Our Daily Homeschool "Rhythm"

What does a day look like at my house? Well, with four kids, it’s never dull! We adapt our routine as needed, but we keep a general framework in place to provide a general structure for the kids and maintain my sanity. For reference, my kids are 11, 9, 7, and 5. My oldest and youngest both have autism and other medical needs. Here's our basic rhythm:

• Each child has “independent activities” on their list, as well as “with mom” assignments. 
• I cycle through and work with one at a time, sometimes two at a time, to complete the “with mom” assignments.
• We recently began using the Skylight calendar to help track assignments and earn rewards, like TV time, mom dates, etc. This has been especially motivating!! What a win!
• We aim to go to a park or at least go outside every day (we live in Florida, so we're lucky that this is an attainable goal almost year round)
• We hold it all loosely because we usually have at least one therapy or doctor appointment each day, as well as a healthy dose of chaos and medical emergencies. 

A Look at My Speller’s Day

Let's talk about my speller, Zeke. We have been spelling for almost 2 years, and he is an unreliable speaker. Once we began spelling, we had to adjust our homeschooling pretty significantly. I stopped working on handwriting, reading, and writing, because these skills were stuck at a kindergarten level for years. As part of presuming competence, I realized these skills were not a true indication of his ability, and I was holding him back by working at what was seemingly "his level" instead of using an age appropriate curriculum. He may not be able to write a paper, but he sure can comprehend and absorb information on topics and he can answer questions using the spellers board. It's a shift in mindset that is hard sometimes, because it looks so wildly different from how I'm homeschooling my other kids. Once I was able to make that shift, I was able to truly meet Zeke's educational needs by focusing on input. Let me say it again louder for those in the back. INPUT. We focus on making sure Zeke is receiving a 5th grade level input in his schooling. Literature, history, science, and math. Plus we add things like art, movement, and hands one projects. Let's look at what his typical daily assignments are:

Independent Activities:

• Typing Practice: Do a typing lesson on Touch Type Read and Spell
• Drawing Time: He picks a guided drawing video to follow. If he's completing a unit study like Robotics, there are often drawing video links included, so he'll do that!
• Educational Videos: Watch any youtube videos from our lessons for the day. Usually he has a read aloud video, educational science or history videos, and sometimes his math curriculum has a video for the day. I type all these links up and put them on a word document so he can click through them semi-independently as he completes each. Our unit studies include lots of links to videos so that spellers can complete these tasks semi-independently.
• Outdoor Play: Go play outside for 10 minutes
• Physical Activity: Play Ring Fit on the switch.
• Brain Breaks: Movement break with siblings (a yoga video or brain break video, such as the ones included in our Amusement Park Unit Study
• Creative Building: If applicable, he builds a related structure with Legos, Magnatiles, or in Minecraft based on our history or science lesson.

With Mom Activities:

• Reading Together: We go over any additional reading not included in his YouTube videos. He often listens while drawing, using a sensory bin, or sitting in his swing to stay engaged.
• Math Lessons:  We use Moving Beyond the Page for math. We have to tweak it some, but overall I find it easy to do so. Zeke is 11 and currently in the 9-11 Math level. We learn the lesson, do a few practice problems from the lesson’s worksheets or do the online learning gate. Zeke answers the questions with a combination of the number spellers board and a whiteboard - we work together!
• Spelling Practice: We practice with a spelling lesson for as long as he can tolerate. Using a timer or setting a goal of 20 words helps keep him motivated.
• Movement Exercises: We incorporate exercises learned from vision therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy to improve his visual motor skills and motor planning. This takes about 5-10 minutes daily and usually includes a sibling to make it more fun.

One thing you may notice if you're new to homeschooling or thinking about it, is that this list is NOT going to take 6 hours. Usually he is actively working on this homeschooling list for 2-3 hours a day. This allows lots of free time for boredom, free play, outside time, appointments, educational movies, etc. It may not look like traditional school, but he's receiving such a tailored education that it doesn't need to. 

This is just one child’s routine—each of my four kids has their own unique daily rhythm, but this structure keeps us moving forward while allowing for flexibility. Homeschooling with multiple kids can be challenging, but with the right balance of structure and adaptability, it works beautifully for our family, most days! The kids are thriving and learning and growing, and that's what counts!