simple homeschooling schedule

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I can’t believe it, but we were able to start school early this year, so today completes our third week of school. Currently, our family has children in four different stages of learning, but we try to weave everyone into the same daily rhythm. We have shared about our school day here before.

It is more fruitful for us to begin early in the morning, although no one at our house is an early riser – not daddy, not mommy, not anyone. For us, it really is rewarding to get into the rhythm of starting early. Our day’s routine has slowly formed over years of tweaking. When we were not getting done until supper, it was very frustrating to the children. When I was losing them to various activities in the morning or during lunch, it was very frustrating to me. This rhythm has helped to shape our days, and we have followed a very similar version of this schedule for several years.

STAGES OF LEARNING

1 – Alexander and Eva are part of the Classical Conversations homeschool group where they receive tutoring once a week on all their subjects. Hence, for the most part, they require little input from me. Their days are mostly outlined by their assignment guide which has a checklist of what to work on for each day at home. Alexander (15) does Bible reading, geometry, British literature, Latin, Spanish, biology, Western Cultural History, debate, and Traditional Logic II. Eva (14) does Bible reading, math, Latin, History of Astronomy (science), American history, exposition and composition (language arts), and Introductory Logic.

2 – William (12), Isabel (10), and Nora (8) do Bible reading (devotional), math, handwriting, spelling, grammar (William and Isabel), writing (William and Isabel), and reading aloud (Nora). These subjects they do daily. History (early modern) and science (astronomy) we only do three days a week. William, Isabel, and Nora require some help like answering questions, grading homework, taking tests, and listening to them read aloud. They are learning to follow instructions and understand the lesson’s directions without my guidance. Nathan’s mom comes one morning a week to teach grammar and writing to William and Isabel. We’re so grateful for her help!

3 – Providence (6) is doing kindergarten. She does letters (phonics), numbers (easy arithmetic), and handwriting. I sit with her for all her lessons.

4 – Samuel and James sleep in and usually get up after 8. If we’ve already started school lessons, then they have breakfast, and I turn my attention to them for a little bit. My goal is to read to them during this time. They miss Bible study in the morning, so I recently ordered a Bible story book and look forward to reading to them a short story every day. I spend some time with the little ones while being in the same area where the children sit to do school. In our house, this is crucial for progress : ).

DAILY SCHEDULE

  • 6am – wake up. personal care. make beds.
  • 7 – instrument practice. chores (feeding the animals, wipe bathrooms, empty trash bins)
  • 8 – start school
  • 12 – lunch. chores (flip laundry, collect eggs, dishes)
  • 1 – back to school

During the afternoon, I do history and science with William, Isabel, and Nora (3 days). Alexander and Eva continue their schoolwork until 3 or 3:30. Providence and Samuel play, and James takes a nap.

The late afternoon is left for nature walks, going to the park, sewing with mom (mainly Eva), watercolor (mainly the older girls), writing letters/pictures of thank you or encouragement, baking/cooking with mom, outside projects (mainly the big boys), or just playing and riding bikes. The season determines much of what happens during this part of our day.

This is what this year’s homeschool schedule looks like for our family. It was really helpful for me to put this post together, and I’ll be glad to have this reminder of what the years with so many stages of learning looked like in our home.

 with love, Damaris

Homeschooling: staying on track

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Here’s the truth: the unsettling part of homeschooling is that there is no track. Sometimes, structure is provided by the curriculum. The State regulations might have minimum requirements (like days of school and subjects/grades). Often, we can find expectations in a local homeschool group or co-op. Honestly, the choice of studies and the schedule is mostly up to the family. What to do in a day or a year is left to the parents to decide, yet this is both freeing and paralyzing at the same time. Considering that most people don’t have any experience homeschooling until they begin with their own children, staying on track seems intimidating.

Nathan and I regularly remind ourselves of the goals at large when we begin to get lost in the details of the moment. We are after their hearts, and all else is secondary. Praying for the new school year and pleading for wisdom from the Lord gives us peace. Trying to surrender our plans and our days is part of the call of a Christian to obedience and faithfulness.

