Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



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Bridget
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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 10:17am | IP Logged Quote Bridget

I want to start at 8 in the morning, but that isn't working out with soccer the night before. By the time we get home and get everyone bathed, say prayers and get them to bed, it's 9:30. (if I'm doing well.)

School has not been starting till between 9 and 10. I am waking them all up at 8, even the baby sleeps in.

Does anyone else start this late? Our days really go better if we start earlier, but maybe I just have to be resigned during soccer season.

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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 10:27am | IP Logged Quote MacBeth

10. We are nocturnal. If we get going by 10 it's a miracle.

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Bridget
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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 10:37am | IP Logged Quote Bridget

MacBeth wrote:
10. We are nocturnal. If we get going by 10 it's a miracle.


But your children are naturally brilliant! I'm praying for infused knowledge for mine.

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MacBeth
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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 10:45am | IP Logged Quote MacBeth

Bridget wrote:
But your children are naturally brilliant! I'm praying for infused knowledge for mine.


No one in this house is brilliant before 10, . I fear for Trip in school... .

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Martha
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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 10:54am | IP Logged Quote Martha

We are up no later than 7, usually closer to 6.
morning chores and breakfast are done by 8:30, usually closer to 8.
hs-ing starts no later than 10, usually by 9.

Of course they are usually in bed no later than 8:30, usually 8.

Dh is very jealous of his alone time with mommy and has zero tolorance for them staying up late during the week or for everyone sleeping in when he has to leave for work at the crack of dawn. Once in a while or the occassional Friday night - fine. But we would really miss out on a lot of opportunities and always feel like we were playing "catch up" if it became our lifestyle.

Now that we do the 8 am Mass on Sundays, we don't even stay up on Saturdays so as to avoid any domino effects.

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Cay Gibson
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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 10:56am | IP Logged Quote Cay Gibson

Bridget,
I am up late at night and don't move very fast in the morning.

Plus I have to have my morning cup of coffee over email in the morning for me to be the mother I want to be. Is that sad or what?

In the past I thought I was a bad mother if we didn't start seat work by 8 AM. This is the first year we're slowing the pace. I drag the children out of bed at 9 AM, they take an hour for breakfast and dressing, and we start school by 10 AM with a break for lunch and we're finished by 2 PM at the latest.

Right now the 7th gr. and 3rd gr. are taking a math quiz. I had planned to treat them to a school day at the library (for my 3rd grader this is a "treat"), but Annie is sick (fever, both ends, the works ) since yesterday so we're functioning at an even slower than normal pace.

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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 11:42am | IP Logged Quote stefoodie

We've cycled through the years. When I go through periods of night-owling, the kids and I don't start school 'til 10 or so. Lately I'm on an early-bird cycle again, so I get up at 6, wake them up at 8 and start school by 8:30, 9 at the latest. Goal for the 15-yo is to train her slowly so by the time she goes to college she's used to getting up at 6:30 at the latest.

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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 11:49am | IP Logged Quote kristina

Bridget,

Reading about the late morning starters makes me feel so much better. My eldest son and I are such nightowls.

When our youngest was still nursing, we had a routine of meeting on Mom&Dad's bed at 9:00 for the church readings and morning prayer while the baby nursed. Then moving downstairs for breakfast and lessons. Last year we started a bit later, but I am trying to get us back to beginning at nine. We would try to be done by noon, but ended up accomplishing more while younger ones napped in the afternoon.

This year we have gotten a slow start. We began on Monday with Religion and math review and lots of free reading. We had ped checkups yesterday and later today, so I opted to ignore the schedule. I hope we can do three lessons tomorrow and add more next week.

God Bless everyone's new school year!




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mumofsix
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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 11:57am | IP Logged Quote mumofsix

Hello, Bridget: our children also have a late bedtime, not because of soccer (we have outside activities only two school evenings and one of those ends early atm) but because we like the children to see their Dad. If they had conventional early bedtimes (which would be essential if they had to get up for school) they would never see him Monday to Friday. I consider this flexibility one of the advantages of homeschooling.

