What exactly is your daily schedule? Share?

[dosducotes]

How do you schedule quiet time, chores, school, supper prep, lesson planning, extra-curriculars? Would any of you be willing to share a detailed sample of how you fit it all in? I am a flunkie when it comes to scheduling. I'd love a little help from the successful mamas/papas out there!

 

Thanks,

Ashley

[rieshy]

Today's schedule was: wake up, light my hair on fire, run until I drop- which cannot be until after our evening library run. Good thing my hair isn't short anymore.

[earthyfamily]

Lesson planning is on Sunday afternoon for me, as is grocery shopping and errands. Each kiddo has a folder with their detailed lesson plans so they know what they are to do each day. Monday is our have fun and play together day. Tuesday through Saturday we have school from 8AM to 3:30PM with lunch 12:00-12:45. We wake up at 6 everyday with the exception of Mondays which we sleep in until about 7 or 8. Quiet time is reserved for after the kids go to bed at 8. Chores are done after school and usually while I'm making dinner which is usually on the table by about 5:30 and they snack again at 7:30. We use myjobchart.com and the kids love it and always complete all of their chores. Extra curriculars are Thursday night, karate and gymnastics. Throughout the day while the kids are doing some independent type work, I will work on items needed for dinner late, because we cook most everything from scratch.

In addition we do a monthly shopping trip for groceries at the begining of each month and follow a menu-plan I make up for the month. That helps to keep grocery trips quick and minimal the rest of the month. We also bake once a month and freeze a bunch of items. Granola, pancakes, banana bread, biscuits, breakfast casserole and so on. That way breakfasts are usually take out the night before and defrost then heat or just pull out of the freezer and heat that morning.

We also do laundry each morning and fold each morning, that way it never piles up.

This is a lot of info I know, I tried to be as specific as possible. Hope this helps!

[kb44]

:bigear: because ours is wake up, and decide what to do.

[laughing lioness]

How do you schedule quiet time, chores, school, supper prep, lesson planning, extra-curriculars? Would any of you be willing to share a detailed sample of how you fit it all in? I am a flunkie when it comes to scheduling. I'd love a little help from the successful mamas/papas out there!

 

Thanks,

Ashley

 

Our daily schedule is weird becasue dh is usually here in the a.m. till 9 a.m., works till 9-10 p.m. and works from home Th and Fri. You'll more often find us eating breakfast together than dinner. We also go to co-op on Fridays and a Tutoring Center on Tuesdays (homework, etc).

 

That being said we do skill work in the a.m.- math, latin, etc and content work in the afternoons- lit, hx.

 

I have clear plans/goals for each kid before school starts- this includes academics, camps, programs. This year extra-curric's include Awanas, Poetry Outloud, Challenge camp, Lego League. I over plan in the summer, use a lot of open and go, leave science and art to co-op, TC (the mess stays there) and we try to stay super focused on the 3 days we are home doing school.

 

Lego League is on Fridays after co-op- perfect. A whole day of school off site. Awanas is Wed evening- making one of the nights dh gets home very late, nicer. Challenge and Poetry Outloud are ds 17's projects and he is managing his school work around it- he is getting coaching for PO, and he arranges that with time we are in town. He is also getting math tutoring- same thing.

 

Chores get done before school starts (feeding the animals), around lunch when everyone needs a break and afternoon. I am usually up before anyone and clean up a bit. We try to keep bathrooms, kitchens and main floor pretty picked up (clutter stresses me).

 

I batch projects (which there are a lot of- we are re-building from a fire). I have a seasonal "schedule"- gardening happens in spring, summer, tons of read alouds in the winter months, etc. I also read late, blog early a.m. I just have to fit in time to work out- though when it's nice out the kids and I take walks regularly.

Cooking- Some times I cook all of the meat on the week-end and then it's ready to go, sometimes I do oamc (oawc), sometimes my kids cook.

 

Quiet time- older kids do this on their own. The youngers and I do Xian Studies together- this year we'll do some apologetics together. We also have family prayers together regularly.

 

If I get up early,(5:30 is ideal, but irl it's usually later) my day goes much better. If I get up with the kids, I'm behind all day.

 

The most important thing is to plan your work and work your plan. When I make a list of what I want to get done, it gets done. When I don't, it might or might not, but I neve get as much done as when I plan well.

[dosducotes]

Each kiddo has a folder with their detailed lesson plans so they know what they are to do each day.

 

Do you prepare their folders annually, monthy, weekly, daily? Do you make your own assignment sheets or are they part of your curriculum?

[Dobela]

My schedule is different every day. 2 mornings a week dh has to be at work at 5 am. The other mornings at 8 am. He is working a night job that keeps him out until about 9 pm 3 or 4 days a week, but that day varies. He works occassional weekends as well.

 

On Monday, the goal is breakfast by 8, school work until 10:30, take dd to therapy at 11, return home and do work until pick up dd at 2, return home, eat, chores, finish school work.

 

Tuesday, hopefully home all day until dd's dance class at 4. But then that is likely going to change so ask me again next week.

 

Wednesday. Similar to Monday. Except ds also has bowling at 4 and then church is at 7.

