Morning Schedule

When Matt and I decided that we were going to homeschool our children my mind immediately started spinning with questions. My first question was simply, how do you begin homeschooling the first child with two (almost three) other small children and do it effectively?

Having previously taught in a classroom with many more than four kids...I knew that this feat was possible.  I began looking at other moms blogs and talking with all of the homeschool moms at my church to see what was working for them.  I came to the conclusion that the beauty of homeschooling was that there was a great deal of flexibility in how you set up your day, but I also saw the value in a consistent routine where both mom and kids can thrive and learn together. I am providing an example of how we schedule our morning hoping that it will be useful to someone else who is planning theirs! Until my younger children get older, my schedule will always be shifting around the babies nap time.

Here is an example of the schedule that I am currently using:

Time	Oliver (4 years old)	Eleanor (almost 3)	Gideon (18 months)
6:00-7:00	*Mom gets up and showered... drinks coffee
7:00-8:00	Cartoon/Play Wake up Time	Cartoon/Play Wake up Time	Cartoon/Play Wake up Time
8:00-9:00	*Breakfast Gets himself dressed and makes his bed	*Breakfast Likes to try to get herself dressed and make her bed too!	*Breakfast Play time
9:00-10:00	*Helps mom with cleaning chores *Play Time	*Likes to help mom with cleaning too *Play Time	*Play Time with Brother and Sister (usually we get out books)
10:00-11:00	*Bible Story Time *Recite Memory Verses *Weather Chart Oliver and Mom sit at the table and complete Readiness Skill Activities and Math.	*Bible Story Time *Recite Memory Verses *Weather Chart Ellie independently completes her lesson and educational games on ABCMouse.com	Morning Nap Time
11:00-12:00	Wed.-  Science Experiment *Free Time	Wed.-Science Experiment *Free Time	Morning Nap Time (Gideon Wakes up around 11:30)
12:00-1:00	Lunch Time *During lunch time I read stories that are suggested in our Sonlight Curriculum	Lunch Time *Story Time	Lunch Time *Story Time

**Teaching Tip: Many teachers and moms will agree that their kids thrive when given a consistent schedule.  The consistency helps them gain a sense of responsibility over the things they need to accomplish and they always know what to expect.  As a teacher and a mom I find my kids have an easier time listening and playing well together when the expectations and tasks are clearly laid out and communicated to them. 

In the chart above you see Ellie working independently on the computer.  We started introducing her to ABC mouse when she was about two years old (mostly she was watching her brother).  I wanted her to have something educational to do while I was working with Oliver and this has proven to be an amazing tool for me! It does not require any prep work on my part and I see her learning, singing, playing and reading books all by herself everyday! It is very inexpensive and really a lot of fun!  Check it out at www.abcmouse.com.

Oliver and Ellie playing ABC Mouse together

Reality Check...

This schedule works wonderfully for us, most of the time.  Last week I had my first taste of a very difficult homeschool day.  It was a day that everyone in my family seemed to wake up on the wrong side of the bed.  I had to forfeit school on this particular day and minister to the hearts of my children.  Let me also say that my own heart was in rough shape too on this particular day...I needed to try my best to remain calm and help everyone else without going off the deep end myself.  

But isn't this the reason we homeschool? It was so important for me to be the one ministering to their hearts that day.  It was important for me to let go of my own agenda and deal with life as it was happening (I am a person with an agenda, so this is not easy for me to do). God blessed me on this day, and gave me a reality check.  It was a real test of my faith.  I had to look to Him all day for the strength to be Mom...and trust that He would give it to me.  I am thankful that He is always faithful! We all know that these days come and go...nobody ever said that being a stay at home mom would be easy...but the Bible reassures us that it will be rewarding!