Our Daily Homeschool Rhythm During Lockdown
Hello, friends! Happy Earth Day! We are presently smack in the middle of week 6 of pandemic homeschooling. It’s definitely taken a bit, but I’ve finally found a rhythm that feels good for us. I know that many parents are still struggling to find that rhythm, so I wanted to share what is working for us. Also, I just want to say upfront that this didn’t happen overnight and the first few weeks of this were incredibly challenging for all of us.
One day I looked at my son’s screen time report and saw that between playing games and watching videos he had spent 5 hours looking at a screen that day. My heart broke and I felt so ashamed. Here’s the thing, I am not opposed to screen time. I allow my children plenty of it, but I also believe that there is such a thing as too much and there is so much more that they need to be doing to keep their little minds and bodies happy and healthy. Read more for additional information about the Coronavirus.
That said, please know that there is no judgement coming from me. My little ones now have a screen time limit on their devices that locks them out after 2 hours in a given day. Even after that, I still allow them to play with their old school game boys. And on rainy days, all bets are off and we do whatever keeps us all sane. So please know that however your are figuring out this madness and whatever works for your family is totally okay. This routine is simply what works for us.
Here is how I lay out the day:
7:00 – 7:45 am ✺ Quiet Time (screens allowed)
7:45 – 8:00 ✺ Breakfast, Clean up, Get Dressed
8:00 – 8:45 ✺ Independent Schoolwork, Reading
8:45 – 9:00 ✺ Break
9:00 – 9:15 ✺ Chores
9:15 – 9:45 ✺ Independent Schoolwork
9:45 – 10:45 ✺ Group Learning & Activity
10:45 – 11:15 ✺ Snack & Free Play
11:15 – 11:45 ✺ Independent Schoolwork, Math
11:45 – 12:30 ✺ Outside Play or Indoor Exercise
12:30 – 1:00 pm ✺ Lunch, Clean Up
1:00 – 1:30 ✺ Independent School Work or Creative Time
1:30 – 1:45 ✺ Chores
1:45 – 2:15 ✺ Quiet Time (screens allowed)
2:15 – 4:30 ✺ Outside Play and/or Creative Time
4:30 – 5:00 ✺ Clean up
5:00 – 6:00 ✺ Dinner
6:00 – 8:00 ✺ Free Play (screens allowed), Showers, Pajamas
8:00 pm ✺ Book, Prayers, Bedtime
A few helpful notes about these categories.
During Independent Schoolwork time, we utilize the instructional websites (iReady for math and Raz Kids for reading) given to us by the kids school teachers.
During Group Learning I use the free resources that I will share at the end of this post. I sit at the kitchen table with all of the kids and act as teacher. This is so much fun for me because I have always dreamed of homeschooling my little ones. Each day’s topic focuses on the seasons, nature, or whatever holiday is coming up. Oftentimes, I will also try to pair the day’s lesson with our daily walk/nature exploration that happens later in the day.
During Creative Time I allow the children to choose activities from a list, including: play-dough, painting, drawing, playing outside, playing with our bunnies or chickens, playing with Legos, playing with magic tracks, reading, playing with Lincoln logs, going for a walk, playing with Barbies or dolls, playing with Imaginext, playing with Calico Critters, and working on puzzles.
During Chores the kids have designated chores for different times of day (making their beds and feeding the dog in the morning, feeding the chickens and rabbits in the afternoon, picking up toys at the end of the day, etc.).
It’s also so important to remember that this rhythm is not set in stone by any means. It is a list of suggestions to give structure to our day. Depending on everyone’s mood, the weather, and so on, things may be switched around more or less on a given day. My priority is lots of time for playing, learning, exploring, creating, moving, being kind, being grateful and contributing to the household. If we achieve all or most of these things most days, then I consider it a beautiful success.
Finally, here are the gorgeous, free educational resources and printables that have been so helpful to me in structuring our homeschool lessons (see Group Learning above).
Finally, don’t forget to download my free Earth Day printable. It’s perfect for Earth Day, but really you can use it any day because we should celebrate our home every day. xo