Routines that are working for you

[Kelly1730]

As I start to plan our year, I was thinking of what routines I want to put into place. Curious at to what routines you have in place that are helpful in your homeschool day. For example, morning meetings and what that includes, daily walks/exercise and how you fit that into your day, when do you do your read alouds, meal/planning what works for you there, etc.  I know there is much to be gleaned from putting routines into place, what works really well in your home? 

[SailorMom]

I am still trying to figure it all out and mine will only be in the house a few more years... lol. I'll have it all perfected just in time to not need it anymore.

Anyway -

I've found that Once a Month Cooking is a lifesaver for me during the school year.

Doing math and science after lunch gives me time to set up labs, etc., and get caffeine in my system before trying to work on those topics.

Read aloud-s are best done last for us.

Making sure we start school before 8:30 is absolutely key to having a productive day.

I can not be productive in my PJ's no matter how much I'd like to be.

[Heidi]

I have my most successful days when I have a Rockstar Morning.  Not the energy drink; it's even better.  It is when I exercise, shower, get dressed, and read my scriptures all before the kids wake up in the morning.  It hasn't happened yet this year (we've only been schooling for a week this year), but I am gigantic at the moment with pregnancy, so... that's my excuse anyway.

 

When I'm a rockstar in the morning, I'm a rockstar all. day. long.  You can quote me if you want. :tongue_smilie:

 

I think my favorite routines of our homeschool day are the hour-long lunch break for everyone (12-1pm) and the hour-long quiet time (1-2) for everyone.  That's a good two hour break in the middle of the day for me to relax, have some quiet time, and get a quick nap so I can face the rest of the day without getting burned out.  We've only been doing that for a week, but it is working well so far.

 

Doing read-alouds at bedtime has always been a favorite.  This is when I get in history and literature, as well as oral narrations from my kids.  Last year I read to them while they were in bed.  This year I'm putting the two youngest to bed at 8pm and reading to my three big kids on the couch until 9pm.  I tried doing read-alouds in the middle of the day during the baby's naptime, but it always made me too sleepy.

 

And of course, starting the school day earlier is always better, beginning with the more mentally-challenging classes when the kids are fresh. 

 

[Ellie]

I developed a few routines when DD1 was just little:

 

Shower at night when Mr. Ellie was home to be with the baby; get dressed first thing in the morning, when my feet hit the floor; make the bed before I leave the bedroom; wash my hair in the kitchen sink (even though my grandmother would be horrified, lol); clean the kitchen IMMEDIATELY after meals. When I come out into the world in the morning, I'm dressed, my bed is made, my kitchen is clean. If I get nothing else done all day, I still feel ready for whatever happens.

 

We bathed dds every night, including washing their hair (and blowing it dry. Really. Mr. Ellie was quite good at it.). Dds were in bed by 8 p.m. (except for church nights).

 

After a year or so of homeschooling (and we were instant homeschoolers--I withdrew dd from a private school at Easter vacation of first grade, two weeks after The Incident that made me even consider homeschooling), I figured out this routine:

 

Dds got up around 7:30-8 a.m. We had breakfast together, and I cleaned the kitchen while they got dressed. We were ready-ish by 9. :-)

 

Monday and Tuesday: Official School Days. No field trips, no errands, no talking on the phone for me, or crafts for me, or anything. Just...stay home, until at least 3 in the afternoon.

 

Wednesday: Library. Maybe some goofing off with friends after the library, but always library. Wednesday evening was church.

 

Thursday: Field trip. Every.single.week. Field trips with the support group *only* if those were scheduled on Thursday. Sometimes I scheduled a field trip and invited some friends if I wanted to do something that required a group, but mostly it was just dds and me.

 

Friday: Clean house--all the laundry, dust the furniture, move the furniture and vacuum, clean the bathroom (small house; I could do all the vacuuming and dusting in one day). Once a month: park day with support group.

 

I read aloud from a good book, one chapter a day, right after lunch each day that we were home (any reading aloud for Official School Stuff doesn't count as, you know, "reading aloud." :laugh: )

 

This was our routine for several years. Even now that I've been an empty-nester for almost 20 years, I still do laundry on Fridays, and for many years I did my own field trip on Thursdays. :-) And I still shower at night, get dressed and make the bed before I leave my bedroom, and wash my hair in the kitchen. :-)

 

 

 

ETA:

I clean on Fridays  because I don't want to have to do anything on the weekend when Mr. Ellie is home, because I want us to have clean underwear on Sunday mornings, and because I want Mondays to be the "Ahhhhh...back to normal" day. :-) And since I make it a point to do *nothing* on Monday (and Tuesday) except Official School Stuff, I don't want anything to interrupt that.

 

We took off Thanksgiving through about the middle of January, a couple of weeks in the spring around Easter, a couple of weeks in late August/early September, and other days as needed. Our Monday-Friday routine continued year-round.

 

:D

[Coco_Clark]

My routine goes against all the common advice for families with young children :)  But it works for us.

 

Kids get to watch TV as soon as they wake up (and as long as they don't wake me and the baby up), they usually get 1 show each in before I'm up.  This gets it out of the way, so they aren't just asking, asking, asking all day long, it also allows me to sleep in.

 

8:30am We get dressed, pray, eat breakfast, I empty the clean dishwasher, and then the mornings are active and usually out of the house.

 

Monday-clean the ENTIRE house.  Tuesday/Thursday- co-op classes for oldest (he takes art, music, gymnastics) the rest of us run errands (grocery store, library and story hour, ect).  Wednesday- hiking (when we are covered in snow its sledding).  Friday- playgroup (we go the the local trampoline place, do field trips, go to parks, ect)   

 

12:30 We come home, eat lunch, and since I eat 10x faster then any of my children I read aloud from a chapter book while they finish.  Baby goes down for a nap and the older two do their schoolwork.  Math, writing, reading, and 1 other subject (history 2x, science 2x, sign language 1x) daily. 

