|
| |
The transition from public education or Christian school to home
education can be quite challenging for inexperienced parent/teachers.
It can be difficult to organize your home school without a suitable
model. The failure of many home schoolers can be traced to inconsistent
and extreme approaches to organization. We do not recommend trying
to organize your home school exactly like a traditional classroom.
The demands of such a rigid approach can quickly lead to home school
burnout. Unfortunately, many home school parents overreact to this
problem and decide to do away with structure altogether.
This experiment in extremes seldom yields good results. A significant
number of families do not survive their first year in home education
because they feel they have failed to establish a reasonable school
schedule.
Relax. Allow yourself a realistic amount of time to transition from
a traditional schedule to a more flexible home school schedule. Your
goal is to develop a structured but flexible learning environment
that promotes self-discipline and personal achievement. If your schedule
achieves these objectives and seems comfortable to you, dismiss the
critics—even those in your own mind. Your plan is the means
to an end, not an end in itself. Planning your work and working your
plan must be tempered with adaptability and flexibility. It may take
some effort to relax at first—but you can do it.
You are probably familiar with the rigid time slots of traditional
day school schedules such as the one shown in the table below.
In making up their own schedule, most people attempt to follow a
similar pattern. While this schedule may be familiar, it seldom works
for home schools. A great advantage of home schooling is that you
are not bound by schedules and bells. You can adapt your schedule
to fit your family’s needs. After considering your students’ ages,
attention spans, abilities, and possible educational deficiencies,
you may find that a modified traditional or flex-time schedule will
prove more realistic for achieving your goals.
Listed below is a typical traditional day school format followed
by two possible alternative schedules. Either alternate adds flexibility
to your home school environment (you may view these schedules in
a comparative
chart format). Note: Subjects are listed in a suggested
order only. You are not required
to keep them in this order.
| |
| |
| |
| |
15
|
Opening Exercises and Prayer
|
| |
45
|
Mathematics
|
| |
45
|
Reading
|
| |
45
|
Science
|
| |
45
|
History
|
| |
45
|
Lunch
|
| |
45
|
Bible
|
| |
45
|
Grammar
|
| |
45
|
Music (MWF); Art or Vocational (TT)
|
| |
45
|
Physical Education
|
Traditional schedule features:
1.
2.
3.
|
Periods are rigid and of identical length.
Courses are scheduled at the same time each day.
All required courses are taught each day, with the possible
exception of art and music.
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
15
|
Opening Exercises and Prayer
|
| |
40
|
Mathematics
|
| |
|
cushion*
|
| |
50
|
Reading, Phonics, and/or Spelling
|
| |
|
cushion*
|
| |
15
|
Recess
|
| |
60
|
Science, History, Geography, and/or
Economics
|
| |
|
cushion*
|
| |
45
|
Lunch
|
| |
|
cushion*
|
| |
30
|
Bible
|
| |
|
cushion*
|
| |
30
|
Grammar
|
| |
60
|
Additional time for any of the above
|
| |
|
cushion*
|
| |
30
|
Physical Education (MWF); Art and/or
Music (TT)
|
Modified traditional schedule features:
1.
2.
3.
|
Periods can be expanded or contracted as educational
needs dictate. For example, if a math lesson is finished
in thirty minutes, the student may go immediately to
the next subject or take a break.
Subjects are still scheduled at about the same time each day,
but with flexible starting and stopping times. Difficult courses
will sometimes require more time each day; easier subjects may require
less time.
All courses are taught each day unless indicated otherwise.
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
A
|
Shared Time: Bible twice
a week, Science three times a week
|
| |
B
|
Reading and Phonics
|
| |
C
|
Spelling and Penmanship
|
| |
D
|
Lunch Break
|
| |
E
|
Mathematics
|
| |
F
|
Grammar
|
| |
G
|
Grammar
|
| |
H
|
History (first semester);
Literature (second semester)
|
| |
I
|
Art and Music – Can
be integrated with the period of history being studied
(e.g.,
Early American Art with the Revolutionary Period).
|
| |
J
|
Art and Music
|
Flex-time schedule features:
1.
2.
3.
|
In place of rigid traditional class periods, think
in terms of flexible blocks of time which can be adjusted
daily, weekly, and with each grading period if necessary.
Let educational needs dictate how you spend time. A difficult
diagramming lesson may require ninety minutes one day,
but an easier grammar lesson may require only thirty
minutes the next day. You have the flexibility to allow
for such differences.
