There is so much wisdom to be gained from the collective decades of experience we homeschoolers share. This morning, Kari Patterson told us how a simple schedule-switch worked wonders for her family. Her son had not been enjoying math. She moved that subject to the afternoon -- after he'd had some time to wake up and play and eat a solid lunch -- and transformed the day.
How great is that? I'll tell you: Pretty stinkin' great!
Growing up, my mom did our Read-Alouds after lunch. If we were done with our other work before then, the rest of the day was ours. If not, we had to trudge back to the books and do work after our siblings had run off to do something fun. As a morning person, and being more than a little competitive, this worked great for me.
[Aside: In retrospect, this schedule may not have worked so well for my little brother. But he turned out okay; his biggest claim to fame, of course, starring in MathTacular.]
Us on an Audio Tour of a Castle in England some years ago
There are many reasons something may not be working in your homeschool day. It could be that your child needs a bit more time before he or she is ready for that subject. Perhaps the program itself no longer meets your student's needs (that's why I changed math programs in Junior High). Or perhaps, as Kari noted, you just need to shake up your routine a bit.
What have you done to make your homeschool day run more smoothly?
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Pseudo-Dad