 

3:00 We are finished unless something fun like a project or documentary is taking us longer than usual and the kids have a snack and free time. 

 

5:00 I start dinner and we spend around 30 minutes cleaning up, mostly just putting everything in its place and sweeping.  The kids all wash their faces and hands.

 

5:45 My husband gets home.  The house looks fairly clean because I just got done sweeping ;)  You'd be surprised what a difference clear floors make.

 

6:00 We eat and spend time as a family.

 

8:00 My husband reads the kids 2 picture books each, prays with them, and goes thru other parts of their very intricate bed time routine.  I wash all the hand washing dishes from the day (the dishwasher was filled as we went) and wipe down the bathroom while I brush my teeth.  

[source of joy]

Our routine has been unorthodox the last few years due to my chronic illness. I suffer from Fibromyalgia which makes my mornings difficult since my symptoms are very much sleep related.

 

So my dd 14 (15 in August) gets up, does her scheduled subjects pretty independently and puts on a show for her young brother once he's done his scheduled independent work. This way I can get up, make the bed, put away laundry I folded the night before and dh brought up for me.

 

I have my breakfast and help out with piano practices and other problematic subjects that need my attention.

 

As for outings, they are very calculated and have mainly been moved to afternoons and evenings. Piano lessons for dd are bi-weekly and we have to drive to Toronto which is a 1 1/2 to 2 hr. drive for us...thus, depending on traffic, this 1 hr. lesson can take up to 6-8hrs. for one lesson...so we do car school and I school ds7 while dd has her lesson. Dd developed RSI just before she was to play her RCM gr.9 piano exam 2 years ago...so our journey meant finding a teacher who's been teaching her to move and heal at the piano as she really wanted to continue to play.

 

For evening activities, dh has been a tremendous help. This gives me time to catch up on shopping, errands, housework, exercise or just take a bit of a rest, especially if I have a Fibro attack.

 

We do most of our cleaning on Friday home days and/or Saturdays. Ds dusts and vacuums his own room, dh does the rest of the vacuuming, dd does most of the dusting, sweeping and spot cleaning of the main floor hardwood floors, 2 bathrooms and her room. I do the master bedroom and master bathroom(sometimes dh helps), the kitchen, the laundry and most of the cooking(although dd is learning by doing one evening meal/week and helping with occasional baking projects). We cook mainly from scratch as I've decided to go gluten free to hopefully help with my symptoms and I think it has been helping so far.

 

I also found that a weekly schedule wasn't working a lot of the times due to extenuating circumstances or because a certain subject needed more attention than initially predicted etc...so I make daily schedules for the children...

 

So obviously, I often feel that our life isn't "normal" anymore because dh did non of the extracurricular activities or housework ever before I got sick but this is how it has to be at this stage in our life. I'm constantly working on finding new a improved ways of doing life.

[Parrothead]

Our new schedule will start at 5:45am. We will get up and spend some time with the news and scheduling. Then exercise and breakfast. School will start promptly at 8 and end at 3 with an hour for lunch. From there time will be spent shuttling dd to various dance classes until 8p. Home and any missed meals or homework until 9. In bed at 9.

[stm4him]

I am doing much thinking about this now.  I've gone back to Flylady to help get us back on track.

 

For starters, on Monday we will clean the house, though I'm worried about getting it all in because we have to leave by 11:30 to get to violin and then we won't be back from piano until 3:30.  Once a month we'll have to go to orchestra around 6:15 and won't be back until 7:45ish.  But my goals on Monday are (with help from my kids and hubby):

 

Sweep

Mop

Vacuum

Tubs and Showers

Dust/declutter horizontal surfaces

Wipe down vertical surfaces

Clean out fridge and straighten pantry

Empty small trashcans

Change sheets

Flylady missions for the week

Order groceries online

Clean out the vehicles and my purse

Straighten the yard

Straighten foyer closet

Prep for co-op (including watching their presentations, packing lunch, clothes out, stuff by the door, stock diaper bag, gas in van, etc.)

 

The other days I have a morning routine of:

 

Have my coffee (courtesy of hubby)

Pray for our day! Have a very short devotional

Nurse the baby

Make the bed

Shower and dress to shoes

Get dressed and fix face

Take vitamin and medicine

Swish and swipe 2nd floor bathrooms

Check calendar and to-dos

Straighten desk

Get dinner out

Set out water for the day

Start a load of laundry

Give my son his meds

Supervise quick snack-like breakfast and eat (son unloads dishwasher)

Check email if time

Supervise breakfast clean up (daughter loads dishwasher and all kids have table chores)

Get little kids dressed and read to them or work on music study while olders practice instruments

 

Go upstairs and start school by 8ish:

Bible

Writing

Grammar

Spelling/Phonics

Brunch (supervise clean up again, change over laundry, change diapers)

Math drills and game

Math lessons (older two are playing catch-up)

Snack break and diaper changes

Memory Work, Copywork, and Map Drawing

Fine Arts Expansion

Science Expansion

Recitations (poetry, catechism, character, Bible facts, Scripture, etc.)

Presentation Skills

Read Aloud to Olders

 

Afternoon Chores (while kids are at activities):

Straighten 3rd floor (schoolroom and rec room and bathroom)

Exercise

Diaper changes

Calls, mail, and other to-dos

Put away laundry

Dinner Prep

 

Dinner and Devotion

Straighten 1st floor

Pjs and diaper changes, brush teeth, etc.

