If you DON'T wake up before your kids...

[blondeviolin]

...how does your daily routine go?

 

I would wake up before the kids to get things going, but I am NOT a morning person and can't seem to make it work. :001_huh:

[CalicoKat]

I don't always wake up before the kids.

 

I put together their daily schedules the night before and they're on my desk so when my early birds get up they can get started without me. And surprisingly they do. A couple of my kids enjoy greeting me with, "I got ___ subjects done already!" This doesn't happen everyday, maybe 3 days out of 5.

 

Breakfast is at 7:30 a.m. I'm a night owl trying to be reformed. Somedays my old lady hormones help push me out before the birds are up. I'm always up by 7 a.m. though.

[Sue G in PA]

You are not alone. I have tried and tried to get up before my kids but I am so not a morning person. It HURTS to get up. And I am not exaggerating. :glare: My ds2 and ds11 get up at 7am. :001_huh: Ds11 gets breakfast for him and his brother. Then, ds11 usually starts to work on his independent schoolwork while ds2 watches tv. Ds8 and ds9 typically get up around 8 and have breakfast and watch tv or play legos. I am lucky to get up at 9 these days. Dd14, dd5 and ds12 typically get up around 9:30. It's not optimal. But, it works. Dd14 starts her schoolwork after she eats. I get school started after my coffee kicks in. :D

[Impish]

The Littles are nuts. They get up anytime after 5am. :001_huh::glare: Wolf wakes me before he leaves for work.

[Ellie]

I take my shower at night (and wash my hair in the morning in the kitchen sink). So when we get up in the morning, I'm ready to go. I get dressed, make my bed, and head out to the kitchen. Even if I'm not quite awake, it looks as if I am, lol.

 

We have breakfast together, and I tidy up the kitchen, which, BTW, I made sure was clean before I went to bed the night before. So when we're finished with breakfast, I'm dressed, my bed is made, and the kitchen is clean. If I get nothing else done all day, I feel like my housework is done for the day. :001_smile:

[fairfarmhand]

I clean up the kitchen so that it spotless the night before....

 

I pick up the house and throw in a load of laundry the night before.

 

Then (this is what helps most) the kids are not permitted to leave their rooms (except for bathroom needs) until I come get them.

 

I try to wake within 30 minutes of their wake time, but the fact that nobody is popping into the bed with me or bugging me while I am trying to get dressed and put in my contact lenses helps me quite a bit;

[LauraQ]

...how does your daily routine go?

 

I would wake up before the kids to get things going, but I am NOT a morning person and can't seem to make it work. :001_huh:

 

I do their weekly schedule on Sunday so they are ready to go Monday morning. If I work Sunday then I'm often working on it on Monday morning. So far for the last couple of weeks I've been doing their schedules a week or two ahead of time but still only doing one schedule per week. I can't schedule TOO far ahead or it gets messed up when/if we have to take time off or they have to redo something or need extra help before they can move on.

 

I do NOT get up before my kids. In fact, on Mondays when I've worked the weekend (anywhere from 2-4 12-hour shifts in a row) I often sleep in later than they do. I still expect THEM to get up on time and get started on their schedules. If they don't have a schedule, there are things they can figure out on their own: watch the next lesson on the DIVE CD for math, read another few chapters in a book, work on next Omnibus lesson, do catechism reading (not scheduled by me now), etc. The only getting up first I do is to get out of bed and knock on their doors on my way down the hall so they'll come join me quickly for breakfast and school ;-)

[Jamee]

I am so glad to see I am not alone in this. My boys are usually up before me too. they usually get themselves breakfast and depending on how they are in the morning, will sometimes even start on their work. I too make a lesson plan for them that is ready in the morning. I think now that I am homeschooling both boys, our mornings will hopefully be smoother since I won't be having to wake one of them for school.

[Susan in TX]

The kids get up and get their own breakfast. The older ones help the 2yo. After breakfast they play. The older ones do their own thing. I find that my kids play better together with less fighting in the mornings than they do later in the day so morning is playtime. We do school after lunch.

 

My high schoolers go to public school and get themselves up and out the door in the wee hours of the morning (6:20am). I usually get up by 9:30.

 

Susan in TX

Edited April 18, 2011 by Susan in TX
wanted to add something

[AnitaMcC]

I often get up first... but then go back to bed... repeatedly... LOL

 

I wake Ds#2 up for middle school at 6am... I go back to bed. He leaves at 7am for bus.

 

I wake Ds#3 up for elementary school at 7:15 am. I go back to bed. He somewhat gets himself ready on his own.

