When deciding on our homeschooling schedule, we had several things to take into account. Officer Daddyman is on evening watch, which means he leaves the house at around 2pm and doesn’t return until 11pm or later. He works part time security jobs at odd hours. His off days rotate forward by one day every fourth Sunday. The Tank goes to a three day a week, four hour a day preschool. We have a co-op on Tuesday that runs most of the day. We go to another family’s house for science class on Thursdays.
Captain Science thrives on routine. The more predictable the schedule, the happier a child he us. The very best schedule for us would be to get up at the same time each day, start and finish school at the same time each day, and do the same things in the same order each day. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, for the sake of Captain Science’s ability to cope with change), our family schedule simply doesn’t allow us to do that.
Due to Daddyman’s rotating off days, we had originally considered keeping school days on his work days and rotating our “weekend” to match up with his. Because The Tank goes to school outside the home, however, and because we have commitments elsewhere, we realized that wouldn’t be practical. We keep to a traditional Monday through Friday schedule. This means that Officer Daddyman is sometimes home all day to help with homeschool and sometimes is gone all day and doesn’t see the kids at all on a day when we have no school. When Captain Science was in public school, he would sometimes have three or four days in a row of not seeing his dad at all, though, so at this point, any additional amount of time we see Daddyman feels like lagniappe.
On Monday, either Daddyman or I wakes up at 7:50 to get The Tank ready for school. We get the Captain up and rolling if he’s not up already, so he can eat breakfast. Sometimes, he and Daddyman will go on a run while Babypie and I take The Tank to school. Sometimes, Captain Science goes ahead and starts on his math (his first subject of any at-home day) while Daddyman sleeps in a bit with Babypie, especially if Daddyman has worked late the night before. Once I’m back from dropping off The Tank, we go on about our day, until 12:40, when I have to go get The Tank again. I leave Captain Science, and occasionally Babypie, with Daddyman. Once I’m home, we just work until the work is done.
On Tuesday, Daddyman and Captain Science get up early to go to the first session of co-op classes, the martial arts class that Daddyman teaches at 10. I stay behind and get lunches packed and the two little ones dressed and ready, so I can be there for my class at 11. Daddyman stays at co-op until noon, watching Babypie while I teach, and then he leaves. I feed the boys and then take The Tank and Babypie home with me for naps at around 12:30, returning at 3:00 to get Captain Science. That’s usually the end of our homeschool day, thank goodness!
Right now, Daddyman works a part time on Wednesdays at a local bank. He leaves before dawn and then usually goes straight to his shift, as his off days are Thurs/Fri right now. Homeschooling can sometimes feel very overwhelming on Wednesdays, because I get up at 7:50 with The Tank, get all his school stuff ready, and have to get everyone in the car to drop him off. Captain Science can’t start his math until we’re home at 9:15 or 9:20, so it’s hard to get far before we have to turn around and go back to the preschool (can you see why I’m considering not reenrolling him for the next school year?). I have all three kids, alone, all day long, and the little two are cranky because they want their daddy. On Wednesdays, I usually flee to Nana’s house for coffee, just for some adult company and a little freedom from the boys, who will play with her neighbors for a while.
Thursdays, I get up with everyone again, load them up, and drop off The Tank. After that, I take Captain Science over to Patchfire’s house for science, stay until 12:20 when Eclectic Girl has to go to piano lessons, then come home. Daddyman usually goes to pick up The Tank on Thursdays, so Captain Science can eat lunch and start on his other school work.
Fridays are such a relief! No preschool! No work! Unless Daddyman has court, he’s home all day. We don’t get rolling very early on these days, more like 9+ than 8ish. Officer Daddyman usually cooks a big brunchfest at around 10-11. If Captain Science has been having trouble with any math concepts, Daddyman spends the rest of the morning helping him with that. We don’t have a lot of curricula to cover on Fridays, as this is the day we do things like typing and logic, so we can relax and not have to rush. We like to wrap it up early if possible, because we have a standing dinner and play date with The Mitnens*. Occasionally, Captain Science has a Dawdling Day, though, and we are late to our date.
Saturdays are makeup days if we’ve had to miss a day for illness or injury, though we’ve only had two of those so far. Officer Daddyman is currently working on Saturdays and Sundays, so we tend to bum around with family or friends, and make out of the house plans that don’t involve him.
We have hectic, full lives, as you can see, yet we can make homeschooling work for us. If anything, homeschooling better suits our schedule, because we have more together time and because we don’t have to revolve five days a week around meeting someone at the bus stop. We can hit the playground before the afterschool rush. Homeschooling fits our crazy schedule, and we like it that way!
*The Tank says “Mitnen” for “mister” and “miss.” He also can’t say the letter “S” very well, so he calls Patchfire’s husband “Mitnen Ham” and her “Mitnen [Patchfire].” Now the McLernins refer to the whole family as “The Mitnens.”
