| It’s About Time: Homeschooling Time Management |
By: Debra Dragon, Homeschooling Columnist
On 11/12/05
Listen to any frustrated parent’s conversation, and you’ll find the discussion will almost always lead to the same thing: not having enough time. Or more specifically, time management, schedules, and the lack of time there is in each day to get things done.
| "Parents who conduct homeschool’s need to become masters at time management, because it is a skill that will automatically be taught to your children; your students; as you conduct your homeschool activities." |
Homeschooling families have even more struggles with scheduling and time issues than most. When your children attend school and typical home activities all under the same roof, you’re adding an additional challenge to the ever popular time management issue that leaves parents frazzled, rushing from one activity to the next, and wanting to pull their hair out.
The good news is there are many activities a homeschooling family can effectively do in order to achieve organization and reduce the level of chaos happening in your home each day. Time management is a skill that must be learned, most people are not born with the innate ability to become and remain organized, on time for everything, and able to balance the day’s many activities. In a homeschooling family, effective scheduling and time management must begin with the parent (who is also the teacher).
A traditional schoolteacher will create a lesson plan for their students. Typically, plans are first devised to incorporate all subjects that need to be covered over the entire school year first, and then the plan is broken down into segments that are divided by months. Most teachers will go a step further and create weekly lesson plans to make sure they stay on track throughout the school year. Homeschooling families need to do the same type of planning in order to have a chance at conquering the time management issue!
As you are choosing or designing your homeschool curriculum, you can take the time to create a plan that breaks down the topics into more manageable segments. There is no rule that says your plan cannot ever change- it’s just a starting point to keep you on the path of organization.
A homeschooling family needs a variety of planners or calendars to organize schedules. Young children can benefit from a daily schedule that shows simple pictures of what they can expect, and many experts agree that children of all ages benefit from having a routine schedule to follow, including the expert writers at http://www.zerotothree.org. In the article “Routines and Rituals”, the site states:
Daily routines are often thought of as just "maintenance" activities: meal time, running errands, getting ready for bed. But, these everyday actions are rich opportunities to support development and learning while having fun. Routines offer the chance to build self-confidence, curiosity, social skills, self-control, communication skills, and more.
The key ingredients for learning are provided by routines; relationships and repetition. When your homeschool children know what their typical “school day” will be like, they are confident because they know what to expect, they have more self control because there are less situations resulting from transitioning from one activity to the next, and these simple things gained from having a routine offer the children an environment most conducive to learning.
As a homeschool parent, you should have a “master schedule”, a calendar or date book of some kind that you write in all major activities and appointments. In your homeschool area, you should set up your homeschool “routine” on a chart that you share with your children. First, the children wake up, shower, and have breakfast. Second, the children gather around your learning area for a quick discussion of the day’s activities, which should include the every day schedule, as well as any additional projects, events or appointments that are taking place that day. Then, go through your subjects in the same order each day- first we’ll do math then we’ll focus on literature, etc. Having a routine will improve your homeschool schedule immensely, and save time deciding “what do we do next” after the completion of each subject matter.
Parents who conduct homeschool’s need to become masters at time management, because it is a skill that will automatically be taught to your children; your students; as you conduct your homeschool activities. If your children are rushed from one place to the next with no obvious schedule or plan of any kind, chances are they will not learn the important time management and scheduling skills that will assist them in their adult lives. On the other hand, children in a homeschool where the parents have organized and structured plans are almost guaranteed to learn those organizational skills, almost without even realizing it, in the process of studying all of the other material that they are learning.
With just a little planning, organized calendars or schedules, there truly is enough time in every day to do what we need to do. Homeschooling families will benefit immensely from having a routine, both in the flow of each day and the long term skills your children will gain in organization and time management that will help them in their adult lives. Isn’t it about time that you get organized?
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