The number of subjects you cover may vary daily. A student may
be able to cover six subjects one day, but only three the next day.
For example, a morning may be spent drafting and completing a book
report, or several reports, with only a short time remaining. Here
a student may choose to complete an unfinished spelling lesson not
normally scheduled at that time. Periods may vary in length. You
may teach a subject during a different period. Your schedule is dictated
by your educational needs. The schedule is a means to an end, not
an end in itself.
Required courses do not have to be taught concurrently within
one semester. Courses may be staggered. That is, a concentrated study
of history may be taught the first semester, followed by a concentrated
study of literature the second semester.† Both subjects require
much reading and written work. Staggering such courses may be a more
efficient
and rewarding way to study. You may also stagger courses daily; three
days per week may be devoted to science and the two remaining days
spent in Bible study. There are a number of ways to complete your
course requirements while meeting your student’s educational
needs. You can achieve both goals with a flex-time schedule format.
|
|
For each student, your first step should be to gather together all
of the texts and workbooks which that student was assigned. Make
a list of these items on a separate sheet and, after each title,
write down the number of pages in it. If a course has multiple texts,
add them together. Also, list the total number of tests that are
required for each course (this information can be found in the course
instructions for each course).
With this information in front of you, you are ready to plan your
school year. First, decide how many weeks out of the year you want
to teach. This is your decision! A typical school year reduces to
the following:
| |
Full Year
Summer Vacation
Christmas Break
Easter/Spring Break
Ten holidays, sick days
Available for Instruction
|
52
–8
–1
–1
–2
40
|
weeks
weeks
week
week
weeks
weeks
|
Next, divide the number of pages in each textbook (as well as the
number of tests) by the number of weeks you have determined to use
for instruction. This will give you an approximate weekly goal. Divide
this number by five to determine your approximate daily goal.
You may use the number of chapters instead of pages to determine
your student’s progress. However, you should first check to
make sure each chapter is of similar length. If the number of pages
per chapter varies widely, then you may run into problems when your
student suddenly encounters a large chapter that will take longer
than your pre-planned time to complete.
Finally, return to each textbook and check how the chapters and/or
sections are laid out. If you need to average five pages per week
in grammar and Chapter One is 15 pages long, then this chapter should
be completed in three weeks. If Chapter Two is 18 pages in length,
then you should plan 3 1/2 weeks for this chapter, etc.
The following example walks through these steps.
| |
You have just received your student’s curriculum. After
checking to make sure you have all materials (see When
Your Books Arrive if you do not know how to do this), gather
all texts and make the following list:
|
| |
| |
Bible (workbook)
Literature (text)
Grammar (workbook)
Spelling (workbook)
Math (workbook)
Science (text)
History (text)
|
182
184
248
115
718
361
174
|
0*
8
18
0*
14
10
10
|
| |
Using a typical school year of forty weeks (where each subject
is taught five [5] days per week), we arrive at this approximate progress
list:
|
| |
Bible (workbook)
Literature (text)
Grammar (workbook)
Spelling (workbook)
Math (workbook)
Science (text)
History (text)
|
4.6
4.6
6.2
2.9
18
8
4.4
|
0
1 every 5 weeks
1 every 2 1/2 weeks
0
1 every 2 3/4 weeks
1 every 4 weeks
1 every 4 weeks
|
0.9
0.9
1.2
0.6
3.6
1.8
0.8
|
0
1 every 25 days
1 every 11 days
0
1 every 14 days
1 every 20 days
1 every 20 days
|
| |
Now that you have this information, you can begin to fill
out your lesson plan, modifying the actual
number of pages you need to cover (per day and per week) based
on how the lessons
are presented in the texts.
|
Remember that a progress list is only a guideline. It should just
be used as an indicator to help you stay on track throughout your
school year. It should not be used as a rigid schedule. Strict adherence
to the example above would force your student to complete 18 pages
of math each week regardless of how the chapters are structured or
whether he understands the material—which defies common sense.
As you plan your school year (or within the first few weeks of teaching),
you will find that some courses can be completed much more quickly
than others. For these courses, we offer the following suggestions:
1.
2.
3.
|
Work in all courses concurrently, planning to complete
them at the end of your school year. If they are completed
in less time, use the new available time slot to finish other
subjects.
