A Projected Day in the Life of Chestnut Grove Academy for the New School Year#Homeschool #TOSReviewCrew #HSConnect

I have 4 kids – Ages 9, 6, 4, and 22mos (Grades 4th, 1st, PreK and Tot)

My oldest is the first one up everyday, though he has stopped getting up as early most days (use to be 5am).  He has daily computer school work that he does first thing, after taking the dog out and getting breakfast.

 

Typically Everyday

Well the following morning routine is typical Monday through Friday.  The exceptions would be field trip or co-op days (mentioned below).  I have times listed, but these are more of a general time frame, I’m not a huge stickler for the time. But the closer we stick to the schedule, the better it is for everyone.

0900  - We recently implemented our morning scripture study during breakfast.  It’s one of the few times we are all in one place (well, minus hubby, so we do it again at night.  This also makes it a little more fool proof, so even if we forget one, we still get in one study a day!).  I also read a story from The Friend magazine (a church magazine subscription for kids).  This has seriously CHANGED our homeschool!  I notice such a HUGE (and not good) difference on days we don’t do it!  The kids notice too!

930 – We aim to start the school day, sometimes I send C down by himself to get started.  This year I plan to print his daily schedule from Homeschool Planet so he can check off everything (including getting dressed, brushing teeth…stuff he never remembers to do)

1000/1030 – Snack Time (usually, depends on how late we he breakfast)

1030/1100 – I call the other two in to start their school work (they have been having free time)

1230 –  Lunch.  I wish I was inventive for lunch, typically it’s leftovers, PBJ or Mac and Cheese….I tried to get more creative, but I fizzled! 

During lunch or directly after is when I do our read aloud story.    I much prefer audio books, my voice gets tired! If we do Audio I play it during lunch, it helps keep them civilized during lunch time.  By this point I really need a time out period for myself, so I usually step away during lunch. 

This is the most ‘structured’ time of the day, though it’s still subject to change and open to changes any give day!

Now, here is where our routine begins to vary by day-

Monday and Wednesday

1330-1430 –  We are not sure if MMA is going to have a homeschool class again this  year, it depends on interest levels…last year there were only 4 kids, 3 of which were mine.  They enjoyed MMA, but it will save us money if they don’t have it, but I also loose my kid free errand time…. K can get a nap though which is good!

1930 – Monday – Family Home Evening - FHE always has a treat too, so the one night a week we get dessert (unless we also have company, like the missionaries, sometime that week).

 

Tuesday and every other Thursday

These are either a Field Trip Day (though they can happen any day really) or it’s a stay home and chill day.  I’ll put Baby girl down for an afternoon nap so that we can get some art in or play some games.  We will sometimes get some educational TV time in.

1900 - Tuesday – C has Cub Scouts from 7-8p. 

The Other Thursday

0800 – Leave for co-op, co-op is about 45mins away.  I try to leave by 8 in case we get stuck behind a bus or hit some traffic.  We are always early, but it’s better than being late!
0900-1300 – Co-op

Friday

1000 – Leave for swimming
1030-1200 – Swimming – they get 45mins of lessons and 45mins of free swim!  It’s a great set up!

Everyday

1300+ Down time.  C finishes up computer work he may not have finished, kids can watch some educational shows, go outside, play games, etc. K takes a 1-2 hour nap. We don’t usually do any school in the afternoon, I don’t function well in the afternoon, neither does C.  It gets ugly.  Sometimes I’ll just veg for a bit and catch a short show myself. I need to get back into doing my 7min workouts…they really helped!  (note to self)

1630 – Hubby gets home around this time and takes over the kids!  Thank goodness!  This frees me up to do planning, blogging, picking up and getting dinner started!  

1700/1730 – Dinner

FALL TIME – it’s SOCCER season:  Z has practice M and W from 1800-1900, C has practice W and Th from 1800-1930 and c has practice on Saturdays.  They all have games on Saturday.  This is were we need to get inventive…. Wednesday’s are hard b/c practice is at two different locations, Saturdays…well, once the schedule comes out we will have a better idea how that will work.

1830/1900 – Baths – Hubby has bath duty! 

1930 – Scriptures, Prayer, Stories and Bedtime, Hubby’s job as well!  (Though Scriptures and Prayer is as a family)

I spend the rest of the evening cleaning up, blogging, planning and setting up for the next school day. Setting up for next day consists of making copies I may need (if I didn’t already) and making sure their workboxes are ready to go! Each week I fill in the lessons on Homeschool Planet, each night I update them and print the next days schedule. Hubby exercises and we take turns doing dishes, depends on how much I have to get done.

I typically head to bed around 2200 and read for a bit.  Asleep by 2300. Then it begins again the next day! 

So that is a typical week.  Some times we get a few curve balls thrown at us and change things up. For instance, If we miss one of the martial arts day time classes because of a field trip, we can pick up a Thursday night. 

Chores:  I don’t have a specific chore time scheduled, I know some people do.  It’s on ‘as needed’ basis.  If the dishwasher is full, I’ll ask someone to empty it.  If I need to wash the boy’s laundry, I’ll ask someone to take it down.  The kids do have chores and are expected to help out when needed.  They are paid for ‘some’ chores, though other chores are considered responsibilities as part of the family. 

How do I keep it all straight? This year I am using Homeschool Planet and I always set the alarm on my phone!  I set it to go off about 15mins BEFORE we are suppose to leave,so that we have time to get ready to go.  If I don’t, I forget things! 

Schedule of Subjects:  Because we really only maintain a 3/4 days a week of school schedule our daily school agenda varies.  I’m still working out kinks to make sure we cover everything. But here is the plan for my 4th grader: 

5 days a week:  Computer work:  Math, Chinese, Grammar IXL, Scriptures, Handwriting

3 days a week:  Computer work:  History, Star Toaster, Writing

2 days a week:  Computer work:  Vocabulary, Grammar, Spelling

One day a week:  Science, History, Art/Music (every other week), Field Trip

*The one day a week items will most likely be incorporated throughout the week via educational shows, hands on activities, books, etc….  The actual lesson for each week will only take place once a week however. 

Co-op:  Every other Thursday: 

c – Health, Story Time and Dramatic Play
Z – Health, Lego Engineering and Animals and Continents
C – Maps, George Washington and Experiments with Lights

For my younger kids we will have Math, Reading every day in some capacity and Handwriting every school day. 

Here is a screenshot of our first week of school for the new school year with Homeschool Planet.  It still needs to be tweaked a bit, I do that the start of each week! 

So that’s our Day/Week in a nutshell! 

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