Homeschooling - Routines, Schedules, Spreadsheets, Oh My!

I'll admit it. I have never been one for scheduling. I felt like a great big rebel when I refused to schedule-feed my firstborn son waaaay back in 1990. I think that was the beginning of my "fighting the power" as my teen daughter would say.

Some people, including a couple of my very best friends, find a great deal of comfort and control in keeping their planners within reach at all times. My closest, dearest "ami" also has the neatest, most orderly sock drawer in all of Minnesota.

I have never been that type of person.

Now, some of you might be saying, how do you do it with five kids? By "it" they mean homeschooling, basic housekeeping, cooking, laundry, keeping the hubby happy, and soforth. Well, I found out early on, when my husband was a youth pastor, that our daily life would never resemble that of any other family. I'm not sure I am proud of it, but at least now I'm not ashamed of it.

We have five kids, ages (almost) 17, 14, 12, 10 and 7. We've homeschooled them from the very beginning, and plan on doing so, Lord willing, through high school.

I learned that if a woman has a baby every even-numbered year for a ten year span, that what start out as great intentions tend to get modified by real life.

I read the homeschooling magazines' "A Day In Our Home" articles and wondered what was wrong with me. I sat in on a MOTH Managers Of Their Homes lecture when the author hadn't yet officially created her manual. I knew all the things I was supposed to do, but somehow things never went according to a strict plan.

I did learn to modify chore and school lists to fit our needs. I write out the kids' assignments and chores for the week out on a regular sheet of printer paper, tipped to landscape style. Each day they can see what they need to do, in terms of chores and school, as well as what special events may be happening. All of the kids check off what they do throughout the day. I don't care when anything is done, but the kids know there will be no TV or computer or game system turns until everything on their lists is done. Naturally, my junior in high school takes much more time to get his school done than my first grader. But because my high schoolers have always had a flexible routine, they know they simply need to get done what's on the list if they want to get to more fun things. This works well for us, and doesn't produce a false sense of urgency over the clock.

Someone over on Amy's blog asked about our routine, so, for what it's worth, here it is:

9AM I get up, brew a cuppa coffee, and check email, blogs, news, etc.
10AM most kids are up.
Kids are allowed to play, create, and have 1 turn on the computer or PS 2. I have Dollar Store digital timers, and each kiddo gets 20 minutes. The other kids are the enforcers. This works well! The kids are also responsible for preparing and cleaning up after their own breakfasts. No TV.

My younger ones (ages 7 & 10) do need reminding to make their beds and get dressed.

1PM lunch for whomever is hungry. Again, the kids make their own lunches. I always have a lot of kid-friendly, mom-friendly food, so the kids make their own sandwiches or other lunchie things. They are to clean up after themselves and get ready to do schoolwork.

Right after lunch, if any of the kids hadn't already begun school work, they do so now. There is no TV or gaming of any kind until after all kids are done with all chores and all school. Nothing emotional about this - it's just my rule.

6PM dinner with Daddy. I do all the meal prep. and the kids do all the clean-up. We don't rotate chores, so everyone knows what is required of them daily. It is a joy for me to hear my kids joking around with each other and singing and being silly as they clear off the table, clean the kitchen, load the dishwasher and soforth. Sometimes it sounds like a comedy improv club... my kids are funny!

9:30PM bedtime for younger kids (ages 7-12).
10:30 or 11:00PM bedtime for the teens.

Midnight or 1:00AM bedtime for me and my sweetie.

When the kids were babies, I had to do the teaching of the older ones during the younger ones' naps, which were usually in the afternoon, and only lasted an hour and a half or so. It amazes me they can even read, yet their comprehension is great and even the dreaded standardized test scores are great, too.

We got into the habit of afternoon schooling when my husband was a youth pastor. If the kids were to see daddy at all, they needed to be awake when he got home. I guess the routine just stuck with us.

As for housework, I do about three loads of laundry per day, and my 10yr. old is my folding helper. Because we have a dog, vacuuming of main rooms needs to be done frequently. Of course, our bathrooms need to be cleaned frequently, too. There is always much to be done. Toss in the many phone calls a ministry family receives, as well as drop-in friends and it makes for a busy and full life.

My heart's desire is that I honor God in all ways, but I have found in real life that if I am stressed and judging myself against my other sisters and how they do things, it filters down to my stressfully dealing with my kids. This cannot honor God, or cause my kids to love Him more.

Since this blog post is so long, I will continue next time with my tips on how to be a joyful mother of many.