As parents, we set the atmosphere for learning in our homes by our interests and experiences. Our family enjoys biographies, literature, music, hosting people, road trips, hiking and nature. Since we instill our strengths in our children, we can assume that we will not be teaching them everything they will ever need to know about God’s world. A seasoned homeschooling mom several years ago shared with me her schedule and her prayer request which I have treasured as a nugget of wisdom. She mentioned that she regularly prays “that the Lord would fill in the gaps.” This is part of the adventure of the journey. It would be so stressful to constantly compare what our kids know with the neighbor kids. It would be discouraging to always question if they’re getting ahead or if that other math program would have been perfect. There will be holes that others will fill in as God brings them along our path.

Every year I create schedules and checklists, but that is just because of how I think. I thrive on order, so following a curriculum and incorporating our interests has been a good flow for us the past 12 years of homeschooling. We simply complete the curriculum and move on to the next level. Although we have done hands-on projects, we have mostly depended on literature (reading aloud) and comprehension. We use copywork, converstion, and writing papers (if old enough) to evaluate progress. In the last seven years, we have found support through the tutoring and brief classroom experience of Classical Conversations. I have been tremendously grateful for it especially in the junior high and high school years as have my children.

Keeping on track requires a great deal of intuition, observation, and conversation. When frustration and discouragement seep in, we try to take a break and look at it again with fresh eyes the next day. Sometimes we have evaluated if the material was not suited for that year for that student. Often, we just prayed together and pushed through.

We have never heavily relied on testing. While it’s a constant challenge, Nathan and I have always wanted to inspire a love for learning rather than the academic tasks. We have required diligence more than perfection and required focus more than completion. In recent years, we have seen the fruit of this. Children that struggled to master concepts are able to embark on new and challenging themes with enthusiasm for learning. They don’t exasperate nor retreat. They’re aware of their stumbling blocks yet can fully enjoy their own level of engagement. They’re aware that the learning will take more and varied efforts, but they feel defeated. This brings us so much joy and triumph.

As parents, we tailor the year to suit our children’s interests and aptitudes. While creating a homeschool track can seem demanding, hopefully it is rewarding to each child. I firmly believe that if the parent isn’t enjoying it, nobody is. Don’t hesitate to deviate from what everyone else is doing! Learning should be interesting, fun, and appealing to everyone!

Enjoy as much as you can in a day, and the days will add up to a wonderful year.

 with love, Damaris

welcome to homeschooling!

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The talk about town is that many families are turning their efforts to homeschooling. While I am so excited for families to be home together, I wanted to drop a small thought that has been with me for months.

The experience many parents had with homeschooling a few months back was not the normal atmosphere in which parents homeschool their children. Because parents were frantically tossed into this semblance of homeschooling at the end of last school year, that is not homeschooling. It has been appropriately named crisis schooling. No one was operating as normal or in a purposeful, intentional environment. High anxiety, health fears, job loses and isolation are not a normal context for homeschooling. “This is so stressful.””This is horrible.” “I’m so glad I never did this before.” “I can’t imagine how you do it.” “This is a nightmare.” This perception of homeschooling is inaccurate.

On some level, I wanted to propose that when a family home educates, it doesn’t look nor feel the same way as those intense and stressful weeks did for many families. I heard from several parents that their experience solidified why they never wanted to homeschool. Don’t be mistaken in thinking that homeschooling means confined people, who have no interests and live mostly disorderly, stressed lives; or that homeschooling families are miserable while attempting to school their kids. The notion that those months were “homeschooling”, is just not true nor normal. Not because parents didn’t do a good job, but because the situation was manufactured.

So if your experience was discouraging to you, be of good cheer. Homeschooling is a beautiful, healthy environment for learning.

“Talk together. You’ll find yourself enjoying it!

Relax.

