I am not a "strict schedule" person, but I have found over time that we fall into natural routines. Sometimes they "work" really well, other times they needs some tweaking. But for us, they vary greatly upon the time of year! During the spring/summer/early fall when we have warmer (hot!) days I am more open to heading outside in the morning hours when it's more pleasant. But some days we prefer to head out in the afternoon! So, a strict "daily schedule" simply doesn't work for us.
Given the ages of my children, it takes about 1.5 to 3 hours to do our schoolwork each day. We can fill the day up with other activities, but in terms of getting readings done, activities, covering all the "subjects" and working with both girls, that is about how long it takes. Oh, and the cooperation of my children.
Within my routine, I also have to have priorities of where my focus needs to be first. If I stick with my priorities, then I should be able to accomplish our goals for the day.
Daily Priorities at home during "school hours": These priorities are clustered together and I just need to keep them at the forefront, above other things that distract me. So, I have to prioritize them all together! I believe that these priorities are important for cultivating an atmosphere for learning in our home. As Charlotte Mason writes, "Education is an atmosphere." As a homeschool mom, I have to be intentional about creating this atmosphere and guarding against things that interfere with it!
-Physical needs: What are we wearing (laundry!), eating (fix meals, plan for later meals), movement (do we need to take a walk or head outside?) and affection (have I hugged my children and connected with them? sometimes a quick morning snuggle does wonders for a cranky little one.)
-Learning: Decide when we will do school work, and prioritize that over competing goals (anything computer-related for me personally, major housecleaning tasks and volunteer work).
-Home routines: Work in daily and weekly chores
-Relationships: How are we getting along? Are emotional needs being met? Does someone need a hug or snuggle with mommy, or a quiet break to regroup? Are we treating each other with love and kindness? Are there discipline issues that are popping up repeatedly, and if so, why?
True confession here... there are stumbling blocks that I have to guard against that really distract me from my priorities during the time I need to be focusing on my children's education. The major one is the COMPUTER. It will distract me and get me off track quicker than anything else! (Sound familiar to anyone else?) What kind of educational atmosphere can I be creating if I'm sitting on my tushie staring at the screen? I can always "justify" getting on the computer with some important reason (haha) but I simply cannot continue to allow the computer to nibble away at the day as I have over time. I think that for me the only way to overcome this issue is to simply say no computer time until I have, in good conscience, attended to the priorities I listed above. Because I have things that I do via computer that are important to me and fun (email, participating in message board, blogs, pinterest) I am quite sure that I will "make" time to hop on here and there so I don't see any need to "schedule" it. But my children need to take priority! Some people may be able to homeschool and be active on the computer at the same time, but it has become clear to me that I am not one of those people. I need to be fully present for my children, and the computer does interfere with that. (Just keeping it real!)
August/September Daily Routine at Home
This is a “template” for a routine for end of summer/early fall days! I have different decision points (will we be home all day or just part of the day?) that will help me focus on what we need to be doing when we are at home.
7:00-9:00 Early Morning
Elizabeth:
Wake-up (shower, dress, make beds)
Breakfast
Chores: Unload dishwasher, Laundry check
Check calendar (are there away from home plans?)
Lunch & Dinner- preparations needed?
Personal time: Bible study, check email(then get off computer!)
Girls:
Quiet wake-up activities
Dress
Eat breakfast
Help mommy as needed with morning tidy
9:00-12:00 Morning
If staying home in the morning:
Morning walk/outside time
Homeschool
Free play
Quick clean up
If going out in the morning:
Pack for morning (lunch, clothes, other needs)
Jot down afternoon plans
12:00-1:00 Lunchtime
Elizabeth daily chores
Girls free time after helping with chores
Kitchen clean-up
1:00-5:00 Afternoon
If we were gone in the morning:
Warm-up activity to school work (story, craft, etc)
School work
Outside play
Elizabeth- daily or weekly chores
Girls- help clean up their messes
If we were home in the morning:
Finish up schoolwork or activities
Dinner check- what are we eating?
Laundry check
Chose outside activity: Park, pool, YMCA, nature walk, visit friends
5:00-8:00 Family Time (dad is home at 6:30)
Girls: Help clean up messes if necessary
Elizabeth: Dinner prep, light cleaning, laundry check
Family Pick-up (everyone pitches in, even Dad!):
-Family room
-Kitchen
-Trash/recycling
-Items on stairs
Family free time- play game, girls free play, walk, go to a park?
8:00-9:00 Bedtime Routine
Girls bathe/teeth/jammies
Bathroom/room pick-up (dirty clothes put away, obvious messes picked up)
Storytime
So, that's my plan for our daily routines during the remaining "warm weather" months! I've never been so explicit about our daily routines before, but I hope that this will help our days run smoothly and help us build good habits. I know that we will have to ease into our actual school work since we've really been enjoying our free-wheeling summer days. But if I focus on our priorities, I know it will leave plenty of time for all the "other stuff" that is also good that can crowd out my priorities!