Kids go to bedrooms for listening to memory work playlist and SOTW and audio Bible while they clean up and get ready for bed

 

 

Evening Routine:

Check hotspots (piles)

Make sure family room and kitchen are done and dishwasher run

Meal plan for next day

Check computer blogs/emails

Check calendar and list to-dos

Quick walk through house for quick straighten and/or 15 min declutter

Lay out clothes

Brush teeth, put on pjs, etc.

Write in journal

Read Bible and other books if time

Talk to Hubby

Pray myself to sleep!

 

Of course I have to nurse the baby in here and there are a million interruptions, but that is the main routine.  Right now I'm thinking we will do different subjects for May-August such as:

 

Math

Logic

Latin

Greek

History

Reading Instruction and Oral Reading

Non-fiction Reading/Testing for Comprehension (SOTW, RS4K)

Literature Analysis and Poetry Study

 

And for most of April and all of December we will only do catch up work as needed and some history to give us a breather.  Plus we always have a week and a half of vacation in there somewhere.   

 

Weekly Schedule:

 

Monday- cleaning day, errands, and music lessons/orchestra, maybe tennis

Tuesday- co-op and maybe golf

Wednesday- school and maybe tennis

Thursday- school and maybe golf

Friday- school and art

Saturday- school and nature study at the park or crafts or beach

Sunday- church, choir, AWANA 

 

It says maybe for tennis and golf b/c we're not sure if we can afford it this year....lol.  But it is right in our neighborhood and it is very easy to run them there and then do my afternoon jobs while they're gone.....Art is at our house so I don't plan to leave my neighborhood from Wednesday through Saturday afternoon so we can focus on school.  

 

HTH!

 

 

 

 

 

[strange_girl]

My kids are still young, so...grain of salt and all that :laugh:  I have a young accelerated 2nd grader and a K this year...and a 16-month-old who is adorable but impossible to school with.

 

We have a loose routine that just sort of evolved naturally in our house.

 

Everyone up at 7:00. The kids are all usually awake between 6:30 and 7:00, but they are not allowed to get up (except for the bathroom, obviously) until 7:00.

Breakfast.

Get dressed, brush teeth, etc. (Ideally the morning routine would also include children tidying rooms and bringing down dirty laundry, but we haven't quite acheived that yet :lol:  )

Oldest feeds the chickens and lets them out for the day.

DS4 feeds the dog.

Start laundry and empty the dishwasher. Load dirty breakfast dishes.

Somewhere around 9...baby goes to bed and we start school.

Math for everyone gets done first. Then English/phonics. Those are the most important, so they get done right away.

As we have time, we finish History, Poetry, Spelling, Read-alouds, Science, writing.

The baby gets up by 11 at the latest and we spend some time playing together, in or outdoors.

Lunch.

Quiet Time. Everyone participates in quiet time...even me.

In the afternoons we either run errands or finish up school. Mondays are grocery shopping days. Wednesdays are prayer meeting. Friday is daddy's night off (he works nights).

 

We end up getting quite a lot done, but it's fairly broken up by baby needs and a husband that gets out of bed at 10 am and leaves for work at 3 pm.

[FairProspects]

The routine that works the best for me is just the Flylady 3 morning routine.

 

1. Throw in a load of laundry.

2. Unload the dishwasher & load breakfast dishes.

3. Prep dinner (cut veggies) and/or throw everything in the crockpot.

 

Then sometime during the day, I transfer over the laundry to the dryer and usually fold it after I put the kids to bed.

[AMJ]

Yay, more Flybabies!  My girls and I are easing our way into homeschooling (switching from brick&mortar school), adding in more and more as items ordered come in and the budget allows more things to be purchased.  We are working out our routines as we go, and I will be scheduling a Flylady day after our local homeschool conference so my girls and I can brainstorm together to devise routines that will tackle home care as well as school and fun events.

 

Contrary to what some might think, I am not a Flylady failure (there is no such thing; you can't flunk Flylady.).  Every time I get disorganized I reassess, go back to basic baby steps, and put together new routines (we are in that process again now).  I have learned over time that the usual culprit that knocks me off my routines is major change -- life simply changes to where my established routines don't work as planned.  Instead of beating myself up about it I (sing along now) pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again.

 

I think that this, the acceptance that life throws curve balls and other wacky, unpredictable changes, is my most valued "routine".  Instead of hiding away and resisting like crazy when life falls out of schedule (which took some learning -- my family and upbringing value the familiar and predictable) I wince if needed, maybe throw a short self pity party to get the whining out of my system, then I look anew at where are we now, where we want to get to, and make a plan for how to get there.

 

And we are currently at a point where I need to re-read about shiny sinks, this time with my kids.  Never give up, never surrender.  Just keep swimming.  And so, we are rebuilding our routines to fit today's reality.

 

Come to think of it, I did manage to hang on to some routines:

• I make the bed after both DH and I are up.
• I (most weeks) plan out suppers for the week.  We don't always stick to the plan, but I do have a plan and stuff on hand.
• I like after-workout and evening showers so I go to bed clean and not sweaty. But I shower early enough I can dry my hair before bed (hate wet pillows).
• I still sing Dreamland to my girls every night.  It's my time, as well as theirs.
• I scramble eggs every morning.  This is so ingrained I can make them when half asleep, and we get a good dose of protein right away while we figure out what all is on the day's schedule.
• I don't wait for a full hamper of anyone's clothes before washing.  I throw my DDs' clothes and mine from the day (sometimes two days) together and wash them.  It takes less time to put everything away if we are doing such a load every day, and I'm sneaking this routine into the kids' habits, where it becomes harder to resist and complain/sigh about the onerous duty Mom is making them take care of.

