One of my goals as a homeschooling mom is to provide my children with a quality education but also to make sure our daily routine isn’t restrictive or limiting of rest, leisure or creativity time. One perplexing and equally alarming observation noted during the process of exploring elementary education models and curriculums is that the application of these skills learned as a product of these standard education models is significantly more challenging for a child vs having the child (or an adult learner) receive information on an interest based, as needed or developmentally appropriate approach.
Essentially, we’re working a lot harder and a lot more hours than we could be if we allowed our learners to lead in their education and aligned our instruction time to support their unique and individual goals. I’ve provided below details on how we structure necessary core subjects into our daily routine- advanced and complex subjects like math can (and should be) outsourced and I will expand on how we outsource, especially for our middle schooler in a later post. Take a look at how we structure core subjects into our daily homeschool routine.
K-2
Reading: to promote literacy within our homeschool we read aloud from our morning basket selection every morning for about an hour. I keep our morning basket right beside the couch so as soon as my kids wake up, we’re able to snuggle up before breakfast and read together. I use the time to explore and introduce subjects like history, science and social studies through high quality, living books.
Creative writing: we use table time after breakfast to work on narrative writing and illustration for around 40 mins. We use an elementary composition journal to document creative writing. My children will often rotate phonics workbooks into creative writing time if they’re not in the mood for storytelling. For my pre writers, I’m happy to write down their verbal narration of whatever they have illustrated onto sticky post it notes for them to practice copy writing in their journal.
Math: math is a subject students being taught through mastery learning will really benefit from because the student has a strong and complete understanding of the early, fundamental concepts before building new ideas. We spend a lot of time on math; at least 40 mins daily and include cooking as time spent hands on skill building (measuring, cutting, doubling a recipe) in addition to daily book lessons and digital math programs and games.
Science: my oldest son (7) has been passionate about dinosaurs, reptiles and insects since he was a toddler. We introduced him to entomology and junior paleontology through an online platform to supplement traditional elementary science. He takes two separate classes, twice a week for 50 mins each. Science is elective for my sixth grader (11).
Art: art is something we do on a daily basis. I don’t limit the amount of time my children spend creating. My youngest daughter (6) is very passionate about drawing. We enrolled her into a drawing basics class to develop her capabilities; once a week for 50 mins through an online learning platform. Art education is interest led and for the most part independent.
The time that my sixth grader spends on each subject area varies to support mastery learning and her long-term goals in that subject. Culinary art, Spanish, anime and digital illustration are all part of her elective course work.
I hope this post provided details on how we structure core subjects into our daily rhythm with an insight as to why we protect rest and family time- while still prioritizing a high-quality educational experience for our children.
Love, Daley.