The School Gazette

Schedule

A normal day, how the year is split, and the tools we actually use. Focus changes and flexes as needed.

A Normal Day

8:15–8:30
Daily Puzzle Daily Puzzle
8:30–9:15
Math Math: Khan Academy & Beast Academy
9:30–10:00
DEAR DEAR: Independent Reading
10:00–11:00
Science / SS / Spelling Science / Geography / Spelling / Social Studies
11:00–11:30
Lunch Lunch
11:30–12:00
Recess Recess
12:00–12:45
Lexia Lexia & Literature
1:00–1:30
Writing Cycle Writing Cycle
1:30–2:00
Finish Up Complete Unfinished Work
2:00–2:45
PE PE
3:00
Day Over Day Over

How the Year Runs

Sep – Dec

Core Season

  • Heavy math focus
  • Reading & writing daily
  • Finish main software (Lexia, etc.)
  • Projects stay light
Jan – May

Expansion

  • Steady math pace
  • Continuous reading and writing
  • Science & hands-on work
  • Bigger independent projects
Jun – Jul

Summer

  • Mostly free time
  • Light reading & math only
  • Room for interests
August

Ramp Up

  • Slowly add structure back
  • Get ready for Core Season
Travel: Usually 2–4 weeks total per year. Schoolwork drops to about 45 minutes of math and 30 minutes of reading while we’re gone. Kids help navigate and handle real tasks.

What We Use

Math

Beast Academy is the main path right now. After Level 5 we’ll move toward Math Academy. Khan Academy fills gaps and provides extra practice. Once the core sequence is strong, math can drop to a few days a week so other work has room.

Beast Academy Math Academy Khan Academy

Reading & Writing

Lexia until grade-level work is finished. Real books every day (one we pick, one she picks, occasional topical book). Writing follows a clear weekly cycle: draft by hand → type → get feedback → revise → finish and share.

Lexia Real books Writing cycle

Science

Beast Science workbooks plus hands-on experiments. After Christmas we give science more time. Occasional kits from Home Science Tools when we want deeper lab work. Not a full weekly survey of every topic.

Beast Science Home Science Tools

Projects & Practical Skills

Finished projects with real constraints (research, recommendation, feedback, revise). Can be house-related, writing, sewing, finance, coding, or anything that requires thinking and a clear end. EdClub covers typing and personal finance basics.

Finished projects EdClub

PE & Music

PE with neighborhood kids several days a week. Music, dance, or other movement on the other days. Soccer and other sports through local leagues. YMCA options when they fit.

PE with neighbors Music / dance Soccer

Testing

NWEA MAP Growth through Homeschool Boss a few times a year. Gives clear percentiles and growth data so we know the cores are solid without relying only on our own judgment.

MAP Growth Homeschool Boss

Project Ideas

Projects should end with something finished. Examples of domains we’ve used or are open to:

Programming Sewing Baking Finance Drawing Story writing Construction / house Photography Animation Business Architecture Video editing Camping / outdoors Astronomy