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Elizabeth
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I have been obsessing a bit over routines for the fall. The menu planning thread made me think it would be fun to have a good place to put examples of household routines, "school" routines, chore charts, etc. Anyone have some to share? Warning: I'm totally OCD about writing down everything. I think I have this lurking fear that I'll die suddenly and no one will know what to do in my absence  . Like Kristine, my obsession is more powerful when I'm pregnant, though, given my last few days, a pending trip away from some of my children or the threat of a move can have the same effect...
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Meredith
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Well, I've just finished reading MROL and now I've got my kids posting their Morning Routines in their rooms and their bedrooms, and they LOVE it! Who would have thought they'd be so hip on chore charts , of course I didn't put *chores* in writing, only that this is to be their new routines  So far so good, but I am anxious to see what others have done here too!
I'm just happy to keep our mud room free of clutter so we can actually walk through it from the garage without tripping over something 
One thing I'm fanatical about (because I hate it so much) is making sure laundry is started and switched and folded every two or three hours. If I let this slide, it seems the mole hills become mountains SO quickly  Of course my real sanity saver here is my angel of a daughter that is like a little chinese laundress! She saves me every time and has finally gotten her 1st brother to help 
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Molly Smith
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Elizabeth, I know you like planning, routines, charts, etc., so I am surprised that you aren't drawn to MOTH. I'm drawn to it because I do find that sort of routine to be so freeing. I don't do it to a tee (and I'm not doing it at all this summer), but I've been working on my fall schedule, too, and I really see the value in it for a large homeschooling family. Even though we're home so much, the schoolwork and housework and all the other things we need to do don't just "happen" because we're home. We can easily waste a day away, looking busy, accomplishing nothing. It's very discouraging to look back at the end of the day and how little was done.
I see chunks of my MOTH day being devoted to quiet time or outside time without micromanaging what happens during outside time or who plays with whom, but just having "quiet time", "outside time", "tea time", "free play", "chores", "math" on the schedule. And always being flexible to bag the whole thing in the event of a gorgeous day, or a fun field trip, or a sick child or emergency. I also really see the value in having planned 15 or 30 minute intervals of activities for Sarah and Patrick during our lesson time. And I'd hate for a whole day to pass without sitting and playing with the littles (surely, I'm not the only one for whom time flies...)
I really crave the predictability of a routine, and what's more predictable than a chart on the wall ! I'll be happy to share my routine if I ever finish it--right now I have my binder going with good ol' paper and pencil.
Hmmm..did this have anything to do with your post ?? Just thinking out loud, I guess...
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AnaB
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I too, am working on our routines. I've read MOTH and it just wasn't for me. I'm the type of person that stresses out if we're not able to follow our schedule. I found myself getting upset at my husband because he was taking too long with the children's morning devotions! I totally missed the boat!
I've read MROL also, and that book has been a little more helpful. In fact, on her website, she's talking now more about "a progression for the day" than a schedule. That's more up my ally.
Our days are never the same here. I was given a good piece of advice. If you want to homeschool for the long haul, homeschool around your dh's schedule. That has been helpful. Some days my dh is out of the house at 6am and other days he's home till noon. When he's home, he likes to have devotions with the children and that takes precedence over chores or school. Also when he's home, he is often on important phonecalls so some chores, like vacuuming, are put on hold. So, I need to be flexible with that. There are days he's home in the afternoon; other days he's not home till 7pm, and there are many times he's out of town. When he's home, he may need me to do things for him or the kids want to spend some time hopping on pop. So, I have to determine to choose the important over the urgent and determine that school will take place all over the day, not just before noon like I would really prefer.
Also, I tend to battle some health challenges and there are days I need to be flexible to put my feet up instead of some of the other things on my list. I never know which day this will be.
So, I'm really working on self-discipline and capturing every teachable moment and cutting out time wasters. That helps alot. I also try to take advantage of the baby's nap times. These nap times are daily, but there are days she will go down at 1pm and other days she can't make it till 11am.
Creating an order to my day is an ongoing process for me and though I crave a very predictable, set-in-stone schedule, I think I would find it stifling in the end. I need to leave room in my plan for God to interrupt and provide us with His teachable moments (like having lunch with a little old lady from church who is undergoing chemo).
We focus more on a routine like: get up, make bed, breakfast and devotions with dad, chores, school, lunch, Reading Rainbow, free time, shower, clean up before dad gets home, set the table, dinner, history with dad, read aloud with dad, bed. The times this routine takes place may be different everyday, but this is our order. I like to school 4 days a week, but will use the 5th if I really need to. I'd like to reserve Fridays for Fine Arts which is so easy to leave out. I would also like to re-implement our tea time in the future too.
