As I prepare to homeschool, and after much thought, research, and reading, I have come up with a simple schedule format that is working really well for my family (and currently I have a 4 1/2 year old, and an almost 2 year old). We have been following this schedule for several months now. As my kids get older we will adjust as needed.
But first let me say that I haven't always been organized with a schedule like this to follow. More days than I'd like to admit I would wake up to a messy kitchen and spend my whole morning cleaning it! I know first hand how hard it can be to keep a routine/schedule with young children (especially babies and toddlers).
Now with 4 1/2 years of "on the job" training under my belt, I am realizing more and more what works for me and what doesn't (for example, going to bed with a messy kitchen doesn't work for me, but it might for some people who are in different stages of parenthood).
So please remember: I'm not perfect. The point of sharing this isn't to make anyone feel bad or lift myself up, but instead to give ideas of how you might be able to simplify your life so you can be more present in those precious moments with your children. (By the way, Power of Moms is a website with this exact purpose. I haven't delved into the Mind Organization for Moms program yet, but I have heard amazing things about it! I have recently listened to this ebook about it, which was great!)
I love being with my kids all day and the wonderful opportunities I have to build relationships, answer all their questions, and teach them what I feel is important for them to learn. I could never in a million years bypass this amazing opportunity to teach them while they are young, and instead send them to a room full of 30 other kids to be given a one-size fits all education. Many wonderful mothers do this, and I admire their determination to make the most of their time with their kids after school and on the weekends. But that life is not for me. And with a growing 1.7 million homeschoolers in this country, it's comforting to know I'm not alone. I love this one father's TEDx video about why he has come to the conclusion that homeschool is a better alternative than sending kids to school. He says "Homeschooling, I believe, is the future of innovative education." Watch the rest here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mummj4SwpU0&feature=share
Every day I am reminded in my heart that these are children of God-- so innocent, so naive, so trusting. Yet, childhood is fleeting; my children will be gone before I know it. I don't want to miss a single word, smile, or laugh. And I don't want to simply observe their laughs, I want to laugh with them! I certainly don't want to spend these years at home feeling stressed out instead of connecting with my children's spirits and nurturing their souls.
Enter... my simple schedule. :)
My Simple Daily Schedule
Please note that the times are approximate and the schedule is very flexible. I don't mind if we don't follow it exactly depending on the day, the weather, our moods and energy levels. But it helps having this schedule because I always know what to do in any given moment, and it provides certain times to get everything done! (Below is my basic schedule, but I do have a list of which activities are done on which days, such as cleaning/organizing on Monday, playgroup on Wednesday, grocery shopping on Friday, etc )
I like breaking up the day into three routines: Morning, afternoon, and evening. Somehow that simplifies it even more in my mind.
The super simple version of my schedule is this:
Morning Routine:
Get ready for the day
Breakfast/Scripture Story
Sensory Activity while mom makes food
Morning Activity TOGETHER (kids + mom)
Afternoon Routine:
Lunch
Stories
Nap/Quiet Time
Afternoon Activity TOGETHER (kids + mom)
Evening Routine:
Dinner
Get ready for Bed
Stories
Here it is in a little more detail:
Morning routine
7am- Wake up, snuggle, read stories, do songs with motions, wrap up in blankets, etc
7:30am- Help kids start working on their "Morning Charts"-- they look at the pictures on their chart and do these things in order: wake up, make bed and say prayers, eat breakfast, get dressed, brush teeth. (When they are done with all of these things, they put a sticker on a chart, and when they complete a row of stickers they get to either: 1- pick a toy at the dollar store, 2- pick a movie to watch, 3- go somewhere fun like Chuck E. Cheese).
8am- Breakfast (& unload dishwasher)- During breakfast we read a scripture story (illustrated version for children) & talk about our plans for the day.
8:30am- Clean up breakfast & do food prep for later, while kids work on a sensory activity at the kitchen table (such as scooping and pouring dry beans or water, play doh, playing with pom poms or pipe cleaners- usually something that I don't have to supervise too much. There is usually some mess to clean up which I don't care so much about since it's great to have something that they are so focused on and it gives me time to get things done in the kitchen.)
10am- Morning activity TOGETHER- This is when I drop everything and focus on my kids. We use this time to do learning activities of all sorts, whatever I want to teach them about or whatever I feel they are interested in. This can include: learning games (magnetic letters, counting/adding/subtracting objects, etc), going on a nature walk and collecting samples to study later, listening to classical music or looking at art books and hearing stories about the artists & composers, learning about an event in history (such as slavery & the civil war), cleaning or organizing areas of the house together, errands, playgroup (once a week), having a friend over usually falls in this time since it's easier to do before nap, etc
Afternoon routine:
12pm- Lunch (includes green smoothie)
1pm- Storytime- read books from the library or favorite classics (such as The Little Engine That Could, and any Dr. Seuss).
1:30pm- Nap/Quiet time- This is when my 4 1/2 year old has the choice of taking a nap or doing something on his own (but next to me, since he doesn't like to be alone), and my almost 2 year old takes a nap. I use this time to work on the computer usually, and cross things off my to do list.
3pm- Afternoon activity TOGETHER- We usually do something different than what we did that morning (if we were outside in the morning, we stay inside in the afternoon, and vice versa). This can include going to the pool (in the summer), going to the park or riding bikes if we didn't get out that morning, dancing to music, playing the piano, art (we do this frequently after nap), etc. Again the point is to spend good quality time with my children, talking about anything they bring up and sharing with them what I feel they should know (sometimes this is something I have recently learned from my own personal reading- more on this below).
