Scheduling and getting everything done

[sweetpea3829]

Geez, we are just REALLY having a hard time falling into a good schedule that meets everybody's schooling needs AND still allows me time to cook a meal and keep my house relatively clean (or at least to keep the house from being disgusting).

 

Any thoughts? Right now, our schedule is a two week rotating schedule. It looks like this:

 

Week 1:

MWF

9:00-9:30: Games or other activities with the 2 and 3 yr old.

9:30-10:00: Reading review and new reading lesson with my 6 yr old

10:00-10:30: Reading review and new reading lesson with my 5 yr old

10:30-12:00: Open...I would LOVE to use this time for FIAR or science or history or Bible, but you know what ends up happening during this time, IF I'm able to get the morning schedule completed on time? Chores. Laundry, picking up, cleaning, important phone calls. More often than not, this time frame doesn't even happen because I run behind with the morning schedule.

12:00-12:30: Lunch

12:30: Story or a Super Readers episode for the little boys. The little boys go down for nap when it's over.

1:00-1:45: Math review, spelling lesson and handwriting lesson for my 6 yr old.

1:45-2:30: Math rewiew, spelling lesson and handwriting lesson for my 5 yr old.

2:30 on, catch up with missed work, begin dinner prep, etc. This is another block of time that I would love to use for FIAR, etc, but just can't seem to get it together!

 

Week 1, TR:

9:00-9:30: Games and activities with the 2 and 3 yr olds.

9:30-10:30: Math review and math lesson for the 6 yr old and then for the 5 yr old.

10:30-12:00: Open time

12:00: lunch

12:30: Story, then nap

1:00-2:00: Reading review, handwriting lesson, handwriting practice, spelling lesson for the 6 yr old

2:00-3:00: Same for the 5 yr old.

 

Week 2 is the same except MWF becomes TR and TR becomes MWF.

 

What does everybody else's scheduling look like?

[3monkeys]

I will say I have made schedule after schedule and nothing ever seems to stick. My latest one is doing pretty well. I can't decide if it's me, having a toddler, or just the nature of homeschooling that makes me feel like I'm always behind. As far as my house, I never feel like it's clean. I feel more like I "maintain" instead of actually cleaning. So my point is.....I know how you feel! :grouphug:

 

Without writing out my entire schedule, I will just tell you what has finally made sense for us. (If you would like to see it, let me know and I will be glad to type it out.) I made a schedule with the heading's MOM, DS1 and DS2. I have all the times to the left as you do. I schedule each child something in each time frame. I make sure when I'm working with one child the other has something to do independently. So under my heading for example, it may say Math. It will say Math under DC1 as well and that tells me I'm working with him for math. Under DC2 heading during the same time frame, it may say math games or hands on math. Just something he can do alone. That way each child is busy while I work with other child and our day goes by a lot faster. My K'r is usually done by lunch which gives me time in the afternoon with my 2nd grader to do more in depth stuff. I will also add I combine as much as I can!!!!

 

As far as chores, I try to get all these done in the morning...kids too! Start school, break for lunch, more chores, finish afternoon work, finish any chores, then free time for kids.

 

Finding sufficient time to cook meals.....well still fine tuning that one! I think the crockpot needs to become my best friend. Every time I use it, I think..."I need to do this every day". But then forget to pull it together in the morning! It's all a vicious cycle!!! :lol:

 

Not sure if any of this helps but just know all us homeschool moms are in the same boat and can sympathize.

[birchbark]

A mom on here once said, "There are three basic duties of a homeschooling mom: teach school, keep house, and cook meals. I've found I can only do two of those three things well on any given day."

 

That has also been my experience. :001_smile: What usually falls by the wayside here is cooking. We eat very simply; lots of fruit, cheese, and sandwiches. If I had the money, I would seriously hire a personal chef. Other homeschoolers hire housecleaning.

 

My advice with schooling young children is just to keep it simple. Stick to the basics (3R's) and consider anything else that gets done as a bonus.

[besroma]

A book with a lot of helpful suggestions in it is "Large Family Logistics." I usually don't buy books like this, but this one was worth every penny and then some.

 

I also use a cookbook called "Fix, Freeze, Feast" which has helped us tremendously because I can freeze several entrees in a matter of hours. When I need to fix a meal, at least for the entree, I can look in the freezer and choose something to thaw out to cook for that evening. Depending on serving sizes, each recipe makes three entrees.

 

On Saturdays, I cook all of the food we will need for the next three to four days. That helps me be able to focus on school a lot more.

 

We are still tweaking our schedule, but now that we have incorporated the above, we do more tweaking, less overhauling. :)

[warneral]

Could you have your kids help out with chores?

[PhotoGal]

I don't do any housework during school hours. I figure if I was working, I wouldn't be getting laundry done during the day either, right? I focus on school until at least 1pm and sometimes later. I do other things in the late afternoon or evenings, sometimes catching up on the weekends.

 

It must be more difficult with the little ones, though!

