If you have kids around the ages of 8, 6, 3, infant...

[jkl]

...could you please share your daily routine?  I've finally decided what I want to use next year for 3rd grade and kindy, now I'd love some inspiration for how to organize our day.

 

 

[Mrs. A]

I have an 8, 6, 4 and almost 2 year old. 

 

We have had roughly the same routine for quite awhile now and it's become very comfortable for us. 

 

Everyone wakes between 7-8 usually do I aim to start school stuff around 9ish. Chores and piano practice get done before that. 

 

At 9 we do morning basket time with family prayers, Bible reading and then our combined subjects. We don't do every subject every day - subjects rotate throughout the week. This takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour give or take a little time depending on interruptions and squabbling. The 4 year old sits at the table and colors and listens and participates when she wants. My toddler sits on my lap and nurses for a bit then gets down to play or color. 

 

When morning basket is done they have free time until lunch and if the weather's nice I try to make sure everyone gets outside for awhile. 

 

After lunch I put my youngest for a nap and the other three each have individual time with me. My 4yo is just starting to show some interest in seat work, so I spend some time (15-20 min) with her first whole the older two read or do something else quiet, then I work with the older two - about 30 minutes for my 6yo and anywhere from 35-50 minutes with my 8yo depending on what we are covering that day. 

 

And that's it. The rest of the day is free (for them at least ;) )

 

Hth a little. 

[fdrinca]

My kiddos are 7, 5, 3 and 1. 

 

Our routine is so highly variable it couldn't really be called a routine. With the baby's changing needs this past year (and my 3 YO's unpredictable interest in school participation), we've had to change quite a bit. 

 

For a while the baby would let us sit and read aloud for an hour or so in the morning...now, not at all. 

 

It's worked well for us to have a weekly schedule rather than a daily schedule. We need that flexibility with the little ones. 

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

With a newborn and those ages, it can very much be go with the flow.  This past year, I had a second, pre-K and one year old.  Some days, I would say, it's time for math to my oldest, and my preschooler would insist that he do school first.  Then other days, I'd say it's time for preschool, and he would not want to.  Be prepared to edit your day.  I found that sometimes, the baby was just so demanding, that I had to do certain subjects when he was napping.  I assumed that history projects and science experiments would go better without the baby around due to the mess, and I'd try to do math and english in the morning.  Then I realized that it would go better the other way because the fun stuff could include him somewhat, and the math and grammar really needed my one-on-one attention.

 

Some of this is because I am a more go with the flow person.  So be honest with yourself as to what type of person you are.  I love creating pretty schedules, but I am not great at following them.

 

I have realized that my kids need more predictability in their day, and I am trying to do more of that this year.  I wouldn't do a set times of subjects, but have a good order of the day.  Trying to communicate an order of the day to them so they know what to expect.  It can change, but at the beginning of the day, I tell them the schedule.  Perhaps, you can have a box of independent work for each kid so they can continue working on something when you have to tend to the little ones.  I would try to get through the lesson part during naps, and then my son would do the worksheets and seat work on his own afterwards.  I would give my oldest a checklist.  I would also prioritize the top three or four things that need to be done on a given day (maybe even two), so if the day goes awry, you know you completed those priorities.  

 

Maybe not super helpful, but this stage of life has a lot of unpredictability.

 

 

[Mrs. A]

With a newborn and those ages, it can very much be go with the flow.  This past year, I had a second, pre-K and one year old.  Some days, I would say, it's time for math to my oldest, and my preschooler would insist that he do school first.  Then other days, I'd say it's time for preschool, and he would not want to.  Be prepared to edit your day.  I found that sometimes, the baby was just so demanding, that I had to do certain subjects when he was napping.  I assumed that history projects and science experiments would go better without the baby around due to the mess, and I'd try to do math and english in the morning.  Then I realized that it would go better the other way because the fun stuff could include him somewhat, and the math and grammar really needed my one-on-one attention.

 

Some of this is because I am a more go with the flow person.  So be honest with yourself as to what type of person you are.  I love creating pretty schedules, but I am not great at following them.

 

I have realized that my kids need more predictability in their day, and I am trying to do more of that this year.  I wouldn't do a set times of subjects, but have a good order of the day.  Trying to communicate an order of the day to them so they know what to expect.  It can change, but at the beginning of the day, I tell them the schedule.  Perhaps, you can have a box of independent work for each kid so they can continue working on something when you have to tend to the little ones.  I would try to get through the lesson part during naps, and then my son would do the worksheets and seat work on his own afterwards.  I would give my oldest a checklist.  I would also prioritize the top three or four things that need to be done on a given day (maybe even two), so if the day goes awry, you know you completed those priorities.  