Dd 1 goes to bed at 9, ds 4 and dd 9 at 9.30, and dd 16 at 10. Our two young adults go to bed when they choose, but they almost always choose to be in bed by 10. (This still gives me and my dh an hour or so alone before I feel tired enough to need to go to bed too.)

Getting up times for the children vary between 7.30 and 8.30. The two little ones also take afternoon naps. We begin with prayers at 9 or so and the school work begins at 9.30. This seems fine to me.

I think if young children have late bed-times, for whatever reason, they will have to be allowed to get up later if they are not to become sleep-deprived.

MacBeth: I always had this stereotypical view of naturalists as people who sprang out of bed at the crack of dawn. Maybe there is hope for me ...

Jane.
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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 2:32pm | IP Logged Quote shartlesville

Hello Bridget,

In years past we would just get started when we got started but the kids would complain that it "took all day" to complete their work.

This year so far, I get up at 7:30 and wake Emily (to keep an eye on Jack so he won't fall out of my bed if he wakes up ) while I shower. I give everyone else a wake up notice before I get into the shower. They all have to be up and dressed before I am out of the bathroom (15-20 min). They usually hit the kitchen by 8 AM.

Everyone eats breakfast and we generally get started between 8:30 and 9 AM. It has really helped keep us on track. We accomplish so much more and we don't feel like the day got away from us with nothing being accomplished.

I must confess though I am much more a night owl and would prefer to stay up until 3 AM and sleep until 10, but we really fall behind when I act on my natural tendencies.

BTW, I used to let my oldest son stay up as late as he wanted and get up whenever as long as he did his schoolwork and was on time to work. My dh said he would never be able to work in the real world (meaning a 9-5 job) because he wouldn't know how to get up on time. But he is really excelling in the Army where he has to get up at 4 AM to be to work by 5.

As long as they have responsibilites and they take care of them, I don't think it matters when they get up or go to bed. They will adapt as necessary.

Blessings,
Krisann



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Jeanne
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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 4:23pm | IP Logged Quote Jeanne

Our goal is to be at 8am mass, so I wake the kids up about 7:15, were home no later than 8:45, eat breakfest and hopefully start school by 9:00(we won't be actually starting the school part till after Labor Day).

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KC in TX
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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 5:50pm | IP Logged Quote KC in TX

On Monday and Wednesday we start at around 2pm. We have therapy appointments in the morning and don't get home until lunchtime. On the other days, we start at around 9. This is not something we necessarily stick to strictly, but on the days we do, the rest of the day seems to run well. We start with morning prayers and bible reading and then dive right in. We finish seatwork in about an hour to two hours. We do read alouds, and other things in the afternoon after lunch.

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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 5:50pm | IP Logged Quote momwats8

Hey Bridget - how are you? we usually do not get going until 9. The boys are up earlier and they eat, get dressed, make their bed (occasionally-lol),brush teeth, and then begin their independant work. Each night I write out for them their indepedant work on their own dry eraser boards. Their independant work is spelling, handwriting, phonics, etc. things they can do with no supervision. Then I get us going on working individually by 9. The older boys are to help with the younger ones while I work with Kolbe and Ben and then I work with the older kids in the afternoon. We do not get done until about 4:00 with everything, but it works. They do get breaks of course..

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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 6:28pm | IP Logged Quote MacBeth

mumofsix wrote:
MacBeth: I always had this stereotypical view of naturalists as people who sprang out of bed at the crack of dawn. Maybe there is hope for me ...

Jane.


Jane, my college advisor was (is) an ornithologist who insisted I rise for her 6 am bird walks.    It was Purgatory. I prefer owling, watching deer (moose, elk) in my headlights, and planet watching and, of course, marine biology. Otherwise, the animals had better like afternoons. I consider myself doing well if I get to see the morning glories before they close.

