Routine Take 2

Doesn't every homeschool mom have a great routine all worked out on paper or in their head? How many times do we revise it or simply scrap it and move on? I feel like I am in that boat all the time. But I have come to realize that generally, on an average day we do have a rhythm and routine that we follow. So, scrap this routine from the beginning of the school year. Here's our almost half-way through the school year, general, average, usual, not-so-specific, almost everyday routine and it totally works for us right now!

*7:00am-9:00am: Mama wakes up (aka sleeps until Sadie wakes), change Sadie's diaper that she's likley wet through, snuggle and feed Sadie, boys wake up, breakfast, check email, Mama's not-so-quiet quiet time, Mama's shower and hair fussing, boys dress & brush teeth

*9:00am-12:00pm: Boys wake up, eat, dress if they haven't yet, Mama's shower and hair fussing if she hasn't yet, Language Arts for boys, Bible, tell Isaac for the 6th time today that he cannot have a gumball, check email again (repeatedly esp. if Mama has written something witty on FB), start a chore (but don't finish), Sadie's nap, feed Sadie, snack

*12:00pm-1:30pm: not sure, waste time, boys break, lunch and clean-up, tell the boys they can't have a snack because they just ate lunch, dishes

*1:30pm-3:30pm: Math, independent reading, read-aloud with mom, finish the chore that was started, send boys outside to play (even if it's bitter cold because we're manly men), feed Sadie and down for a nap, think about dinner (wish it was Kids Eat Free night SOMEWHERE), tell Isaac he cannot have candy for the 18th time, find another snack for the growing boys, scour the fridge for a Pepsi (and turn up empty handed most days), wish there was a free soda machine just outside the front door or a soda fairy, try to convince myself that I'm better off without my sugary treat, any other school work that hasn't been finished, practice piano

*3:30pm-6:00pm: free time/play, read-aloud with mom if not done yet, make dinner, wash/fold laundry (but don't put it away because it's way more fun to run around like a crazy woman trying to find socks when you were supposed to be on the road RIGHT NOW...), any other school work that was pushed off until now, snack again for the bottomless pits that are called my boys, feed Sadie cereal, Wii (but ONLY after they've had some solid physical play for atleast an hour or it's ix-nay on the ii-Way), help Mama with a chore

*6:00pm-7:00pm: Daddy comes home, dinner, wrestling with the boys, snuggling with Sadie, Daddy does dishes, Mama cleans dining room/kitchen floors

*7:00pm-9:00pm: Daddy reads to boys, get ready for bed, relax, play, chore

*9:00pm-11:00: likely fall asleep on the couch at some point, feed Sadie and put her to bed, realize that I never changed her wet sheet from the morning, feel the sheet and decide it won't hurt her to sleep on it 'cause it's dry as long as I put her head at the other end (but did she wet the other end the night before???), shrug and resolve to change the sheet in the morning (which I will promptly forget until bedtime again the next night), watch TV or read or computer time, go to bed

I am realizing that I'm okay with school happening all through the day mixed in with all the other necessities of life. If we're having a not-so-smooth day, then we barely touch our school work. Other days, we're on a roll and we do more than we normally would. It all works out.

Of course, there are scheduled things on certain days that provide opportunities to get out of the house and connect with other moms and friends.

**Tuesdays: Elijah and Luke participate in a Learn to Skate program and karate

**Wednesdays: Piano lessons (but our teacher comes to our home)

**Thursdays: Book Club for Elijah (once a month, but coincides with our weekly library visit)

**Fridays: I am experimenting with using Fridays as a "catch-up" day and History day. We can accomplish the bulk of our school lessons on Monday-Thursday, so I'm liking this change.

There are things we usually do every week that don't have a set time or day:
Grocery shopping, library visit, Science with Daddy, get together with friends, bake and devour something tasty

I'm sure by next week, we'll be in a new general, not-so-set-in-stone routine, but I'm ready...