Homeschool Schedules

A recent picture of my five I'm homeschooling this year.

Here is a question that I received about homeschooling and "getting it all done."  I thought I would post it and post my reply along with our HS schedule this year.  Hopefully this will help someone out : )

I hope all is well. I'm hoping you can share some homeschooling mom wisdom if you don't mind. The last several weeks we've had a tough time getting school finished at a decent time, even when on days I feel like we start on time. Some days it's a lack of focus, others it's whining or moping and of course some days there is both. It's growing very frustrating and I'm not sure how to handle it. I feel quite defeated and a bit like a sacrifice to the cause. I don't want to be selfish in my heart but I'd really like to squeeze in more exercise and a shower I really appreciate your constant help and encouragement. A

My answer:

I know what you mean by going through tough times. It ebbs and flows around here as well. Have you made a school day schedule? I know that having a schedule, having it posted where everyone can see it and even having Dad go over it with the kids really helps. I would set a reasonable amount of time for each subject and then even if they are not through, move on to the next thing. Then in the afternoon when it might be "fun time" or even after dinner when dad is home, they have to finish their "homework." This might make an impact if they are missing something fun like a game with Dad, baking something with you or TV. After we clean up breakfast and do morning chores, I get the kids going on independent easy work like handwriting and drills and then I jump in the shower. So after I'm dressed for the day, we start our CC work, LA and Math. Does this make sense? Also, I've found that I have to get up between 6 and 6:30 every morning and work out first thing or it probably won't get it done. Also, make sure that you are not actually giving them too much work. I know how easy it is to push that oldest super smart child : ) Blessings!

Here is our homeschool schedule for our
days T-F (we have our Classical Conversation co-op on Mondays.) It may be a little hard to read but you can basically see how I lay things out.

Blessings to all you homeschool moms out there!

Favorite Parts of My Day

(In no particular order)

#1 Taking my afternoon walk down the street with my little guy.  We love to mosey slowly and look at bugs and worms and flowers, etc.  He loves when cars pass and we stop and wave while he wishes it was Daddy.

#2 My morning quiet time with my wonderful cup of coffee with heavy cream. I love starting my day like this and God knows I NEED to start my day like this.

#3 My afternoon reading and rest time.  The house gets quiet while the kids nap or read, then I go in my room and read for about 30 minutes and close my eyes for about 30 minutes.....my sanity saver.

#4 When my husband comes home from work!  All the kids run to him so excited and he plants a big kiss on my lips : )

#5 Getting my little guys up from their naps.  They are so cute, warm, cuddly and still sleepy.  They love their mama.

#6 Making my little guys their meals on their monkey plates with little dividers.  I love doing this.  They aren't at an age to really complain about what I put on the plate (not that they eat everything) and it's so easy to find food to feed them.

#7 Taking a hot bubble bath at the end of the day.  This doesn't happen every night but boy can a hot bath ease a tired mind and muscles and make your problems seem a whole lot smaller.

#8 The end of my work-out when I know I've done it and I look up to heaven and thank the Lord that I'm healthy and strong and can run 3 miles or do heavy weights.  The endorphins kick in and life is good!

#9 Sitting down at dinner with my big table filled with my family and seeing them laugh while enjoying the food and each other....bliss.

#10 That rare part of the day, usually evening time, when the house is straight, the kitchen clean, the laundry done and all my children are safely home.

Night Night.....Getting Kids to Bed Without Too Much Drama

And this is what happens when the bedtime schedule/routine is ignored......falling asleep on my bed with rollar skates on!

I had a mom ask me advice for how to get kids to bed without too many tears and without it taking half the night.  While I'm not an expert on sleep and bedtime, I will let y'all know how we do it and what works for us.  I've mentioned bedtime a little in some other posts, but I don't think I've done a complete post about it, so here goes.

First of all, while I do have my young babies sleep with me some when they are nursing a good bit at night, we are not a co-sleeping family.  Each child and baby has their own bed or crib and I try to get them used to it pretty early.  So, if you are a "family-bed" type person, then this post may not relate to you.  I also don't sleep well with a child in bed with me (unless my husband is out of town or they are really little) so if a child comes in our room in the middle of the night due to sickness or fear, then we have them sleep on the floor by our bed.  I keep extra blankets and pillows in our bedroom for this purpose.  I've woken up in the morning many times with 2-3 children sleeping on the floor around our bed.  The great thing about this is they usually don't like to sleep on the floor too many nights or for too long before they realize their own bed is much more comfortable. 

As far as bedtime routine, we try to keep it just that.....a routine.  We are pretty consistent with the time we start the whole routine as well.  First we give them all a snack, usually after pajamas and baths (we don't do baths for everyone every night.)  Then they go upstairs and brush teeth.  We then read them a book, say prayers with them, sing a song, give hugs and kisses and that's it.  Usually one of us does this with the 4 who need it (ages 5-11.)I'm not counting my teenagers here since they are pretty self-sufficient. The other parent puts the little boys down about a half hour or so earlier.  For the little ones (ages 2-4), we brush teeth, read 1-2 picture books rock and sing, pray and that's it.  The one parent that didn't put the others down, of course has to go check on them and give them a goodnight kiss.  This is a must (at least to them : ) and they will usually not fall to sleep until both parents (of course this is if both parents are home) have kissed them goodnight. 

We do discipline if a child is disobedient and keeps getting out of bed.  I don't move my children out of a crib until 2 1/2 at least.  I think toddlers are driven to get up after being put down to sleep and sometimes just can't control themselves (especially boys.)  I don't discipline them for getting up until I know that they understand completely what they are doing.  Plus, I think for safety sake it's better to keep them in the crib longer.  Unless of course, they are climbing out, which none of my kids have learned to do, thankfully. If child is crying in their bed or crib, we do go in and console or rock them every 15 minutes or so until they go to sleep.  This actually rarely happens with my children though. 

I've mentioned this before but we have "white noise" type fans in most of the bedrooms, especially the younger ones.  I think this kind of lulls them to sleep some and it keeps them from hearing all the "fun" activity going on after they have been put to bed.  I think this is a must if your home is small or you have older kids that stay up much later, even later than the parents!

Now, of course not everything goes perfectly.  We have one child that usually gets up a few times to come "check" on us but she will get in trouble if she does this more than once.  We also have one other girl right now that won't sleep in her own bed alone.  She wants to sleep in a bed with a sibling just about every night.  We worked out a schedule for her at the moment.  She is a real cuddle bunny and also is a little paranoid of bugs.  We're all hoping she out grows this stage soon. 

As far as dealing with fear, we pray with them, say Bible verses, have night lights and usually leave the door open. We have had children over the years that have gone through stages of being more than a little scared.  We have found that Christian story CD's, quiet classical music or even the Bible on CD really has helped.  Putting that on quietly when we leave the room and turn out the big light, really gets their mind off any scary thoughts.  I have 2 boys particularly, that have always fallen asleep to classical music or story tapes. If you are having a child with fear issues, I would make sure they are not watching anything scary or disturbing or even just too much stimulation during the day.  It also helps when you have more than a few children, so each child has someone to share a room with : )