Work in all courses concurrently, but space out the shorter
courses so they are taught on only select days of the week
(e.g., MWF). The remaining days of the week can then be used
as study periods, time for other subjects, or as an opportunity
to supplement the subject with material of your own choosing.
Choose to complete some shorter courses during the first
part of your school year (first semester courses), and complete
other shorter courses during the second part of the year (second
semester courses).
|
We do not encourage you to spend the entire day on one subject in
an attempt to complete a week’s work. You would be imitating
the folly of a man who eats all day on Sunday to meet all his nutritional
needs for the week. Difficult subjects, such as mathematics and grammar,
are best mastered by studying a portion every day. Daily exercises
and drill work aid in understanding and are a necessary part of the
lesson. The principle of smaller portions holds true with learning.
We need time to digest and assimilate facts so they can become true
knowledge.
Mathematics and grammar in particular should be taught throughout
the school year and not in a single-semester format. Because these
courses constantly build on previous lessons, extended time off between
lessons makes it more difficult for the student to learn new concepts.
Difficult subjects should be studied first, while you are still fresh.
It is a real boost to know that “Mount Everest” is behind
you, and the rest of the day can be devoted to easier, more enjoyable
material.
If you are teaching several students, we suggest you stagger the
difficult subjects so that only one or two students are working on
hard courses at a time. This flexibility balances your load and makes
it easier to give individual attention when it is most likely needed.
For each weekday (M–F), we suggest that you plan a full day—similar
to a traditional school day—for instructing older students. For
kindergarten
children, plan a half-day of class time (usually in the morning).
Kindergarten teachers should study their
Kindergarten Instruction Sheet for additional details.
Listed below are school supplies that you may wish to obtain. It
is intended only to provide you with a list of materials that may
be helpful while teaching. These are only suggestions; the list is
not prioritized. (For a printable version, Click
Here.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
|
Daily planner (for example, the At-A-Glance To Do Today
planning pad that fits the average three-ring binder)
Teacher’s grade book or class record
Chalkboard, blackboard, or dry-erase board (One can be made
inexpensively with materials from a local lumber yard, or you
may order one at www.usmarkerboard.com.)
Blackboard erasers, chalk, etc.
Pencil sharpener
Large dictionary (Larger and more complete editions are
better. These can often be picked up at used book sales.)
Small paperback dictionaries (one for each student at his
desk)
Encyclopedias, art books, reference books, etc. (Check used
book sales for inexpensive sets of these materials.)
Catalogs and website links from everyone and everywhere
listing school supplies and text materials.
One large bulletin board, or several small ones
Charts and maps (Old National Geographic maps are ideal
for most situations.)
For each student, depending on age: scissors, 6-inch ruler,
12-inch ruler, compass, protractor, notebooks, pencils, erasers,
crayons, colored pencils for map coloring, etc.
Stars, smiles, and other stickers (for extra-good papers)
Paper clips, stapler, gummed reinforcements, colored markers,
thumb tacks, rubber bands, colored pencils for grading papers
Tuning fork or pitch pipe for singing classes
Triangles and other geometry aids
Paper punch (a paper cutter is handy, but expensive)
Stopwatch with a second-hand for timed tests and physical
education activities
“In” and “Out” baskets for homework
papers
Clipboard for each student old enough to use loose-leaf
notebook paper
Loose-leaf notebook with subject dividers
Chalkboard staff liner to make equally-spaced lines for
work in music, penmanship, and math
Large alphabet cards for the wall (These will help remind
beginning readers how to make their letters—both manuscript
and cursive.)
A Bible for each student and the teacher (A good translation
[not a paraphrase] Bible should be selected. You may also want
more than one version for comparing translations—especially
for Bible classes.)
Bible aids, such as a comprehensive concordance (make sure
it matches the translation of your Bible) and a good Bible
dictionary
A thesaurus for your older students
Science laboratory equipment
CD player with earphones for phonics
programs, foreign language studies, and music appreciation
recordings
Art supplies, such as: paper, pastels, watercolors, tempera
paint, old magazines for bulletin board displays, Elmer’s
glue, rubber cement, any craft or hobby materials, etc.
|
Most supplies can be purchased at a local department store (e.g.,
Wal-Mart or Target) or office supply store (e.g., OfficeMax, Office
Depot, or Staples).
For other more unique school items, we recommend you check our Resource
Library or search online.
|
|