It isn’t all as hard as the experts make out. We are human beings, persons, created to live. To have life more abundantly. Wonder together; grow together. Together share the struggles of knowing that we cannot perfectly follow God’s law. We are fellow-pilgrims. We walk side by side as human beings under the love and authority of Him who made us.” (For the Children’s Sake -Susan Schaeffer Macaulay)

Jump on in, the water is fine!

 with love, Damaris

modest teen girl outfits for back to school

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Since summer is coming to an end, we’ve begun looking at the fall clothes that we have and what we need to add to the children’s wardrobes. I’m especially focused on the older kids’ wardrobes, since they don’t have a previous sibling’s clothes waiting to be rediscovered from a storage tote in the basement…

So that means Eva and I have an awesome excuse to go shopping! Shopping for clothes for Eva, who is now 13, means browsing the women’s section. Yes! She’s all grown up, and I couldn’t be more pleased. She’s a true blessing in our home as a sister/friend and a loving helper.

As we picked transition outfits for the new season, we had two criteria:

  1. modest yet stylish
  2. at a good price

Looking or shopping for clothes is a good opportunity to talk about and instill in our daughters a sense of modesty. Finding age-appropriate, feminine, fashionable clothes can be hard, and it is equally challenging to find them at a reasonable price.

It’s important to add that modesty is a virtue, and dressing modestly doesn’t make you modest. Trying not to draw undue attention to ourselves is both in action and in dress. Particularly as moms, we should help our teenagers recognize that their attractiveness is not tied up in their clothes. We should encourage them to feel respectable, appropriate, decent, and humble as they transition throughout the seasons of life.

This past week, Eva and I looked for items that she’d like to add to her wardrobe. We’re including some that she already owns or are very similar. Both of us think you’re going to love these outfits and find them perfect for the transition from summer to fall.

Polka Dot A-Line Button Side Split Midi Knee Length Skirt

TOMS Women’s Classic Canvas Slip-On

Women’s Simple Style A-Line Flat Front Midi Denim Skirt

Military Anorak Parka Hoodie Jacket

3/4 Balloon Sleeve Striped High Waist T Shirt Midi Dress with Pockets

A-Line High Waisted Button Front Drawstring Pleated Midi Skirt

Chiffon Short Sleeve Casual Midi Dress Empire Waist

Crochet-Lace Trim Square-Neck Blouse

Mid-Rise Slim Wide-Leg Chinos

Waist-Defined Flutter-Sleeve Dress

Long Cardigan

Fine-knit Sweater

Fine-knit sweater, melange

 with love, Damaris

10 Favorite Thanksgiving Books

We’ve been reading about pumpkins and the changing leaves, busy squirrels and migratory paths. But apple harvests coming to an end and busy little squirrel friends storing away for the winter means it’s time to get out a new set of story books!

We purpose to make Thanksgiving a very treasured day, and enjoying these sweet books with the children is part of the anticipation and celebration of the holiday. These are the days to clasp a mug of warmed cider while cozied on a quilt in the living room with a stack of books.

Some of the books we recommend are from our own shelves – we visit them every year, and some are newly borrowed from the library.

The First Thanksgiving: A Counting Story moves along very quickly because it’s written in lively rhyming verse and vivid illustrations. The book explains the story of the preparations for the first Thanksgiving feast while counting 1-12. There are hidden surprises in the art and a bold turkey on every page! Do you have a sharp eye?

Sharing The Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story is a collection of paintings set in the 19th century that exude familial affection. The simple rhythmic four-line verse mirrors the ease in which this family works together to prepare their special Thanksgiving Day meal.

Saying Grace: A Prayer Of Thanksgiving is a journey back in time to the hardships and blessings of some of the first settlers. It’s the most delightful story of a young child’s faith and prayer as she recognizes God’s bounty.

Thanksgiving Day Alphabet is filled with historical facts about the special holiday. The plentiful scenes are painted in rich fall colors. Children will learn a treasure trove of details about the English settlers of 1620. Everyone will delight in the descriptions set to each letter of the alphabet.

The Story of the Pilgrims is a nice simplified version of how Thanksgiving started. The text is clear and plain which helps the little ones follow the story while focusing on the illustrations. Perfect for the preschool-aged children!

Squanto And The Miracle Of Thanksgiving is a favorite of the boys at our house! This book captures the remarkable and providential true story that so few people have ever heard. This book clearly depicts Squanto’s Christian faith and the religious roots of the holiday. The illustrations are realistic renderings which all ages will enjoy.

