Adding Variety....

One of the biggest perks of homeschooling is being able to add variety to my daughter's lesson plan. Just recently I have started her on Famous Poets. We are currently working on Robert Frost. I am amazed at how quickly she has memorized Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, one of my all time favorite poems. One thing that I like about Frost, especially with this poem, is that he has rhythm. I created a beat to go with the poem and Kaity and I clapped along as we were reciting it. It seriously only took her about 30 minutes to have the poem memorized. That was last week. What is even more amazing is that she can now recite the poem on demand without faltering or stumbling over her words.
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I think I am going to continue with Robert Frost for a few more weeks and then jump to Edgar Allen Poe, another one of my favorites. When she was in first grade I had tested Kaity's reading abilities by having her read The Raven, by Poe, which is NOT an easy reader. The poem is full of very large words, thees and thous, and words with such difficult spelling that phonics is definitely not going to help. I was impressed with how well she did then, and I think that by incorporating that poem back into her schooling could help increase her vocabulary.
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Thankfully, she seems to enjoy the poetry. I was worried that I would be putting too much on her with the busy class schedule I wrote up. So far, though, this year has been the easiest when it comes to getting her excited about schooling;)
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I'm curious how many other homeschooling mommys have written out an actual schedule for their children's curriculum. Right now I have her working Mon-Friday, 6 hours a day. Since she is in third grade I have stuck with the basics, and added a few fun classes, like Spanish and Art. She is given 45 minute classes, 15 min breaks, and 1 hour lunch. Here's an example of her schedule:
Monday
Physical Education
History
~Break~
Math
~Lunch~
Spelling
Reading
~Break~
Science
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So far the schedule is working great, but I am always open to suggestions and would love to hear from other mommy's as to how they are doing it:)