How structured is your day?

[mamabear2three]

My day is pretty lax except for naps for the little ones, but I am wondering if my eldest might benefit from more structure. I have a 5 year old, 2 year old and 8 month old, for reference. 

 

How structured is your day? Do you find that more structure is better or just stressful? What kind of schedule do you use?

[lorisuewho]

My children have always thrived off of structure.  They like to know what we are going to do and when we are going to do it.  That doesn't mean that every moment is an activity.  It means more that there has always been rhythm to our day and predictability.

[Mandylubug]

We aren't structured. The only structure I have is that once "school time" starts all electronics are off till 5pm or when we finish. Unless, we are watching something for school or doing xtramath online, etc. Well, we start by 1pm as well. Unless it is co-op or gymnastics daysror playdate day and I state clearly when we start or we don't go, etc.

[craftyerin]

VERY. We don't have an actual schedule, like with times.  But we have a very predictable routine.  It works very well for us. Goes something like this: 

 

6am: I get up and get ready

7am: Kids get up (they may wake up before 7, but they aren't allowed out with me until 7)

then...

breakfast 

3Rs with my oldest while twins brush teeth, do chores, and then entertain themselves

(sometimes a walk outside or other break)

3Rs with my twins while my oldest brushes teeth, does chores, and plays

snack

FIAR

by then, it's usually late morning, so they either go off to play or we run an errand if we have one

lunch

read alouds

rest time (no one naps, but we do the break in our own rooms daily)

afternoon chores 

afternoon activities (OT for my oldest on Mondays, music on Wednesdays, PE with our HS group on Thursdays) or playtime/screen time

daddy gets home

dinner

playtime with daddy

baths 

bed 

 

 

[ajfries]

My kids are about hte same age as yours'. I have an almost 5 year old (next month), a 3 year old, and a 14 month old. Our day is very structured.

 

I get up a little after 6, shower, and get dressed. I do my personal bible study & surf the net. The kids wake up a bit before 7:30 (on their own; always), we read the bible together daily, DH leaves for work at about 8, they watch about 40 minutes of tv, with a breakfast break in between episodes while I do chores/surf the net, then we either do chores together or school (sometimes they play while I do chores if the house's condition is driving me nuts), then the baby goes down for nap, snack is served promptly at 10 :), then we finish school or do chores (whichever didn't happen earlier) Dh is home for lunch from 11:30 to 12:30, "free play" happens until 1:30 or 2 & the 5 year old goes to play quietly in his room for an hour & a half (or so), while the younger two nap. Snack again at about 4, and from then on it kind of depends. DH is home around 6 & dinner is usually ready by then. Bed time routine starts at 8.

 

As "in stone" as this sounds, it is something that came about very organically. And it's not too big of a deal if we have an "off" day or two. I did start setting specific times for meals & snacks because otherwise they are constantly asking for food and it drove me nuts. And we don't spend much time doing school; I think today it was only 40 minutes, but we just did math, reading & our bible study. We aren't into anything very intensive yet with our curriculum, and I aim for school 4 days a week but don't sweat it if we don't make it. DH works every other Saturday so we sometimes do school then, too.

 

I love routine & the kids seem to do really well with it too. If we are going out of the house, it usually happens from 8:30-10 (so the baby can be home for nap). Or if we're going into "the city" (which is 45 minutes away) we either leave at 9:30 or 1:30 so the baby can sleep on the way there. :) Last week we were out of the house 2 days, and that's pretty rare for us.

[Guest]

We used to be structured...not sure what happened! :P

[Farrar]

Somewhat.  We have routines.  School in the morning, math and spelling happen every day, piano practice happens every day, etc.  Dictation on Tuesdays, reading and narrations on Thursdays.  But there's no set order.  And we don't have a set start time.  We play things by ear.  If we had no structure, I think that would be bad for the kids.  But I don't love to have too much.  And I find how long they're going to take with something very unpredictable.

 

At that age, we simply had an hour in the morning set aside for school without any negotiation.  But within that we did different things depending on the day.

[PeacefulChaos]

My day is pretty lax except for naps for the little ones, but I am wondering if my eldest might benefit from more structure. I have a 5 year old, 2 year old and 8 month old, for reference. 

 

How structured is your day? Do you find that more structure is better or just stressful? What kind of schedule do you use?

My day was the most structured when I had a baby - the baby ate at specific times, napped at specific times, etc.

 

It's fairly structured now, but not to the extent I'm sure others are.  I don't have every last subject planned out (10:00-10:15 handwriting, for example). 

 

We get up, we do school, we eat lunch at 12, Pink takes a nap, we finish school if need be, and the boys can either go outside or play in their room.  If it's raining I'll be nice enough to allow them to watch something on the iPad or play a video game - otherwise, our general rule is no screens until after dinner.