 

Thursday. Hopefully home all day and evening. I do let kids and self sleep in this day. Or, I get up early and this is my quiet time. Dh goes to work at 5am on Thursday so it is about the only time I have alone.

 

Friday, see Monday except dd is only at therapy from 12-2. PE from 3-4.

 

Saturday Bowling league from 10-12, league 2 from 2-4 for ds.

Sunday, church 9 am and 6 pm. Sometimes other activities prior or post services.

 

Supper prep is called the crock pot and frozen sides. Lesson planning is done after kids go to bed or on the rare occassion I can go to the local coffee shop alone.

[FaithManor]

I get up at 6:45 a.m., have coffee, lots of coffee, and try to become human by showering and staring blankly ahead while I consume large quantities of coffee.

 

I'll usually pull out everyone's work and refresh my memory about what everyone is up to and make out their daily assignment sheet.

 

8:00 start waking people up. I give them a half-hr. to stare glumly at the walls, and grumble. 8:30 breakfast, brush teeth, quick shower, get out first subject and be working by 9:00.

 

The boys are 12, almost 14, and 15.5, so I don't schedule breaks and down time. They are more able to figure that out for themselves knowing that all work assignments have to be completed by 4:00 p.m. if they are daily assignments, or by their deadlines if they are larger things such as essays, papers, long-term science experiments (some are 30 -60 days in length for data gathering and analysis), etc.

 

No matter what, I make a good and hefty lunch at noon. They have healthy snacks they can pretty much eat at will through the morning because there is no amount of food they can consume that actually fills them!

 

I also have specific times of the day that directly teach specific subjects. 11:00 a.m. - 11:30, art history and note-taking for eldest boy. 10:00 - 10:30 a.m. - algebra for 12 year old. 1:00 - 1:45 algebra 2 for middle boy, 2:00 -3:00 algebra 2 for eldest boy, spot checks in Latin, English, history, and other foreign language throughout the day, and individual coaching in writing plus literary discussions which are not specifically scheduled, but happen as necessary in between the above time frames.

 

Chore charts are posted on the bathroom door and the boys have from whenever they complete their school work until 5:00 p.m. to get those things done. Because our days are intensive and eldest boy has an hour of computer programming during the evenings with DH plus they have rocket team duties on the weekends and sometimes, when the weather is nice and they'll be flying after school, I very rarely assign them any amount of chores that cannot be completed in an hour. They help with dishes, sweeping floors, taking out garbage, tidying up rooms - though they are never really tidy despite the effort - taking care of animals, washing counters, and sorting laundry. They have free time when they can squeeze it in and after dinner at 6:00 p.m. unless of course eldest is spending 6-7 with dh on Java programming...in which case, he has free time from 7-bedtime which is 10:00 p.m. for him.

 

I somehow cram in there laundry, cooking, bathroom cleaning....Saturday is my day to thoroughly clean the bathroom, grocery shop, and get sheets washed. Well, except that two or three Saturdays per month I work at a quilt store from 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. so grocery shopping is after and then I work on the other things in the evening which makes for a tiring day, but oh well...life happens. They tend to have relaxing time with DH on Saturdays when we aren't flying rockets and they are generally only at the field for two hours so they still have plenty of day left.

 

They get Sundays pretty much completely to themselves or for us to something fun as a family. Last weekend, the younger two played several rounds of "Equate" with me while dh and eldest boy worked on the game the young dear is writing.

 

I'd love to schedule a nap.

 

The only day that is different is Friday. Friday afternoons we have to leave no later than 4:00 p.m. for ds's classical guitar lesson - we drive an hour each way so it destroys the evening. To make sure we aren't pressed for time and he isn't feeling stressed, we don't have Latin, Art History, or Computer Programming on that day. Since we school from the last week of July through the end of the third week of June, we don't have problems getting the entire curriculum covered despite the Friday interruptions.

 

I post here while they are working on their assignments, but want me close for questions. I also find that if my presence is not near, they seem to feel the need to argue over stupid things. :glare:

 

One Saturday per month we have our 4-H STEM club meetings. Those are for three hours in the morning 9 -12. I don't work at the quilt store on that day.

 

Faith

[dosducotes]

These are so helpful ladies. The differences and how you all adjust to schedule changes are great for me. Please keep it up! Do you all grocery shop once a month, once a week...? How do you manage to make sure that you stay on task when you or your kiddos are sick or have another engagement?

 

I hope I am not being so bothersome with all of the questions! I am just soaking up all of this wisdom like a sponge. :)

 

Ashley

[Spryte]

We're mellow about schedules here, but generally... We are backwards.

 

DH gets up with the baby and does morning baby duty. Kids then drag me from bed and bribe me with coffee. ...Stumble to the machine and make a double espresso. Sit staring, sipping it, while kids play. Take morning meds (I cannot move without morning meds - my body doesn't make the normal morning hormones that wake other people up, I'm really *not* just lazy). Kiddo makes his own breakfast, and DH makes smoothies for all. I start to perk up.

 

Mornings are play, hands on fun, outings, park time, and exercise. We do a lunch-listen (usually history audiobooks, etc), baby takes a nap and kiddo and I do school. After baby's nap, kiddo does independent school while I make dinner. After dinner we do clean up and I file any schoolwork that needs filing, double check that all supplies are ready for the next day.