 

Maybe not super helpful, but this stage of life has a lot of unpredictability.

 

:iagree:  with the bolded. What I explained above makes it seem like I've got this all figured out and everything is smooth sailing. But that is most definitely not always the case. There are plenty of days when we've scrapped it all because of bad tempers or sleepless nights. There are days when we are interrupted every five minutes. There are days when we are not interrupted at all and I start to think that maybe this isn't so stressful as I thought and then I get thrown for another loop somehow. 

 

So yes, be prepared to have to adapt and be prepared to adjust expectations when you need to. But I also think it's good to have a general plan in mind so that when those interruptions come you can pick yourself back up and start again wherever you are in the day instead of feeling like the whole day is shot because one part got off track. 

[happypamama]

Tons of flexibility is needed for those ages!

 

But generally, we do chores/get dressed, have breakfast, have morning reading time after breakfast (this varies in length, depending on people's moods and how late it is), clear dishes, and the older kids start independent schoolwork while I dress littles and do something with them (picture books, phonics and math with my 5yo, etc.).  Then they can run off to play while I work with the older kids, or the littles have their own activities, things like paint and playdough, early learning activities, whatever.  I get a ton of mileage out of the free preschool packs that you can find all over the internet; they have cutting, counting, letters, all kinds of fun stuff, and my little guys eat it up.

[jaderbee]

...could you please share your daily routine? I've finally decided what I want to use next year for 3rd grade and kindy, now I'd love some inspiration for how to organize our day.

So I'll have the same aged kids as you have in the fall plus a 5th grader. I've scheduled it out so that, except for one room schoolhouse subjects, two kids are working and one is playing with the 3 year old and 1 year old. I have books and activities to help keep the littles entertained. I don't know if it will work but that's my plan and I thought I'd share. :)

[emmaluv+2more]

I have 4 daughters-9, 6, 4, 3 months. I have fun learning drawers for the 4 year old to work on throughout the day (books on tape, painting, file folder games, sticker books, crafts, etc). I also have lots of snacks on the ready for her.

I have tried to alternate lessons for the 2 olders so one can entertain the baby while I work with the other. I will try to save the subjects they do together (history and science) for nap time.

We aren't really schedule people. I have no problem playing around with our days until we find something that fits.

[vaquitita]

Last school year my kids were 8,6,3 and newborn, doing 2nd and kindy. Our routine was roughly: up between 7-8, trying to start school by 9. On a good day chores were done by then too. We would start the day at the kitchen table. We need to do math early in the day before I'm tired. I would set up an activity for my 3yo at one end of the table, pattern blocks, etc. He also has a box of school time only activities that he can do. At the other end of the table I would work with my older two doing math, handwriting and phonics. They would work on the same thing at the same time, just staggered. Ie: teach math to my oldest, then while he completed his worksheet I would teach math to my daughter. Back and forth like that. Anyone who was waiting their turn or finished could move down to the other end and do the days activity. Under the strict understanding they had to be ready to come back when I called. Or next time they'd just have to sit and wait. After that we'd move to the couch and read a Bible story, sing and repeat the poem and Scripture we were working on. This was also when we'd read poetry, composer biographies and do picture study. Then I'd read a picture book and release the 3yo to play. My oldest would read a book of his choice while I read my daughters school book to her. Or he'd play with the 3yo. Then my daughter was done and would go play with the 3yo while I read a school book to my oldest. Usually it was then time for lunch. My son would read to himself if he hadn't yet while I made lunch. Sometimes he'd have a second school book after lunch. This would bbe a good day. Piano practice was rather sporadic. My baby was tiny last year, so I just held him and nursed him as needed while sitting with the kids.

 

This schedule worked pretty good and I intend to do it this way again the coming year. With a few tweaks. Our basket time got too long, the kids would get too much into play mode and it would drag out. So I'm moving Bible story to first thing and poetry, art and composer (and Shakespeare ) to one afternoon a week. This will leave just singing and memory work as a quick break after table time and before we start stories. One afternoon a week will be history as a family rather than individual books. Also my son will be reading his own books, utilizing audio books as needed, other than history, biographies and Shakespeare, which we are doing as a family. After bible each daday i intend to offer my 4yo an opportunity to do school if he wants. Just 10-15 minutes. My baby is going to be more trouble this year. I plan to have the kids rotate playing with him, mostly the 4yo if it goes well. I may have to have a 15-30 minute recess somewhere in there when my baby is ready for a nap. That may be tough to get back into school mode after that though. Maybe he'll drop his morning nap.

