Before restarting home learning, we had to build a routine that could run smoothly even when I'm not around. Each child is at a different stage and needs something different — so I designed three separate routines, tailored to where each of them is right now.
Min — Year 7 Prep
Primary school is about foundations. Secondary school is about managing a much broader body of knowledge independently. Intermediate is the bridge — learning how to explore, organise, and study on your own before the deep work begins. So I designed Min's curriculum with that transition in mind, especially for Science and Social Studies, where having a system matters as much as knowing the content.
For maths, Min does one e-ako course per day — each module has 20 to 30 questions that build understanding step by step. For school topics she's already covering, she reviews using Korean workbooks, finding the relevant sections herself. When she's stuck, I step in with extra practice or an explanation. Part of this is also learning to translate mathematical terminology from Korean into English — a surprisingly important skill.
For reading, Year 7 requires one novel, various poems, and multiple non-fiction pieces across the year. Min is building stamina with a series she loves, and we'll add recommended titles during the holidays. For poetry, the School Journal — published by the Ministry of Education — gives her plenty of regular exposure.
The most meaningful part of Min's routine is the Self-Directed Learning Project. Each topic takes about one and a half weeks and works through three stages: finding and reading information, processing and organising it, and presenting or writing about it. The goal is to develop the non-fiction reading, information-processing, speaking, and writing skills she'll need for Science and Social Studies — skills that are better built before the curriculum demands them.
Hyun — Vocabulary Foundation
Hyun finished only Grade 2 in Korea before enrolling as Year 5 here. This is her last year in primary school, and if she doesn't establish a solid English foundation now, Year 6 will be significantly harder. Her routine focuses on building English skills and study habits through clear, manageable daily tasks.
Like Min, she does one e-ako course per day. For vocabulary, she continues 20 minutes of Stepsweb — an online structured literacy programme she's been using for a year and genuinely enjoys. For literacy, we read a storybook together, practicing sentence patterns and direct translation. We identify commonly used structures and build example sentences from them. For grammar, she works through a primary Year 1–2 English workbook — not because she's at that level, but because reducing basic errors requires going back to the basics deliberately. And every day, she reads one Level 2 reader independently, recording each title in her reading journal and looking up unfamiliar words herself.
The system behind all of it
The main reason for building individual routines is independence. I won't always be home. The system has to run without me standing over anyone's shoulder. February and March — while I still have more time — are for testing, adjusting, and locking it in. What works, we keep. What doesn't, we change. By the time Term 2 starts, I want the routine to be something each child owns, not something I manage.
