Planning my homeschool week with The Children’s Tradition
We are on term three, week four or so of Year One of The Children’s Tradition, the Beta version with my six-year-old. I thought I would bring you along for my weekly Sunday afternoon plan of how our week looks, it’s simpler than you might think!
When we started last fall, finding our groove took a few weeks. But now I do this without thinking about it! There are a few ways to “do” TCT. Amanda includes a LOVELY sample timetable which I will include here. Of course, this can be customized, but this is not what our weeks have looked like. We have a small homestead, we have a Mother’s Prayer we attend every Wednesday at our local Monastery, Jiu Jitsu once a week, and we usually go to my mom’s house for Cousin Day once a week. I have found that it is a balance between a checkmark mentality of actually getting things done and remaining in the beautiful poetic mode of learning “without effort”.
First, I grab my TCT copy and my planner. This is a planner I was gifted with and is nothing fancy. Not a homeschool planner or a Christian planner or anything special. I have even planned on a piece of paper. Whatever you have will do!
As a side note, the new TCT is about 300 pages, and I plan to print in two sections, the philosophy and the curriculum. I’ve liked having it spiral bound for ease of use, though I wish I would’ve put it in page protectors because I do refer to it so much that it has play dough and food stains, of course.
After I grab my favorite pen, I sketch the week’s events. Azure pickup, playdates, whatever it is. Then I use my know-how to “guess” which readings would fit well on which days. I have found that even though Amanda suggests twice a week of Greek Myths, we usually just do the Myths in one sitting and are done for the week. I find this much easier for my brain, personally. Certain books are also more mentally taxing than others, Maria Edgeworth’s The Parent’s Assistant, for example. This is written in old English and while well worth the read, has required more focus and attention both for parent and reader. The Parent’s Assistant is the only reading I usually space over a few days for their length.
So I use the sample Term 3 Schedule of readings, go through our week, and plug and play. This whole process usually takes me about 15 minutes. I throw in my dinner ideas and check the pantry and fridge at the same time. We aim to do reading and math lessons four days a week, we do our “Benediction Table” or morning time three days a week, and fit the rest of TCT into three days as you can see in my planner. The three-day week is not something my student knows, just something I know.
I want to note that this “load”, while it may look like a lot, has not been mentally taxing for me in the least. I find it really freeing to know we only need to read one chapter of Burgess’ Animal Book with narration, and then we are done for the week. In my head, I just know what needs to be done, and we do it with grace and ease.
Utilizing TCT this year with a six, four, and two-year-old has been incredibly more peaceful, rich, and delightful than I ever could have imagined. The part of this year that has been more tricky for me has been reading and math… but we’ll leave that for another post.
I hope this helps you get an idea of how you could plan your TCT week easily with the framework Amanda has given! We are full steam ahead on year two for the fall and couldn’t be more excited. You can buy TCT now for the full launch on April 7, 2025, for a $250 digital copy. This copy includes a free month of The Toolshed, their online network, and is good for the full nursery through Year Seven or 7th Grade. It can be printed for $20 at Barnes & Noble’s printing. This is what I plan to do for the 2025 school year!
Blessings to you on your adventure in a poetic education.
Onward and upward,
Kate