The Bible talks alot about God establishing our steps and that really describes what I'm desiring--to be established and secure and content and obedient in what I know God wants me to do each day even if nobody else's school or day looks like ours. I need to let go of my agenda if God has a different plan and I need to be disciplined to carry out my God given agenda unless otherwise prevented by God! Does that make sense?
Right now I'm doing some major decluttering to get our house ready for schooling again, so I'm longing for our routine. Too much free time gets the kids in trouble with each other! Hope this helps!
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His By Grace, AnaB blessed WIFE to Jeff and mama to 4 blessings!
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Elizabeth
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I'm very drawn to MOTH--like a moth to a flame  . But...I've found those little squares don't serve me well. And our schedule varies, day to day and seasonally. And then there is the huge wild card of dh's travel. I can't make one big schedule ala MOTH. I need a spine and I need to know I can go in a change it as needed (weekly) and then print it again. MOTH never really acknowedged that. PUtting the plan in a more narrative format on my cmoputer lets me do it easily.
Lissa said something to me the other day that really made great sense. She said the schedule must be hidden. To me, that means that we can think out our routines and we can consult our planners, but to post that chart and start to stress ourselves and everyone else when they don't conform, is really not productive at all. To me, MOTH is a bit strident. It sounds like you've made adaptations which would make it less so. I like the Large Family Logistics mentality, with some Liveable Learning thrown in. And then, I'm really pulling from my own experience of what works here (one of the perks of older age, I s'pose I've been making and revising schedules for a long time). For my fall schedule, I've pulled the components of LFL and the components of Bravewriter lifestyle and sprinkled a little "me" and come up with a daily plan for Monday-Saturday that is very detailed. My menu plans are incorporated and when the school year begins, I'll be able to add in all the practices and "afterschool" commitments and tweak every week.For instance, I haven't planned dinners yet because I don't know which nights will be crockpot nights by necessity.Also, things change according to the liturgical year and dh's travel--I can add those things and delete others at the beginning of each week, before printing a new plan.
What one can't see in the detail though is the promise I made to Lissa that the schedule will be hidden. There are charts on the backs of every door in all rooms, detailing what consitutes "clean" and I will be certain that my chidren are aware of expectations and know what's coming next, but I'm determined not to be ruled by little grids .The routine is important because it gives me the security of knowing the chart of the course, but I have learned to approach it knowing that I can be off-course much of the time and still arive at a lovely destination .
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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AnaB
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Argh! Elizabeth you said that so well. I was so long winded, but this is a topic really close to my heart. I think I could really use some tips to "working smarter". What I posted is my heart but when it comes down to it at the end of the day, there are many times I think I could have been more productive. THis is where a Titus 2 woman comes in!
Could you expound a little on what you've learned from LFL, livable learning, and bravewriter since I'm not familiar with any of these.
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His By Grace, AnaB blessed WIFE to Jeff and mama to 4 blessings!
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Elizabeth
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LFL is like FLYlady for large, homeschooling families.Bravewriter is like FLYlady for the Charlotte Mason lifestyle. And Liveable Learning is like FLYlady for Catholic Montessorians...and my timer just went off so someone else will have to provide the link!
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Cay Gibson
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Schedules don't serve my family well. Remember, I'm Mrs. Potato Head.
I've tried schedules and they only make nice colored-coded adornaments on the cabinet doors.
THis is the plan I made when we moved in to care for PawPaw and it's the only shcedule that "fits." ANd I realized its the schedule I've used all along:
6-9 AM Wake-up/Dress/Eat Breakfast/ Email
9-12 N Lesson Time
12-3 PM Free-time(real-learning) / Reading/ Chores/
3-6 PM Outside Activities/ Supper Prep
6- Till Gym Time/Supper/Baths/ Bedtime
Of course, during the summer we don't have the Lesson Time but we still do reading and real life learning.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
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Elizabeth
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Here's The Bravewriter Lifestyle. Julie gives you prompts for things like copywork and dictation and writing exercise, but also art, nature journalling, and movie nights.
Here's Large Family Logistics. She's a little like the FLYlady only she's aware of both the struggles and the blessings of a big family so she incorporates the kids into the routine.
There's a discussion of Liveable Learning on this forum.
I like having everything incorporated into one document so that I can add things and delete from week to week, keeping the big picture in front of me. Honestly, with so many people and so many personalities, it's easy to forget things. For instance, the last thing I put on my list for the day is to make sure I put all the phones on charge. So necessary and it is a habit but the first time I forget, that will be the day dh needs to make a three hour conference call using his office phone!
We won't get to everything on the detailed lists every day but this way, I have a record of what we missed and I can go back and get it the next day--or not.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Bridget
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Elizabeth wrote:
| Warning: I'm totally OCD about writing down everything. I think I have this lurking fear that I'll die suddenly and no one will know what to do in my absence |
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This is so funny, I do that too. I actually wrote out our routines for celebrating Christmas so they can keep it going if I die. As if Kevin would actually do it.
My old routines from last year served me well, I loved having them written out. One page for morning, one for afternoon and one for evening.
This year will be different, of course, so I need to write them up again to fit. I hesitate to do it yet. I would like to meet this baby first. My babies have followed a definite pattern alternating high needs and super easy. I'm due for a high needs. So we'll see...
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Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
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Elizabeth
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Bridget wrote:
Elizabeth wrote:
| Warning: I'm totally OCD about writing down everything. I think I have this lurking fear that I'll die suddenly and no one will know what to do in my absence |
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This is so funny, I do that too. I actually wrote out our routines for celebrating Christmas so they can keep it going if I die. As if Kevin would actually do it. |
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I'm so happy to know I'm in good company . so post your Christmas routine Bridget and post your routines from last year too. Let's get this OCD party started!
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Bridget
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Here are my routines I wrote up last year. When I followed them, things ran so smoothly. (The Christmas routine is hand written on paper. I keep it in my red Christmas binder with our favorite Christmas recipes and notes to myself about what worked well or what didn't. I would like to type it up, so I'll post it then.)
Morning Routine
5:00 AM
prayers, Bible, coffee, email
shower, get dresed, make bed
7:00 AM
get children up
change diapers
MORNING OFFERING
breakfast
supervise children's morning chores and getting dressed
Prep luch and dinner
8:00 AM
start school
re-boot laundry
Afternoon Routine
12:00 noon
ANGELUS
lunch
finish any school work
one housework chore from weekly list
start dinner
make Kevin's iced tea (he takes it to work)
4:00 PM
general pick up in assigned rooms
snacks
activities, sports, or spend time with little kids
6 or 7:00 PM
dinner
Evening Routine
make Kevin's lunch
supervise dinner clean up
set up coffee
prep breakfast
check menu plan for food that needs to come out of freezer
do baths/showers
read alouds
ROSARY
say good nights
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Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
Our Magnum Opus
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Bridget
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My Weekly Chore Routine
Monday
iron
play board game (not a chore, but I won't do it if it's not written)
Tuesday
Baking- bread, muffins, cookies
Wednesday
Cook/brown meat for freezer
Thursday
pay bills
menu/grocery plan
school plan
Friday
clean bathrooms
kids clean play room
grocery shop
Saturday
scrapbooking or gardening
family movie night with pizza and popcorn
The children have their core chart. They do most of the basics. Dishes, vacuuming, picking up, dusting, windows, feed animals. We have a job jar for labor as a discipline or if they want to earn money. It has things like mopping the hall, washing baseboards, sweeping the garage...
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Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
Our Magnum Opus
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mumofsix
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Another OCD sufferer here, too!
When I started homeschooling I had three children aged 6, 8 and 13 and the eldest remained in school. That situation had its own challenges but was as nothing compared with where I am now with six children, dd 9 months, ds 3, dd 8, dd 15, ds 17 and ds 23.
As we added children and life became more complicated I turned to the homeschool management gurus for salvation in a big way. I have them all: MOTH, MROL, you name it. I have derived some useful insights from these, but on the whole have to say that they made the task more complicated.
When we brought baby #6 home last November, suffering from the after-effects of a terrible pre-birth situation, I reached a kind of nadir. This was a situation that I just could not plan my way out of! Radical simplicity became my watchword.
I now do as little forward planning as I can get away with and strive to keep life as simple as possible. One tip for large families from the Maxwells that I think is very worthwhile is to stay at home as much as possible. (Of-course I know that is not possible for everyone.) I homeschool Monday to Thursday and STAY HOME! Apart from a fencing club that my husband takes the teenagers to on Monday night, the children stay home too. That makes life simple. We have a getting up time and a start the school day time. We always begin with prayers which include a decade of the (scriptural) rosary, other set prayers, invocations to our patron saints, bidding prayers, a hymn and a reading. We have set times for lunch and dinner, and exercise for an hour in the afternoon. (We have a large garden and do things like badminton etc.) My little ones have their bath + stories + prayers and bedtime routine, and then I work more with my teenagers. They too get a read aloud at bedtime which they still enjoy, then I do my own thing ... It is all so straightforward that I do not need to use a planner or a schedule, etc. The large family logistics idea of having days for different things, e.g. "town day" and "laundry day" etc. make me feel tense and tired just looking at it!
