songsparrow Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 I've never been one who is good with following a strict schedule. I tend to prefer to be more easy going and go-with-the-flow. But this fall I will need to be on a tighter / more rigid schedule. And I want to use the next few weeks over the summer to work on figuring out what that schedule is going to look like and start to get some basic routines down. Any tips to help me develop the discipline to stick to a stricter schedule? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Can you give some specific examples of what needs to be done, and your children's ages? That would probably help you receive more specific advice. One big thing that helps in our family is getting everyone up early. Just because we homeschool doesn't mean we can sleep until 8:00 every morning. When the kids are up by 6:30, just as if they were "going to school," we are all more productive. That means that everyone, myself included, needs a decent bedtime. I have also found that whatever is highest priority needs to be done early in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Get up at the same time each day. Get into the idea of getting dressed, making the bed, straightening the bedroom every day. I don't do strict schedules, but I am picky about wake time, lunch and snack time, and bed time. Everything else flows in between those times. For school, I never ever ever plan for anything out of the house to happen before noon. That's our school time. If we don't get it done in the morning, it doesn't happen. Occasionally, we do a field trip, but those are days off of official school Once a month we have support group in the morning. But no piano lessons, no play dates, no Grandma's coming over, no cleaning, etc. happens in the morning. Make sure you know WHY you're scheduling. A schedule just for the sake of a schedule is pointless and hard to stick to. A schedule because a. school is important and without a schedule doesn't happen, b. farm animals need routine, c. certain kids do better on routine. is easier to stick to,. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Make sure you know WHY you're scheduling. A schedule just for the sake of a schedule is pointless and hard to stick to. This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Oh by the way, Getting up at the same time each day means going to bed at the right time at night. I found we do better if I get up about 30-60 minutes before the kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songsparrow Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 Can you give some specific examples of what needs to be done, and your children's ages? That would probably help you receive more specific advice. Girls are both in middle school. One will be going back to B&M school this fall (probably) and thus we all have to move to a *much* earlier schedule to get her to school on time. I looked at the timing with my daughters, and we've come up with a plan over the next few weeks to gradually move all of us to an earlier bedtime and and earlier time to get up, until we're in sync with the new school day start. The girls understand why we need to do it and are willing to be cooperative, which is great. Making the schedule on paper has not been too difficult - starting with the time she has to get up to get ready and to school on time and working backwards from there (time for bed based on how much sleep they need, etc.) and basically the whole day falls into place, schedule-wise, by necessity. The problem is me sticking to that schedule. I tend to get quite frustrated with a regimented schedule that varies little from day-to-day, and when I feel like I'm constantly moving from activity to activity without a break or any free time. Maybe I'm spoiled and I just need to put on my "big-girl panties" and deal. But the advice so far has been helpful - please keep it coming! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Well, besides all the great suggestions above, you might find it helpful to read ADD Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life. I'm not ADD but someone on this forum recommended that book and it has been VERY interesting to read and apply in my own life and for my family. Another good one for organization is Smart But Scattered. I do understand not liking too much structure and doing the same thing at the same time every day. My DH and DD just do not function well in that environment. It gives them a skin crawling sensation after a while. :) Reading those books helped me to help us all function more smoothly. Still working on it, though. It isn't an overnight process, KWIM? Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pehp Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 I can't get up ahead of my children (my 3 yo has Mommy Radar like a heat-seeking missile and if I get up an hour earlier than her usual wakeup time she's beside me in seconds--it is amazing) BUT these are my essentials for staying on track: 1) get up and at it, no emailing in the am. (other than a quick glance at my ipod for emails). No sitting at the computer. Tea, breakfast and the day is begun. 2) my sports watch. I use it constantly--to time my online time, to time my tea, to keep track of how long we're spending on a topic, I use the chrono function to be sure I'm reading to my children throughout the day as much as I want, etc. It is fabulous and so helpful. I wrote about it on my private blog and will put a post on my public blog soon about how I use my sports watch to domestic advantage! 3) prep for things the night before, if possible, and I have checklists that I use for leaving the house for various activities. I posted these on the inside of my kitchen cabinet. I've got a checklist for art lesson, swim lesson, homeschool group, church and piano. So helpful b/c I'm a scatterbrain!!!!! Once my little one is out-sleeping me in the morning I will enjoy getting up ahead of her for tea, writing, and preparing for the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyontheFarm Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 In our house the biggest problem for keeping a stricter schedule is the Mom who likes to sleep in. That would be me. I've trained my children to get their own breakfasts, do their morning chores and start a quiet activity all without me. But I know I need to get up in the mornings earlier than 8am. We would all get more done during the day, if I was to actually start my day at a decent time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenslp Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Here's what we do, it may or may not work for others. My son responds very well to schedules and loves them and is able to work more independently with a schedule. So, we plan out 180 days of school for the year and I print out a spreadsheet with a row for each day, so 180 rows. The columns have the subjects to be covered for each day. So some subjects are every day and the entire column just has that same subject all the way down to day 180 (math and English). Then for the other subjects some of them alternate etc so they aren't the same each day. The last column is just a place to check off when that "day" of school has been completed. I don't care if he takes more than a day to finish a "day" of school work, as long as all 180 days on the schedule get done eventually. So, my son gets up and can easily just look at the spreadsheet to know which subjects he is to complete for that day and get started without too much guidance from me. He knows which subjects he needs my help for and if I'm still in bed or busy he saves those for later. He highlights each subject in the row for that day when he finishes it and when the whole row is complete I check off that day. This works for us because we still have flexibility within each day so we don't have to do math at a certain time every day or whatever. But it gives my son something visual and concrete to see to know what he has to get done that day and that if he doesn't get it all done he will have to finish up some work the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tori@thehomefront Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Can you give some specific examples of what needs to be done, and your children's ages? That would probably help you receive more specific advice. One big thing that helps in our family is getting everyone up early. Just because we homeschool doesn't mean we can sleep until 8:00 every morning. When the kids are up by 6:30, just as if they were "going to school," we are all more productive. That means that everyone, myself included, needs a decent bedtime. I have also found that whatever is highest priority needs to be done early in the day. Getting up early is my biggest fail right now. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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