 

We need to get back on swish & swipe, and I need to get a feel for how many (1 or 2) times a day we will need to run the dishwasher so we can build that into a scheduled routine, too.  Basic household tasks need to be scheduled daily in our house, or they will be overlooked regularly.  When our routines get upset these schedules fly out the window and housework that used to take mere minutes either doesn't get done, or builds to time-eating proportions.  Our schedules recently went through the blender (or so it feels), and so we are rebuilding from the base again.

 

And that, O Best Beloved, is what the crocodile had had for lunch today....

 

[SFM]

I have my most successful days when I have a Rockstar Morning.  Not the energy drink; it's even better.  It is when I exercise, shower, get dressed, and read my scriptures all before the kids wake up in the morning.  It hasn't happened yet this year (we've only been schooling for a week this year), but I am gigantic at the moment with pregnancy, so... that's my excuse anyway.

 

When I'm a rockstar in the morning, I'm a rockstar all. day. long.  You can quote me if you want. :tongue_smilie:

 

I think my favorite routines of our homeschool day are the hour-long lunch break for everyone (12-1pm) and the hour-long quiet time (1-2) for everyone.  That's a good two hour break in the middle of the day for me to relax, have some quiet time, and get a quick nap so I can face the rest of the day without getting burned out.  We've only been doing that for a week, but it is working well so far.

 

Doing read-alouds at bedtime has always been a favorite.  This is when I get in history and literature, as well as oral narrations from my kids.  Last year I read to them while they were in bed.  This year I'm putting the two youngest to bed at 8pm and reading to my three big kids on the couch until 9pm.  I tried doing read-alouds in the middle of the day during the baby's naptime, but it always made me too sleepy.

 

And of course, starting the school day earlier is always better, beginning with the more mentally-challenging classes when the kids are fresh. 

 

I couldn't agree with you more. We also take an hour long lunch break and quite time directly afterwards. We do history read alouds after that and then literature is in the evenings as well. If I don't start by a certain time, we are doomed. Also, if I get myself motivated EARLY everything runs smoother.

Thanks for your post! :)

[Mrs Twain]

We always start school at 8 a.m. The kids take turns leading the Pledge of Allegiance and picking one patriotic song to sing. That has been a happy and official way to start the school day.

 

We always do our subjects in the same order (either daily or weekly subjects), including scheduled breaks. We have four work sessions and therefore three breaks between. The kids are used to the schedule and always know what is coming next. We almost always finish by 2:30 unless science or art runs long.

 

I do three loads of laundry on Mondays and three on Thursdays. Ideally that means that I don't have to do laundry every day. Doing laundry every day would wear me out. I like to have a few days per week when the laundry room tidy and the clothes are put away. Maybe it makes me feel on top of at least one thing in my house. lol

 

I almost always get the dishes done and the kitchen clean at the end of the day. Sometimes the dishes sit in the sink too long, but as long as the kitchen is clean at the end of the day, everything goes much better in the morning.

 

I don't have a good house cleaning or cooking routine yet. However, I think the crockpot and I need to develop a closer friendship.

 

Thanks for starting this thread. I am looking forward to reading others' ideas.

[happypamama]

When I'm a rockstar in the morning, I'm a rockstar all. day. long.

This my be the most true thing I've ever read. I totally agree. I'm hugely pregnant as well (baby is expected anywhere from the end of this week to three weeks from now, depending on which big kid this one follows), and I had one of those rockstar mornings yesterday. It was amazing how much I accomplished in the whole day, despite being hugely pregnant!

 

Routines that work for me:

-Setting my alarm 30 minutes before I actually need to be up, so that I can sit in bed and drink water. It only took me until my 45th month of pregnancy to realize that I really do function better with a lot more water than I thought. But by the time my feet hit the ground, I'm fully awake, and the water has hit my system. (It's cool today, and I didn't drink enough water, so between that and waking up too early, I've been dragging all day.)

 

-Kids do chores (which do not rotate; they know exactly what they need to do every morning without asking me) and get dressed before breakfast. By the time we eat breakfast, the clean dishes are put away, the trash/recycling has been taken out, and the previous day's laundry is in the laundry room (and usually already washing).

 

-After breakfast, everyone clears their dishes, brushes their teeth, and starts schoolwork (well, the little guys find something to do/play). The big kids know they are to start their reading, so there are, again, no questions. I take an hour to do the breakfast dishes, switch laundry, wipe a bathroom, vacuum, and do some other small cleaning chores. (Theoretically, on odd days I vacuum the downstairs and wipe the downstairs bathroom, and on even days, it's the upstairs vacuuming and bathroom, but it doesn't always happen that way.) Then when I'm ready to sit down with the kids and do the teacher-intensive subjects, again, a lot of housework has been accomplished.

 

-I only wash whatever laundry can be washed and dried by 3:30 pm. I will leave a pile of non-important laundry for the next day. I usually do 1-2 loads a day (which will probably increase to 2-3 a day when I'm washing diapers again), and if it does pile up, I set it up at night and leave DH a note to start it in the morning. He leaves for work quite early, and if I put it on the right setting and add the detergent and put the clothes in the machine, all he has to do is pull the knob, and then when I wake up, I already have a load ready for the line/dryer. This increases the likelihood that it will get folded and put away that day, even if I don't have a rockstar morning.

 

-I typically take some time in the afternoon to fold and put away laundry, catch any dishes I didn't do earlier, have the kids clean up the house, etc.

 

-I am really interested in OAMC cooking or similar. I have a couple of weeks' worth of meals in the freezer for post-baby, and if that goes well, I really want to do more freezer entrees for busy days. Crockpot doesn't really work for me very well, because it means the prep has to happen in the morning, which doesn't usually happen (I am not a natural morning person at all).

 

-Somehow when the housework flows smoothly, so does the schoolwork. I think my brain flows better, and thus, the schoolwork does too. I also overplan schoolwork so that even if I don't meet the full list every day, we do manage to accomplish important things.

