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10 Bright Stars
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| Posted: April 29 2010 at 12:31pm | IP Logged
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For those of you who recently discussed block scheduling your day, what do you do if, for example, I wrote down all of the "have tos" for the day:
prayers
kitchen duties to include meal planning, cleaning kit, actual cooking etc.
laundry (1 hour per day)
school (7 kids to school plus toddler and baby) 3 main groups: little kids, middle aged kids and high schoolers. All with varied needs from me that don't mesh well together as a group due to noise levels etc. )
reading to littles 20-30 min.
reading 15 min. to bigs (spiritual book)
general cleaning and upkeep
shopping (bulk trip and local run)
outside activities
etc. etc.
This is just a sampling. I mean the list goes on and on. In one day, I can't fit all the stuff into the boxes. This doesn't even include bathing the kids and then all the regular stuff that seems to pop up with a baby and toddlers etc. I must be missing something in planning, life etc. There just always seems to be too much and instead of feeling "in charge" of the day, the day seems to be "in charge" of me. Suggestions? Where to start??? A baby step?? I am sick of living with disorder.
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Kim married to Bob (22y)
Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
William Anthony 4, Joseph 3 and Luisa Marie - born in M
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 29 2010 at 1:01pm | IP Logged
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something like pre-meal chores can include general upkeep and the making the meal and the laundry..
hmm rather than looking just at the things to do and trying to place them end to end in you day.. first I do laundry and then i do meal prep and then I do...
you need to consider *we do* and having chores before meals gives an incentive to get finished if chores have to be done before you get to eat.
And I know in the other thread you said your older boys dislike inside chores.. too bad so sad.. they help make the mess they help clean it.
so I guess I'd say where can you double up with the kids helping.. they can pick up the living room and do laundry while you're prepping a meal.. you might find that in the car with the littles while waiting for bigs at activities might be a good time to get extra reading in.
And with boxes you do just say.. chores and meal prep and laundry. Then on the spot you prioritize.. get the living room picked up first or the bathroom wiped down first or whatever.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Mackfam
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| Posted: April 29 2010 at 1:13pm | IP Logged
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Eight Wonders wrote:
prayers
kitchen duties to include meal planning, cleaning kit, actual cooking etc.
laundry (1 hour per day)
school (7 kids to school plus toddler and baby) 3 main groups: little kids, middle aged kids and high schoolers. All with varied needs from me that don't mesh well together as a group due to noise levels etc. )
reading to littles 20-30 min.
reading 15 min. to bigs (spiritual book)
general cleaning and upkeep
shopping (bulk trip and local run)
outside activities
etc. etc. |
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Hmmmm...ok...well, it looks like some of the things you listed are *do every day* things, like:
** prayers
** daily meals
** laundry
** school
** littles read alouds
** biggers read alouds
** general cleaning and upkeep
...and then some things need a special day - maybe one day a week you set aside to do:
** kitchen duties
** bulk shopping
** outside the home activities
Perhaps start with a piece of paper and make two columns - 1 for everyday stuff and 1 for recurring maintenance stuff. List everything you can think of.
As you plan your blocks of time, try to consider layers within your blocks, for example, during school time when you are focused with your middle students, you can have your older students sorting and working through laundry and doing lunch prep while your youngers have special activities or perhaps they pair up with your olders to work on chores.
On those days you decide you need to focus on big recurring maintenance jobs, adjust the other blocks of time accordingly. I really enjoy having a kitchen day! I purposely set aside a morning time of independent work for my older children on that day so that they can work independent of me and the littles are with me for menu planning and kitchen work.
A certain flexibility is necessary, I know. I don't have the 9 blessings you have, Kim, so I hope that doesn't undermine my credibility  , but it helps me to get it all on paper. Big blocks of time. Some margin or elbow room. Realistic expectations!! And, layers of work within the blocks.
It takes time to consider this much, layer and order it so it works, and then manage it. Plans like this have to bend and live and breathe as much as the family living it. I think you can do it, though!!
Can I brainstorm a few questions with you? I ask these of myself when I plan...
** am I expecting too much?
** am I delegating jobs to the children?
** can I offer the children more detailed instruction and habit training to help with this time management challenge?
** where can I better manage my time?
** are there any weak areas of the day that are particular problems? like the morning...if I start the morning routinely does the rest of the day seem to move more smoothly? work on habit development around that challenging time.
** is there enough margin or elbow room so that this plan breathes and flexes with family needs?
I'd love to brainstorm more specifics if you think it would help, Kim! 
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Mackfam
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| Posted: April 29 2010 at 1:15pm | IP Logged
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Sounds a lot like my favorite motto...
BUCKLE UP BUTTERCUP!!!!
I was glad to read Jodie's post as we were cross posting. I think we're saying a lot of the same things.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: block scheduling revisited
