As you begin planning a schedule for school…be realistic!
It is so easy to make a perfect school schedule on paper that falls apart in practice! So, here are a few tips to help you make a more realistic schedule.
Consider whether you are a morning person.
When making a “school” schedule, be sure to take into account whether you are a morning person. Then, set a realistic start time for your days. I am not a morning person! So, for me breakfast at 9:00 with teaching at 9:30 is realistic. It is better to make a plan you can stick to rather than a “wishful” plan that quickly falls by the wayside.
Consider your child’s best work times.
It is also wise to take note of your child’s best work time. Is your child a morning person? Or, does he/she do better with a slower start? It is a good idea to schedule accordingly. For example, don’t schedule a child who has a hard time getting going in the A.M. with his/her hardest subjects first.
Consider your little ones first.
When planning for school, often our first thought is to schedule the school-age children. If you have a 2 or 3 year old, it is more important to schedule that little one first. If we expect our little ones to just “go with the flow,” what will happen? A busy 2 or 3 year old can drag everyone else along as he/she quickly derails the day!
Spend some time over the next week noticing when you and your children are at your best.
As you begin mulling over a schedule, remember to be realistic with your expectations! Your year will run more smoothly if you schedule both you and your children when you are at your best!
Blessings,
Carrie
This Post Has 12 Comments
Great reminders! Thanks for sharing your wisdom!
Thanks for sharing here, Cathy! Have a good weekend!
Great WISDOM!! Thank you…
So glad you found this helpful!
Oh, we are finally figuring this out. I’m a morning person and was trying to get my slower starting eldest to start school at 6:30 am♀️ with the 3r’s. Our new schedule has my youngest who wakes up ready to conquer the world doing LHTH at that time instead while big sister takes it easy. I find the same principle useful in marriage too.
That sounds like you have a great plan for each of your kids now! You are right about this principle being useful in marriage too!
Thank you for this reminder, I have a non-morning teen that I have to remember not to put too much on in the morning. ☺️
Good thoughts here, Katy! I am sure your teen will thank you!!!
I just wish I could figure out when my teen wants to do school!!! he seems to be a not today kind of kid.
Yes my teen is totally a not today type. I’m hoping seeing the joy of being done and free earlier in the day will help him. And the pain of having to make up work at night when others are free if he won’t get up. This is going to be our first full year. I’m planning to try to start at 9:30.
Our high school guys (one morning and two non) would be given the written schedule: in the planner, open in the common area. The “carrot on the stick” motivators proved to be their desired outside activities. Those extra curricular activities only became available after the classwork was complete and checked off by mom. They learned to arrange their schedule themselves, with input and suggestions.
Those teen years can be tough! Teenagers’ emotions are up and down, they’re often in the middle of growth spurts, and one day they seem so grown-up and the next… well, not-so-grown-up. No matter what though, we can set the expectation that our teens come ready-to-learn with a good attitude. We can give our teens the option of the privilege of helping schedule their homeschool day. Sometimes though, they’re just not ready for that privilege. In that case, we moms can just make the schedule ourselves! When they are more mature and ready to help, they can do so and it will go better. The expectation that school is meant to be enjoyed, yet it is also like a ‘job’ in the sense that it is important daily work to do, helped my sons in high school. They also needed to complete their school well to get to their free time activities, which as mentioned, is also a wonderful motivator!