 

Will have to read the rest of this thread for more good ideas!

[meggie]

Make the kids pick up after themselves about 50 times a day.

That's the only thing I've figured out in 7 1/2 years of parenting.  You're welcome :thumbup1:

[Kelly1730]

Love all the tips, ladies. It's like a peek into each of your homes (in a not weird way:). So fun to read what works for others, it may be just the thing one of us needs to make our homeschool run more efficiently:) 

[wingedradical]

Those of you who have an hour long quiet time (or other length), what do your children do during this  time? Especially your teens. Also, what do you do? What is quiet time for you?
`

I am an A type personality and taking a break is very difficult. I think I would have a hard time not strategizing about homeschool during that time but that is definitely not a quiet activity for me. I am very choleric. My body might be quiet, but my mind never is.

 

 

[wingedradical]

@SourceofJoy: I noticed you are doing Spectrum Chemistry this year. We have a very small subgroup of the chemistry group for people who are doing that. We are hoping to be helpful to each other, answering questions, etc. If you are interested (or if there is anyone else out there who is), send me a private email.

 

Also - sympathetic to your fibro challenges in connection with schooling. I have lupus and secondary fms.

[Ellie]

One more thing:

 

My children had early-ish bedtimes which gave me at least three hours of adult time every evening. I preferred that over trying to carve out adult time in the wee hours of the morning or some time during the day. :001_smile:

[Desert Strawberry]

Mine are still little, so most of my routine has to do with teaching self-maintenance.

 

I get up in the morning, do pottying,  dressing, brushing teeth, and make my bed the very first thing. Older boys are required to dress, brush and make beds before I see them in the morning. Then that's done and my little ones are ready for their day. 

 

 

I have quiet coffee time while my older ones do chores, and my toddlers have a little snack in their highchairs. I stay out of their way, the tots are safe, and I start my day with a relatively clean house. 

 

We all sit together for a nice, hot breakfast. Or, I just feed them and I wash dishes and start laundry while they eat. 

They clear and clean, I sweep, and then we start school. We work through, alternating mom time and breaks and activities for the small ones. 

 

Then lunch, outside time for kids, and quiet time for me. I can catch up on cleaning or just put my feet up and take a mental break. They can get their wiggles out. 

 

Afternoons are for naps, documentaries, audiobooks, read-alouds, art time, music time, whatever we need to do that day. 

 

Then dinner, clean up, dad time (first me, then little boys, then big boys), baths, bed time for babies. 

I sit in the room (mine, theirs is attached) until they fall asleep, catching up on the boards and sharpening my Candy Crush skills. I go out to the family room for some quality time with my cardio dance DVDs. Shower, nightie, glass of wine, Netflix, and knitting, or alone time with my DH. 

 

I find that the keys to success for me are:

 

#1 Starting the routine right away in the morning.
If I let my kids laze around for even 15 minutes, they are on slow speed all day long. I feel like I'm starting the day 2 laps behind and can't ever get back on top. 

#2 Resisting the urge to rush. 
It's easy for me to jump on my day, cram it all in, hurry everyone along, slam along till I hit the wall, and feel like sobbing into my pillow by noon. It's better to work on one thing at a time, pace myself, take scheduled breaks, give the kids breaks and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. 
#3 Clean as I go. 
I put a load of laundry in the washer when I start my day, then try to remember to switch at each transition. Wash the dishes and sweep after each meal. Wipe down the bathroom every time I go in. 
I have a once-a-week cleaning schedule, but I rarely use it I just work on whatever needs to be done in that moment. 

 

 

[meggie]

Those of you who have an hour long quiet time (or other length), what do your children do during this time? Especially your teens. Also, what do you do? What is quiet time for you?

`

I am an A type personality and taking a break is very difficult. I think I would have a hard time not strategizing about homeschool during that time but that is definitely not a quiet activity for me. I am very choleric. My body might be quiet, but my mind never is.

My boys are the only ones that do quiet time. Since they do it while Chuck naps, I make them stay on a blanket in the living room. Their own blanket. They play with Lego's or pattern blocks or any games from the game shelf (must use for 20 minutes before I'll get another one), Pigby makes his comic books. I sit on the couch and watch Coursera and make sure they are quiet and don't get off the blanket except to go potty or get a new toy. Pigby would be allowed to go do quiet time on my bed if he wanted, he can be trusted. Digby cannot.

[texasmama]

Things that have worked well in the past that we will continue:  beginning with literature read alouds during breakfast, as a warm-up to the day; moving to math after read alouds while the kids' brains are still fresh; and heavy use of the crockpot for meal prep.

[Mom22ns]

Things that have worked for us, that I hope to continue:

 

Get up an hour before the first child and workout.

Do math first thing with ds.

Don't do math first thing with dd.

Make sure all critical school work is done before lunch time as I am useless between 1-3:00 pm.

 

We start early (6:00) and work hard until lunch. After lunch the kids mostly work independently. Anything I schedule after lunch that is thought intensive for me fails. Epically. 

[Mrs Twain]

Another thing that has worked very well--

Play audio books in the car whenever we drive to any place. We have increased our number of read alouds tremendously. Plus the kids love them and are so quiet in the car when they are listening to a book.

[Heidi]

Those of you who have an hour long quiet time (or other length), what do your children do during this  time? Especially your teens. Also, what do you do? What is quiet time for you?

`

I am an A type personality and taking a break is very difficult. I think I would have a hard time not strategizing about homeschool during that time but that is definitely not a quiet activity for me. I am very choleric. My body might be quiet, but my mind never is.

dd2 & ds3 take a nap

 

dd5 plays quietly or draws

 

dd7 & dd9 sit on the couch and read or sleep (they may not talk or get off the couch)

 

Me: I go to my room & get on the internet, read, and take a nap

 

ETA: I keep my door open so I can hear if anyone makes a peep.  If I hear them they get to do copywork.