[blondeviolin]

I think such is the nature of the beast with four littles so close in age. Our chore boards help TREMENDOUSLY. I don't focus on doing chores throughout the day. While I'm cooking dinner or after dinner, my kids complete their chores. This way, I'm not responsible for EVERYTHING.

[missmoe]

I think your schedule sounds great. I think you may need to adjust to the idea that these first few years of homeschooling may be hectic and hard. Your littles are so close in age, and they all will need one on one attention while you teach reading and handwriting. But after they are reading well, things will get easier.

 

What are you doing before 9:00? I find I get my best work done the hour before everyone gets up. Also when my kids were younger I tried to fit chores into our daily routine. So while we went upstairs to get dressed and ready for the day, we carried up anything that needed to go upstairs and put it away. As the kids brushed their teeth, I wiped down the bathroom. Right after they got dressed, we picked up their room and made the beds. Before going downstairs the kids gathered clothes while I got dressed and then we put in laundry. After breakfast, everyone came into the kitchen and we cleaned up for 5 minutes. At lunch time we cleaned up again and emptied the dishwasher. That way cleaning became part of everyone's routine. Vacuuming and heavier cleaning still had to be done (usually on Saturday), but the house was picked up and relatively neat on a daily basis.

 

You are now working full time (as a teacher ;) ) Cleaning needs to be something everyone takes on, not just mom.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I find that, especially with so many littles around, my schedule changes often, at least every few months. Our current schedule has been great, but will obviously change when the baby comes. It will change again as I'm able to add more subjects back and as the baby's nap routine changes. Routine is very important for us, and when I don't have a good routine in place we don't get much done.

 

Chores: Laundry is started first thing in the morning after showers are taken. It is switched during a downtime, like while the kids are eating snack or right after the big kids go outside to play. Vacuuming and sweeping *sometimes* are done while oldest dd is doing independent work, other times at night after the kids go to bed. DH does all of the dishes from that day after supper. Other things, like cleaning the bathrooms, are done on the weekends and in the evening after the kids go to bed. DH helps with the chores. Oldest dd does a few things.

 

Meals: I plan a menu once a week and dh does the shopping after work that night. We eat dinner around 5:30 and school time is done by 4. This gives me enough time most days to make dinner. If it is something that needs to cook for a long time, I take a break from work earlier in the afternoon to start it. We eat leftovers for lunch most days. If there is nothing appropriate to eat, I will make something quick and easy.

 

Outside time: The 3 big kids have outside time every day, currently during the toddler's nap time. This gives me a break (right now!). Sometimes I do something productive, but usually I just do something fun.

 

School work: For the most part I teach one student at a time. Younger dd only has a few quick subjects, and I usually end up working with her while older dd is doing some independent work. The toddler is pretty laid back, and he spends most of the morning playing with whoever is not currently doing schoolwork. In the afternoon, when the 4yo and 5yo are having quiet time, he plays downstairs while I work with older dd. He might color, play with play-doh, or play with his toys. Sometimes he joins us on the couch for a read-aloud.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

Geez, we are just REALLY having a hard time falling into a good schedule that meets everybody's schooling needs AND still allows me time to cook a meal and keep my house relatively clean (or at least to keep the house from being disgusting).

 

Any thoughts? Right now, our schedule is a two week rotating schedule. It looks like this:

 

Week 1:

MWF

9:00-9:30: Games or other activities with the 2 and 3 yr old.

9:30-10:00: Reading review and new reading lesson with my 6 yr old

10:00-10:30: Reading review and new reading lesson with my 5 yr old

10:30-12:00: Open...I would LOVE to use this time for FIAR or science or history or Bible, but you know what ends up happening during this time, IF I'm able to get the morning schedule completed on time? Chores. Laundry, picking up, cleaning, important phone calls. More often than not, this time frame doesn't even happen because I run behind with the morning schedule.

 

I would suggest getting the laundry into the washer with the soap the night before. Then run down in the morning and hit start somewhere around breakfast. Since you are struggling to fit everything in from 9-10:30, I would allow more time here. Change the times to 9-9:40, 9:40-10:20, 10:20-11. It's not as neat, but it gives you some breathing room to work without being rushed and allows for interruptions. At 11 get the 5 and 6 year old to help pick up for 15 minutes, then run down and move the load of laundry to the dryer. At 11:30 read a Bible story and FIAR. That should get you to 12.

 

12:00-12:30: Lunch

12:30: Story or a Super Readers episode for the little boys. The little boys go down for nap when it's over.

1:00-1:45: Math review, spelling lesson and handwriting lesson for my 6 yr old.

1:45-2:30: Math rewiew, spelling lesson and handwriting lesson for my 5 yr old.

2:30 on, catch up with missed work, begin dinner prep, etc. This is another block of time that I would love to use for FIAR, etc, but just can't seem to get it together!