 

The boys each have their list of subjects, but they can choose what they do when.  Link's stuff is written in his own planner, and I just tell Astro what he has each day. 

 

As far as school year structure, we do have that.  Just not down to the minute details.  (I have each day planned as far as what lesson, etc)

[Maela]

My children have always thrived off of structure. They like to know what we are going to do and when we are going to do it. That doesn't mean that every moment is an activity. It means more that there has always been rhythm to our day and predictability.

This. Our latest version of the schedule (it changes a bit with the season and the kids' ages) is posted on my blog here: ourschoolourway.blogspot.com/2013/10/time-for-new-schedule.html?m=1

[Maela]

Huh did the link not work? Well it's the second to latest post on my homeschool blog (in my sig).

[2_girls_mommy]

We are pretty structured here, especially with the 9 yr old and 11 yr old.  Much less so for the 4 yr old, though there is a routine she can count on for the day.  But my 11 yr old has times that she is to work on certain subjects.  Otherwise we can't get everything in around all of our out of the house activities.  Doesn't mean we aren't flexible.  This morning we did an hour less of school, because we had some housework to catch up on.  It happens :)  But we will make up the work and have it done by the end of the week or have wkend homework.  Hsing gives us that. 

 

But usually she knows to start what subject when and on what days.  We have different weekly, ongoing activities on different days of the week.  So we have to work her stuff around that to get it in.  I know dd9's schedule and what has to be done when, but she is so young that she probably doesn't notice that I have a schedule for her.  She does what I tell her when I tell her :) 

 

4 yr old has activity days with us.  She knows that while dd11 is at dance that we go to the library.  She knows after lunch everyday we have reading and reciting time altogether and then naptime.  She knows that she has freeplay in the morning while I work w/older girls until I call her for some one on one work time, etc.

[Donna]

We have a certain flow to our days on those days where we are home all day. It helps me to remember to get to everything. Most days we are not home all day and then we get done work when we can like in the car, waiting at a doctor's office, between activities, etc...

[....]

I don't know why, but more structure here = more stress.  So, no, we're not very structured.  I have a friend who maps out their homeschool like a school with class times and everything (like 2:30-3:30 History).  That would probably last about 30 minutes in this household.

Even with curriculum/planning, I like knowing that we can stop what we're doing and study something else if we want.  So, I'm not very rigid with curriculum, either.  

[mazakaal]

This year is our most structured ever. We used to have a routine that we stuck to without times assigned, and I was flexible to change it when things came up. This year we have a lot more outside activities to get the kids to, and I've created a schedule with times for each subject that needs to be covered. I'm surprised to find that it's working really well. I give very little wiggle room, and the kids are actually doing their work better than ever. Most of the other home educators around me are either unschoolers or very unstructured and flexible, and this led me to try to remain quite flexible with my kids. But apparently being structured is the way to go for us.

 

That being said, I don't think I'd be very structured with kids as young as yours. I think routine without strict schedules works best for younger kids.

 

Just keep in mind that everyone is different, every family is different, and each year in a family's life is different. It's great to get advice and feedback here, but remember you know your family best.

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

We're structured with variability. I know what we have to do on any given day, and it's usually in the same rough order. Juggling happens, especially during weeks with a lot of other things happening.

[lea1]

We have a structured routine here.  The times we do things may change a bit from day to day but the order in which we do things is pretty consistent. 

 

[Luckymama]

This is our most unstructured year yet. She is the only one at home (her siblings are away at college). All of her activities begin at 6pm at the earliest. We don't have regular daytime appointments (ortho or whatever) to work around.

[My3girls]

We are very structured. I work from home and dh works out of town during the week so we have to be to get it done.

 

Dd11- 2 hours in the morning then chores and lunch. 3 hours in the afternoon then dinner and free play or cross country depending on the day. 1-1.5 hours in the evening after dinner.

 

Dd8&7- 1 hour during my lunch break. 1 hour right after work before dinner and cross country or free play depending on the day. 2 hours in the evening after dinner.

 

This is Monday-Thursday and a half day on Friday. We do nature walks and science experiments on Sunday afternoons when Dad's home to help of make up the other half day. We, too, are becoming night owls.

[wingedradical]

I am a person who hates schedules. As I age (and as I deal with chronic illness), it becomes harder and harder. Nevertheless, I always, at every age, started school at 9:00. When they were very young, like yours, I might have schooled for a while at 9, then stopped, and then schooled for a while after lunch. But  if it was 9:00 on a weekday, we always started school.