[earthyfamily]

Do you prepare their folders annually, monthy, weekly, daily? Do you make your own assignment sheets or are they part of your curriculum?

 

I prepare a new sheet each week in excel. It lists the subjects, the day and what they are to do that day in each subject. I make my own.

[earthyfamily]

These are so helpful ladies. The differences and how you all adjust to schedule changes are great for me. Please keep it up! Do you all grocery shop once a month, once a week...? How do you manage to make sure that you stay on task when you or your kiddos are sick or have another engagement?

 

I hope I am not being so bothersome with all of the questions! I am just soaking up all of this wisdom like a sponge. :)

 

Ashley

 

Like I said, we grocery shop monthly with weekly trips to pick up produce and dairy. If one of the kids is sick enough to miss school, the others still work and the sick kiddo hangs out in his/her room or on the sofa. We have built in sick days into the school year (we're required 180 days, I schedule 190 days.) Since each child is on his/her own schedule it doesn't affect the progress of the others. I also don't schedule engagements during school hours, no answering the phone either. We work a pretty rigrorous curriculum and schedule so letting distractions come into play is not an option.

Edited August 23, 2012 by earthyfamily
Grammatical error...they drive me nuts if I don't fix them.

[dosducotes]

Spryte, that makes me feel much better! I am a seriously grumpy morning person that needs a.m. meds also. If it were up to me, school would start at noon and go until 5:00. Unfortunately, my dh and kids wouldn't handle that well!

[dosducotes]

Nicole, I should definitely turn the phone off during school! That is a huge time-eater for me. I need to schedule extras days also. I have a tendency to over-schedule and then feel bad when we have to change the plan. Great helps for me. Thank you!:001_smile:

[Entropymama]

Today's schedule was: wake up, light my hair on fire, run until I drop- which cannot be until after our evening library run. Good thing my hair isn't short anymore.

 

:lol::lol:

 

I plan ahead a lot. Our school year is 160 days, so I break everything up and print out 40 days worth at a time. That way I can adjust if needed after the 40 days. I have 4 schedules - one each for the 10, 8 and 7 year old and one for the stuff we do together.

 

In the morning I get up before 6 to shower, etc and make breakfast. Kids up at 7, we start school at 8.

 

DH plays with the 2 and 3 year olds while I do math with 10 year old and WWE with all 3. Then they grab their assignment sheets and do spelling, handwriting, reading, grammar, math worksheets and devotions independently. I play with toddlers.

 

Lunch at 11:30 or so. Play time, get baby down for a nap.

 

12:30-1, we do history or science together, read our literature, poetry, do Bible lesson, Latin. Usually done by 3:30.

[Joshin]

I'm self employed, so my day starts very early!

 

Mon-Fri

4:30 am wake up and morning routine

5:15 I work. Take the laptop to the coffee shop sometimes for a change of scenery!

8:00 Boys are up by this time, getting dressed and eating breakfast.

9:00 -11:15 lessons start. Mornings is language arts, math & history. They need to do heavy bookwork subjects early, I've found.

11:15-noon: lunch and break. Sometimes we head to the science museum to finish our school work there (we're members).

Noon-1:30-ish: Science for both. DS12 also does French three days a week, and DS7 is taking an electronics class this year during this time. Some days we finish later than others.

 

2:00-5pm: I wrap up my work for the day while the kids do their own thing.

5:30-ish: Start dinner. We usually eat by 6 at the latest.

6:30: Almost all our evening activities happen after this time. Mon. and Weds. are Scouts, Fri. is astronomy. Sometimes DS7 has astronomy outreach events on other evenings.

 

Weekend:

Very unscheduled, for the boys and DH at least. I catch up on work, if need be. Putter in the garden. Sundays we play cards with my parents in the afternoon. Sunday morning the boys clean, DH does animal chores and laundry, and I make yogurt, breads and cook ahead meals for the busy days. I also make our lunches for the week and pop them in the freezer. We school at the museum a lot, so we keep a lunch packed in case we decide to head there early and eat lunch there.

[Mom23Boys]

I wake up before 7. Ideally 6, but I have been sick, so I am not getting up as early right now. Hopefully next week.

 

Get my older boys (9 and 8) out of bed at 7. They do morning chores/routine/breakfast and start school at 8. My youngest has to be out of bed by 7:30 to leave for kindergarten (he goes to a half-day program at a church) by 8:40.

 

Our morning work is Bible, Handwriting, Spelling, Maps, English, Math and Reading.

 

We do history and science in the afternoons, one per day, each 2x a week. Friday is usually the free afternoon, unless we have afternoon plans earlier in the week.

 

They do school from 8-12 (with carpool time for my youngest in there). This is usually enough time to finish their morning work.

 

Lunch is at noon.

 

Afternoon work is at 1:00 pm and then it is outside time/snack until 4. At 4 is "homework" time. They have to finish all work that wasn't completed earlier if it was due to their behavior/choices. So, if they don't finish bc of a doctor's appointment, I just adjust the schedule. If they dawdle, they have to finish it that day.

 

My DH works rotating shifts and is off about half of each month. He usually grocery shops. If I have to, I just work it into the best time for that week.

