Some Thoughts on Schedules and Routines

The other night we hosted our moms and daughter’s group for a relaxed evening of knitting with our girls, along with a cookie swap! It was a lot of fun… a lovely way for friends to spend an evening together.

That evening also brought to my attention just how much my middle child has come to rely on routine and schedule. It was a very busy day for us… we had our daycare baby with us from 7 to 5:30, Harry had OT in the afternoon, and we had the girls coming over at 6:30. We also had to squeeze in our normal schoolwork, chores, etc! In order to fit in all the things we had going for the day, we altered what has become our normal schedule… We ate dinner a little early, did evening chores after dinner instead of before, stayed up a bit later… minor changes, really… but at bedtime, my son let me know that he really didn’t like having his routine disrupted. I was surprised, as when I first began to implement a more consistent routine and schedule in order to keep my sanity while working two jobs and homeschooling, he really fought it. And now he was telling me he missed it!

Lots of homeschooling families resist schedules and routines, for fear that it takes away from the freedom and sponaneity that makes homeschooling fun. For us, what seems to work best is have structure at key points in the day (morning, mid-day, evening) with lots of unstructured time in between. This gives them the balance of having reliable routines, but still gives them the freedom to play, read and daydream. For those who have asked how we manage it, here is a sample of what a typical day looks like:

6:30am- Kids get up, get dressed, tidy rooms
7:00am- Start breakfast, Daycare child arrives
7:15ish- Clean up breakfast, brush teeth
7:30ish- Start schoolwork

After schoolwork is finished (usually between 8:45 and 10am, depending on the day) the kids are free to do whatever they want… play outside, read, do a project, etc.

11ish- clean up
11:30-12- Lunch

After lunch we have quiet time while the daycare baby naps (on days when he’s here) followed by some kind of outing or activity.

5pm- clean up all toys and projects, make sure rooms are tidy.
5:15-5:30- Daycare baby goes home.
Once clean up is done, the kids are allowed to watch TV from 5:30 to 6 while I make dinner.
6pm- Dinner
6:30- clean up kitchen, start baths.

After baths, they get into bed for quiet reading time, until it’s time for them to sleep… Harry at 7:30, Theo at 8:30 and Annabelle at 9:30.

On days when we don’t have the daycare kid, or if we have some kind of special event scheduled, then this routine does change a bit. However, having some kind of structure to our day makes life much more peaceful. This isn’t to say that mornings and evenings don’t get a little hectic sometimes… in homes with kids, that’s just how it is! But overall, our routines do make life easier!