I really love change. In my family I have been known to change things when they do not seem to be successful right at first. Strangely, I also love to write out schedules. I have notebooks filled with "daily schedules", most that never last past a day...or some that never go past the notebook! I do not know why I enjoy making schedules...crazy, I know. Well, even though I love to make schedules, my simple and relaxed lifestyle does not thrive on detailed schedules. Well, I recently came up with a schedule- routine is more like it-that fits my family and has been very successful. I have had a few tendencies to try and write a new schedule (just for fun) that adds more details to my day, but luckily, God knows me well and reminds me that I don't need to add anything...but rather just enjoy things as they are. As hard as it sometimes is, I do not have to change everything! To be able to look back on this time, I am going to share my schedule with you...
We are not early risers, and I do not do well with set times in my schedule. Our routine runs rather smoothly no matter what time things actually happen.
*I usually wake before my children and get ready.
*My children wake up and do their chore packs. We call their group of chores their "chore packs". Chore packs include making bed, empty laundry bucket (I fold their clothes and put them in a bucket in the laundry room-they put the clothes away), unload dishwasher (each has a specific job), get dressed, and make sure bedroom is picked up.
*When chore packs are finished we eat breakfast.
*After each meal, the kids have a table job. The table jobs are load dishwasher, wipe table/push in chairs, & sweep floor.
*Bible time - I am reading the kids a devotional called "Leading Little Ones to God". We also work on our scripture we are memorizing. Next, we have quiet time. Everyone gets their Bible and sits quietly "reading their Bible". I am trying to teach them the importance of reading God's Word daily. Since several of my children cannot read, they only look at pictures, but hopefully the habit will develop as they learn to read. After this we pray together as a family.
*Play time or extra chores - This is free time to play. I also give out extra chores that the kids can do to earn money. I recently subscribed to motivatedmoms.com and I love it! It gives me a schedule of chores for each day. You will have to check out the website if you are interested...I could not do it justice to explain it. I try to accomplish some of the jobs on my list during this time.
*Lunch time - after lunch the kids do their table jobs again.
*Nap time for my two youngest children.
*School packs - I kept the theme from chore packs. I recently started using what are traditionally called workboxes...we just call them school packs. Brenden and Katelyn start their school packs on their own. Both of them start with copywork...otherwise known as handwriting. Katelyn then moves to practicing the piano, math, reading (reads a chapter of her book), phonics/English, and finally reviewing for quizzing. Brenden then moves to phonics, computer time (starfall.com or mightybookjr.com), math, read aloud (I read aloud 2 books of his choice), and finally reading (he reads his little decodable books to me). Katelyn is pretty independent in her stuff, and so I spend most of my time with Brenden. We are not doing any science or history right now. Sonlight was becoming too overwhelming for me, so we ended that about a month ago. I have found a new curriculum for both, but we will not start it until later after we settle back into things after baby is born. Katelyn is also taking science at co-op each Monday, so she is not completely lacking.
*After school packs are finished the kids can play quietly. My younger ones usually sleep about 3 hours. When they wake up, I usually give them a small snack and then they can play.
*Shortly before my husband gets home from work we do jurisdictions. Usually, Brenden and Makenna clean up the playroom, and Katelyn cleans up the living room and dining room (toys and such). I am usually making dinner at this time.
*Dinner time - table jobs after the meal...daddy helps this time.
*Evening activities - our evenings vary with activities - small group, teens/quizzing, or family time.
*Bedtime - After the kids are ready for bed, Josh reads to them from the Bible (right now we are reading through 1 and 2 Samuel). After that we pray as a family, and then I read aloud to them from a chapter book. I have been reading through the Little House books, but I am missing one, so we are reading a book called Little Pear while we wait for a trip to the library to get it.
*After the kids are in bed I try to walk on my treadmill, spend some time on the computer, read my devotions (I do some in the early mornings and during quiet time during Bible time), and spend time with Josh.
Well, that about covers our day. There are some days when we need to leave the house, but things usually pick back up when we return.
I am really loving this schedule for several reasons - it is fairly simple, my kids are pretty independent in knowing what to do, and I feel that it will be an easy routine to transition a baby into.
I am sure that there may be some of you that are thinking that my children do a lot of chores, especially for being so young...but, I do not expect beyond what they are capable of, and it teaches them at a young age to be responsible and helpful. My little Makenna thrives on helping me with "grown up jobs" and so she keeps up with the others very well! They have plenty of time to play (another benefit of homeschooling is that school only takes about 2 hours - not 6-7 hours a day) but not too much time to get "bored" or "mischievous"!
Well, I hope that you found some entertainment to reading about my day! I hope you enjoy yours!
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