 

I wake up at 8:15am to make sure Ds#3 is mostly ready for school, make my bed, put in my contacts, get my cappaccino. Wake up Ds#1 at 8:30 am if he isn't already up (he starts school at 9am). Take Ds#3 to school at 8:40am. Come home and then get myself together for the day.

 

Dd usually wakes up at 9am and jumps into the shower. She starts school at about 10am. She has issues sleeping and is not a morning person.

 

Some days I have to get myself up and going early (around 7am). And some days I am too tired and after I get Ds#3 up... I go back to bed and let Dh take Ds#3 to school. For some reason, if I ask Dh to take Ds to school he gets peeved. But if I just don't get back up at 8:15am, Dh is fine and has no issues taking Ds to school-LOL.. Go figure!!!!!!

[Georgiana Daniels]

My oldest takes care of herself :D but it's the littles I'm concerned about. Our 5 year old, especially, is an Early. Bird. And it only gets worse here in the summer (stupid AZ with no daylight savings--the sun starts cracking the horizon before 5).

 

Anyhoo, because my kidlets are still young, I don't like to let them run amok while we sleep. Sometimes if I'm super exhausted, or if hubby didn't get home from work until after midnight, I'll have them bring their dsi's or books or whatever into our room and play quietly on the floor next to the bed while dh and I sleep.

[Nestof3]

My kids are usually up before I am. That means they get more play time in the morning and more school later on. It all ends up balancing out in the end.

 

PS -- I also have the house tidied and vacuumed before going to bed. I wash and dry a load of laundry so it's awaiting me in the dryer in the morning, and school work is ready on the kitchen table the night before. I unload the dishwasher in the morning, fold the clothes, and drink my coffee. I then give everyone breakfast (my husband has left before any of us gets up).

 

The boys do their independent work while I am on my treadmill. Then I shower, make lunch, and we do our reading (science, history, art, composer, literature).

 

We then move to the table for writing, spelling and any mapping or science worksheets.

 

Then, I teach Nathan's math and Rod and Staff. He's already done all of the Saxon problems except those from the new lesson. I then move on to Ben in likewise manner.

 

I then check their independent work, and I sit with them during their corrections to help if necessary.

 

It's usually about 4 PM when we stop. But, they usually eat lunch outside while playing, and they have the morning and another break.

Edited April 18, 2011 by nestof3

[FO4UR]

Mine wake up super-duper early, push the button on my coffee maker (my kids rock!!!:lol:) and climb into bed with me. We are generally out of bed about 7am b/c by the time the 3rd dc climbs into bed there isn't enough room for anyone to sleep.:001_huh:

 

We eat breakfast, get dressed and the kids play until about 8:30-9am when we do some reading and some school...the rest is complete and utter chaos...

[redsquirrel]

my kids have always woken up before me. They are 6 and 11. When the eldest was 3 he would wake up and quietly play until I woke up. It freaked me out a bit.

 

Now, we put out bowls of cereal on the table with small pitcher of milk in the fridge. The boys get up and play quietly. Around 8:30 they come up and poke me. I straggle down, get a cup of coffee, take a couple sips and we start school.

 

The only problem with this system is that if they are in a particular 'we don't want to do any school' mood, they will be very quiet and not wake me up. Bad, bad boys taking advantage of mom. :lol:

 

I really struggle with insomnia and I appreciate their consideration.

[Jamee]

My oldest takes care of herself :D but it's the littles I'm concerned about. Our 5 year old, especially, is an Early. Bird. And it only gets worse here in the summer (stupid AZ with no daylight savings--the sun starts cracking the horizon before 5).

 

 

 

Dawn starts breaking at home around 0330! BLACKOUT curtains is what I had to do and they worked very well. I just got some liner from fabric.com and hung it. Makes a lot of difference having a dark room.

[blondeviolin]

See, I can't just stay in bed while my kids are up. My oldest is just barely turning 5 next month. So instead, I crawl out of bed, munch on a granola bar and OJ while the kids are chattering up a storm and making a mess of their cereal. The kitchen is cleaned the night before, but then I have to clean it after breakfast, send the kids off to clean their rooms, clean up the littlest... Some days I just want to go back to sleep!

[6packofun]

Similar routine here, too. This is an encouraging thread! lol

[Georgiana Daniels]

Dawn starts breaking at home around 0330! BLACKOUT curtains is what I had to do and they worked very well. I just got some liner from fabric.com and hung it. Makes a lot of difference having a dark room.

 

Great idea! Thanks.