[NancyNellen]

This is a perfect day, which seldom happens :001_smile:

 

6:30amWake, quiet time, drink coffee (which I set the night before)

7:30amfamily breakfast. Everyone is required to be dressed and at the table at 7:30. If not, they forfeit some of their weekend screen time. Yeah, I'm mean like that. We usually do a biggish breakfast (eggs and toast, oatmeal and smoothies, pancakes, muffins, breakfast burritos. I make many of those things ahead of time and freeze them.) We also complete our family devotions, some reading aloud, and memory work at the breakfast table. As the kids head off to chores, I usually start laundry.

8:15am: Big four kids do chores, I do school with my K-er.

9:00am-12:00noon: I bounce around between my older four, completing most of the 3 R's. My oldest two are pretty independent, but we have scheduled days and times for discussions, Biology experiments, and reviewing writing, etc.

12:00-1:30pm: Lunch Break. This will sometimes include a short show or more reading aloud.

1:30-4:00pm: Content areas...history/science. I correct and review work, etc.

4:00-6:00pm: finish work or free time.

6:00pm: Chores for the kids, I make dinner.

The rest of the evening we eat and have free time. Sometimes we watch a movie, or read, or play games. The youngest are in bed by 8:30...the oldest are in bed by 9:30pm.

 

Throw in there piano lessons, horseback riding lessons, fencing, orthodontist (currently 3 in braces), Young Marines, and voice lessons (all either in the late afternoon or on the weekends.)

 

I use Plantoeat.com to plan meals a month at a time. I do one big Costco run and have a grocery delivery the first week of every month. Then I shop about every 10 days for perishables. I go to Target once a month for paper goods, dog food, etc.

 

There have only been a couple of days that my kids have been sick enough to do NO school....we are a pretty healthy lot (and I'm mean, did I mention that?) If that is the case we just shift the plan by a day for them.

 

I plan by term - 6 weeks at a time. I keep weekly excel spreadsheets for each child. They cross off everything they complete. I change/update at the end of the week and file a clean copy of the spreadsheet in my records.

 

I use the computer to place all of our needed books on hold two weeks before we will need them. I have spreadsheets that have been put together before the school year begins so I just need to put the info. into my library's search function.

 

We have a mid-morning snack and a mid-afternoon snack. I keep a snack box stocked with granola bars, dried fruit, almonds, peanuts, crackers, etc. They have the option of something from the snack box, a piece of fruit, or a cheese stick. This means snack time is super easy, fast, and creates no dishes.

 

That's all I can think of for now....hopefully this is helpful in some way. I don't expect everyone to be quite so Type A, it just is what I NEED to do in order to be satisfied with my work.

[Desert Rat]

Today's schedule was: wake up, light my hair on fire, run until I drop- which cannot be until after our evening library run. Good thing my hair isn't short anymore.

 

:iagree: At least today.

 

Monday-Thursday

 

6am - I wake up, exercise, get dressed, clean up kitchen, make beds, start laundry, etc.

7am - Ds12 wakes up showers, eats.

7:30am - Ds9 wakes up, ds12 starts school with me (he's mostly independent)

8am - Read aloud

8:30 am - Ds9 reads aloud to me, ds12 reads in his room

9am -ds9 seat work with me. Ds12 comes wandering in around 9:15-9:30 and starts working on his stuff.

10:30 history with both boys, some science

11am lunch

11:30 leave to drop them off at my folks. I go to work.

3:30 or 4pm - pick them up, get home, clean up, start dinner.

5pm - dinner (4:30 dinner on T/Th)

6pm - M/W TKD, T/Th ds9 soccer

8pm - boys shower if needed, bed at 8:30

Me grade papers, clean up dinner, get things ready for tomorrow.

9:30 - bed

 

Friday

 

6am I wake up. Kids can sleep in.

8am - read aloud, tests

9:30am - I clean my own house (as opposed to the Mon-Thurs jobs)

11am lunch

12pm Take my mom grocery shopping

5pm dinner

6pm Ds9 archery

 

Saturday/Sunday

Run errands, see friends, Costco, Pokemon club, sometimes a soccer game.

Sunday I make copies and line out the next week.

 

HTH

[LibraryLover]

Check Email & FB

Watch Hoarders

Watch Toddlers and Tiaras on YouTube

Watch Honey Boo Boo

Read, and increase ridiculous post count on the WTM Boards

Watch Hoarders

Eat while watching Toddlers & Tiaras clips (No Full Espisodes online)

Watch Hoarders clips (because now I am caught up on Full Episodes)

Solve world hunger, tell nobody.

My day will have to be longer now, as I've read here that there are several Full Episodes of The United Bates of America available.

Edited August 24, 2012 by LibraryLover

[justLisa]

I pretty much wander around all day like a slow chicken with its head cut off.

 

I don't have much of a schedule. In fact, this year I am using a daily check list system with my kids. I am sick of everything having to be one on one with me every second and they have to wait for me to tell them what to do.

 

This works for us because none of us seem to like to have a tight schedule. I often feel either uninspired by what I had planned to do, or I would prefer to do something else.

 

I am pleased with what we accomplish at the end of the day. I just feel like a total spazz most of the time.