[bbcooker]

Bible, FLL at bkfst

Math (worksheets) and computer work (kahn academy, starfall, xtramath) after bkfst while littles play

One-on-one reading with mom after bkfst (readers read to mom, non-readers are read to by mom) while littles play

History at lunch

Phonics/Spelling/Writing during naptime one-on-one with school-aged kids.

Read-aloud to bigs at night while sitting in sight of toddlers in bed (so they would not get out of bed and would stay laying down)

[SewingMom2many]

My kids at home are ages 3, 4, 6, 8 

• I get up at 5 and get school ready (update OneNote to-do lists for the day for the 4, 6, and 8 year olds and I separate their list into three sections: individual work, work with Mom, and group work. This way they can start on their own when they are ready to begin their school day.  4 year old has links to click so he can get to Reading Eggs, Math Seeds, Salsa video, or whatever I have for him that he can do independently while waiting for me
• Breakfast at about 7:30 and then on to morning routine
• Morning routine (make bed, brush teeth, get dressed, etc.) usually done by 8 or 8:30 and then they go get start their individual work
• 8:30 or 9 I'm usually done cleaning up the kitchen and checking everyone's room and I get my coffee and head down to the school room
• I sit at the table and the kids come one at a time so I can work on "work with Mom" things, 3 year old has a shelf of preschool activities/educational toys that she can choose from
• By 10 or 10:30 they are ready for a group activity or a break to run out in the back yard then back to regular work
• 11:30 we are all starving so I start lunch and we break, kids have their choice to finish individual work or play outside
• 12:30, 3 and 4 year old watch an episode of Mr. Rogers while I have a power nap on the couch lol. 6 and 8 year olds work on individual work
• 1:30, 3 and 4 year old have quiet time in their rooms and I help 6 and 8 year olds with more "work with Mom" stuff or group work
• 3:00, quiet time is over and hopefully we are done with all of our work. Now they get free screen time to do whatever they want on their computer or game system (read: Minecraft time!) If they aren't done they continue working until they are. 

I don't currently have an infant but when I did, naptimes were generally around 9 am and 1 pm 

[Carrie12345]

Mine were 8, 7, 3, and new (plus 13) a few years ago.  No schedule, loosey goosey routines. I was pretty much in survival mode.  I survived! :hurray:

[jkl]

Thanks for sharing, everyone!   This is helping!  Trying to get in all the important stuff: Lots of reading, outside time, quiet time, a few chores, time with my little ones, and some formal schooling.  I'm feeling that since my oldest will be a 3rd grader this year, we should be getting a tad more...focused??  Anyway, thanks for giving me some ideas!

[jkl]

I have an 8, 6, 4 and almost 2 year old. 

 

We have had roughly the same routine for quite awhile now and it's become very comfortable for us. 

 

Everyone wakes between 7-8 usually do I aim to start school stuff around 9ish. Chores and piano practice get done before that. 

 

At 9 we do morning basket time with family prayers, Bible reading and then our combined subjects. We don't do every subject every day - subjects rotate throughout the week. This takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour give or take a little time depending on interruptions and squabbling. The 4 year old sits at the table and colors and listens and participates when she wants. My toddler sits on my lap and nurses for a bit then gets down to play or color. 

 

When morning basket is done they have free time until lunch and if the weather's nice I try to make sure everyone gets outside for awhile. 

 

After lunch I put my youngest for a nap and the other three each have individual time with me. My 4yo is just starting to show some interest in seat work, so I spend some time (15-20 min) with her first whole the older two read or do something else quiet, then I work with the older two - about 30 minutes for my 6yo and anywhere from 35-50 minutes with my 8yo depending on what we are covering that day. 

 

And that's it. The rest of the day is free (for them at least ;) )

 

Hth a little. 

 

Loving the simplicity of this!!!!  Terrific!

 

[jkl]

 

 

Some of this is because I am a more go with the flow person.  So be honest with yourself as to what type of person you are.  I love creating pretty schedules, but I am not great at following them.

 

I have realized that my kids need more predictability in their day, and I am trying to do more of that this year.  I wouldn't do a set times of subjects, but have a good order of the day.  Trying to communicate an order of the day to them so they know what to expect.  It can change, but at the beginning of the day, I tell them the schedule.  Perhaps, you can have a box of independent work for each kid so they can continue working on something when you have to tend to the little ones.  I would try to get through the lesson part during naps, and then my son would do the worksheets and seat work on his own afterwards.  I would give my oldest a checklist.  I would also prioritize the top three or four things that need to be done on a given day (maybe even two), so if the day goes awry, you know you completed those priorities.  

