**This post contains affilliate links**
I am not an overly scheduled person, but I do think it helps to have one. It helps as a guide so our activities, work and school do not get behind. Schedules are the number two quick timesavers for moms in my book. No, I don’t watch the clock, but it does give me a great guide to what needs to happen and when. If not, everyone may have dinner at 8:00 pm!
Scheduling Is A Quick Timesaver:
I get up around 7:00 am and start my day with quick Bible study, prayer and something to eat. Around 7:30 the little kids get up I have them lay on the couch and watch TV until 8:00. That is my intended schdedule unless someone wakes up early.
At 8:00am I wake up my oldest and get him in the shower, and I start breakfast for the little ones. We start homeschooling at 9:00. (We are working on him getting up on his own now).
I pick up the house and get the little kids ready for their homeschool at 10:00am.
By 11:00 I am ready for a break, so I take a 15 min. break and head down to switch laundry and take the little kids to the playroom. My oldest son gets TV for 15 min.
At 12:00 I bring all of the kids upstairs and start lunch while they entertain themselves. I will have them sit at the table and color, and the baby will just play in the toy basket. My oldest does not like art, so he will play with the baby, or go back to schoolwork on the computer.
I serve lunch and clean up while the little kids go to watch their favorite TV show Caillou. I think they could watch it all day. Even the baby loves Caillou. But since it is close to nap time they do not watch it longer than the intended 30 min.
At 1:00 pm I read quickly to all of the little kids and prepare them for nap.
At 1:30 everyone is napping, and I check on my oldest sons’ studies. If he is struggling then I make that his one on one time with me.
2:30 I take one hour myself to search the web, read a book, or whatever does not involve much work.
4:00 starts our dinner prep, chores, and music lessons. We eat by 5:30pm or 6:00 and start bedtime routines by 7:30. Our bedtime routine is also quick because if we throw to much in then some child takes advantage and bedtime routine becomes round up. They do stay up later now that I have a teenager than they used to, but no later than 9:00 pm.
My oldest may stay up later until 10:00 if all of his work is complete, if not he has lights out at 9:00.
I then finish up my odds and ends, and try to head off to bed by 10:30. I usually make it by 11:30.
Don’t think of a schedule like a rigid routine that cannot be broken, but use it as a guide to get things moving in the day and keep kids from quarreling. Boredom brings about many things, but from my perspective productivity is not one of them.
Do you keep yourself and your kids on a schedule? Follow me on facebook for more ideas for moms.
Cheers,
Michelle
Yes, we love schedules in our home! Thank you for sharing yours on the Art of Home-Making Mondays at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth! 🙂