[justLisa]

Check Email & FB

Watch Hoarders

Watch Toddlers and Tiaras on YouTube

Watch Honey Boo Boo

Read and increase ridiculous post count on the WTM Boards

Watch Hoarders

Eat while watching Toddlers & Tiaras clips (No Full Espisodes online)

Watch Hoarders clips (because now I am caught up on Full Episodes)

Solve world hunger, tell nobody.

My day will have to be longer now, as I've read here that there are several Full Episodes of The United Bates of America available.

:lol:

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[MissKNG]

Sorry, changed my mind about posting this!

Edited August 23, 2012 by MissKNG

[pageta]

I've worked out a routine that goes pretty well for us.

 

Monday-Wednesday-Friday are our formal school days which go as follows.

 

Morning Routine

6:00 DH gets up, I read for a half hour, then computer time until DH leaves at 7:00. Children get up at some point. Feed kids breakfast, then they go outside and play.

7:45 Leave on our morning walk. Takes about an hour.

9:00 Start morning school with my oldest. Begin with Bible, hymn, poetry/recitation, then an AO reading followed by language arts (Latin, grammar, oral reading, copywork and dictation), possibly another AO reading, then he practices piano. Goal is to be finished by 11:00.

11:00 Downtime for me while kids play downstairs or outside. I check email, answer clients questions (I work from home), and do miscellaneous chores around the house (like start a load of laundry).

Afternoon Routine

12:00 Lunch, listen to Bible story while everyone eats.

After lunch, singing together at piano, then oldest does math worksheet while I work with my Kindergartener. We do poetry/recitation, phonics, a little bit of math, followed by one story. Youngest goes down for a nap. Finish school with oldest - history/science per WTM, another AO reading, then possibly art. Goal is to be finished by 3:00 or sooner.

3:00 - 4:30 More household tasks, responding to client email, doing miscellaneous tasks.

Evening Routine

4:30 Husband arrives home and we have organized chaos until supper. I decide what we'll have for supper before we go on our walk, and I start preparing it whenever necessary.

6:00 Supper

7:00 Storytime for children

7:30 Children in bed. They do not have to go to sleep (though youngest two are asleep fairly quickly, especially if there wasn't a nap for the baby; also, during the winter they go to sleep much faster than during the summer due to the extended light hours in the summer)

At this point I work on projects for my job until 9 or 9:30. I then outline our school plans for the next day - I seem to get more done if I spell everything out ahead of time (like at least 80% which is better than what I do if I don't spell things out).

 

Tuesday and Thursday are completely different for us.

 

Tuesday we leave after breakfast for town. We go to a favorite park where we do formal nature study, followed by the library and groceries and any other errands. We get home around lunch time. The kids then play all afternoon, though we might do a reading or two if needed to get through our readings for the week. Evening routine remains the same.

 

Thursday we go to town again, this time in the afternoon. My oldest has choir, and we run errands before and during his rehearsal. I have certain grocery stores I hit on Tuesday and others I hit on Thursday depending on specials. My kids eat a lot of bananas so we have to buy bananas every 2-3 days or people get very unhappy.

Thursday morning is when I clean the house, pay bills, and other domestic tasks.

 

I do my best to keep Saturday and Sunday completely free of routine domestic tasks (other than cooking and doing dishes). On Saturday and Sunday mornings, I get up early and either go to Starbucks and do work I couldn't get done during the week (sometimes I need no interruptions sometime other than at night when I'm worn out from a long day) and/or I do a long workout on local trails. Sunday mornings we go to church. On the weekend we do family activities together. I grab some groceries (bananas!) on Saturday morning if I need to.

 

So that is the rough outline of my routine. If a holiday falls on a weekday, we just skip whatever it was that we would have normally done. If it falls on a Thursday, I would probably try to clean and do those tasks on Wednesday and Friday. But with a routine in place, everyone knows what to expect and goes along with it pretty well. I used to fly by the seat of my pants a lot more, but it took a lot more self-discipline to make myself get things done. Now I know when I am supposed to do things and I only worry about those things (like cleaning house) during the times designated for them. If I pay bills once a week, I don't lay awake at night worrying about a possible overdraft because I'm checking in often enough to know what is going on, KWIM.

 

I started working on this routine earlier this spring and have honed it to my liking over time. We are leaving on vacation tomorrow and I am very proud to say that we did school yesterday as usual - in my former life, an event like a vacation or family coming to visit meant taking at least a week off school before and after said event.

 

Make a list of everything you need to do, think of the most logical time to do it (either day or time of day) and then follow your routine. Keep a master list and then re-tweak it every week until you get it the way you want it. Life always happens, but if I have a general plan in place, I find I'm a lot less likely to get lost in the details.

[KRG]

It is a juggling act everyday!

 

I do a weeks worth of lesson plans on the weekend and tweak what I need to the night before.

 

I try to grocery shop once a week. I go through the grocery ads, pantry and freezer and plan a weeks worth of meals around the sales and what we have on hand. I usually grocery shop Monday mornings after breakfast.

 

My day starts whenever the baby(ds2) wakes up(between 6:30-7:00). I get up and take care of him and then cook breakfast. We watch Mister Rogers and eat breakfast. Dh leaves for work. After that he goes and plays in his room and I ck email, wake-up, etc. Then we usually play outside for awhile.

