After playing around with the organization of our school day for the first several weeks of this school year, I’m settling in with a mini-loop schedule. We have successfully used this in the past and will likely use it for several months. I like to switch around with different ways to organize our day every once in a while to help keep things fresh and interesting.
A mini-loop schedule is basically several different loop schedules organized into a block format. To use a loop schedule, set aside a certain time and work down a preset list until the time is up. The next day, pick up where you left off. We have used a loop schedule for the entire day, but the mini-loops work for us better.
Here is the basic organization of the day. Each time chunk aside from Bible is organized on a loop. My 5th and 7th grader are working on their loop for their whole chunk of time. Ideally, I’d like to work on the same subject areas with all my kids at the same time. It keeps things a bit easier for me, but my boys are using the same math book at different spots and one of my boys is spending more time on language arts than the other and less time on foreign language so that isn’t totally working out this year. For my first grader, I just expect to get to her during that window of time. Some things she can do on her own, but other things I do with her as I am available. She likes lots of breaks too.
| 7th Grade | 5th Grade | 1st Grade |
| 8:45-9:30 Bible | 8:45-9:30 Bible | 8:45-9:30 Bible |
| 9:30 – 11:00 Foreign Language and Fine Arts | 9:30-10:45 Math and Logic | 9:30-10:30 Language Arts |
| 11:00- 12:15 Math and Logic | 10:45-12:00 Foreign Language and Fine Arts | 10:30-12:00 Math and Logic |
| 12:15-1:00 Language Arts | 12:00 – 1:00 Language Arts | 12:00 – 1:00 Foreign Language and Fine Arts |
| Lunch and Break | Lunch and Break | Lunch and Break |
| 1:45-2:15 Exercise | 1:45-2:15 Exercise | 1:45-2:15 Exercise |
| 2:15-3:00 Language Arts | 2:15-3:00 Language Arts | 2:15-3:00 Language Arts |
| 3:00-4:00 History/Geography/ Current Events | 3:00-4:00 History / Geography | 3:00-3:45 History / Geography |
| 4:00-5:30 Science and Computer | 4:00-5:30 Science and Computer | 3:45- 4:30 Science |
| Homework: Run 1 mile, piano practice, read in bed | Homework: Run 1 mile |
An example of one of the math and logic loops would be something like this:
Art of Problem Solving
Grid Perplexor
Art of Problem Solving
Philosophy
Art of Problem Solving
Traditional Logic – 1 day
Art of Problem Solving
Grid Perplexor
Art of Problem Solving
Zome Geometry
Art of Problem Solving
Traditional Logic 1 Day
Once my son reaches the bottom of the list, he simply loops back to the top.
