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ShawnaB
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| Posted: Nov 19 2005 at 3:36pm | IP Logged
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I loved the ideas for bedtime routines! Thank you. Now I'm wondering, what are your morning routines with large families? Do you have an official "start" time for school?
I am in the process of trying to implement a morning routine to get us off to a good start. Of course, the variable is always what times the babies awaken.
Here's my ideal: children fed, dressed, kitchen straightened, beds made, babies nursed and down for morning naps by 9am...then onto to school. Dh is extremely helpful and doesn't usually leave for work until 8:30 or 9am.
Is this a pipe dream? What are mornings like in your homes?
Gratefully,
Shawna
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Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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Sarah
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| Posted: Nov 19 2005 at 7:42pm | IP Logged
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We start school at 9am (9:15 at the latest and that's usually my fault):
Wake up between 7-7:30 (wish I was at Mass  )I think its important to stay in bed and nurse. Its one of the best times for baby.
The two older boys 7 & 9 are at Mass with dh (7am)
Get ready
Make breakfast (usually cereal or oatmeal) for 2& 4.
Kids come home from Mass-bfast, all chores.
Meanwhile I change diapers, figure out dinner, dog care, start laundry, pick-up. Begin nursing as school starts  . Whatever I don't get done, unless its really urgent (bad diaper or starving dog) I stop and begin at 9:00. The boys are in serious trouble if their jobs are done at 9:00 sharp (go to bed after dinner, lose privileges). We have worked and worked and worked on this and its close to perfect for ds 9 and ds 7 is coming along! 
Ds 9: make all beds (except ds7's), drop two hampers down chute, unload dishwasher, dog water.
Ds 7: replace all hand towels in 3 bathrooms, vacuum entryway, unload silverware, feed dog.
I oversee dog care.
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: Nov 22 2005 at 10:33pm | IP Logged
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Oh, this is just what we are struggling with these days...a morning routine that won't throw off our plans for the entire day! Am I the only one who consistently never seems to be "ready" by any set time?! I try to get too much done, I think, but I'm not sure what to cut out. Sometimes I think it would be easier if I just spent every morning in my pajamas and didn't attempt to do anything but teach and care for the kids until quiet time after lunch... 
Here is our current routine:
Up at 6, kids up at 7:30
Everyone dressed,
beds made,
morning prayers said,
table set & cleared (chores of the 5 and 4 year-olds),
laundry gathered & thrown in the wash,
breakfast eaten (this seems to be the forever-long killer of the "schedule"),
faces washed,
teeth brushed,
hair combed,
snuggle time with the baby,
and chore charts checked all sometime before 10 am.
Lately it seems that I am rushing to get everything done. If I push too much the kids get cranky and then we start the whole day off on the wrong foot. I think with their ages it's hard to expect things to be much different than they are right now. Even though the kids are so little and we spend our whole day together learning, I am beginning to wonder if we will ever move beyond a "routine" and I can count on beginning our school day at a consistent time. Not super important right now (IMHO) since the boys are only 5 and 4 and just need a little bit of guided "school time" each day, but will definitely be important in years to come. I'm trying to head in a more scheduled direction but have to admit that by the time we get through the morning routine I'm so exhausted, especially if there are behavior issues that I just need to rest a bit before we start the next part of the day.
Looking forward to hearing how other moms do it...
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Kristine
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Nov 23 2005 at 7:17am | IP Logged
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We haven't done a very good job of getting started on time here, although something that has helped a little is trying to start at 9:00 no matter what. I told the kids that when they went to school, the bus came at the same time every day and they had to be on it, teeth brushed or not. Now, of course, we can relax a little but I know that our days go much better when we start on time. I have to take responsibility to drop what I am doing (phone call, dishes, computer, etc.) at 9:00 too. It doesn't help them much when they are on time and I tell them to wait until I'm done with...whatever. So, on a good day, our morning routine is something like this - 7:00 I'm awake, dressed, and am doing some work on the computer. Kids are slowly waking up on their own and they are allowed to watch PBS until 8:30. At 8:00 I wake up those that are not yet out of bed and they get dressed, brush teeth, comb hair, etc. and have breakfast. I encourage my older dc (6 and 12) to take some quiet time for morning prayer, but I don't check this very well. Then at 9:00 we do family prayer followed by "table time" where we do hands on religion and the rest of the day flows from there. I have found that my children do better if they have plenty of time in the morning. If I let ds (12) sleep until 8:45 and then get him up and expect him to be coherant by 9:00 I'm usually disappointed. We also do most of our chores after school. My kids know they are free to play when all school work and chores are done.
Becky
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Rachel May
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| Posted: Nov 23 2005 at 3:02pm | IP Logged
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I'm waiting for the day that my house will be like Sarah's with my kids doing actual work, but here is our current approach:
7 breakfast--I have decided to stop playing short order cook so we now use a menu which saves time. I serve with help from whichever kid I choose.
8 "Shower school" One benefit of our stupidly large master bath is that all 5 fit in the tub, but usually I only have the older 4 bathe at this point. Bath or shower depends on my mood. Shower school includes washing self and supervising one younger sibling with reminders from me like "sniff your armpits" or "Anthony, have you washed ANYTHING yet?" When my husband is home on the weekends, we sometimes do time trials (7 minutes before the water is turned to cold.)
Before I go up to supervise, I clear table and wipe it so it will be dry for school.
8:30 Put baby down for nap until 10. Kids pick up upstairs--clothes away, make beds, put away folded laundry which is presorted into small colored baskets. One of the twins starts piano practice. On really good days they both get this done before school starts. They can do it independently.
9am ish Sit and begin. I used to start with a morning offering and a pledge of allegiance, but we fell out of the habit during the move.
This week I have also started getting dressed myself at this point. With morning sickness, I couldn't shower this early, and now I find it works ok as long as we aren't going anywhere. I shower during quiet time (1-4) after I've done whatever housecleaning I have for the day.
One other thing, I would probably start a load of laundry before school if I could stomach the smell of our basement, but for now dh does that. 
The kids are currently 6,6,4,3 and 1 (I should add that to my signature block I guess.)
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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Sarah
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| Posted: Nov 23 2005 at 7:12pm | IP Logged
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Rachel May wrote:
| I'm waiting for the day that my house will be like Sarah's with my kids doing actual work, |
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Rachel- Our morning chores are about the only thing that goes smoothly around here, so don't feel bad. Don't forget I was the one who posted about chaotic bedtimes  and after dinner clean-up. 
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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Cheryl
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| Posted: Nov 23 2005 at 9:33pm | IP Logged
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Our morning routine (when we do it) is this:
Breakfast
Help the kids to wash face and hands, brush teeth and hair, get dressed, make beds and pick up their bedrooms
(I put a chart on the bathroom door so they know what needs to be done. My dd 3 likes to "read" it to me.)
Then they play while I clean up the kitchen and do my own morning routine.
Even though I would prefer to shower right when I first wake up, I've found that it works out better for us if the kids are all ready and have time to play together before we start school. I think if I let them play first, they resist the routine more.
I allow about 2 hours for everything. I used to get up at 7:00 and start school at 9:00. Lately we've been getting up whenever (usually around 7:30) and starting school 2 hours later.
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Cheryl
Wife to Bob ('97)
Mom to Matthew 13, Joseph 11, Sarah 10, Rachel 6, Hannah almost 4 and Mary 1
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Morning Routines?