Evening routine:
5pm- Dinner prep while kids play together.
5:30pm- Eat dinner while doing the following: 1- read the same scripture story from that morning (for Dad), but with the actual scripture verses that go along with the picture (instead of the simplified summary), 2- Recite a scripture that we are trying to memorize, 3- Tell Dad about the day so far (I try to point out the good things the kids did, lessons learned, consequences given, ways to improve, and talk about safety issues, table manners, books we read and how they apply to the scriptures we are reading and life, etc) 4- Talk about any plans for the following day or week.
6:30pm- Clean up & take vitamins- My 4 year old vacuums under the dining room table, takes over his dishes, and either I or my husband will wash dishes while the other takes the boys upstairs to start getting ready for bed (bedtime routine includes: bath on MThSat, jammies, brush teeth, play with either parent (climbing on us, going for airplane rides, tickling, etc)).
7:30- Stories (by Dad if he is home)
8pm- Lights out- cuddle together and listen to me telling the next episode of our two ongoing stories that I make up each night, then sing a song or two as they fall asleep.
After my kids are in bed, I do the following:
1- Make sure the kitchen is cleaned and start the dishwasher
2- Fill the Britta with water & bring a glass of water upstairs to drink when I wake up in the morning
3- Record:Write in my "Kidschool Log" book (a summary of what we did, what the kids learned that day), write in my notebooks/journals for each of my kids if there was anything memorable I want to record about them, write in my personal journal if I have something on my mind to record
When those things are done, I can take care of any emails, update blogs, and plan the following day.
To plan the following day I look at my master to do list (which is divided into several categories: errands, home, kitchen, computer, plan, fun kids activities- I got this idea from Power of Moms) and write down on my small dry erase board the most important items that I want to try to get done the next day (specific food to make, important emails to send, errands to run, etc)
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Scheduling Undivided Attention= Happy Kids
I really like this schedule because of the big blocks of time that I schedule to spend with my kids. I never feel frustrated that my kids aren't letting me get anything done, because I don't try to get personal things done when we are together (I keep my computer closed and phone out of reach). When I do have something to do on my own (food prep in the morning, or computer time during quiet time) they aren't clinging to me every second, and are ok to play on their own, probably because I give them so much consistent, undivided attention throughout the day.
The Benefits of Consistently Reading Aloud
“There is something wonderful about a book. We can pick it up. We can heft it. We can read it. We can set it down. We can think of what we have read. It does something for us. We can share great minds, great actions, and great undertakings in the pages of a book.” ― Gordon B. Hinckley, (Standing For Something)
I really like that following this schedule has us consistently reading aloud- the scriptures as well as other great books.
Replacing TV with books:
Reading children's books every day has began to replace screen time for our kids. Watching TV shows, movies, even playing games on my iPhone are all very addicting to my kids. Not only that, but after screen time they are always tired, cranky, disobedient, and not their best selves. So we have been trying to reduce screen time, but still want to give them exposure to things they might learn from educational TV. The answer for us has been books. By making books a big part of our daily schedule (reading aloud at least twice a day, looking at picture books on their own throughout the day, and listening to audio books which I get from the library or on YouTube), we have reduce all screen time to pretty much once or twice a week (we have a "Family Movie Night" that my 4 year old looks forward to all week, and if he chooses to pick a movie for his reward chart, then he can watch a movie or show on another day). Don't get me wrong, he does ask multiple times a day to watch TV or play a game on my phone. But I usually direct him to a book (or audio book, if he just feels like listening to something), and gradually his requests are starting to decrease. Now, when he is sad about something, instead of requesting a movie to help him feel better, he will request a story. The first day he did that, my heart leaped! It was a glorious day. :)
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Q&A
Q: When do you do personal reading?
(FYI: I'm currently reading: Leadership Education about homeschool, a classic (Les Miserables), and several library books about the Civil War/Gettysburg (I plan to go back and re-learn in detail about all major wars and events in history, one by one))
A: In the bathroom (it's seriously the only place and it's amazing how many books I can get through by taking a couple extra minutes here and there).
Q: When do you exercise?
A: In the morning before the kids get up (unless my husband is home in the morning, in which case I sleep in and exercise while he's doing the morning routine with the kids). My goal is to do cardio (running or biking) MWF, and yoga TTh. (Not quite there, but I'm working on it!)
Q: When do you do laundry?
A: Several times a week, in the morning, I (but usually my husband) takes down the dirty clothes and starts the washer. When he gets home from work (or that night) he checks it and puts the clothes in the dryer, and takes clean clothes upstairs to our bedroom. In the morning, I try not to go down for breakfast until all clean clothes have been folded and put away. Having my husband help with this really makes a huge difference- it is one less thing for me to think about, and he does it systematically when he wakes up, and then keeps it going when he comes home. He also takes care of taking out the trash and recycling, as well as paying bills and home maintenance or car problems.
Do you have a question? Please comment below!
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My life has never been better, and I know this is largely due to this schedule (another big part is because of my elimination of animal products, refined sugar, flour and processed food, and trying to eat lots of plant foods which you can read about on my blog Lynleigh's Kitchen).
This schedule really helps me feel more relaxed during the day. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and trying to figure out what to do when a free moment presents itself, I can enjoy being with my children. It's not the perfect schedule for everyone, but for us, at this time, it works great.
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