[MinivanMom]

Those of you who have an hour long quiet time (or other length), what do your children do during this  time? Especially your teens. Also, what do you do? What is quiet time for you?

`

I am an A type personality and taking a break is very difficult. I think I would have a hard time not strategizing about homeschool during that time but that is definitely not a quiet activity for me. I am very choleric. My body might be quiet, but my mind never is.

 

We have a two hour quiet time every.single.afternoon.  I could not function without it.

 

Dd9 reads in the living room.

 

Ds8 reads in the family room.

 

Dd5 stays in the girls' bedroom.  She can look at books or play quietly as long as I don't hear a peep. 

 

Ds3 naps in the spare room.

 

Ds1 naps in the boys' bedroom.

 

I usually return phone calls and answer email during quiet time.  Then I read or plan for homeschooling.  When I'm pregnant I try really hard to force myself to lie down and rest, but I have a hard time napping.  I usually ended up reading while lying on my left side, which I guess is better than nothing for a busy pregnant mom.

[Unmeltable]

One "class"--one chore--one "class"--one chore--etc. 

 

12:45-3:15 is quiet time no exceptions. 

[CookieMonster]

After a year or so of homeschooling (and we were instant homeschoolers--I withdrew dd from a private school at Easter vacation of first grade, two weeks after The Incident that made me even consider homeschooling), I figured out this routine:

...

 

ETA:

I clean on Fridays  because I don't want to have to do anything on the weekend when Mr. Ellie is home, because I want us to have clean underwear on Sunday mornings, and because I want Mondays to be the "Ahhhhh...back to normal" day. :-) And since I make it a point to do *nothing* on Monday (and Tuesday) except Official School Stuff, I don't want anything to interrupt that.

 

:D

 

I really like this.  Your weekly routine speaks to me.  (I edited so the quote wouldn't be soooo loooong.)

[LindaOz]

My current routine with 6 schooling kids and 2 littles:

 

Breakfast: Breakfast is at 7:30. We have to have a starting time because I have a couple who are capable of making dawdling and distraction an art form.  Having a definite breakfast time gets things rolling.  The kids have to have made their beds, tidied their rooms and be dressed by the time they arrive for breakfast.  I check bedrooms at 7:30 for tidiness. We have Bible time, prayer, memory etc around the breakfast table.

 

Chore time: each child has set chores and they know the routine so this gets done quickly.  I usually check chores at 8:50.  This way we start with things done and tidy around us.  I can't stand starting school with things not done - makes me feel behind all day.

 

Work time:  9-11 is intensive work time for all.  I find it important to have a consistent starting time as everyone knows what to expect and it prioritises our work time each day. My dd3 and dd1 play, draw, watch pre-school tv etc while this is happening.

 

Break time: 11:00 is break time and they have free time till lunch.  This gives me time to spend with my little two. Sometimes my older kids will still work here 'cause they kind of keep their own schedule.  But it is their choice.....  Playing outside, music pracs etc tend to happen here too.

 

Lunch:

 

Together/Work time: I spend time reading etc to my little ones, then they go down for a nap.  I then have read-aloud and extra work time with the others.  Older kids go to do independent work while I work with the youngers. We just pick up from where we left off in the morning.  I like using this time when the little kids are in bed and all is (relatively) quiet.  The rule here is you can't do anything noisy (ie: play piano, drums, violins.......) so even though we are working it's pretty quiet and peaceful.

 

So that's about it. 

 

HTH

 

 

[chaya]

my schedule is a bit of a mess, and needs serious tweaking. my big issue is that we are a homeschooling and a private schooling family (with kids in three different schools, and on three different schedules). so I dont even try to start school at home until my schoolers are out of the house, since I drive my youngest, we dont begin until 9:30. I need to pick her up by 3, so we have a short day. this also limits our ability to meet up with other hs'ers, participate in co-ops and go on field trips.

in the evenings I need to be available to my schoolers (especially my oldest) for homework, or more accurately, afterschooling.

 

so my hs'ing ds (last year it was just ds12, this year his 9yo brother is joining us) tidies his room, prays and reads before 9:30. then we do math and bible study. break. then writing/reading/vocab/grammar. break for errands as needed. lunch. history/geography/science/religious studies. short break. then he studies talmud with his rabbi from 2-3. then he's done for the day. some days we do less. some days we do more. he plays piano by ear and is always improving. he started composing when he was 7 and recently got back into that, so he's at the piano most evenings. or reading. I still read to all of my kids every night, sometimes one book for all (usually on weekends) or a few minutes with each before bedtime.

 

I need to tweak because I have no time for the laundry, many days I realized at 4 pm that I had no idea what I was going to serve for dinner and needed to go to the market, and forget having any time for myself. I think I've had one haircut in the last year.

 

[prairiegirl]

We will be revamping some things this year to see if this will make life easier for me but some of the things that have been working for us are:

 

--getting up early for me so that I can exercise, bathe and read the Bible.  My days go so much better when this happens.

 

--we all do a smattering of chores before we start school

 

--  I only do 1 or 2 loads of laundry a day so that I can keep abreast of folding

 

--we start our learning time with a read aloud and then we move on to a group time for the humanities (literature, history, art, philosophy, etc.)

 

--we do much better when we get back to learning right after cleaning up lunch dishes. We have a hard time getting back to work when we have had a long break

 

[kiwik]

Our new schedule will start at 5:45am. We will get up and spend some time with the news and scheduling. Then exercise and breakfast. School will start promptly at 8 and end at 3 with an hour for lunch. From there time will be spent shuttling dd to various dance classes until 8p. Home and any missed meals or homework until 9. In bed at 9.

