Now that we have our curriculum chosen and ready to purchase for next term, I have been looking over our daily routine. What has worked? What areas need to be adjusted? Are there things that need to be omitted?
Our year started out with a very rigid schedule. After all, are we not told that kids who have autism thrive on structure? Well, one part of that equation is that I didn’t take into account our daughter, who is not on the spectrum. What works great for one child, didn’t always work well for the other. It really brought home to me just how different kids can be. I have homeschooled before. My two oldest sons, now in their 20’s, were homeschooled for about 6 years. I realized that they spoiled me. Both were on similar schedules and did well on it. I gave the younger one a daily assignment sheet to check off as he went through his assignments. The older son was given a weekly assignment sheet since he was old enough to not be intimidated by it.
With Little Miss and Pookie, the routines are very different. Pookie does best on a set routine. Little Miss is my free spirit. Some subjects need more structure than others. One thing that both have in common is that they love their outdoor breaks.
I have had to really relax the scheduling for Little Miss. The strict structuring just became a thorn in her side that wouldn’t let up. On some days, her focus on the harder subjects was best in the mornings. On other days, her focus was better in the afternoons. So, she needed a routine that would allow for that.
For Little Miss, I gave her a weekly assignments sheet. She could do the assignments in the order she wanted, yet knew what had to be done by week’s end. This worked out well. She loves to read and would get frustrated by the short daily readings. By letting her read the entire week’s assignments at one time, she was more content. She also likes to do her timeline and similar projects all at once. To her, it is tedious work that she doesn’t enjoy. So, I let her make all the entries at one time, if she chooses to do so. By giving her the week’s assignments, she is also learning a valuable skill. She is becoming better at time management. She knows, by experience, that once Wednesday rolls around, if her work isn’t being done, she has to work all the harder the rest of the week to get it completed on time. Yes, she has had a few times where her time management wasn’t up to par and when Saturday came around, she had to spend the day getting caught up. She learned from it though and has made major improvements since then.
Pookie is still on a set routine. We do a few activities, then he has a snack/lunch break and free time for about an hour. Giving him the time to play outdoors allows him to get the wiggles out of his system. He is able to come back to his work and focus better. Our school routine with Pookie goes like this. In the morning, he plays outside or gets an hour of video time if the weather is bad. Then we cuddle on the couch and do his lessons from the Memoria Press Simply Classical curriculum. Those lessons take us until lunch time. After his lunch break, we do Montessori style activities and arts & crafts. By 3pm, both kids are finished and have the rest of the afternoon to play or use their tablets.
By using this routine, both kids are getting their schooling done and the days go much smoother. Our son has all the structure he needs, while our daughter has the more relaxed routine that she thrives on. This is one of the things I love the most about homeschooling. We are able to tailor the school day to fit the needs of each child. By doing so, each is given the opportunity to progress at the pace that they need. Another benefit for Little Miss is that we have set into place time both in morning and afternoon for me to go over her work with her if she needs any help or explanations.
With this routine working well for the kids now, I will likely keep with it unless something comes up to change it. Little Miss will be using a different style curriculum next year, so adjustments may need to be made. Time will tell. Until then, we will keep on with what is working.
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