How We Use Block Scheduling

If you are the parent of a child who goes to school at home, you know what a difference scheduling can make in how smoothly your day flows.  Now that you understand your child's learning style, it's time to consider her personality traits.  Ask yourself questions like, "Does she transition easily between subjects & activities?", "Does she loose interest in activities after a certain period of time?", "Does she feel overwhelmed by the number of classes she has to take?"  Knowing the answer to these kinds of questions will help you decide what type of class schedule will work best for your child.  If you have more than one child, remember, they may all be different.

My daughter does not transition easily between classes, but my boys do.  However, she can stay interested in a topic much longer than my boys (unless we're talking about video games or military history & weaponry).  She is also more likely to feel overwhelmed by having too many classes to complete each day.  Because my children have such different personalities, they also have very different schedules.

I don't really have to do much scheduling for my boys because they are capable of scheduling themselves...which is the ultimate goal.  From time to time one or both of them may put off one class so that they can work longer on another class. They will do this when they are in a groove and don't want to stop, but for the most part they follow a pretty traditional school schedule, working a little on each class every day.  They are both the type of person who feels like he is getting more done if he can quickly cross things off his to-do list.  Give them a longer list of quick things to do, and they breeze through it.

My daughter is just the opposite.  If she saw a list of seven classes to be completed, it wouldn't matter if you told her each class would only take five minutes, she would be overwhelmed.  For her schedule, we use much larger blocks.  Last year, she only worked on one class each day, completing a week's worth of lessons at a time.  That was actually a little too big.  This year she decided she would like to have two classes each day, completing half a week's work for each class. Bigger blocks allow her time to get a lot of work done in a subject without having to "change brains" too often.  Here is our plan for this year:

One of the perks of schooling at home is having flexibility in your schedule.  If after a few weeks of school, we realize that this schedule isn't quite right, we can tweak it a little...or completely trash it and start from scratch.  If you aren't sure what type of schedule is right for your child, check out this free ebook from The Education Alliance at Brown University.  It is written for schools systems, but starts with some great examples of various versions of block schedules and lists pros and cons for each.

What kind of class schedule do you use in your home?  What type of schedule does your local school use?  How is it working for you?

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: 2013-2014 School Planners

August is just around the corner.  Although I hate to cut summer short, it's time to start thinking about getting ready to go back to school. This can mean different tasks for different people.  For traditional public schoolers it means buying a list of school supplies, and perhaps new uniforms.  For homeschoolers it means planning your curriculum and lessons for the year. For us virtual schoolers it means choosing our children's schedules for the year.  One task we all have in common is getting organized.  Regardless of what type of school your children attend, they cannot be successful if they are disorganized.  Even if your children are pre-school aged, it's nice to make a plan to keep their education (and your life) organized.  To kick off the back-to-school month of August I'm linking you to a few school planners to help you get organized.  They are aimed at homeschoolers, but are very useful to any student or parent who wants to stay on top of assignments and grades.  The Home School Mom has a list of planners with descriptions of each.  Some are free, others are not.  Some are printable, others are software or databases.  Also, Erica from Confessions of a Homeschooler made three printable planners.  One is free, the others are $5 each.  

How do you and your students stay organized during the school year?  Do you have a planner or system to share?  Let me know in the comments below.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: Boredom Busters for Work From Home Moms

The modern economy doesn't really support the one income family model.  However, many families, like mine, still choose to have a parent at home with the children.  More and more of these stay-at-home moms are running their own businesses from home.  This week's mid-week morsel is all about keeping your kids busy while you are productive.  Spark Plugging is a website dedicated to work at home resources for home-based entrepreneurs.  I found a wonderful article there listing 94 ideas to keep kids busy.  Whether you work from home for money, or just to keep your sanity, this list will certainly help reduce the number of times you hear, "I'm bored", this summer.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: Button Up Your Organizational To-Do List

If spring is for cleaning, then summer is for organizing.  At least, it is for me. As a stay at home mom whose children go to school at home, I can't tell you how many projects get pushed back until school is out for the summer. This is our first full week without school and it is being spent cleaning out and organizing school supplies, and any other pile of disorganization I might find tucked in a corner or under a bed...or on top of my dresser.  For this week's Mid-week Morsel I thought it would be appropriate to share a website I've found full of resources for organizing everything, Buttoned Up. Whether you're just trying to find your home under the clutter, or planning a major event like moving, at Buttoned Up you're sure to find articles, tips, and even printables to help you on your way.

Karissa

Mid-week Morsel: New Year, New Calendar

Happy New Year!  The new year is always exciting.  It's a time for wiping the slate clean, and making a fresh start in every part of your life.  This week's Mid-week Morsel focuses on keeping your calendar for the new year organized and effective.  LifeHacker's Five Best Calendar Applications lists personal calendar apps for all platforms.  Appstorm offers 15 Cool Alternatives to Google Calendar; a list of applications for both personal and business schedules.  If you're looking to organize your whole family, Parents.com has simple ways to streamline your family's schedule.  Finally, if you're more of a paper and pen person, I have found many printable calendar options at CalendarLabs and WinCalendar.    What do you do to keep your calendar under control?

Karissa