 

 

I am very much a schedule person, and I have found it best to make a detailed routine and hang it up, even though it never gets followed exactly.  It helps my cluttered mind!

 

[fruitofthewomb]

I have kids that age & have no clue how I will work it all out! The baby is VERY fussy-we are in survival mode. It's great to hear how other moms manage.

[jkl]

Mine were 8, 7, 3, and new (plus 13) a few years ago.  No schedule, loosey goosey routines. I was pretty much in survival mode.  I survived! :hurray:

 

Ha!  Good to know! :)

[Coco_Clark]

Im missing the 8 yr old, which I know makes a big difference come school-time.  But I do have a 6, 5, and 2 year old with an extra 2 yr old on weekdays.  So Ill give a rough sketch that we honestly follow fairly closely (with the obvious off days for various reasons).  

 

6:30 alarm I get up, pray, do yoga, drink coffee, and pretty much prepare myself for the day.  I usually get a half hour to myself, sometimes an hour.  

The kids all wake up and get dressed.  My DS6 likes to do his Math asap to "get it over with".  NOT a math fan.  Extra 2yr old is dropped off.  

 

We have breakfast and everyone does one job.  They are supposed to ask, "What can I do for you mommy?" after they put their plate in the sink. In reality I say, "What can I do for you mommy?" very loudly as they try to sneak off ;)  The jobs are usually watering the garden, or emptying the dishwasher, or sweeping under the table, ect.  Even the one year old's do something (put away a toy or feed the dogs).  Often I start a load of laundry.  

 

8:30 ish We gather on the couch for our morning subjects.  We do read aloud, bible, poetry, and memory work every day and the rest are in rotation.  You can see them in my siggy.

I do Language Arts with DS 6 while the youngers play, we alternate phonics/spelling with grammar/copywork and its only about 20 minutes.  Then I do Math and Language Arts with DS5, which takes about a half hour total.

Free time ensues.  We go to a park, or run errands, or go to co-op, or just play around the house.  There's a snack in there somewhere.  This is where I get most of my own cleaning and housework done.  

 

12:30 alarm Everyone is expected to clean up what they were doing while I make lunch.  We eat.  

Afternoon subjects while the 2 yr olds both nap. We rotate science, geography, and two days of history.  The 4th day we just finish early.  Takes 30-60 minutes depending on if theres a long project.

 

2 ish More free time ensues.  This is when I get any "alone time".  My littles luckily are napping now from 1-3. For a while there alone time was MIA, as I did our la and math during nap as well when they were younger.  

 

4:30 ish Extra 2 yr old is picked up.

 

5:00 alarm. Everyone has 1 job again while I start dinner.  Things like picking up a certain room, emptying the dishwasher, folding towels, wiping down the bathroom, ect.  

 

6:30 ish My husband comes home and we eat.

 

8:00 bedtime reading/prayers.  

 

+Edited to add that when I had an infant in the house the schedule was set by his naptime.  So 1st nap was morning reading and 2nd nap was skill subjects, lol.  It didnt MATTER what time it was, the kids knew that's what we were doing as soon as he was asleep.  I also made a lot of use out of the babycarrier and just kept him strapped to me a lot.  

[Mystie]

I have about those ages, plus an 11yo: 11, 9, 6 1/2, 4, almost-2

 

Here's our school day plan: 

Our 2014-2015 Homeschool Blocks

 

I wrestled a lot this summer break with to-schedule-or-not-to-schedule (or HOW to schedule). Every year is different when you're working with these ages and this season of family life! Here's what I came up with: 3 Secrets About Schedules

 

I also try to remember that helping a child work through a lesson (and their attitude about a lesson) is part of the work I'm doing, not an interruption to crossing an item off my list. 

 

I also use timers and alarms a lot! Somehow having an objective other thing (even though it's set by me) to help direct everyone eases the tension that comes up when I'm just always dishing out orders. 

[Angelaburke1000]

I have a 7.5 year old, a six year old, and a 2.5 year old . . .

 

I wake up at 5:30 for coffee, alone time, bible and sunrise watching

 

*6 yr old wakes up at 6 and we snuggle while she reads aloud to me and does a AAR lesson.

 

*Breakfast is around 8/8:30 and we do bible every day, then a looped rotation of LLTL, poetry, art appreciation, Shakespeare, and Book House stories

(This lasts 20-60 min. depending on attention spans and other plans for the day)

 

*Everyone gets dressed and does a chore

 

*We move into lessons, I alternate the two older kiddos through independent teaching time.  (Math, narration, and any special instruction depending on the areas of study.)  Whichever isn't working with me teaches "preschool" to the two year old.  (My olders are girls, and both love any chance to "teach" little brother, but it's mostly just playtime/distract the toddler time.)

