It's that time of year where we are gearing up for homeschool. I like to set up a schedule for myself and the girls and assimliate into for the year. We like to spend our mornings working together on school. If I don't lay out a plan for our mornings, hour by hour, I spend the entire time busying myself with things or unbusying myself on the couch. (truthbomb: I have some days where we watch TV all morning and veg out.... not everyday. But some days you just need a break). I find that a schedule keeps our one "day off" from turning into several days of inactivity. And it also helps me put our life back into place when, "life" happens and we get out of routine.
The reality is that my husband is not a schedule person. And neither is my oldest. So often times, the first few weeks of homeschool are me pulling or dragging everyone along for the good of the whole. I cannot function without routine. And my artistic brain is very systematic with things I find mundane... like laundry, cleaning and other "unfun" chores. I need those boring things in my in my life to take as little of my time as possible. And I need a largeer ratio of time for the things I enjoy the most. Hence why I instate a schedule.
Now, I have tried being a dictator in the past to force the schedule upon my inhabitnats. Which, I learned, is a very good way to end your marriage and make everyone miserable. Instead, I find much more willing participants when we aim towards the goal in small doses, little bits at a time. Here are my best tips at keeping a schedule. But keep in mind...
My husband and I are a work in progress. My family is NOT perfect. And we don't do everything on this schedule everyday. It seems good on paper, but something ALWAYS comes up. I look at the schedule as an outline for the day, that has room available for interruption. So that life can acutally happen naturally, and then we can fall back into rythmn naturally afterwards. It always surprises me how hard it can be to get everyone back in rythmn, but we always do. And the peace of those days is what keeps my mental sanity in tact on the hard days.
TIPS FOR PLACING IN A SCHEDULE/ROUTINE
1. Practice Gentleness/Patience
Not everyone likes routine. So you may need to ease the idea in slowly. And don't get all hot and bothered (like I did) when everyone doesn't fall beautifully into the plan you spent 3 hours making in Excel. These are humans you are dealing with. And these flawed beings that you love to pieces are never going to fall according to plan. So let it roll off your back when it doesn't go smoothly and search for new ways to reach your goal
2. Edit, Revise and Repeat
Your first attempt at creating a schedule may not pan out. And as you practice patience and gentleness, you may come to see that your schedule is not working. Go back to your computer and make the changes you need to. It literally has taken me almost 3 years to find a schedule that works well for our family. And just when you feel comfortable, God will hand you another baby to love, and you will need to do more revising. Life and the people in it, will always "get in the way" of a perfect schedule. But an open and flexible schedule is driven by our family's wants and needs. In our life, that means that I schedule "open ended" time. So that we are free to entertain the unexpected visitor, the impromptu play dates and the little adventures our life usualy brings.
3. Start Small, with something you love
Begin by adding one time a day everyday where you do the same thing.Make it something you want to do, so you can look forward to it. You are unlikely to keep up with scrubbing toliets everday at 3:00. But you might acutally keep up with making time to read a book or do something for yourself everyday.
For us, I began with quiet rest time. My kids are always loosing it after lunch and always seem to need some rest. Mom included! My younger one naps and the oldest reads. But I always noticed that everyday, after lunch, around 2:00, we are resting.
It has always been a goal of mine to pray the rosary with my children. So I decided to signal our rest time by praying the rosary together first. My little two year old sits with me (or I chase her for 20 minutes to play "sit back down") while we watch a recorded version of the rosary on the TV. I know, how terrible, television. But I figure if it teaches them the rosary and they like it, who cares. And we have a version with little children singing and reciting the words which keeps their interest. About one or two decades into it, my two year old is usually alseep and I lay her down while the oldest and I finish our prayers. When its over, she is supposed to read freely for an hour while I "do my thing"...