Thanksgiving: A Harvest Celebration offers the basic history behind Thanksgiving then explains how the holiday sill has meaning for us today. Recounting the difficulties of the Pilgrims and their gratefulness to God. The illustrations are old-fashioned with a wood-cut feel. A wonderful teaching tool! This Thanksgiving story is a classic read-aloud. It is a little long for one sitting, but certainly a cozy read. A great non-fiction introduction for little ones!

Molly’s Pilgrim is the heartwarming modern story of a Jewish family who have immigrated from Russia to escape religious persecution. Anyone who has had to move to a new place will understand the difficulties that Molly faces. This book has been the girls’ favorite read-aloud! They love glazing at the penciled illustrations! With a powerful message to live in peace an safety, this is a wonderful book for the Thanksgiving season!

A Cranberry Thanksgiving is a lighthearted and maybe silly story set in New England. It’s a cold and lonely cranberry farm at the edge of the sea, but on Thanksgiving, the house is warm and full of tradition. It’s a fun holiday read and includes Grandmother’s Famous Cranberry Bread recipe!

Thanksgiving: A Time To Remember is our family’s all-time favorite! We read short portions of this book at the dinner table everyday in November. This book refreshes our memory of the courage and sacrifice that the Pilgrims made and of God’s provision for them. It is a moving account of the Mayflower crossing and the first winter in the New World. This book will help you establish a tradition of sharing your gratefulness with one another at home. It encourages families to build a legacy of memories and thankfulness and celebrates faith, family, and freedom.

Every year we discover a new gem! What are some of your family’s favorite Thanksgiving books? Leave a comment sharing yours!

with love. Damaris

Taking Time to Evaluate and Refocus

I recently shared here how much I enjoy having the children home and the delight of spending the moments learning together. I am grateful to be their encourager, for the time to get to know them and they me, as well as the satisfaction it brings me to complete all the homeschool tasks of the day. I thrive on list-making and getting things done, so every subject for every child is that many more opportunities for me to cross something off my list : )

Although we can all admit that a job completed is rewarding, it is equally important to take a bit of time to evaluate how the days and weeks are going. As much as I love checking lessons, tests, and reviews off the list, it’s good for me to stop and see where I need to refocus. These are some questions that I found to be helpful*:

  • Did I feed myself with the Bread of Life today?

  • Did I discipline my children to love God with their heart, soul, mind, and strength?

  • Did today’s homeschooling give my children a clearer picture of who God is, what He has done, how He sees them, and how He calls them to serve Him?

  • Did I prioritize learning wisdom at the feet of Godly teachers over academic achievement today?

  • Did I focus on character and help my children apply their learning to life?

  • Did we worship God in the chemistry experiment (or the math class, etc.)?

*The complete chart is on generations.org.

I also wanted to share some of the verses that help me to refocus on my calling. We have these verses hanging with a magnet on our schoolroom whiteboard:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:7

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Romans 11:36

With love, Damaris

The Joy of Having Them Home

We now have over a month of completed schooldays, and there are so many things I am pondering.

I adore this season! I’ve been loving this September weather with chilly mornings that turn to warm afternoons. The leaves on the maple outside the schoolroom will be glowing golden soon enough. Even though I love the apple orchards, the sweaters, the colorful leaves, and the hot cider, I mostly love what this season represents – a fresh start. The intentions, goals, vision, and perspective that come with a fresh beginning.

This summer was a fun-filled adventure, as summer should be! However, I’ve been good and ready to inch back into a flow of more home-days of learning. This last month of homeschool has brought that rhythm, and I have to acknowledge the delight it brings to my soul. Taking care of our home and the people in it while consistently schooling is a daily act of worship. These are a few of the reasons that having the children home bring me joy:

I am grateful to be their encourager.

Many layers of learning concur while we spend our day together at home. There is emotional, spiritual, physical, and intellectual training that happens not only in the children, but in me as well. I find great delight in encouraging them and hearing them encourage each other. I love to see them learn to serve one another even in the little things like buttering toast at the breakfast table.

I love the time to get to know them, and they get to know me.

The multiple opportunities for discipline and correction are truly a privilege. I am able to see the problem, address it, and pray with them for forgiveness and God’s merciful help. I get to know the kids, and just as important, they get to know me. The moments reading Scripture, praying, confessing our sins, eating every meal, and just being gathered in the same room is a joy.

