Homeschool

A Day In The Life…

October 19, 2010 by Imaan 6 Comments

Alice, you asked about our daily routine so here’s a post just for you :)

When we started out homeschooling, we didn’t have much of a routine. Mars was just an itty-bitty thing then so all I did was read to her a lot. We read just about EVERYTHING we could get our hands on if it was good literature. We would go out a lot and generally talk a lot too :) Since Mars did not attend preschool or kindergarten and since I did not have a helper or babysitter, she would accompany me wherever I went. (She still does only now it is with her sister in tow as well.) I think that this was a positive thing for her as she had contact with people of diverse ages and backgrounds. We did not have a fixed routine until she was about 7 – when she officially fell under the Compulsory Education Act.

Here’s our average day (Monday to Saturday):

5.30 a.m. : Fajr (dawn) prayers
7.00 a.m. : Clean up, change and tidy up the room.
7.30 a.m. : The girls tend to Rocket, their newly-adopted pet kitten. They have to feed and water him and give him some attention and play time.
8.00 a.m. : Breakfast

8.30 a.m. Islamic Studies
9.15 a.m. Arabic homework & Qur’an revision (While Mars does this, Bear and I work on reading and Math)
11.15 a.m. – 2.15 p.m. Study other subjects – English / Math / Science / Geography / History. It varies depending on what day it is. We take a short break for Dhuhr/afternoon prayer in between. They are also expected to spend time with Rocket during any other breaks they take.

2.15 p.m. Lunch (and feed Rocket)

3.00 p.m. Arabic Class at the Institute of Arabic Language
4.30 p.m. `Asr (late afternoon) prayer & Karate class

6.00 p.m. Maghrib (dusk) prayer & Free time (check on Rocket again!)
7.15 p.m. Qur’an class at a neighbou’s home

7.45 p.m. – 10.00 p.m. `Isha (night) prayer and reading, play and bed (make sure Rocket is fed, watered and safe)

As to resources we use for Mars, you can check my page here. We don’t use each and every resource on that page or link listed on the blog each day or week. I don’t feel the pressure to incorporate each and every gem I find into our main curriculum – I’d go mental honestly because there is so much out there :P Our coursebooks form the spines and we use those bonuses as much as we can, but there is no stressing it really.

For Bear, we use the following:

  • Reading A to Z and Calvert’s reading programme – I downloaded Reading A to Z’s material when they had an ‘open house’ and Calvert’s is what Bear inherited from her sister
  • Reading Made Easy by Valerie Bendt
  • Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching – Mathematics Enrichment Programme
  • Living books – we use good literature for Science, Geography and whatever else she is interested in learning :)
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