I’ve written about my feelings about homework (hint: I don’t like it) and mentioned that I was considering homeschooling. Well, I’m not there yet. I still have a lot of research to do before I make a decision. I have two more years before Eleanor starts Kindergarten (rather than the one year her classmates have because her December birthday falls just past the cutoff date). So I don’t have to make a decision any time soon. But for now, I decided to save a little money (not nearly enough if you ask me) and try out having Eleanor at home with me a few days a week to see if I had the patience for Homeschooling.

I expected this to be a serious challenge. The last time Eleanor spent whole days at home with just me was about a year and a half ago. And it was always tough. The days were long and exhausting and made me realize that I am not cut-out to be a stay-at-home-parent. So I expected about the same this time around.

Like any good lawyer, I prepared myself for the task. I did my research. I read articles on homeschooling preschoolers, blogs from homeschooling parents, and checked out what Eleanor’s schedule is throughout the day at school. Then we went for it!

Two weeks ago we changed her schedule at school. She will be home with me on Mondays and Fridays and in school Tuesday through Thursday. I felt like I was prepared the the challenge. And you know what, I was, and so was Eleanor! As it turns out, in the last year and a half her attention span has grown much longer. We used to have to move from activity to activity every 10-15 minutes because she just couldn’t stay entertained for any longer than that. But my little girl is growing up! She’s now good for about 30 minutes on any task. Which is perfect because I’m following her school routine, which as them switch activities about that often.

Here is a look at our Monday & Friday routine:

7:30ish Wake Eleanor up, give her breakfast, make beds and get us dressed for the day
8:30 Outdoor Time (okay so this is mostly when I finish my blogging and let her run around the house or the patio, but once it gets warmer, we’ll start getting out of the house)
9:00 Computer Time (she’s been playing games on the Sesame Street website)
9:30 Snack Time
10:00 Circle Time (we read books and talk about things that she’s learning in school)
10:30 Art
11:00 Indoor Play Time
11:30 Lunch
12:15 Story Time
12:30 Nap Time
3:00 Snack Time
3:30 Outside Play
4:00 Free Indoor Play (which is when I start cleaning up the house a bit and getting dinner started)

So far, it’s been a lot of fun and not as challenging as I had expected. Having a schedule helps so much, and makes the day go by quickly and mostly painlessly. AND I still have an hour and a half to two hours while she naps to get some work done. We are really enjoying our time together and I’m happy we made the switch. Who knows, homeschooling might be in our future! We’ll see…