Keeping it Organized- Our 2016 Homeschool Schedule

Well, here we are! Deep into week two of our year. How's it going? Well... after a first day coffee mishap, a smidgen of humility, and a reality check, I decided to postpone our actual first day.

Apparently things have changed a little more than I thought over the last year and half since we stopped homeschooling. I felt like I really needed a little more time to prepare myself and organize my surroundings and lessons before we jumped back in. I'm glad that I took that time. Things are already better.

We now have a semi organized homeschool office and a pretty good schedule to get us started. This week we're practicing "school days" with the littles. We're working with them on obedience and sitting still for more than 5 minutes. Taylor is reading a ridiculous amount of difficult books. Mary is reviewing her math skills and working on some fun writing assignments. Our theme is still "all about me" and we switched our character study to "obedience" for obvious reasons. Next week we'll move on to our "family" theme and try to stick to our original theme plans from there (as soon as I relocate the missing theme plans, that is).

Anyway...a good schedule is a must for me. We have a very busy and different year ahead of us. With three girls taking classes with The Center for Homeschool Enrichment and Tutorial (Chet), all four girls enrolled in ballet/dance classes, and my husband starting a new job, I need be extremely organized and efficient. There are still plenty of variables and monthly activities that will interfere with the schedule, but at least we have a good solid foundation.

I didn't spend a lot of time on the schedule, I just revised the one from a few years ago. It wasn't possible to include each child's specific routine so I did the best I could. For example, Taylor will spend most of her time at home studying, reading, practicing piano, and completing her assignments. She won't necessarily work in any special order. She's independent and diligent. Mary on the other hand needs constant structure, guidance, and lots of follow-up.

 

I tried to include a few reminders for myself about cooking and cleaning so I won't be flaky. And that's about it.

 

I'm hopeful that Monday will be our official first day and that I'll be able to report back to you all that everything is going great :)  

Fall At Home

 

 

The Summer heat is fading away quickly and day by day the air is just slightly more enjoyable. I'm still anxiously awaiting the cool breezes, sweat shirt days, and warm blanket nights by the fire but the highs are now in the upper 70s and that's good enough for me to start decorating :)

 

 

We have big big changes coming to our den this month. I'm hoping my pretty fall mantel will stay decorated through the process. I love pretty and I'm much happier when I'm surrounded with it.

 



 

I've started adding little touches of fall here and there throughout the house. My awesome brother sent me some beautiful flowers for my birthday last week and they really brighten up the dining area nicely. I wish they would stay fresh forever.

 

While I am trying to avoid the whole Halloween theme in my decorating this year, there are still a few of my favorite pieces that I just can't help but display. My daughters brought in some flowers from the field behind our house.

 

Thanks for visiting!!

More to come :)