I thrive in the satisfaction of completing a task.

As I think about these last few schooling weeks, I smile because I love the routine – the early morning coffee, the quiet rooms (everyone working), and the reward of tasks accomplished. Perhaps these are more superficial joys though gratifying none the less. As much as I admit to embracing simple and slow, I love to work hard and get things done. I gravitate towards productivity, so the fulfillment of giving a spelling test, finishing the first phonics book, completing and grading math lessons, working through two diagrams, and reviewing the memory work by lunchtime makes me very happy.

With love, Damaris

Daily Homeshool Schedules

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Last week we shared how we prepared this year for back to homeschool. One of the things we did was take time to make each child’s daily schedule. Then Nathan and I reviewed it and went over it with each child. Now their daily structured learning is written out on a small card and taped to their workspace.

At this point in our homeschooling, we mostly have three learning stages. Just as a broad view of the day, Alexander is in Classical Conversations Challenge B and follows those daily tasks. He does schoolwork until 3ish. Eva and William have the same rhythm because they do the same amount of subjects, and they can be done by lunch with their formal learning. Isabel and Nora are both learning or improving on phonics and share a smaller subject load than the rest of the children. Isabel and Nora have time to read and play after their lessons before it’s even time for lunch. Providence has a letter and number tracing workbook, and she joins in our singing, nature walks, art, and whatever intrigues her that day.

It never ceases to amaze me the wisdom and direction that the Lord gives us as we find a rhythm with each new school year! Every year has a different set of circumstances such as a new baby, a house move, new books or added subjects, toddlers that need entertained, but I can testify that as we begin our ninth year of homeschool, He has been faithful to provide the time, energy, creativity, and all that has been needed for a healthy home routine.

We’re all up by 7 and at the breakfast table by 7:15. I read to them a short devotional and by 7:45, the children are doing/finishing morning chores (laundry, wipe bathrooms, empty trash bins, feed animals). 8 means everybody at their workspace ready for daily Bible time. They each have a Bible or devotional book that they read. This could take 10 – 15 minutes. At this point, the daily tasks become more individualized.

Alexander is following Challenge B, a course with Classical Conversations. He is taking a once a week seminar-style class on his own with friends and developing the rest of the learning at home through research, writing, and discussion. The work load has been a big change for our home’s rhythm, but he loves it and is thriving! His daily structured studies are math, Latin, logic, astronomy, writing, and debate.

Eva and William have math, handwriting, spelling, grammar, and writing. They also join Isabel and Nora for Classical Conversations memory work in a little math, Latin, science, history, and a timeline. In the afternoons, both Eva and William have self-directed and independent research/reading. Usually it’s books from the library about a place, culture, person, or event in history. This independent study will often inspire them to do mapping or illustration. In the afternoon they also practice their instruments and finish an uncompleted subject from the morning (we try to avoid this from happening).

Isabel and Nora have Bible time where Isabel reads the Bible story aloud and has a little bit of copywriting and drawing. This means that Isabel picks one sentence from the story and illustrates it on the same page in her notebook. Isabel and Nora move on to math and handwriting followed by phonics (different levels). By this point, Eva and William should be ready for reviewing the memory work from our Classical Conversations with Isabel and Nora. I try to do this with them too. We sing the songs and identify places on the map for just 15 minutes or so daily.

By this time, our stomachs are growling – lunch is all we can think about.

Nathan reads aloud at least one school night. We purpose to inspire the children during this time as well as teach them about different cultures, so for years we’ve been read missionary biographies.

I don’t know if it sounds like we do a lot. Because we don’t. And I am ok with that.

Thanks for taking a peek into our day!

with love. Damaris

End of Summer

August is the sweet, sweet month of summertime. Picnics and lemonade, grilled sausages and watermelon, gladiolus, peaches and blueberries had their moments of glory. Loud singing insects of summer (I see you, cicadas) continue to warm our days and crowd our nights, yet will inevitably quiet down in the next few weeks.