My three school-aged children can do a lot independently, so I always start our school day spending a generous amount of time with my 3 year old. Then each child gets a turn with me in between baby care. Our 3 year old joins dd 8 and copies what she is doing, or plays with special toys reserved for school, then they play together when she has finished. (They are very close.)
Friday is outside activities day. We do a co-op with another family for maths, R.E. and pre-school, have swimming lessons, piano lessons, toddler gym class, usually make daily Mass that day and my husband takes ds 17 to the gym and for a swim afterwards. Saturday is mainly for household projects, though orchestra practice, violin lesson and, next term, French class are in there as well. That makes two fairly hectic days, but we pack a lot in and keep the rest of the week free so it is worth it. On those days I just have my list of things in my little appointments pocket diary to get through.
Sunday I keep completely free. I am even toying with the idea of imitating old English Catholics who used to prepare all their food for Sunday the night before so as to do no cooking at all on this day.
We have a chore chart: it is very simple. It is posted in the kitchen, but everyone knows it off by heart. My dd 8 does the dishwasher, tidies the playroom at the end of each day and puts things away in the garden before coming in. My dd 15 does the washing, washes up the few things that won't go in the dishwasher and sweeps the kitchen floor as necessary. My ds 17 cleans the kitchen counters, table and stove after meals, takes out the rubbish and tidies the bathrooms once a day. He does a supplementary cleaning or gardening chore on Saturdays. I cook meals, do the weekly grocery shopping and take care of the babies. My husband takes care of our severely handicapped ds 23 at the beginning and end of each day and helps him with his piano practice. He also gets odd things from the shops during his lunch break if we need them and tidies up the sitting-room and study before he comes to bed. Everyone tidies his/her own bedroom. If that sounds complicated, it isn't to us as each person has had these chores for a long time and we all know exactly whom to blame if a thing is not done!
As for school work, for my three school aged children I do plan ahead a little, in that I decide roughly how much of each particular course they need to get through each week if they are to make reasonable progress. These weekly goals are written out on a single sheet of A4 paper per child. I am encouraging ds 17 and dd 15 to work out for themselves what this translates into in terms of daily goals and pencilling this into their notebooks each week. One is very good at this, the other is still learning and I sometimes end up doing it for him. It takes a few minutes only. I do plan out unit studies for dd 8 in a bit more detail, but that is just a list of suggested things to do which we pick from as we feel moved. I am using "Before Five in a Row" for ds 3 which I really like: it is so easy just to dip into it each day for ideas.
In lieu of lesson plans, assessments, grading sheets, report cards, etc. I have a journal into which I write an account of our homeschool. I do not write in it every day, nor do I attempt a complete log or anything like it. I will write about what interests me and try to portray my children and their learning in a way that brings them to life and will grip me when I read it again and bring it right back. So for example instead of noting down that dd 8 completed two pages on "Telling the Time" in her maths workbook (which is obvious to anyone who glances at the workbook) I might write about the look on her face that time when she suddenly "got it" and told us the time every five minutes all day.
Several of our families here in the U.K. are signing up with STAA (it is a very good programme for non-Americans as it is so flexible). I think it is a very impressive programme in many ways, but I know I would so resent the time to fill in all those forms. That is time that I could be spending with my children. I am fortunate in that I am hardly ever inspected and easily satisfy my Local Authority by showing written work, art work, courses completed, etc. My teenagers do not need a transcript as they are assessed entirely via public examinations which, though demanding, are straightforward by comparison.
So, my paperwork consists of my journal, my tiny pocket appointments diary (which is Catholic and has the saints' days), my three sheets of paper for my three school age children detailing the amount of work they should aim to accomplish each week and our little chore chart which nobody looks at as we all know it by heart. I spend maybe ten minutes each week updating my diary, and a few hours three times per year updating the weekly work lists. My journal is a pleasure to write and not a chore and I write in it when I can and when the spirit moves me in the evenings. All that time saved is time that I can spend WITH the children and not planning to be with them.
Caring for a very sick baby who is the youngest of six while trying to homeschool brought me to my knees but I think I have finally kicked the planning obsession as a result! My only "rule" is to try to be present in each moment. I obviously have the makings of a recidivist however, as I found this thread so fascinating!
Jane.
