Scheduling Advice by Dana Caywood

I’m sure you’ve heard the acronym: KISS.  "Keep It Simple Sweetie."  With this in mind, schedules for Lower Grammar students and preschoolers need to be flexible.  A few things to consider as you plan your days:  

• How about a 4-day school week?  Your 5^th day could be field trips, baking, or 
  other hands-on projects.  Yes, count this as “school”.

• Have a stopping point each day.  If you don’t get done with your plans, there is 
  always tomorrow!

Household training is a must.  Taking tiny steps toward this type of learning will be invaluable in future years.

• Are baby supplies close at hand?  Don’t make things more difficult by having to traipse upstairs, or across the house, for items you know you’ll need every hour.

• Train children as to your expectations during baby-care time.

• Teach these children to check off (check mark or sticker) each task on their chart as it is completed.  

MAPPING IT OUT:  ONE METHOD  
(Most of the activities listed below can be done in 10-20 minute increments.  The order in which you do them isn’t as important.)  

TRAINING TIPS & SCHEDULING FOR UPPER GRAMMAR

When your oldest child is an Upper Grammar student, typically 4^th – 6^th grades, he is ready to begin assuming more responsibility for his own education.  As with everything else in life, this is a process.  Hang in there!  It will bear fruit in time.

• Gear your academic day around the needs of the oldest child, since he has the most to accomplish, and fold younger children into the mix.

• Incorporate weekly planning by involving the student.  You are still in control of content, but let him choose how many pages or assignments to accomplish each day.  He’ll write this into his own blank chart.

• Continue to check on his work daily.  Make sure he knows, ahead of time, the consequences for poor or lacking work.

• Reading aloud to your student is still important.  Conversely, you’ll occasionally want him to read aloud to you to check for understanding.

• Utilize students this age for reading to preschoolers.  Not only does this develop oral reading skills, but also helps build relationships.

• Thirty minute increments for each subject are about right.  Four major academic days will still work!

• Memory work and educational games are now part of subject assignments, without separate designation.

• The row that I’ve called “other” is for one more thing…it could be Latin, phonics review, piano lesson, etc.  Limit this to one row so that neither you nor your kids will be overwhelmed.

MAPPING IT OUT:  ONE METHOD  
(Remember: let your student choose the order of tasks as much as possible. )  

WHAT IF YOU HAVE A HOUSE FULL?  STUDENTS AT ALL LEVELS?

Well, your day will be full... your younger children will work for various times in the day; your older children will work much of the day.  Think back to your high school years: the days were pretty full if you had schoolwork (including homework), a sport, a musical instrument, clubs of any sort, and church obligations.

This schedule is printed in your purple introductory notes (BASE component): please note, these are time slots for various activities.  Not all activities use up all available time in each slot!  Additionally, not all families have children in all age-levels represented, but in case you do, there’s a place for everyone.)

Abbreviations: PS = preschool; LG = Lower Grammar;  UG = Upper Grammar;  D = Dialectic;  R = Rhetoric