 

As a person who hated schedules all my life mainly because I lacked self-discipline (I'm being honest, here), I felt I was giving a gift to my children that I'd missed out on. Some things go on whether the participants feel up for it at that moment or not.  

 

My husband has actually been know to accuse me of rigidity (which is the exact opposite of my true traits), but with a personality like mine, I HAVE to be rigid sometimes to get anything done. And - who knows what would have happened if I hadn't decided to get rigid. I can tell you this, when DS2 would have been otherwise ready to graduate, we'd have discovered neither he nor I had ever felt in the mood to do math and therefore, hadn't gotten around to it. Alas.

[marlowefamily]

School starts at 9am monday-friday, and as possible on weekends.  For every day of the week, there is a list of subjects we will work on..usually 15minutes-1hr per subject with a total estimated completion time of 3-6hrs if the kids are working at an average rate.  During the day, the kids can take breaks whenever they are feeling overwhelmed..but all the assigned work has to be completed by the end of the day.  If the kids end up working too late too often, then we cut down on scheduled free or optional activities.  Occasionally, I may also move one item from one day to the next.  On birthdays and other important events, I'll just cancel whatever the kids don't finish.  But, in general, what is scheduled for the week gets completed by the end of the week.  That said, if a child wants to do a slightly different activity for a specific subject..I generally let them do so, as long as we are making progress for the assigned subjects and at a reasonable pace towards the yearly goals.  I know exactly which books I want completed by the end of the year.

[MerryAtHope]

We tend to have a predictable routine, but not a clock-strict type of schedule. I found when my kids were young that they behaved better and generally seemed happier when we had a routine each day. Mealtimes and bedtime (and nap/rest time) were set, and activities flowed around those. I always had some structured things for us to do, as well as outside time and some "free play" time where they could choose what to do. Our structured activities were a rotation of things they enjoyed that naturally morphed into school time as they got older. Things like puzzles and art, and playing with manipulatives, music, reading, cars, dress-up, building toys--any of these can be rotated through the day as an activity, just like a walk, riding little bikes, playing in the back yard etc... can also be worked in. Of course, if we had errands to run or a field trip, that took the place of some of these activities, so it wasn't a rigid routine, but it was somewhat predictable, if that makes sense. When the whole day was a "free-for-all" where the child decides what to do with little direction, the kids tended to get into more fights, be more "bored," and so on. So, a routine helped here.

 

Merry :-)

[mamabear2three]

Thanks for all the input everyone! I need to ponder what this might look like in my life and see how I can add a little structure to my day.

[Aspasia]

We have a pretty consistent schedule as far as meals, naps, and bedtimes go. Dd6 knows that we do school during the baby's nap. Other than that, not a whole lot of structure around here. With this pregnancy, I've been feeling extra tired and sick, and it's all I can do to get the basics done.

 

I always feel like I'm in survival mode when I'm pregnant,and then until the baby turns about a year. That's when I usually hit my stride and feel like myself again. Of course, the last few times that has happened, I got pregnant shortly thereafter, so I get thrown back into survival mode. This is our last baby, though, and my personality actually kinda likes structure, so it will be interesting to see what kind of mom I am, and how much structure we have, when I am not pregnant and have no infants around. :)

[PentecostalMom]

I don't have much structure, but it is difficult right now with a new baby.  Whatever you decide, take it slow.  There is a WTM member (cannot recall her name) who has some ideas that I like for working with littles.  The blog is here.  Check out the ideas under homeschool, but there is neat stuff everywhere!

[mamabear2three]

I always feel like I'm in survival mode when I'm pregnant,and then until the baby turns about a year.

 

 

Yes! I think this is what I've been doing - and I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I will definitely take it slow, and might not change anything until after the holidays, but I do think that I will get more done with more structure to my day.

[coffeegal]

Reasonable structured... We need ball-park times for things to happen, or well... they just don't happen., however being too structured stresses me out.  I also plan time into our day for things to go wrong. On a regular day it means I have plenty of time in the morning before school to get people moving, the kitchen clean, relax with a cup of coffee, or chat with dh without throwing the entire day off. Our initial school day is scheduled though from 9 to 12. 10yo ds plays with 2yo ds while I sit down and do phonics with 4yo dd. Then my oldest takes the youngest 2 outside while I sit down with #2 and #3. 14 yo dd reads to the youngest 2 while my oldest and I sit down together. Then my 2nd son takes over the little ones while I sit down with my 10yo. Then it's lunch and clean up.For me, it's the crazy hectic time of the day. The older 4 work on school if they're not studying with me or playing with the youngest 2. Afternoons are relaxed until dinner. The older kids complete their schoolwork, I answer questions, watch the littles, and do the day's housework.

 

It takes a while to find a good rhythm, but it does come together gradually. :001_smile: