When I was studying at University we were advised to become aware of the times of the day when we were most alert and our down times. It was argued that there was no point in studying when our brain was 'down'. I found that I am a "Lark". That is, I am alert early in the morning, have a downtime in the afternoon and then alert in the evening. This same principle can be applied to homeschooling. We need to work with our natural body rythms.
Secondly we need to work with out character strengths. In the recent ABC television production Making Australia Happy the science of Positive Psychology is discussed. A test that reveals your character strengths can be taken and then it is then suggested that you work with your strengths, this has been scientifically proven to have a very positive effect on ones happiness. I took the test and since I have been working with my strengths I find jobs that were once difficult are now quite refreshing.
So what has all of this to do with the homeschool schedule? Homeschooling/educating children is no walk in the park, while homeschooling/educating is immensely satisfying and rewarding it is a HUGE commitment. We, the parents, need to research what we are going to teach our children, we need to know our children so that we can make sure that what we are teaching them is appropriate for each child, we are still running a house, and things happen. We need to keep a positive outlook while undertaking an enormous workload. A school teacher can teach more or less the same curriculum each year, whereas every week of every year is different for the homeschooling parent. So how to schedule using out strengths?
First of all work out the times of the day when you are really alert and can cope with all of the really stressful things that life has to throw at you and then plan your days around your energy levels. For me my high energy time is from early in the morning up until lunchtime. For example I am planning my year at the moment. My mind is really buzzing with my plan, but I need to tie the pieces together, think about what resources I need, how am I going to achieve the things that I want to achieve, what do I want to achieve, what needs to be eliminated and what needs to be kept, how am I going to keep my goals attainable, etc. etc. etc. So this planning would take place early in the morning until lunchtime. If you asked me in the afternoon to make big decisions I am hopeless, I can only do jobs where I am on autopilot. When I was homeschooling the afternoons were the time of day that I could read to the children, I used a Charlotte Mason philosophy for some subjects which required lots of reading to children. I knew what books we were reading each day and I could cope well with that in the afternoon. I couldn't cope with organising new projects for or with the children i.e. finding, planning, helping, listening, researching so afternoons were and still are the time of day when I do the things where I don't have to think, I am the same with physical things also, great in the morning not so good in the afternoon. (It could also pay to work out the children's natural body rythms also as this could lead to a better understanding of each child and how to work with them)
Secondly do the character strengths test above and work out your schedule using your top five. My strengths are:1.Spirituality, sense of purpose, and faith, 2.Creativity, ingenuity, and originality 3.Curiosity and interest in the world, 4. Love of learning and 5.Bravery and valor. (I was rather surprised at my no.1 character strength, as I didn't think that spirituality had currency in contemporary society). In the Multiple Intelligences it is said that there are 7 learning styles, however, it is argued that there are additional intelligences, one of which is Existentialist. When I learned about that, during a Museum Studies lecture, I thought that defined my learning style more than any other; possibly explaining spirituality as no. 1) Anyway I digress...
How I schedule using character strengths is I take the tasks at hand and then work out how I am going to VIEW them using my character strengths. For example my theme this year is food. If I view food as work or as deprivation or as finding out what is bad, I would not enjoy the theme at all, however, if I view the theme of food using my five character senses I will enjoy experimenting with new recipes or different methods of cooking, (creativity) learning about new foods or what is great about old foods.(love of learning, curiosity) My sense of bravery and valor will encourage me to be greener with food, to research food miles and seasonal food. (I would consider this to be part of my spirituality also) So using my five character strengths sits well with me, I feel positive about my schedule, it is exciting, interesting and natural TO ME. Therefore, it helps to know yours and your children's character strengths so that you can use them when making up your homeschooling learning schedule.
I would love to hear from anyone who uses this information and how it worked for you.
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