Smart Scheduling
Your schedule will be a guide you will follow in your efforts to meet your goals when things go as smooth as a well-oiled engine...and when the train runs off the track! Creating a workable schedule takes planning, perseverance and flexibility; but it doesn't have to be complicated.
Now that you have a yearly and monthly structure, it is time to break your schedule down further by looking at those things you will plan to accomplish each week.
Basics first. Particularly during the younger grade levels, the basics are the most important. Learning to read is the foundation for studies in most other subject areas. Don't overload your youngster's schedule with "extras." There will be plenty of time for those later. Besides, he will probably learn more science and history during your read-aloud time than he would using a prepared curriculum!
Extra-curricular last. Don't fill your schedule with extra-curricular activities. You will find it hard to accomplish the basics if you are running to and from events all week long. Rather, schedule the extra-curricular activities on one or two days per week at most. Perhaps take Friday afternoons off to allow for field trips, support group events and out-side-the-home lessons.
Not all subjects need to be covered every day of the week. Some popular math texts assume a four-day-per-week math schedule. Many curriculums suggest alternating science and history/ geography during the week. Subjects such as art and music can be covered once per week. Look over the materials you plan to use. Determine the number of lessons you plan to cover during the year. Divide the number of lessons you plan to cover by the number of weeks you plan to school during the year to determine the number of lessons you will need to cover each week. Then determine what days you will cover each subject.
Coordinating schedules for more than one child. When scheduling for more than one child, it becomes crucial to coordinate their schedules. With a weekly viewpoint in mind, this means coordinating their history and science to occur on the same days so that it can be a family activity, for example. The same is true for physical education, music and art appreciation. This saves mom an incredible amount of time. If limited resources are involved, make sure to alternate the days each child will have access to those resources so not everyone is vying for their use at the same time. Be sure to coordinate all outside activity to occur at the same time.