I don't think I could manage this routine. How old is she?

[wingedradical]

<<Our new schedule will start at 5:45am>>

 

I'm glad I don't live at your house! (-: Actually, I'm sure getting an early start is a good idea, but it just isn't possible for me.

 

I have only been homeschooling a child again for one year. Having just one makes it easier, but since she has special needs and I have a chronic illness (worse in the mornings, like another poster), it has its challenges.

 

I have never instituted the 1 hour quiet time but I'm thinking it might be a good idea. I tend to give a lot of breaks because of  her focus problems but I'm wondering if a longer quiet time in the afternoon might be a better thing.

 

DFD gets herself up, does her toiletries and makes her own breakfast. My only rule is that she starts school no later than 9. She starts out with something she can do on her own. Usually, that has been math. I'm not sure about this year since she is ready for calculus. Then, I am usually ready for other things.

 

This year, we are doing chemistry with Spectrum. The current plan is that she will have  a slightly shorter day on Mondays and do her labs in the evening.  Someone in the chemistry thread said doing it on Sunday eve. had worked well for them. There is lots of cleanup, etc, and it just seems like it might be better to separate it from the rest of school. 

 

One thing we finally did last year is this: Our homeschool support group meets on Wednesdays, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm supposedly, but it is always until 3 or so. This was really interfering with our schedule. It's easier to do something in the middle of the day every week when your children are young; not so easy when they have a full high school schedule.  But social interaction is important, too. I tried just adding more school work to other days, but since we also have therapy twice a week and voice, it just wasn't working. So ... we just take Wed. off and school on Saturday. It isn't how I'd prefer to spend Saturdays, but it works better than the other way. The support group meets at the park (I live where it is almost always warm enough in winter), so a friend and I take turns being there with the kids. The week I'm not, I can run errands while she is there; the weeks I stay, we do errands afterwards.  I also rescheduled  all therapy and voice lessons to evening hours so that we have an uninterrupted day (it took a while to manage that since many people want evening hours, but we finally managed it).

 

We have been schooling on the sofa and DR table, but I'm putting a desk in one corner of the family room for her, along with things to make her feel comfortable. She loves flowers and plants so I'm sure that will include a plant stand, along with shelf for books, etc.

 

 

 

[Sherry in OH]

Shower and dress as soon as dh leaves

Make bed

Organize and set out materials for morning lessons

Make a list of tasks/household chores for the day and get them started (I do housework in 15-30 minute bursts)

Boys play until breakfast

After breakfast, boys dress, brush their teeth, and tidy their rooms

 

Morning read aloud – 3-4 selections to start our school day.  Typically this includes readings for our daily subject plus seasonal or interest-based readings.

Reading – each child reads to me. 

Piano practice

Seatwork – math, language arts, daily puzzle.

Break – We put away morning lessons; boys play; I rest for 15 minutes or so then gather materials for afternoon lessons, do a chore or two, make lunch and eat my lunch

 

Lunch – boys eat, I read from our literature selection

Daily lesson 1 – if not completed during morning read aloud – history, geography, science, or civics/health

Daily lesson 2 – art, music, Latin, projects or experiments

Quick pick-up – we put away afternoon lesson materials and boys deal with anything they have dragged to the main floor

Outside time – 30-60+ minutes outdoors [depending on weather and attitudes, this may be moved to earlier in the day]

After that, boys play or have screen time (2 hours anytime after 4 pm); I relax or work on my own projects until time to make dinner

 

Bedtime read aloud and silent reading

 

I find that putting things away as we go keeps the clutter from becoming overwhelming. If there isn’t much clutter, it only takes a few minutes to dust and vacuum a room.  It takes less than five minutes to fold and put away a load of laundry. 

Working in short bursts lessens the burden of chores.  The kitchen and dining area are tidied after every meal.  Deep cleaning occurs every few weeks to quarterly.  The house is rarely spotless, but is generally presentable.

[Parrothead]

I don't think I could manage this routine. How old is she?

14 this fall. Such is the life of a dancer in a rural area.

[Soror]

I vote for being a rockstar in the am as well :)

 

- at night- load and start dishwasher, wipe/clear tables and counter,start load of laundry

-am- unload dishes, sweep floor, fold load of clothes

-lunch time- pick-up and chore time

-supper time- cook and clean as I go

 

When we do little bits here and there it doesn't take long. I can generally do am, pm and afternoon work in about 30 minutes for each slot.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

14 this fall. Such is the life of a dancer in a rural area.

 

Excellent point--motivation is often the key for early morning hours.

[Parrothead]

Excellent point--motivation is often the key for early morning hours.

Oh, yes. This is what will get her up as such an early hour. And she needs to get used to it as it will be what she spends the rest of her life doing.

[strange_girl]

Those of you who have an hour long quiet time (or other length), what do your children do during this time? Especially your teens. Also, what do you do? What is quiet time for you?

`

I am an A type personality and taking a break is very difficult. I think I would have a hard time not strategizing about homeschool during that time but that is definitely not a quiet activity for me. I am very choleric. My body might be quiet, but my mind never is.

I don't have teens yet :). My kids stay in their rooms and can either read or sleep. The baby, of course, naps.

 

I lay down with my iPad and have a very relaxing hour where I don't have to worry about school, children, or chores. Then it's back into the busyness of the day.

[CyndiLJ]

We are fairly structured, with flexibility.  This year will be a little different for us through November, because I have all five in Volleyball which starts at 2:00 PM and runs through the early evening three nights a week...Ugh!  It's fun though, and we all enjoy it.  

 

Our "every day must do" list is:

 

First thing spend 10 minutes with all 6 of us picking up the house and common areas.

