flynn011

My previous post was about the morning schedule I've devised in order to juggle the homeschooling of my four children, aged 12 to 5. Now I'm going to look at some afternoon schedules.  One thing to notice is that I have more time with my Year 7 Ambleside Online student, that I've scheduled in some free time for the younger ones, and that we have instituted a new 4 o'clock tea-time session, where we share a pot of hot tea, some cookies, and a low-key learning experience like music appreciation or picture study. All this is based on the Charlotte Mason method of education, and one which suits my humanities background really well. First, let me show you the afternoon schedule for my Year 7 student. Afternoon Schedule for Phoenix (Ambleside Online Year 7) One-on-One with Eldest Child You will see that, after lunch and violin practice (and some chores which I haven't indicated), I spend some time reading with her.  She is someone who has always relished the chance to sit...

We have come back to our school this week and are trying out our new-and-improved schedule based on Ambleside Online. My eldest is tackling Year 7. My younger ones are doing versions of Year 2, with my 9-year-old boy wanting to have the Year 5 reading list. I say "whatever".  AO is a tool and not a prescription, so I've always juggled things to make it work for me (being ever-so-grateful that the Advisory has offered this foundation from which I can build). First, I'm looking in this post about my basic building-block, the three segments to our morning school time. You will notice I have only a 4-day schedule.  We meet every-other week with a group families for a history co-op, and we have morning swimming one day a week, so Mondays and Fridays have to blend into each other to form a single day.  Having a 4-day schedule also lets me do things like skip a whole day for an amazing homeschoolers' discount at Legoland, or go on amazing field trips to places like Stone...

Some people love Christmas.  Some people love Spring.  I love the weeks just before the new school year, when I call up my spreadsheets and download all my book lists and sort out the schedule for the kids. I'm nearing completion on Phoenix's weekly schedule.  Hers is the most complicated because she is going to start Ambleside Online for Year 7.  It looks pretty challenging, but the best fit to go along with our fortnightly history co-op that's studying Our Island Story. Yr 7 is great for this because it looks at the Middle Ages in greater depth than Our Island Story, so she'll be reading books by Churchill about the Birth of Britain, selections from the Venerable Bede, and lots of mediaeval literature, amongst many, many others. She's even got readings from Charlotte Mason herself: character study in Ms Mason's book "Ourselves". Exciting, therefore, that the new CM Live! on-line co-op class is going to allow her to discuss these challenging works w...