 

Ds1 has to be up by 8:30. He cooks his own breakfast and starts school. He usually starts with something easy and works independently most of the morning. I keep ds2 busy in hopes that he will eventually take a nap ;) Lunch is around noon and then nap. While ds2 naps, I teach Math and Science to ds1 and anything else that he needs help with. He finishes up the rest of his school day. Ds2 wakes up from nap and we go outside and read whatever book Ds1 is reading for Literature.

 

The school day is usually over around 3:00. At 4:00 ds1 watches ds2 while I start preparing dinner. Dh is home a little after 5:00 and then it is dinner, family time and then bath for ds2 around 7:00. That's when I get quiet time. Dh bathes ds2 and does all the night time things.

 

As far as housekeeping I have days for laundry(diapers are washed every other day):

 

Monday: ds2 clothes, towels

Tuesday: sheets

Wednesday: ds1 washes his clothes

Thursday: dh and my clothes

Friday:anything that didn't get washed during the week that needs to be washed

 

I usually vacuum 3 days a week and dust once a week. Bathrooms are cleaned on Thursdays during nap time. I wipe the kitchen down in the evenings. Ds1 does the dishes. We pick up anything that it out every night. It's not perfect but it works us!

[dosducotes]

LibraryLover...:lol:

 

I am a closet TV'er. I suppose that is part of my pro'lem.

 

To all of you other ladies: I can't even reply b/c I am honestly writing down so much of what you say into my notebook! Y'all rock! Thank you for all of the super-helpful input. I want to be like y'all when I grow up!:D:D

[dosducotes]

KRG, do you have a written chart for all of this or do you just have it programmed in your brain?

[kb44]

You all get up soooo early!!!! We are forcefully rolling ourselves out of bed no sooner than 8:30, usually. Even when I worked full time, and/or had the kids in ps, I didn't get up as early as you all. I am so not a morning person.

[dosducotes]

kb44, you are so RIGHT. I am not a morning person! I am wondering if I can get it all done if I don't wake up before the rooster.:confused:

[KRG]

KRG, do you have a written chart for all of this or do you just have it programmed in your brain?

 

It is just programmed in my brain...I have been doing it like this for so long it is second nature ;) I feel like something is missing if I skip something...like today I didn't do laundry because dh just got home tonight after being out of town all week. I'll do all that laundry tomorrow.

[dosducotes]

Kristi- Good for you! It seems like you have a great system. I just can't seem to get my brain to adopt a pattern. I am trying...

[KRG]

Thanks! You'll find something that works for you and your family and it will click!

[kb44]

I have a chart of what we need to accomplish academically each day, and a chart for daily chores, just so that as I walk by it again...and again...and again, LOL I continue to remind myself to STAY on TASK!!! I do have it all in my head, though. Multicolor visuals are just...so me.

 

I just don't have a set time during the day, that each thing is done. If it doesn't get done that day, I do make sure it is done by the end of the week, or I will be so overwhelmed with back up stuff/work/chores.

 

So my "schedule" for academics: math, writing, phonics, reading comp.

 

I have a schedule of chores for each of us to accomplish each day, as well. Vacuum/mop down on Mon., vacuum/mop up Tues., grocery shopping and sheets Wed. etc.

 

I'm not willing to give up the flexibility to meet up with friends, go to hs groups, park days, field trips, hs library time, a day I need to get everyone shoes. I have no problem doing school work on weekends, when DH is building something outside, or having them do work in the car, waiting areas, etc.

[dosducotes]

kb44, you sound a lot like me. Do any of you ladies that have mentioned charts or posters wish to share with me what they look like? That would help me so much!

[lea1]

7:00 - 900am The boys and I all wake up. They sit around quietly and read library books until they wake up a bit more. I put in a load of laundry, clean up any snack dishes/cups around the kitchen from the night before and pick up the areas we use when homeschooling, which are mostly our large kitchen island and the living room that is open to the kitchen. We all eat and I get online and catch up on a bit of reading news, WTM, blogs and/or email.

 

9:00am Start school. The boys pick through our subject cards and decide what order they feel like doing subjects each day. Usually history and science are always picked first, although not today. Today they picked Read-Aloud (I'm reading Because of Winn-Dixie to them - I think it was 40 minutes today), Math and then Bible Study. Then it was break time and stopped to have lunch.

 

During lunch, I also put laundry in the dryer, clean up the kitchen after we eat and sit down to take a short break while they play.

 

Sometime between 1:00 and 1:30, we started back up and did science, spelling, read to self (30 minutes - we rotate this with assigned reading on various days), Writing and English.

 

So that is what it looked like today. Normally though we end up starting with History or Science. History is Mon/Wed and Science is TTh.

 

Fridays we go to homeschool co-op. There we have the following schedule:

 

9:00-10:00 P.E. led by a local YMCA

10:00-11:00 Spanish

11:00-12:00 Art

12:00-12:30 Lunch with everyone in one central area

12:30-1:30 We have a break; reading time

1:30 - 2:30 Drama

 

Tomorrow will be our second day for our new homeschool co-op. If the rest of the year is anything like our first day, we are going to have a blast.