There is much hope , for us all!

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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 6:55pm | IP Logged Quote Bookswithtea

I think either schedule can work. I think it depends on how well you work in the afternoons.

We get up early and start school between 8 and 8:30. BUT! We don't function well with school after about 1pm, sometimes not even past 12. We all seem to just need our afternoons more unstructured. So we break for lunch around 12:30 or 1, and then I put the baby down to sleep and we have quiet time. Only my oldest still has independent schoolwork left. Everyone else spends some quiet time alone (including me) and around 3ish, we are up for afternoon snack. The kids play and I do laundry, get ready for dinner, check email, and sometimes get on the phone. Bedtime here is 8pm, with older children reading in bed till lights out limits (somewhere between 8:30 and 10, depending on age).   

This is what works best for us. I would just work with whatever the rhythm of your home naturally is. Fighting our rhythm always seems to frustrate all of us.





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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 8:37pm | IP Logged Quote hylabrook1

I am up at 5:45 for much-needed peace and quiet before getting going with the dc. I am able to have prayer time and coffee; I wake the crew at 7, then I go to shower and do minor morning chores in the bedroom/bathroom; prayers with dc are at 8, then lessons start at 8:15. This is the goal, but there are some minor variations, depending on the night before,etc. No one in this house can seem to think clearly about school subjects after about 2 in the afternoon, so that is a better time for chores, walks, personal reading, etc.

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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 9:04pm | IP Logged Quote Willa

I try to let them wake up by themselves.   I am usually up by 7 or 7:30; the little ones get up when I do usually. The middle ones are up before 8, my teenage daughter gets up soon after and my teenage ds gets up about 9 am.

So we usually get started about 9 am which gives me a chance to make a good breakfast and tidy a bit and talk to my dh before we really get into it.

It's a family culture thing -- my husband works at home and several times a week watches a movie or serial with the older kids starting about 9 pm.   So they don't get to sleep till about 10 or 11.   Meanwhile I usually put the littlies to sleep about 9 pm.

My husband likes to work late (until after midnight sometimes) so he doesn't get up until about 8 am so our natural rhythms seem to work towards a later rising.

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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 10:35pm | IP Logged Quote Sarah

We like to watch Major League baseball in the evenings as a family. BTW, MLB.com is usually commercial free for members. The teams we watch are the East Coast games, lucky for us, so they're done by 9:00-9:30. Its been a fun time of cozy reading to littles, while older boys bond with Dad. Even I enjoy the games. Plus it is a great incentive to hurry up and get all your evening chores, pj's, teeth, or NO game!

Family prayer follows (usually).

We're up by 7:30, school goal time is 8:30, but has been more like 8:45am.

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Posted: Aug 30 2006 at 11:16pm | IP Logged Quote teachingmom

MacBeth wrote:
10. We are nocturnal. If we get going by 10 it's a miracle.


Boy, you've just made me feel REALLY good, MacBeth!


We are another family with a night owl mom and a very late dinner hour due to dh's long commute. That means the children don't get to bed until around 10 most nights. In the past, we have typically tried to rise by 8 or maybe 8:30. The motivated ones start on their individual work by 9:30 or so, while the rest of us are still doing chores or getting ready. We start schoolwork together by 10.

We have found that sometimes our lessons drag past the time that the neighborhood kids get home from elementary school at 2:30. My girls don't like that at all. My goal for this year is to have everyone wake up between 7 and 7:30, so we can get an earlier start. Of course depending on how well my newborn sleeps, I may be very tempted to stay in bed longer in the mornings . . . .

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Posted: Sept 01 2006 at 11:17am | IP Logged Quote teachingmyown

MacBeth,
What a burden you have lifted off of me! For years, I have hid our dirty little secret, thinking I would be ostracized from the homeschooling community if anyone found out that we were still in bed at 9am.

I do have a firm resolve for this year. No later than 9:30 for starting. We will see.

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