me with the baby or toddler, or getting into trouble and ensuing discipline . . . but if the kid is doing great, he or she might choose to do seat work during those 15-minute pockets and then be able to finish the day significantly earlier--and I did see my children being efficient like that on certain days!

In summary, the results from the first week are that it is generally very positive and highly productive to have us back on a schedule. I'm so glad I put in the work (over two weeks of planning!) to design a schedule and enforce it. Even when things get wonky on a given day, we have a schedule to get back to. We're getting more done in a calmer way and even the children expressed appreciating the schedule.