Edited August 24, 2012 by Lea in OK

[LibraryLover]

LibraryLover...:lol:

 

I am a closet TV'er. I suppose that is part of my pro'lem.

 

To all of you other ladies: I can't even reply b/c I am honestly writing down so much of what you say into my notebook! Y'all rock! Thank you for all of the super-helpful input. I want to be like y'all when I grow up!:D:D

 

 

:D We do actually have a flex schedule that I'll post. I'm having a great day, and I was teasing. :) Although, last few days I have been watching TV on the computer more than usual. lol Rain, humidity...laziness, and a short break from driving kids hither and yon. Anyway, it's summer, and it's been a busy one. It is the calm before the storm of packing up for college.

 

Plus, we are still high from having helped our oldest hser get into a really great college for her major. We did it!

Edited August 26, 2012 by LibraryLover

[KarenNC]

I started last year (6th grade) trying to have us up by 7am, start school by 8am, in order to fit things in. When we do that, life is much easier. When we don't, it can be chaos. We're just now moving into the fall schedule this year with a couple of new things, so we'll see how the following goes:

 

M: bookwork 8am-10:45, online bookclub 11am-12, lunch and get to afternoon enrichment classes by 1pm (hopefully general art, manga art club, life skills--actual schedule in flux), 3pm head home, homework/free time

T: bookwork 8-9am, writing class 9:30-10:40, home for lunch and some additional bookwork, homework/free time, 5pm-6:30 drawing class

W: bookwork 8am-10am x2/mo followed by Girl Scouts 10:30-12, 8am-noon x2/mo, lunch and park day with homeschool group, home between 3:30 and 5pm, homework/free time

Th: bookwork 8am-12, lunch, finish up any bookwork needed, homework/free time leave about 5:30 to get to aikido to meet Dad

Fri: bookwork 8am-12, lunch, finish bookwork needed, homework/free time, field trips if scheduled

Sat: leave by 7:30 for aikido, home by noon, once a month family games night 2-10 or so

Sun: leave by 9:45 for church, home between noon and 2 depending on whether there's a youth group activity, frequently leave by 3:30 for aikido, home about 7 or so

 

She does homework in the car frequently (offsite classes are 20-30 min away, depending on class, aikido is 45 min away, church is 25 min). Everything else gets fit in around all this framework. I don't have a schedule for anything else, really (and I have to admit my house shows it). We school year-round in order to be able to have time to do more outside the house activities, and I plan subjects to be as "do the next thing" as possible. I have a master list of lessons for each subject on my computer and, if I'm organized that week ;), I transfer the upcoming week's schedule in each subject to my paper planner. Sometimes that planner is more a "fill in what we did today" than "check off what we're going to do today," though.

 

Bookwork time is time we need to work together, watch videos together, etc, while homework is something she can do independently. Deadlines vary on whether it's due the next day or a longer term activity. I'd like to have more of the offsite stuff grouped together, but this is actually a small reduction in what we've done in the past :). We have stepped up the outside art activities, as that is her passion and I can't draw my way out of a paper bag ;).

[kb44]

Daily-laundry, dishwasher, pickup as needed, cat, dog, other

Laundry, dishes from table, feed dog/cat, clean up outside toys, other

 

Mon- vacuum/mop downstairs/clean bath

Clean up all downstairs toys, vacuum

Tues-vacuum/mop upstairs/baths

Clean up all upstairs toys

 

Wed- sheets and towels/grocery shopping

Take sheets off, help make beds, act appropriately when shopping

 

Thurs- monthly task, see following:

Week1-with magic eraser, clean all tubs and showers, wash bath

mats

Free day

 

Week2- pay, organize, and file bills

Leave me along, as bills are frustrating and time consuming. J

Week3-dust downstairs (incl. fans, doors, baseboards, furniture)

and wash walls and appliances, as needed

Dust

Week4-dust upstairs (everything)

dust

Fri- vacuum/mop downstairs/clean bath

Clean up downstairs, vacuum

 

Sat- upstairs baths/windex

Windex

 

 

My school chart is literally

Math

Phonics

Writing

Reading

each in different color, LOL.

 

Because we only do the 4, and we incorporate ss and science through our literature, they know what they/we are supposed to accomplish, daily. Our Math and Phonics are Saxon, so scripted, and no lesson plans needed. Our reading and writing work together, and I plan for each unit ahead of time and have it at hand, in a binder/folder. I can't deal with a lot of planning, organizing for a lesson, etc. I need to have materials easily accessable to my table, and I just grab the things needed, as I call a kid (kids) over. They often work on the computer or do arts/crafts, science experiments, play outside, when they are not working with me.

[ondreeuh]

How do you schedule quiet time, chores, school, supper prep, lesson planning, extra-curriculars? Would any of you be willing to share a detailed sample of how you fit it all in? I am a flunkie when it comes to scheduling. I'd love a little help from the successful mamas/papas out there!

 

Thanks,

Ashley

 

We are still getting into the swing of things, so we will add more as we get more efficient at what we already have going.

 

7:00ish - I wake up and get ready, get some coffee, etc.