P.S. We do employ a cleaner who comes once a week for four hours and a neighbour cuts our grass and hedges for us. The money this costs is totally and completely worth it, and my children still have plenty to do to contribute. I ask no chores of anyone under 7 as I think that is a stressful waste of time. However, when my 3 year old volunteers to fold handkerchiefs or wipe the table, as he does frequently, I praise him extravagantly!
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Meredith
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Jane, boy I sure appreciated reading your post. How refreshing to see that you've figured this all out for your family. WE are a family of 6 and my youngest is only 3 months (today  ) and I've had to rethink my schedule that has worked so well up til now. It's not severly changed with his coming, just had to rethink the whole *structure* thing I tend to cling to. I love that you're able to spend so much time with your 3 yo. My 3 yo is going through the "oh there's that new baby in the house" (that has radically changed his life) and I am sad that I can't BE with him as I was before baby arrived. It's all part of the process of having a larger and more abundant family.
Thanks again for your nice post. God Bless.
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Meredith
Mom of 4 Sweeties
Sweetness and Light
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materdei7
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Meredith,
You are way more organized than I....in fact, I am abit
behind you all  ! I am amazed to see some of you brave moms rising at 5am! We love the flexibility of
not really having a "schedule", yet our routine is
as it is for a large family. Things get done and each of the children contribute according to their age and abilities, for the love of family.
I definitely try to take the children to daily Mass more
often during the school year(1-2x a week), and monthly
confession.
Please continue to enlighten me with your schedule ideas, as I love to glean new methods of organizing.
Blessings, 
__________________
Kathleen, mother of five on earth, three in heaven.
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Erica Sanchez
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Cay ~ your "plan" is exactly like mine except that we're up closer to 7:00 a.m.!! Is your 'gym' for you? If I make it all, I go to Curves when dh gets home from work in the evening.
Jane ~ very, very inspiring!! It all sounds so calm and peaceful!! Love it!
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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Leonie
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Our routines are a lot like Jane's - solid pegs that everyone gets to know so we need little written down. Same with chores - children keep the same chores for at least a term and most chores are - do something if it needs doing or if you are asked or with mummy ( for young ones).
I find the routines have needed tweaking each move, each new baby, each year when we change extra curricular activities.
But, its basically very simple.
I get up and pray and exercise and dh goes to work. We do morning chores, breakfast, free time for music practice, play outside, computer , email, and I do whatever cleaning needs it the most - vaccuuming, mopping, dusting...
We meet for our school plans and morning prayers - I used to start with older ones first, while littlies played and then be with littlies at or after morning tea. Now I am only homeschooling four, so things are different.
I write my plans on post it notes ( for the day/week) and then briefly record what we do in my homeschool journal each evening. The Post it notes are for me and/or for my ds.
We read aloud and have teatime or music or nature study together before lunch. This used to be first, after a short morning walk and meeting, when all were younger! After lunch - more clean up, laundry, cooking ahead or baking, a brief missal reading time for me. The boys help clean up, finish off whatever needs doing, read, play music, draw, play, etc.
If it is an outing day ( this term - Tuesday and Friday - changes each term ) - then we are out for most of the day. We go to Mass for Devotions to St Anthony on Tuesday evenings.
Late afternoons are for extra curricular ( swimming, drama class, tai chi class,library, kids part time jobs, newspaper delivery), dinner prep, clean up and laundry again.
Then dinner, prayers, family time, bedtimes for the youngest two, dh reads with our nine year old if dh is home, paperwork and reading time for me.
Saturdays are for outings or extra curricula stuff and for bigger household chores or outside chores. I grocery shop every two weeks, on either a Thursday afternoon before swimming class or on a Saturday. I always do the budget on Wednesdays and the grocery list every second Wednesday.
At the end of each ten week term, we do any de-cuttering, I do more writing projects and more plaaning/thinking/discussing/goal setting with the dc and dh, for the next term.
Our basics have stayed the same over the years - we just plug different activities into different slots - feeding baby and reading aloud, was a time peg for many years, for example!
Leonie in Sydney
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mrsgranola
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| Posted: July 21 2005 at 12:28am | IP Logged
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Keep talking.. I"m taking notes!
JoAnna, the one who's struggling to try to get things back to "normal" after all this moving and new baby this year...
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Mom to Jacob, Grace, Mary, Lucas, Emma, Carrie and Gianna
Parente Adventures
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Molly Smith
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| Posted: July 21 2005 at 5:08am | IP Logged
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mrsgranola wrote:
Keep talking.. I"m taking notes!
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Me, too, JoAnna!! Keep 'em coming!!
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Molly Smith in VA
Mom to seven beautiful children, ages 1-14
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: routines
