Our School Week

Because of our move we started school a bit late this year and yesterday was our first day!

I'm thrilled to say it went extremely well, too! Surprisingly, I found myself to be a little nervous in the morning as we got dressed and ate our breakfast. I actually had butterflies in my stomach! I've been doing learning related activities with James for over a year now, so in theory this day shouldn't have been that much different to me.

But it was. Because this day marked the true beginning of our homeschooling journey and I logged in my first hours as a homeschooling parent. Yes, I realize it's "only preschool", but since we've decided to homeschool indefinitely I have the larger picture in my mind and heart.

It was an exciting day and I'd say we're off to a great start. While I'm sure we'll make changes to how our days run as we see the need (reason 1,001 why it's SO nice to homeschool), I wanted to share an overview of how our school week runs.

We have school Monday-Friday, 8:30am-12:00pm. (Note: the following times are approximations - flexibility is key.)
Before 8:30am: We're early birds so we're up and at 'em by 7am. I'll have tidied the house, we'll have made our beds, eaten our breakfast, gotten dressed and brushed our teeth before school starts at 8:30am.
8:30-8:50am: 1st Circle Time. We cover topics on our school calendar, sing songs, etc. I'll write more on this in a couple of days.
8:50am-10:00am: 1st Work Time. This is when James works on whatever he chooses from our shelves. I'm in the room the entire time to guide him as needed and to work with him on new concepts.
10:00am-10:15am: Snack Time. We go to the kitchen where James chooses a snack and prepares it himself (he LOVES doing this). He has a shelf in the fridge and a drawer in the pantry where his food/bowls/utensils are stored.
10:15am-11:00am: 2nd Work Time.
11:00am-11:20am: 2nd Circle Time. We come together for a story, another song or two, a prayer and a few minutes of mindful rest.
11:20-12:00pm: Recess Outdoors. We might play movement games, explore the yard, go for a walk, play with our animals and if it's warm enough we'll swim in our pool.

After recess is lunch and then 1 hour of quiet time where James plays quietly in his room (or naps on very rare occasions).

Each week day afternoon is planned as follows:
Mondays: Baking Day
Tuesdays: Grocery Shopping Day
Wednesday: Playgroup Day (I run this group and it's a great place for James to hang out with some friends).
Thursday: Kindermusik & Errands Day
Friday: Field Trip Day - we'll do any number of things on this day, such as take a bus or ferry trip to another part of the island, visit the aquarium or plan a get together with friends.
And our weekends are all about family time (and laundry!). :)

Our week has a really nice flow to it and I'm thrilled about having our rhythm back. During the 3-4 weeks when we were moving, I was amazed at how differently James behaved. He wasn't naughty or anything, but he was definitely "off". He seemed aimless and wasn't listening as well as he usually does and was totally forgetting all the wonderful habits he had (such as cleaning up his toys without asking). Like all children, he craved structure and routine. I'm glad to be able to provide that for him once again.

Linking up to The Preschool Corner & Montessori Monday.

~Thank you for your comments!~