Hello! It is a crazy time in the world right now, and the kids are out of school! So far in my area of Texas, the schools are canceled this week, but to be honest, I don’t see them going back to school for awhile.
I have a 5 year old in Kinder, and an 8 year old in 3rd grade. They love to “play school” together, so I thought right now was the perfect time to try homeschooling.
At this time, we aren’t leaving the house, and if you have kids, you’ll know that it is really hard to entertain them ALL day at home without leaving. Unlike summer break, where we can usually leave for awhile, we can’t right now. We need routine and a schedule if we are going to be here all day.
My girls have been staying up pretty late, so they’ve been waking up around 8. The longer they sleep, the better!
I decided to start homeschool at 10 am, because, what is the rush? We have all day. I’m not doing it because I’m afraid they will get behind, I’m doing it because we’re gonna get bored.
Before school, they:
- Make their beds
- Clean up their rooms
- Brush their teeth
- Get dressed
- Brush their hair
- Eat breakfast
At 10 am school starts. I’ve made time blocks for the different subjects/activities for us to do.
- 10:00 Reading
The girls take turns reading a small book or a chapter or two from a chapter book. After each one reads, I ask them reading comprehension questions about what they read. Setting, main characters, main idea, problem, solution, favorite part of the reading, etc. I will switch this up daily and ask different questions, and sometimes I will read to them and then ask questions.
- 10:30 Writing
I give them 30 minutes for free writing. They each have a journal, and I either give them a topic to write about or they can pick. If they have time after writing, I let them illustrate what they wrote about on the back of the page.
- 11:00 Math
I make them up worksheets to do for the math time block. Allie is working on multiplication/fractions, and Ashley is working on adding/subtracting/word problems. We grade the worksheets together when they are finished. Also, my 8 year old likes to use our dry erase board to give Ashley some math problems, so we do that too.
- 11:30 Workbooks
I have workbooks for them to do that are full of all kinds of worksheets and activities. I get one grade level up from the grade they are in so that they are challenging. The girls love doing these.
- 12:00 Lunch
I prepare lunch while they are doing their workbooks and then it’s time to eat!
- 12:30 Art Time
The girls love art, so we have devoted a whole hour to art. watercolor painting, drawing, coloring books, origami, crafts, etc. I choose one activity per day.
Today was painting.
- 1:30 Science/ Social Studies
I prepare a science experiment or a lesson on a certain topic and then we do a quiz on the topic afterwards where I ask them questions about what we learned. You can find tons of ideas online. Today we learned about honeybees and butterflies and had quizzes on those. Brainpop is a great resource.
- 2:00 Recess
They love to play outside at this time!
- 2:30 Snacktime and Movie
They usually like to watch a movie in the afternoon. It takes up a while and allows them to rest. After the movie it’s pretty much a free for all till dinner. This time is usually spent outside.
- 5:30-6:30 Dinner
We usually have dinner during this time, depending on when I start cooking!
- 7:00 Bath/PJ’s
We will do showers/baths and they’ll put on their pajamas.
I’m not too strict about bedtime, seeing as we do not have to get up early. I let them play and have a sleepover or do whatever they want. They usually go to sleep around 9 pm.
So that is it for our schedule! Without a schedule, we get bored, and it’s hard to come up with things to do. When the girls are on a schedule, it helps with arguing about what to do, and also keeps them busy.
What are some activities and things you like to do with your kids?
Thanks for reading! xx
The Hustlin’ Homemaker 
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