The Schedule

You will not find me holding hard and fast to any schedule that requires that "everything" be done at a certain time. However. You will find that I am diligent in requiring that "somethings" be done at a certain time.

*Bedtimes and Rising
*Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner

I try to be the well-oiled machine in these areas, especially during the school year. With everything else, we set goals for completion with a healthy dose of reality.

Our favorite dose of reality:
Other doses of reality that are woven into our day include special field trips, visits with dad at work, a super-tired mommy who spent "quality time" with Mr. Cuteness during the middle of the night, a breezy beautiful fall day that calls us to the nearest park....etc.

My point. The following schedule is much more of a routine and much less of a schedule. Still, I put it in an hour-by-hour format to show how much time we try to dedicate to each subject or activity.

So here goes:

5:30-7:30 My time: It could consist of having coffee with Chris, my quiet time, blogging, running, preparing breakfast or putting dinner in the crockpot, starting laundry, or if I am terribly motivated....taking a shower!

7:30 Everybody up: Samuel has probably been up for about 30 minutes by now and should be downstairs watching a little SuperWhy. The girls will get up and do all of their "get ready" chores...personal hygiene, their beds, their rooms, their bathroom, my bathroom, all the upstairs trash cans. Samuel makes his bed each day and gets himself dressed. The edict has always been that bedrooms are never left unkept. If you are leaving your room, it should be left in a tidy manner.

8:00 Breakfast: Sometimes I make breakfast, sometimes the girls make it. I will be more consistent in teaching them how to cook breakfast meals (eggs, pancakes, etc.). Emma unloads and loads the dirty dishes. Hannah wipes the counter tops and table and sweeps. Samuel clears his spot and feeds Tex.

8:30 Circle Time: I mentioned this in my previous post. Surely this will require some tweaking but I am really looking forward to adding this to our daily routine.

9:00 Phonics/Language Arts/Grammar: Samuel and I will spend this time doing phonics and handwriting. The girls will be on their own with TLP. Eventually we will add Easy Grammar to this block.

9:30 History/Math with Samuel: We will start History together completing projects or reading aloud. The girls will continue with their work while Sam and I start his math.

10:00 Break: We did this last year and it worked out really well. Especially during the fall and spring months when the weather is so lovely in the morning. We may go for walks during this time or the kids can play in the yard while Benjamin naps.

*Flexibility. The most required component for a successful homeschooling day.

11:00 Math/Girls: I will start Sam in his Kumon books so that I can spend time with the girls going over their individual lessons for that day in math. That can take anywhere from 5-20 minutes . They will finish their work on their own while I hopefully complete some sort of housework/phone call/potty break kind of activity. When Samuel finishes his cutting and pasting he is a free bird. What ever floats his boat or tickles his fancy. I am betting on a little more of this.

12:00 Latin/Art: We will swap these every other day. Because we are starting with a very remedial Latin curriculum it shouldn't take us very long at all. Art is.....well.....art. So it should take as long as you want it to, right?

12:30 Lunch: The girls prepare this while I feed Benjamin. I have marked off an hour for this because I am factoring in the above activities needing some extra time. We might not spend a whole hour eating our grilled cheese sandwiches.

1:30 Science: This will be like history. We will start together and Sam can sit in for a bit and participate in the projects and experiments. The girls will finish their notebooking on their own and Samuel and I will do some reading & bible time.

2:00 Music: The girls will practice (piano & guitar), Samuel will bounce off the walls sit quietly and contemplate life's blessings, and Benjamin will most certainly ride my hip.

2:30 Quiet Time: Oh yeah baby. It's been coming all day and I feel myself gettin' light-headed just thinking about it! Everyone (that means you, little hip-rider) heads off to their bedrooms for a time of blissful quietness. Benjamin is the only one required to sleep. The girls usually read, write, play their DS or make jewelry. I do ask that Samuel sit with books on his bed for about 15-minutes to try and elicit a nap. It doesn't work on most days but it helps break up the time for him.

3:00- I would love to tell you that I have continued my schedule but here is where the car gets derailed. We have a bunch of afternoon and evening activities so this time slot changes daily.

Monday - piano (Hannah) then soccer (Samuel)
Tuesday - dance (Emma)
Wednesday - field hockey (Hannah)
Thursday - guitar (Emma)

It looks daunting but remember that word between 10 & 11 o'clock?

Flexibility?

It is key.

If I am dealing with a 5-year old who is making poor decisions then he will have to sit with Mom during the grave discussion of algebraic formulas. If the 7-month old is determined to sit close to momma, then we will strap that cutie-pie in a sling and let'em ride!

There are no perfect days. Or perfect schedules. Or perfect children.

Just one perfect Savior. He makes all things new.

Thank goodness.