I think it is hysterical that the top two questions that I have gotten from people over the last two years of homeschooling have been"What about socialization?" and "How do you not overschedule your child?" - one extreme to the other!
Overscheduling is a huge thing because you see all these great classes and opportunities for your family to have a great time, but you still need to have time for lessons, chores and nothing time scheduled!
My homeschooling "GURU" has this system of "stay days" and "go days" that you may have seen me mention before. How this works is you choose a few days a week consistently that you do not go anywhere! Now this does not have to mean that you are locked in the house, but more that you don't have any outside activities planned on those days. For us this is Tues, Wed, Sun. Some people have/need for it to be more than that. Others choose to not schedule anything before 12 or 1. However you work it out the key is to stick to it consistently. Now I do make concessions if there is a Field trip, play date or something like that, but I will not schedule anything that is repeating on those days.
Overscheduling is a huge thing because you see all these great classes and opportunities for your family to have a great time, but you still need to have time for lessons, chores and nothing time scheduled!
My homeschooling "GURU" has this system of "stay days" and "go days" that you may have seen me mention before. How this works is you choose a few days a week consistently that you do not go anywhere! Now this does not have to mean that you are locked in the house, but more that you don't have any outside activities planned on those days. For us this is Tues, Wed, Sun. Some people have/need for it to be more than that. Others choose to not schedule anything before 12 or 1. However you work it out the key is to stick to it consistently. Now I do make concessions if there is a Field trip, play date or something like that, but I will not schedule anything that is repeating on those days.
If it is a particular class(es) you are debating over or trying to choose between, another thing is to really think about what the class is and if it will be running again. Would this be something that your child might enjoy more next year, after doing a unit study on the topic, maybe they could wait until spring and take it then, maybe they would enjoy it more when they are older. Most classes that are offered for homeschoolers will run again. Really this is just about prioritizing.
How do you avoid overscheduling in your household?
I try and keep Mondays & Wednesdays as stay days. Tuesdays and Thursdays are swimming days and park days. I try and get appointments for the afternoons on those days. We will also be starting a co-op on Thursdays in September.
ReplyDeleteI also love to stay home on Sundays. I am not quite sure why.
I agree with you that a balance is very necessary. We have weeks that are very busy and then weeks that are very unscheduled. It helps, I think, if you can be somewhat flexible to the odd unexpected playdate or adventure. But our kids don't need to be in "activity" after "activity" either!
ReplyDeleteGlad to meet you!