8:00 - pull boys (11 and 4) out of bed, feed them breakfast, let them play (but not watch TV)

9:00 - start school. Start with calendar, "memory work" (which is just a poem, some calendar songs, helping verbs chant with stretches)

9:10 - 11:30 - Language Arts (GWG, WWW, penmanship, Saxon Phonics) with my 11 year old while the 4 year old is bribed to play on his own or play quietly in the schoolroom. We have a quick snack in the middle.

11:30 - lunch and break.

12:30 - math (ideally this will get moved up before lunch soon), do pre-K with my 4 year old while older son works independently.

1:30 -leave for homeschool PE on T/Th. On M/W/F, do science and history.

 

I try to be done by 3, which means we haven't gotten to art, music, IEW writing, or literature yet. I am considering limiting GWG and WWW to 30 minutes in the morning and then saving the rest for "homework." DS still needs so much help with everything, though. I could try to start earlier, but ds needs an hour for his meds to kick in before we really even think about school. I would love to get to this schedule:

 

8:30: memory work, reading from the Book of Virtues w/ Teaching the Classics story map, calendar.

9:00: Grammar, WWW, and handwriting instruction. Ds11 works independently while I do pre-k with ds4.

10:00: snack and exercise.

10:30: Silent reading for ds11, pre-k with ds4

11:00: math instruction. DS works independently while I work on lunch.

12:00: lunch and break.

1:00: Literature (RA and study guide)

1:30: PE on T/Th, Science and History on M/W/F

2:30: Art and music on M/W/F (still at PE on T/Th)

[anneofalamo]

5:15am-hubby's alarm goes off, and we silently begin our day with a 3 mile walk with dogs and sometimes the twins (13) go with us.

6:30 hubby showers/dress/eat

I read bible

7:00 hubby and DS16 go to church to pray-I pray at home

7:30 I wake up 3 youngest (DS4, 5, and 7) they go to pre-school and elementary

Other DS(14) rises, and twin girls help with breakfast for DS4

DS5 & 7 eat at school

I drive youngest to school and return at 8ish

The 4 oldest are done with breakfast and chores and usually out in desert(our backyard) trying to shoot something.

3 times a week, I go to an exercise class for this hour.

9am-Science (all together)

9:40-History on MWF/literature on TTH

10:15ish-teach new math concepts or grade math with group that need it.

11:00 language arts

then lunch

DS16 works at library part time, and if he isn't working he takes the kids for grocery shopping or errands.

I clean while they are gone, shower and nap!

3:00 pick up youngest 3,

3:30 home from pick ups, snack time and I prepare dinner

home work with DS5 and 7

and play time til 5pm

5pm-hubby home/showers

5:15 eat

kids do clean up

church at 6pm on Wed, library on Thursdays, and usually Mon or Tues the girls and I go somewhere together, shopping or just out.

bed for youngest 3 is 8pm and I follow at 9.

lol, funny to type, but life is full

[laughing lioness]

Do you all grocery shop once a month, once a week...? How do you manage to make sure that you stay on task when you or your kiddos are sick or have another engagement?

 

 

Grocery shop once a week. We live out of town so we do that on one of the day's we are in town. When someone is sick, they take a sick day- no problem. I schedule what we are going to do for the year but not by the day or week; we just keep plugging away.

[prairiegirl]

We do school in 6 week chunks with 1 week off in between the chunks. I lesson plan during our week off. So I do 6 weeks of planning and putting everything in each child's file folder during that 1 week. I have done it many different ways but this is the way that works the best for us.

 

In a perfect world, I menu plan a week ahead and then do the grocery shopping for that week on Sunday after church. The perfect world scenario doesn't happen as often as I would like.

 

Our daily schedule goes like this:

 

I wake up at 5:30--computer time, devotions, exercise.

Make breakfast at 7:30, wake kids up. They eat then do chores (I have a list of chores that they can pick from at this time.)

We start school at 8:30. We do Morning Time for about 45 min. then we start history, literature and art appreciation. We do this as a group.

Some days this lasts until lunch time, other times we go until about 11:00, then the kids do their individual work while I get lunch ready.

 

After lunch, it is time for the basics. I work with the youngest first for about an hour, then I move on to the middle one for an hour and, finally, I work with the oldest for about a half an hour.

 

By this time, It is about 3:30--4:00 and I am so ready for the day to be over.

[dosducotes]

Julia, I like the idea of 'chunking'. Do you school year round? If not what are you start and stop dates typically?

[5 Hikers]

An example of Tuesday's schedule:

 

6:30 get up and shower. Have quiet time with my bible.

7:15 eat breakfast and empty the dishwasher

7:30 Leave to drive in traffic til 8:45.

Attend Nursing classes 9am-3pm

Drive 40 minutes home.

Catch up on kid's day and go over schoolwork

Start dinner while I talk on the phone to a friend and throw in a load of laundry

5pm eat dinner with the kids

5:30 clean up and chores (switch out laundry)

6:30 read books with the kids or play game

7:30-8:30 outside time with kids

Supervise baths for ds8 and dd4

9pm tuck in dd4 with bedtime routine and then read Peter Pan to ds8

9:40 Get on the computer and work on my college classes

grab the laundry fold and put away

start the dishwasher

11pm Read a book til I fall asleep around 12:30