We praise God for a splendidly satisfying season of summer. A time of resting from structured school days and embracing daily adventures. Slow days at home, picnics at the lake, and suppers al-fresco sprinkled the weeks. Everything tasted like summertime!

For us this year, August was lambing season as well as the crown of the vegetable harvest. The abundance of colors and full flavors have been pleasures at the daily family table. God’s bountiful blessing is truly one of the sweetest delights of summer’s end.

Everyone’s cups are filled, and we’re ready for the homeschool year. Shifting into new rhythms brings a new countenance to the whole day, but we’re all happy and appreciate a fresh start. Our home still feels peaceful and inviting (my main stressor is clutter, messes, and disorder). We go to bed prepared for the next day (meals, clean-up), so while we pause to study and water our learning, the atmosphere is quiet and happy.

This year, we’re trying to focus our teaching with the children on life-giving speech and conduct – nurturing and encouraging others as obedience to and glory to God. So as we face the end of summer, I pray that we learn to be life-givers in our words and actions – because in His presence there is fullness of joy and His lovingkindness is better than life (Psalm 16:11 and 63:3).

What do you say? I think there’s time to make one more batch of mango ice cream : )

P.S. A summer joke from my kids:

Why shouldn’t you tell secrets in the garden?

Because the corn has ears,

the potatoes have eyes,

and the beanstalks.

with love, Damaris

Family Currents: August Abundance

August has been lambing season! We had marked the week on the calendar as to when the two ewes were due, but the exact day would be a surprise. On the last evening of our trip to Washington DC, we got a little text from a friend who was coming to count the barnyard animals once a day. We were in the outdoor hotel pool, and everybody was out of the water so fast to see pictures of the new addition. By the next week, the second ewe had her lamb, and now one cannot tell the lambs apart. We were surprised at how fast they are and how soft they are. Pure white little beauties!

Our mature pig Holly is due to have her litter in early September! Did you know a female pig’s gestation is 3 months + 3 weeks + 3 days?

Nathan found a swarm of bees in the work shop this week and rehomed them into a hive box. We’ll give it a couple more days to call it a success! Hopefully they like their new home. Then we’ll move the box to join the other hive. This will make a third hive. All of the mid-summer honey has been bottled! Feel free to email us, contact us through this post, Facebook, or Instagram if you’d like to enjoy some raw, unfiltered honey.

We love to go blueberry picking! This U-pick farm has a high bush variety which makes it very easy to reach and fill your bucket without bending low to search for the little fruit. It was a later in August than peak season, so we were left with smaller berries and fewer clusters. We ate our fill while picking and still gathered 8 pounds of blueberries! We enjoyed them all weekend and froze 6 quart bags with the rest.

Samuel’s birthday was mid-August, and it was so much fun to celebrate this sweet baby boy! We cannot handle all his sillies! You can read about his special day here. Since chocolate is his favorite food in the entire world, Eva baked this delicious cake. He was so tickled to open presents with trains, tools, and tractors!

A couple of weeks ago, our family went on a road trip to Washington DC where we attended the Bible Family Conference, visited nearby Arlington Cemetery and Mount Vernon, and of course enjoyed the national monuments, the Smithsonian, and the Museum of the Bible. Wrote about all the trip adventures here. We can’t wait to go back and learn some more! It was a great place for families – and large families too : )

The first Saturday in August always gets marked on the calendar early in the year. Our family doesn’t want to miss the Highland Games! It is such a summer highlight for us! The St. Andrew’s Society of Detroit puts on a full day of Celtic dance competitions, scone and shortbread shops, kilts, swords and traditional jewelry booths, Border Collie dog races, Shetland Sheepdogs and long-haired cattle for petting, caber toss, tug-o’war, hammer throwing, and other traditional Scottish games. We came home with a dozen lavender-lemon shortbreads that were Mmmmmm.

Farm fresh produce are available every day at the farm stand. We pick heirloom tomatoes by the bushel. The dark purple eggplants, sweet corn, okra, bell peppers and jalapenos are glossy and gorgeous. The spaghetti, buttercup, and butternut squashes are perfect, huge, and at the stand. All restocked daily. We also have real maple syrup and raw, unfiltered honey for sale at the farm stand. Come stop by the farm!

with love. Damaris