“Let all things be done decently and in order.”
1 Corinthians 14:40

I have been asked to share my daily schedule –  writing out what I do in a day was rather challenging, in a tiny way, because every day is different around here. As most mothers know, your day can quickly tailspin or change like a leaf in the autumn winds. I have learned to be scheduled (not my regular personality) but also flexible, to allow our natural interests and immediate concerns to govern our studies and daytime habits, but to also keep things orderly and without (too much) confusion.

 

A few tips I would give to any mother – whether homeschooling or not :

 

1) Rise early before your children, read your Bible, pray and have some quiet time.
2) As Mark Twain said, “Swallow the frog.” Get your worst chores over with in the morning. This also applies to schoolwork – do the work you least enjoy, then use the afternoon for more preferred work, such as handiwork, reading, music, nature studies or art.
3) Go to bed early.  I was once a night owl, but now I go to bed with the setting sun and wake slightly before it rises. I do believe our seasons bring natural rest to our weary bodies and I use the winter as a restful season to recharge for the busy and work-related spring, summer and autumn.
4) Have a tea break in the afternoon – do something quiet, lovely and refreshing for at least 1/2 an hour (or more – if you can arrange it!.

With those little tips written out … here is a very loose idea of how a day looks in our busy home…

 

4:30/5 a.m.- personal wake up and quiet time until 6:15 a.m.

6:30 a.m. – wake up the family and children, get things going for the morning; everyone must be dressed and their hair done by the time they are seated at the breakfast table. This saves me from chasing down little girls with terrible bed-heads for half the day. 🙂

7 a.m. – barn chores for everyone that is responsible for an animal (which is all the girls, right now)

7:30 a.m. breakfast and Bible time as a family; children recite Scripture as a group for memory work.

8 a.m. – cleanup (truth be told, we are usually late around this time, if one of the children sleeps in or takes their time getting their morning work done), put laundry away that dried on the drying rack overnight, washing of breakfast dishes, cleaning of household/bedrooms. Everyone is assigned a rotating morning chore and we all work to make the house presentable and clean up to begin the day properly.

This is the time I begin the bread dough for the day, as well.

9 a.m.  – school begins for everyone; the girls separate and do their individual work, music lessons or practices. I listen to the little ones read, help with grammar/language arts/math – we rotate with sciences/geography and history later around 10 a.m. I am usually still working on meal preparations while working with school.

For example, while girls are at the table doing their copywork, handwriting etc. I will be organizing what we will be eating for lunch and dinner – for example, I may sit and listen to reading while peeling potatoes, etc., chop up vegetables and put on a pot of soup …

I must add: This is the busiest time of the day with all school books open, everyone needing a little extra help, dinner and lunch work being prepared, dishes being washed from dinner prep and working on keeping the little ones happy. It’s a busy, very busy time in our household.

10:30 – read aloud for the little ones (currently reading Geraldine Woodmouse together)

11:30 – clean up for lunch – which is usually soup or leftovers in the winter months

12:30 – I’m hoping lunch is finish at this point and it’s clean up time again (dishes are never ending here!) and children begin to get ready for outside time

 

1 p.m. – everyone outside until 2 p.m.

2 p.m. indoors again, work on read-alouds with all the children (currently reading the biography of Louisa May Alcott, then moving on to reading the biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

History, art and science, random poetry – it is all sprinkled into our lives, as well.

2:45 – put Luther to sleep; everyone retires to their room for some personal quiet time, crafts, handiwork, etc.

From 3-5, we have a pretty quiet household and it’s rather nice. We have all done most of our hard work (including my dinner work – Chicken Alfredo tonight, which is already prepped and the sauce made, while the chicken is cooking in the crockpot) so we can all enjoy some free time to do as one pleases.

This winter, the girls have really taken up embroidery work, one is making macramae hangars, working on art or reading. The boys will typically play outside or they are *encouraged* to play quietly inside during the nap time. This is the time I can have an afternoon tea and rest my weary feet.

5 p.m. – dinner readiness begins – prepping of vegetables, etc. table is set and everyone cleans up from their afternoon time.

5:30 (approximately – later in the summer months) – dinner time

6:30  – cleanup, baths and showers, laundry is begun (I do laundry every evening and will hand it to dry overnight on a drying rack near the woodstove), stories for little ones, then ending with Bible reading for the family.

8-8:30 p.m. – everyone is in bed, except mother and father. I make myself a cup of tea and retire to my room around 9 pm. for some reading.

And that is our day in a basic schedule!

No day is ever the same and everything is flexible. The summer months are completely different and we stay up later. Winter months are much quieter and allow for early bedtimes and gentle school hours. If you have questions, I would love to answer them. Motherhood is quite the journey and managing a household is a constant work in progress … there’s rarely a day off, but the blessings are bountiful if you do your work with a cheerful attitude!

Keep a heavenly perspective on all that you are required to do and you will be blessed beyond measure.