Our Rhythm and Routine

Every year, I find that it's necessary to review what is working for our life and what is not working. As the girls get older, more time is required for homeschooling. This is the most important task of my day (besides prayer, of course) and housework comes second. With that in mind, it has taken me a few months to re-tweek my "schedule". I confess, the nerdy side of me gets REALLY excited when I find a new way to do things that will help me maximize my time and talents. My day tends to go somewhat like this...

Early Morning: I tend to be more of a morning person. I don't necessarily jump out of bed singing, but once I've had my morning routine, then I'm good to go! With that said, I am up fairly early. Typically, between 6:30 and 7:00. I get dressed, make my bed, read my Bible, pray and then spend a few minutes reading a leisure book. Having this time to myself is incredibly important and one that I have worked hard to protect all my married life. 

Mid-Morning: Once my quiet time is over, I usually head to the kitchen. It's time for breakfast, coffee and greeting the girls. I usually have protein, and an iced coffee. We keep breakfast pretty simple for the girls, but they eat, then head off to play for a bit. This is my time to clean the kitchen, catch up online, start laundry, do my administrative tasks (I work a few hours for my parents business). I also like to do my workout and have the girls knock out their chores: make bed, get dressed, brush teeth, feed the animals.

Late Morning: Now, it's time for school! I have been trying to set out the workbooks, manipulatives, etc. before we get started. I really like doing this! It helps me not to feel so rushed or scatterbrained. We start our school time in the living room with morning basket. This entails scripture recitation, reading the Bible, poetry, history and read aloud. Some days we included picture books and art. It may sound like a lot, but we usually knock this out in less than an hour. Also, I have been trying to do school outside when the weather is nice!

Noon: Josh comes home most days for lunch. We break and eat a quick, simple lunch. The girls play for a bit before we return to the dining table. It's workbook time! We knock out math, phonics and science. Then we take a short break before ending the day with more read aloud time. The rest of the day the girls are free to play unless we have to be somewhere!!

Mid-Afternoon: I love this time of day. I usually make an iced coffee, browse online or read a book. I am usually working on lists, going over my planner and daydreaming about books. Hee hee. This is also when I fold laundry, dust, vacuum and tackle housework that needs my attention. I like to listen to podcasts or have a youtube video going while I do this. Once I get housework done, we will often go outside or even a nature walk.

Late Afternoon: As the day winds down, I'm usually tired. I prep dinner and read! The girls are usually outside or playing with legos at this point. I usually do a reset around the house (pick up, dust, tidy, etc)

Dinnertime: Josh gets home and we eat dinner. After this, I am wiped out! We spend our evenings usually in the living room. Sometimes, we go out, but rarely. The girls play and we try to recoup from the long day. Josh takes over the night time routine with the girls. Then we usually wind down with a show. Murder She Wrote and Frazier has been our go to lately. Then lights out. ;)