Home School Schedules: Rotation Works Wonders

By Marcie Ciampi

Home school schedules come in all forms, from structured, to free, to not there at all. Figuring out what schedule worked best in our home school took some trial and error, some creativity, and a little bit of luck. Today, I implement a Rotation Schedule, a unique solution for our teaching day which I developed solely by accident.

My son likes to know when events are going to happen during his day. He has a hard time with uncertainties and change, a common characteristic for children on the autistic spectrum. By providing a schedule, Andy is better able to concentrate on the task at hand. I also do better with at least an outline of what my day will entail, and find I am much more productive and at peace when I make a short list of tasks for myself.

In the beginning of my homeschooling days, my schedule solution was actually quite comical, as I attempted to apply the schedule I had used for over a decade in the public schools to Andy's home school day. Comical indeed, for a first time homeschooling mother. Strike One. I quickly surmised, Andy only needed a half day to learn what would have taken him a full day to learn outside of the home school environment, and what a happy discovery it was. No need for fifty-minutes of math and a two hour language block.

Back to the drawing board I went, and having just read a book on classical education, I next tried a very fancy, regimented, college-prep-type schedule. Let us remember Andy was 9 at the time and has Asperger's Syndrome. Hello! What was I thinking? Strike Two.

O.K. So my little over-achieving self had to think a bit harder this time.

As I contemplated about what schedule to try next, I recognized one life skill I had for my son was to help him to take initiative in his educational program, and become more independent in the process of decision making and completion of tasks.

I found myself in an interesting situation; I knew fostering a sense of control of the environment for Andy was of up most importance - when Andy feels in control he has less anxiety, and as a result he has an increased ability to focus and increased desire to read and listen. I knew the logic - better focus equals more learning.

But, at the same time, I knew Andy would benefit if I provided opportunities for him that were less structured and open-ended, so he could develop his coping and adapting skills, as well as skills in the area of decision making and following assignments through to completion.

In hopes of finding a schedule that provided stability and structure and a sense of freedom and choice, I put together a number of different schedules, some silly and creative, and others fairly standard, with the intention of choosing one schedule after observing my son. What happened next was very interesting. I noticed, each day, as I presented Andy with a new schedule, he was motivated and focused on what the day had in store. He appeared more interested in the happenings of the school day than ever before.

I accidentally discovered rotating schedules motivated my son.

Rotating schedules is working wonders.

Each day, I can choose from a number of schedules, and base my decision on several environmental factors, variables which tend to have a direct relation to Andy's ability to concentrate and focus, such as the season of the year, upcoming anticipated events, his amount of sleep, his alertness and mood, the day of the week, his sugar intake, the weather, and so forth.

I know my son well enough to prepare a short, tight schedule on days he requires a large amount of structure, and, on other days, I recognize Andy would benefit with a more fun, less predictable schedule.

I have found in the later part of the school year, as spring arrives, Andy does best with fun schedules which offer choices and surprises. In the beginning of the school year, in August, I like to take advantage of our fresh energy by trying to accomplish a little bit more in our school day, and might include a longer, more detailed approach.

All in all, I am able to provide flexibility in our scheduling, while still providing Andy with a sense of control.

I actually get excited about some of the schedules myself, like when Andy draws a slip of paper with a task out of a hat or opens the paper windows to peek at what lesson is inside. I stand beside him and ask, "What did you get? What did you get?"

Andy typically rolls his eyes and smiles. And the smile is enough for me.

Link to sample schedules available soon!

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