Let the house wait. From 2:30-3, read either history or science. Then put away school for the day and move on to the house. Bring up the laundry and have the 5 and 6 year old help fold. (Heck my kids loved folding washcloths, handkerchiefs, and underwear at 2 or 3, so you could let everyone pitch in.) Then put it away. Have the kids help with any pickup. We used to use a laundry basket. Anything that didn't belong in the room went in the basket (and even a 2 year old can place something in a basket), then the basket went from room to room usually with the kids pushing it along the floor and things were put away.) Pick one main household chore (vaccuuming, mopping, bathrooms, etc.) for each day. Then move on to dinner or if dinner takes more time in the oven do dinner first and then do the chore afterwards.

 

Week 1, TR:

9:00-9:30: Games and activities with the 2 and 3 yr olds.

9:30-10:30: Math review and math lesson for the 6 yr old and then for the 5 yr old.

10:30-12:00: Open time

12:00: lunch

12:30: Story, then nap

1:00-2:00: Reading review, handwriting lesson, handwriting practice, spelling lesson for the 6 yr old

2:00-3:00: Same for the 5 yr old.

 

Week 2 is the same except MWF becomes TR and TR becomes MWF.

 

What does everybody else's scheduling look like?

 

I have several schedules posted on my blog. Click on MOTH under topics of interest in the right hand column. HTH

[...................]

If you have four kids ages 2-6, it seems to me that you should keep life very simple. Your six year old hardly needs much schooling. Rather than trying to accomplish, I would set my goals on creating a very simple, loose schedule and focusing on character and chores from an early age. Ages 3 and up should all have simple chores.

 

This way you can keep your sanity now and be training children of character for later.

 

I would not school any child but the oldest and keep that to about 45 minutes per day. Just reading instruction, a little handwriting, and math.

[FLDebbie]

I'm not the best at keeping with my schedule, but one life (and budget) saver for dinner is I spend one Saturday each 4-6 weeks cooking a ton and freezing it for the month. It's a lot of work one day, but it's so nice just being able to pull something out of the freezer and not have to spend much time or thought each evening getting dinner on the table. I just make a couple of veggies or other side dishes (some of which I make ahead and freeze as well) in the evening saving tons of time.

[Mystie]

I would simplify school -- history and science are bonus and non essential at this point of the game. Reading, phonics or spelling, math, and memory work are the essentials.

 

I've also started getting audio books from the library and we all listen during lunch -- it doubles up what gets done, it's one less thing I have to do, and it really calmed everyone down during what was a crazy-making time for me.

 

Plus, I think I've decided homeschooling with a toddler in the house is just going to be crazy; there is no solution, only growth in patience.

[sweetpea3829]

Many thanks for all of the replies! As it's 10:35pm and I'm STILL baking pita pockets in the kitchen, lol, I'll have to wait and respond fully. But I did want to at least mention that I've been reading and much appreciating all of the responses and suggestions and encouragement. :-)

[sweetpea3829]

Ok...lol, it's been a crazy week. I'm pretty certain that much of this issue lies within my own lack of discipline. Somebody asked what we do before 9am. The answer is...run around like chickens with our heads cut off, trying to get it together. I'm up with my husband at 5:30! The next hour and a half is spent just trying to wake up. If I go back to sleep, I'm likely to wake up crabby (because almost always, the 3 yr old will wake me up whining about SOMEthing). I'll take my shower in that time frame...the kids will start to wake up at around 7:30am...we'll eat breakfast around 8:30.

 

Honestly...there is so much wasted time that I could be making better use of. But, I know myself and can be honest with myself about the fact that I am just not a morning person. I have set out umpteen times to start the day earlier and get things going earlier and it'll stick for a day or two and then zzzzzzzzzzzz.

 

Another part of the difficulty lies within the fact that my kiddos are all still very young. Too young to make much of a dent with chores (though they all, even the 2 yr old, help). We call chores "apprenticeships" and they are all assigned a different one each week. Laundry, pet care, helping pick up the dishes, etc. But the reality is...they're not independent enough to make a dent in any of those chores. The oldest two can independently feed the animals, but they're terrible about sweeping the floor. The youngest two need hand holding with all of the chores.

 

Lisa in MI...I totally applaud you...outside time every day? LOL, my kiddos are lucky if they get dressed each day, nevermind make it outside! (Except for during the summer....they spend most of their time outside in the summer).

 

You know what my afternoons typically look like after the little boys wake up from nap?

 

Me attempting to prepare a meal while constantly being interrupted by whining, fighting, screaming, banging, dogs needing to go out, bums needing to be wiped, etc etc etc.

 

Anyways...I hope I'm not sounding like a big complainer...I love being able to stay home and homeschool these kiddos...but geez, I just really need to get us in a better routine.

 

This week, I decided to try a four day school week. I spent Monday preparing all of the week's meals ahead of time, cleaning the house and getting the bulk of laundry done. So far, it's been helpful to not have to worry about meal prep in the afternoon. But it's been an awkward week because my daughter has been sick the last two days and my son started his in-home speech therapy yesterday...so that kind of upset the routine a bit.

 

I'm going to try this again next week and see how it goes.

 

Thanks for the advice and info everyone!