Hate to Love Them, or Love to Hate Them?

Making a timetable that works for the teacher, too.

This month I got a new planner, as one does in January. It was larger than past planners, so I decided to print out a mini version of my spreadsheet-timetable to tape in the corner. Right around that time Cara and Mariah were writing their blog posts about their unique, individualized methods for creating a workable timetable for their students. I have had a 10-year-long love-hate relationship with timetables. I had to chuckle a little when I taped that mini timetable into my planner…we have come a long way since we started our relationship. 

I think my first experience with a timetable was when I bought a boxed curriculum that I’d heard was Charlotte Mason inspired. I was looking for something I could do for preschool for my oldest, but was heavily pregnant with my fourth child at the time, and too exhausted to do my own legwork. The boxed curriculum had a weekly chart with all the readings and little projects to be done each day. But even that was too much for me. I found myself trying to find ways to buck the “rules” and avoid doing certain things. I wasn’t avoiding certain things for any reason other than I really didn’t like being told what to do. Even if I was the one telling myself to do it…which became even more apparent as time went on!

When my oldest started first grade, we jumped into AmblesideOnline. The chart that told me what to do each week made its appearance again. Only this time with much less pointed instructions. I needed to understand Mason’s principles in order to create a working week for myself and my students. My favorite homeschooling mentor had her timetables all laid out on her blog, and since we had kiddos the same age, I decided to use her timetables as inspiration. I had a great time creating my first timetable in an excel spreadsheet. I taped it to the fridge the night before school started and eagerly woke the next morning ready to begin. I lasted two days. Not only was I exhausted by trying to keep such a tightly-devised schedule without easing my, now five, children into it, I was tempted to drop the schedule by a last-minute opportunity to meet friends at the park. Temptation won out and we spent a lovely day at the park.

Have you ever started a new diet, only to fall off the wagon rather quickly and end up giving up altogether? That’s me. Give me a cookie today and tomorrow I’ll be eating an entire cake. One park day turned into two beach days, which turned into a movie marathon, which turned into a trip to grandma’s, which turned into…well, you get the idea. Every week it was a struggle to get back to the schedule. And sometimes (okay, often), the schedule would go awry in the middle of the school day and I’d find it impossible, or simply undesirable, to fight my way back to the timetable. I knew I needed discipline. But, I also needed to find what worked for my personality, because a timetable doesn’t just need to work for the student…it needs to work for the teacher.

Around that time, the Instagram account @charlottemasonirl was in full swing and Mariah was sharing how she scheduled her day in blocks. My mind was blown. It seemed so simple… Instead of seeing the school day as one big, overwhelming entity, I could break it down into chunks. And if one chunk got canceled, or interrupted, or just didn’t go well, we could start over at the next chunk. (I could probably do the same thing with my diet by considering every meal a fresh start. Hmmm. Revolutionary, I tell you). What a difference this shift in thinking made to my timetable and my sanity. I came up with cutesy names for each block, made a new timetable, and color-coded it appropriately. The reality was that all the material was still the same. The books were the same. The math curriculum was the same. But my mind could easily say, “Today we are skipping the morning block to go to the dentist, but we’ll finish our afternoon block when we get home.” I even had blocks for chores (we called it the Contribute Block…and to this day, 10 years later, I can call out “contribute!” at 4 o’clock and everyone knows exactly what they are supposed to do). 

Our block schedule worked well for a few years. It suited my personality and allowed me to take as many park days as I wanted. When my oldest reached the 5th grade, I needed to pivot to accommodate more students and activities.

If you were to see my schedule today (my oldest is in 9th grade), you would see a very detailed timetable. Sometimes I wonder how I got here. I’m still a bit of a rebel and hate being told what to do. But having a kid in (home)highschool and a student in every form does require a little more discipline than those younger years. And I’m proud to say we worked ourselves up to it. I have three older students that work mostly independently, but share all the books, so a timetable is necessary to get them comfortably through the material knowing their supplies are available to them at the right time. I also have to know that I am able to work with younger students and older students at separate times. A block schedule no longer works for me due to the level of detail I need laid out each week. 

However, I still consider my schedule like a “block” schedule. We have family subjects, independent subjects, form 1 and 2 subjects, form 3 and 4 subjects, meeting time, etc. I still have to take the kids to the dentist in the middle of the day. But I can look at the timetable and say, “when we get home, you’ll do your independent subjects and one family subject and then we’ll call it a day!” We can take an entire day off and go to the park now, without the teacher deciding to turn the rest of the week into an inservice (though, I won’t lie…that still happens on occasion).  

The key is really taking to heart the principles of the timetable, and learning to balance discipline with the need for flexibility. I know moms with strong wills (the good kind Charlotte Mason espouses), who can run a timetable like a kind and compassionate train conductor. I have not always been like that, though I am improving with time. My kiddos, who I always thought would appreciate my que sera, sera approach to schooling, seem to thrive with more structure. I just needed to learn that the timetable is my servant…not my master. And with time and practice, I believe a personalized timetable can serve anyone well, no matter the unique circumstances they might find themselves in. 

Sarah Jonnalagadda 2024