The lesson for me over the last two weeks has been, “It’s okay to be flexible.” I actually love this about homeschooling. We can take a day off if we need to, shuffle the schedule around, or do anything else that we like to our day.
We already take Fridays off. Last Wednesday we had history all day. We hit the point in the history textbook (Story of the World Volume 1) where it skips a couple hundred years between Phoenecian civilization and the second rise of Assyria. Contained within this neglected timeframe is the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan, Judges, and the kings of Israel and Judah all the way through the fall of Israel to Assyria. So we are spending quite a bit of time in the Bible going through an overview of the history of Israel. On Wednesday we spent the morning in Exodus and the afternoon in Phoenecia.
On Thursday we spent the morning in the Word and in Science (the digestive system). At lunch we did an experiment involving tracking the digestion of our lunches. The afternoon was spent watching a few documentaries (always a supplements to what we are learning about, never a substitute).
And today my husband (a.k.a. the principal) called a 2 hour delay and ordered us all to sleep in. 
I love homeschooling.
Did I also mention that I love the flexibility of homeschooling?
I love how you seem to be majoring on one or two subjects a day. Do you or the kids ever get burned out using this method, or does it merely offer the opportunity for more in-depth study, and therefore more retention and understanding? I’ve never tried this method. Have you tried the other, you know doing a little of each every day? Just wondering if you knew the pros and cons. Sounds like you’ve had a great week so far!
Typically we cover 3-4 (and sometimes 5) subjects a day, besides our 1-hour Bible study to start the day. My big kids are 12, 11 and 9 years old. We do Math (Saxon) and Language Arts (Rod and Staff) in the mornings, and history (Story of the World – Monday and Wednesdays) or Science (God’s Design for Life from Answers in Genesis – Tuesdays and Thursdays) in the afternoons. We also do a little Greek (their idea, not mine, believe it or not), Theology, Art, and special projects of their choice, either at the end of the morning before lunch, or for the last hour of the afternoon, if we have time.
I should mention that this is our first year of homeschooling, but when all is said and done this schedule has been working well for us. We have adjusted a couple times as was necessary to find our groove at the beginning of the year. The kids do not burn out with this schedule. I have found that since I have lowered my expectations of how much we will get done in a day, they have learned more and retained more than when I was rushing us to cram more things into the day. It actually amazes me how much they have learned, and they love to tell me husband about it at the end of the day. T
The one thing I am sure to do with the History and Science lessons is to have each one write down what we learned that day so they can remember it. I find that writing things down helps them remember the lesson. It also pinpoints what parts they haven’t understood, so we can go over it again and clarify those things.
I have actually wondered as we have progressed if I should add more to our day, but I think it would add more stress and force us to spend less time on things that are important for the sake of things that might not be. Nonetheless any additions we have made have been at their request, and so far this has been the case with the Greek and Theology. Also, at my husband’s suggestion, we have the kids read in bed before they go to sleep. They do this for an hour (or less if they fall asleep, which is okay). This reading is a book of their choice, as long as it is age appropriate. For example, my big kids do not get to read Green Eggs and Ham for bedtime reading, as this is a book way below their reading levels. Two are currently working through the Narnia books, and one is reading a book on Ancient Egypt that she checked out of the library.
I hope this is helpful. Please feel free to ask further questions if need be.
Sounds like it’s working out well for you! My son is only seven, and we struggle with language and writing. Sometimes it takes him forever to finish! We also use Answers in Genesis for science. It’s one of the few things I read aloud to him. We used to use Story of the World, but I became annoyed with it because I had no idea which parts were fact and which were fiction. There are so many fictional elements in every single story, although we did find the chapters about Egypt very interesting. Now we are trying Mystery of History, and although it is a little more grown-up, I am liking it better. I guess one of these days, we’ll settle into a better routine. I am just looking forward to the day when he will be able to write with ease!
We are not doing a set writing program right now, just writing out what we have learned in history. They get enough practice out of that. Two of mine also take a long time at it, but they are learning. Learning is not an overnight thing, but it takes time. Keep at it!