Laundry must be kept moving every day...all day.

I must shower every morning before my face appears anywhere  :lol:

Morning Meeting - We have a meeting as we settle in at 8:30 or so, and talk about our schedule for the day, anything new that has changed for the week, etc.  We also talk about current events and spend about 20 minutes looking up news stories and sharing interesting discoveries.

Math every day.  With Teaching Textbooks we can drag it around with a laptop and do it at volleyball, in the car, wherever.

Always have a library book with you to read if mom can't quite get to you immediately.  No such thing as wasted time.

 

Other than math daily, I am not sure yet what our schedule will look like.  We do science and history and writing all together, and we tend to do longer blocks less frequently.  For example, we'll sit down and do 3 hours of history twice a week,or 2-3 hours of science. We usually alternate every other day, but it isn't set in stone and it often depends upon the material we are covering and how it flows or where  good cutting off point is.

 

I am going to take a suggestion I saw on the list and make a monthly meal plan, and try and work with that, as dinner has been the one area I can't quite get into our routine well.  I always forget to thaw, always think of something at the last minute, etc. and I hate that, so maybe this will work. I hope so,it would totally simplify my life!

 

[CyndiLJ]

We are fairly structured, with flexibility.  This year will be a little different for us through November, because I have all five in Volleyball which starts at 2:00 PM and runs through the early evening three nights a week...Ugh!  It's fun though, and we all enjoy it.  

 

Our "every day must do" list is:

 

First thing spend 10 minutes with all 6 of us picking up the house and common areas.

Laundry must be kept moving every day...all day.

I must shower every morning before my face appears anywhere  :lol:

Morning Meeting - We have a meeting as we settle in at 8:30 or so, and talk about our schedule for the day, anything new that has changed for the week, etc.  We also talk about current events and spend about 20 minutes looking up news stories and sharing interesting discoveries.

Math every day.  With Teaching Textbooks we can drag it around with a laptop and do it at volleyball, in the car, wherever.

Always have a library book with you to read if mom can't quite get to you immediately.  No such thing as wasted time.

 

Other than math daily, I am not sure yet what our schedule will look like.  We do science and history and writing all together, and we tend to do longer blocks less frequently.  For example, we'll sit down and do 3 hours of history twice a week,or 2-3 hours of science. We usually alternate every other day, but it isn't set in stone and it often depends upon the material we are covering and how it flows or where  good cutting off point is.

 

I am going to take a suggestion I saw on the list and make a monthly meal plan, and try and work with that, as dinner has been the one area I can't quite get into our routine well.  I always forget to thaw, always think of something at the last minute, etc. and I hate that, so maybe this will work. I hope so,it would totally simplify my life!

 

[AMJ]

Things that have worked for us, that I hope to continue:

 

Get up an hour before the first child and workout.

Do math first thing with ds.

Don't do math first thing with dd.

Make sure all critical school work is done before lunch time as I am useless between 1-3:00 pm.

 

We start early (6:00) and work hard until lunch. After lunch the kids mostly work independently. Anything I schedule after lunch that is thought intensive for me fails. Epically. 

 

Momto2Ns, I noticed your NaNoWriMo sticker -- congrats!  How do you manage/balance homeschooling during a NaNoWriMo November?

[momee]

Might I suggest keeping my desk in order every morning? See my picture? That has been my early summer goal along with cleaning our school room of any unused materials. Things feel clean, organized, and ready for action. If I see crazy, I feel crazy, then my kids think I'm crazy.

 

(I'll be sure to post a midwinter photo just to keep it real for everyone :)

[julikins]

I'm still working on this. We've been back at school for almost a week and I've changed the schedule once already. But I think we'll get into the flow within the next week or so.

I do all my morning stuff (walk, devotions, shower, etc.) and make breakfast by 7:15. The kids get up, get dressed and eat breakfast right away. Then Family Bible time, then chores (clean room, take care of animals, clean up) and we start school at 9. We do our

1. math first

2. break (that's when I switch laundry and get the meat out to thaw--we live overseas so the main meal is a noon)

3. another block with Spelling, WWE, Piano Practice, Handwriting, etc.

4. break (start on the vegetables)

5. history/geography (get the kids going and then finish up dinner preparations)

6. lunch break from 12-1

7. 1-3/3:30 we do the mom-intensive subjects (MCT, Bible Memory, Science and Read-alouds) while baby naps

8. Then we have free time and running around, and then evening activities.

 

It's busy, and I'm always drowsy in the afternoon--I try to find 15 minutes for a short nap before we reconvene in the afternoons. That always helps me when I manage it.

[Sahamamama]

We have been using the Tortoise Six-Part System:

 

1. Get up.

2. Do what needs to be done.

3. Keep doing it.

4. Do it some more.

5. Rest.

6. Return to #1 and repeat.

 

Surprisingly productive. ;)

[Jerico]

See if your washer has a delay cycle button. This has changed my life! I put it in at night and it finishes by 5 am when I get up. I go put it in the dryer and then get it out of the dryer when it's done and fold. Then it's ready to be put away when the kids get up.

Check out the book glorious one pot meals. These have been the most helpful recently!

[Soror]

Another thing that is working well is doing read-alouds after lunch. We do lunch then I let the kids watch a show, that is my downtime. Before I felt that I should do read-alouds then but after going and being on from bright and early I want a little space. So, after they watch a show and I have a bit then I'm up for read-alouds and then quiet time. It is quite a perfect lead in as well and I don't feel bad for reading just *one more* whereas when I started the day w/ read-alouds I felt more of a time crunch. It is a good time for the girls to get more one-on-one as well. Ds listens some to picture books but mostly is interested in chapter books, which I like to keep to one at a time- oneish chapter a day.