We began our 2022-2023 homeschool year in July and I can’t believe we are already halfway through our first term. This is also my first year with two students, and although I’m not doing official lessons with my preschooler, we have been adjusting to our new rhythm of taking turns around the table.
First, I would like to answer some common questions about our homeschool year, and then I will walk through our daily rhythm for the last 6 weeks. As much as I love sharing our homeschool plans and progress, please keep in mind that my family and your family are different and what works for us may not be the best fit for you and your children. Also, though I am a huge fan of Charlotte Mason, her methods do not get the final say in how we homeschool.
What curriculum are you using for this year?
We are using Ambleside Online Year 2 for everything except math and language arts for my second grader. I have found it to be a complete and wholesome curriculum with very few (if any) substitutions added for my family. You can read more about our 2022-2023 curriculum choices in this previous blog article.
What are you doing for preschool?
In short, I read a few books aloud and we’re gently working on letters and numbers with various short activities that range from 5-10 minutes each day. Some of the activities I have pulled from Pinterest and are simple in setup. You can find the Pinterest board I pull ideas from here and read further details about our preschool plans in this previous blog article. We are also working on some habit training around meal times, cleanliness, and obedience.
Our daily rhythm for the last 6 weeks:
Now that we are halfway through the first term, I believe we are finally settled into our homeschool rhythm. Monday through Friday we enjoy our slow mornings with breakfast around the table, and then morning chores followed by getting dressed and brushing teeth. We’re usually ready for our morning collective subjects by 8:30/9 am.
Morning collective includes our Bible reading, poetry, hymn, recitations, and artist and composer studies daily. On a loop, we will have Shakespeare, geography, Spanish, or literature readings 1x a week. Morning collective is typically done within half an hour. You can see more details in my morning time highlight on Instagram.
Daily core subjects include math, language arts, reading practice, and handwriting/copywork. These subjects can fluctuate between 10-20 minutes each, math or language arts taking the most time. Typically our daily core subjects last until 11 am.
The final block of our lesson time is what I call our weekly loop. Weekly loop subjects include history, natural history, timeline, and nature study. Each of these only happens 1x a week, although history may be broken up into 2x a week, depending on the scheduled AO (Ambleside Online) readings we have. By the time we wrap up our weekly loop, it is around noon and we are all ready for lunch!
Breaks between lessons:
Once we finish our morning time, I’ll use this short time to grab more coffee, start a load of laundry, and gather our supplies for the next lesson. Breaks are no longer than 5-10 minutes at a time, which has been the sweet spot for a quick recharge without losing momentum in our lessons. There have been some days when we can get through all of our daily core work without a break, but it’s common that we break between math and language arts. The kids will play together and/or play with our puppy during breaks. There are no restrictions on what they can do during break time (excluding video games), just the expectation to return promptly when our timer goes off. Occasionally I will have PBS Kids available to watch on the iPad.
Balancing preschool and second-grade lessons:
I don’t do formal lessons with my preschooler at this time. However, we have a goal of reading 3 books a day, usually one in the morning, afternoon, and evening. While my second grader is doing independent work, such as copywork, or math drills, I will step away and do a simple number or letter activity with my youngest. I have a Pinterest board with ideas I pull from. While I am working with my second grader, my youngest will be busy playing independently, but sometimes he wants to sit at the table with us. If that happens, he’ll make patterns with counting bears or trace letters or numbers with crayons. I also purchased a Scholastic workbook for him to grab when he wants to do something on his own.
If my youngest is sitting with us while I am reading our natural history book or if we’re working on nature study, I like to include him by asking him about the animal we’re reading about. I’ve been surprised on many occasions by what he’s taking away. My preschooler has also been involved in our Spanish lessons, repeating our new words with his sister.
It has been an adjustment for all of us, learning to be patient, and manage our time collectively. Our homeschool time is never perfectly executed, but over the last 6 weeks, we have figured out a good homeschool rhythm, enjoying the curriculum we have and loving the free afternoons together.
