I am someone who tends to over complicate things. When it comes to our homeschool day, I've found a comfortable rhythm separating our day into three parts. Having the day divided into three parts helps me fit in all of our subjects and helps the day stay on track without a timed schedule.
Our Homeschool Day in Three Parts
Part 1: Morning Time
Our morning time starts after breakfast and after everyone is dressed and completed their morning chores. In the past we've done morning time during breakfast, but now that my kids are getting older they are often finished with breakfast before I am ready to dive into school work (I am not a morning person). This begins our school day but doesn't start at a specific time, though most days it happens around 8:30/9am.
Morning time subjects are what I consider the "beauty subjects". They're an easy way to ease into the day. Each day we do three subjects from the following list: Bible, Recitation, Preschool Literature, Poetry, Composer Study, Hymn Study, Artist Study, Solfa, Folk Songs and our monthly Read Aloud.
It usually takes about 20 minutes to complete everything. Some days we dive right into Table Work, and other days we take a break or play a game.
Part 2: Table Work
I also sometimes call this "Core Work" as this part of our day consists of our core subjects, but I also call it table work because they're the only subjects that might require us to sit at a table or a hard surface.
I will set each child up in their own space with two or three of the following subjects: Phonics, Handwriting, Math, Reading Practice, Copywork, or the preschool equivalent from Let Them Be Little Preschool.
If we're having bad attitudes we will have a snack with our table work or put on some music in the background. This portion of school work requires a lot of back and forth for me between children, so it's busy! But for the ages my children are, this part of the day takes 45-90 minutes to complete.
After table work my kids play, we have lunch and then transition into our rest time. I occasionally use rest time to work on individual readings or subjects that need full concentration.
Part 3: Weekly Subjects
The third section of our school day is "Weekly Subjects", which is the two or three subjects that are different every day. These include: Literature, Geography, History, Foreign Language, Science, Nature Journaling and Handcrafts.
We try to balance our subjects that are heavy on reading (history, literature) with those that are more hands on (nature journaling, handcrafts) so the kids can work with their hands while we're reading aloud. I try not to overload certain days when I know we will be busy with outside activities (like co-op).
After our weekly work we typically finish the rest of our day with outdoor time, our "blessing hour" clean-up time and then supper, family time and bed time, etc.
Why This Homeschool Rhythm Works For Us
This works so well for us because we are involved in a lot of outside activities. These all happen on different days and at different times (like co-op and Bible Study Fellowship) and it is easier to adapt our schedule when it isn't attached to a specific time.
Having a rhythm like this allows for interruptions and difficulties, which always seem to arise. My kids know what to expect in each "section" of the day, so we can rearrange them as needed. It helps me visualize when we need to take breaks easier too. We never do all three parts at once, but always make sure to space them out. We rearrange the subjects in each section as the mood strikes, which is helpful for attention spans and engaged learning.
It's taken us awhile to figure out this rhythm, but now, I don't think I will ever be able to stop thinking of our school day in threes!