 

The above can take 1.5-2.5 hours . . . depending on the day, but I shut everything down by 12:30 at the latest for lunch.

 

*1- 3 is quiet time.  The two year old naps like a champ, the 7.5 year old does independent work,reading, piano practice and free time.  The six year old still naps once or twice a week, but the days she's awake she'll listen to audio books, work on her nature sketches, do a handwriting worksheet, and then play independently with legos, blocks, etc.

 

*After 3 they each have an afternoon chore, and we'll do a reading or project block related to a content subject, or we'll have an errand afternoon (I try to keep running errands to the after quiet time block), or we'll have an outside lesson (swim, piano).

 

*We go to bed early here - and I start the bedtime routine right after dinner so we have a rich full hour of read aloud before bed most days.

 

I love the timer ideas above!!!!  Stealing it.

[Tawlas]

My kiddos are 7, 5, 3 and 1.

 

Our routine is so highly variable it couldn't really be called a routine. With the baby's changing needs this past year (and my 3 YO's unpredictable interest in school participation), we've had to change quite a bit.

 

For a while the baby would let us sit and read aloud for an hour or so in the morning...now, not at all.

 

It's worked well for us to have a weekly schedule rather than a daily schedule. We need that flexibility with the little ones.

This. I'm very much a routine person so we've always had an ideal routine to aim for, but with a lot of flexibility in mind! My kids are 8, 7, 5 and 1.5 and over the past year, we've had to be really flexible - sometimes using another adult to occupy the terror - um TODDLER lol - while I worked with older children. We have three adults in our house, all of us work from home, so we worked together creatively to get done what needed to be done. For some time it worked having an older child 'play' with the baby, but as she got older and more independent, this just stopped working.

 

This fall, when we start, I plan on spending 20-30 minutes with her after our relaxed memory/shared LA and science work every morning while the older three complete calendar activities and then some silent reading/looking at library books. Then first my dh, then our tenant (who's daughter I'm homeschooling) will be 'on call' for the baby while the older three rotate through chores/ipad or independent work/one-on-one work with me.

 

Everyone has lunch, baby naps, older kids have quiet time and everyone gets a break :). After that, we all head outside for a while (sometimes doing nature study), project time (a la Project Based Homeschooling book), family clean up and then screen time while my and the littlest one make dinner 'together'.

 

That's our ideal schedule. Let's see what really happens ;) !!

[Desert Strawberry]

I have 11, 8, 5, 3, and baby on the way.

 

We don't have much of a routine. We wake up, brush teeth and dress, do chores. Eat breakfast. Clean up.

I pull out my planner and divide the kids for lessons. 11yo is working exclusively independently this month. He rarely needs me at all. 8yo is about half and half. 5yo mostly sits in with 8yo, and has one lesson with me and one alone. 3yo is just here. 

 

It changes a lot depending on who is ready and who is occupied with their own work, who is playing nicely and who is getting into trouble. Someone is ALWAYS in trouble here lately. That's a whole other topic. My older kids know what they need to do on their own and do it. 

 

We stop for lunch, clean up. Little ones have a story and a nap, the older ones finish up on their own and have free play with school toys, play a board game, read, or go outside. 

After nap, snack, outside time-weather permitting- and then dinner, chores and bed. 

[DesertBlossom]

I have 8,7, almost 6, 4 and 15 months. It's a lot of crazy.

 

After the morning chores are done, we start out with our "Magnificent Morning Meeting" which is like 15 minutes of scriptures, poetry, memorization, puzzles, etc. (not all every day) Then we move to independent stuff. I have planners for the 8 and 7 year olds with a list of their work. I try to use that time to sit down with my 6yo to do phonograms and read with him. The 4 yo has a bunch of coloring pages and workbooks that keep him busy. The 15 month old usually just runs around making messes.  I hear "MOM, I NEED HELP!" no less than 100 times every morning. It gets hairy. The madness is over by lunch time. When the baby goes down for a nap after lunch I have been trying to institute quiet time. The kids can read or do things independently so I can read, nap, pay bills, nap, relax, nap, etc. ;)  With the ages of my kids it's often hard to separate them well enough to leave each other alone. And lately the baby has decided to fall asleep randomly at 11:00am or so, which completely throws off my day.

 

It's an art, not a science. And by "art" I mean "throwing paint cans at canvases" kind of art. That's as refined as we get around here.