Fall Schedule 2014

It's Monday!  Yay!!

How was your weekend?  

Ours was wonderful!  If you don't count me breaking my crown and stuff like that.  (My $1500 crown ended up in my mouth in a different location than my dentist planned for it to be - but that's another story.)

Remember when I told you on Thursday we had family from Virginia come for a visit?  Well, we had another family member come for a visit on Saturday.  Three family members in one week- such a blessing!  We don't live anywhere close to our extended family so them stopping by for a visit is not an every day thing, but this past week it was an every other day thing!  We were so happy to see the ones we love so much.  I'm still smiling about it!  

Today, I've got our Fall schedule to show you.  It's pretty much finished except for a tiny bit of tweaking that may come when a couple of things are added.  

I've posted several schedules over the years.  We usually make one in the Fall (when we start school) and a new one for Summer.  I know everyone feels differently about scheduling.  Some mamas don't like a strict schedule, and I can understand that, but for me, there is absolutely no way I would get everything done that has to be done if I did not schedule.  We could talk for weeks about doing something but if it doesn't have a slot on the schedule it won't happen. 

Our kids are Colin (19), Ethan (17), Nicholas (15), Eli (12), Olivia (8), and Clare (3).  I do not schedule our oldest anymore.  He has a job and is taking college classes.  He's in charge of his own time now and actually does a great job with that.  Obviously, I don't schedule my honey's time either.  He works 55 to 60 hours per week at his job and I simply put things on the schedule as he requests.  My job is scheduling the remaining six of us.  

Here's the schedule I've got so far.  I'm still waiting to hear about soccer practices and piano lessons.

6:00   Mom shower, dress, make bed, start laundry, Bible time
7:30   Kids up, dress, make beds, chores
8:00   Breakfast, Read Psalms aloud while children eat
8:30   Clean up breakfast (Ethan), finish up chores, move laundry
9:00   Math
10:00 Writing (IEW)
11:00 Language Arts
12:00 Lunch
1:00   History/Science younger kids, Nic - Biology, Ethan - Personal Finance
2:00   Read aloud (Clare - nap) 
3:00   Rest/Read time younger kids,  Nic - World History, Ethan - Economics
4:00   Play time (kids), Mom - laundry/other chores
5:00   Mom - dinner prep, kids play (Eli/Olivia - set the table)
6:00   Dinner 
7:00   Dinner clean-up (Nic), younger kids - baths
7:30   Family Bible time
9:00   Bedtime (kids), parent time!!
11:00 Bedtime Mom and Dad

Every other Tuesday 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. we have our home school co-op,  Thursday at 11 a.m. - guitar lessons, Wednesday nights we have AWANA.  We're still waiting to hear which nights will be soccer practice and which day we will have piano. 

Shoot me any questions you may have - email (7morans@comcast.net) or comment below.  I'd love to know about your schedule too.  Share it with me if you are so inclined.  :)

Have a happy, cozy Monday!!

New School Year Schedule 2013-2014

If you look back over the pages of this blog you will find several different schedules.  I try to make a new schedule at the start of each school year and I usually make one at the beginning of summer also.  Each schedule is similar to the ones before but I'm always tweaking a bit.  For instance, one schedule I put on here was for a school year when I was nursing an infant and teaching a total of five students.  This year we have no nursing babes and I have four students.  Each year calls for something a little different.

Here's what I've got for this new school year.  I will see how it goes for the first month and then make any necessary changes.  Usually I can tell right away if something isn't going to work in the time slot I gave it, but a month is plenty of time to know if the schedule is keeper.

6:00 a.m.  Mom up, shower, dress, devotion/quiet time
7:30 a.m.  Kids up, shower, dress, make bed, chores
8:00 a.m.  Breakfast
8:30 a.m.  Circle Time
9:00 a.m.  Math
10:00 a.m.  Language Arts
11:00 a.m.  Writing
12 noon  Lunch
1:00 p.m.  History (MWF) Science (TR) 
2:00 p.m.  Read Aloud (Clare - nap)
3:00 p.m.  Personal Reading Time/Art/Spanish
4:00 p.m.  Free time
6:00 p.m.  Dinner (Wednesdays - church)
7:00 p.m.  Baths and Showers
7:30 p.m.  Family Devotion
9:00 p.m.  Younger kids to bed
11:00 p.m. Mom to bed

Our New Year Schedule

6:30 a.m.   Mom - shower and dress, start laundry
7:30 a.m.   Kids wake-up time (make beds, dress, chores)
8:00 a.m.   Breakfast
8:30 a.m.   Circle Time (Bible) 
9:00 a.m.   Writing (Institute for Excellence in Writing)
10:00 a.m. Math
11:00 a.m. Language Arts
12 noon     Lunch
1:00 p.m.   Science 
2:00 p.m.   History,  Clare - nap time
3:00 p.m.   Spanish 
4:00 p.m.   Kids' free time
6:00 p.m.   Dinner
7:30 p.m.   Family Bible Time/Clare's bedtime
9:00 p.m.   Kids' bedtime
10:00 p.m. Dad and Mom bedtime

Sunday - Worship/Sabbath rest
Monday - Laundry Blitz, House Rescue
Tuesday - Physical Therapy, check-book & bills
Wednesday - Coupon day, AWANA 
Thursday - Music lessons 
Friday - Grocery day, Family Fun Night
Saturday - Projects

Family Schedule

Here is our new schedule.  This school year is quite different than last year.  Last year our baby was nursing every few hours but this year she is walking around getting into all of the interesting things she can find.  We always make a new schedule at the beginning of the school year but often times we tweak it after a few weeks in.  This schedule seems to be a pretty good fit for everyone so far. 

6:30 a.m. Mom's wake-up time, shower and dress.
Getting up before the children makes such a huge difference in my day.  I like to shower, get dressed, and make my bed first thing.
7:00 a.m. Start laundry, make coffee, Bible and prayer.
I start a load of laundry first thing in the morning.  Next I head to the kitchen and start my coffee.  Must. have. coffee.  I sit down for a few minutes to read my bible and pray before I start waking kids up.
7:30 a.m. Kids' wake-up time, shower, make beds and chores.
The children get dressed and make their beds.  A few boys shower in the morning.  All of the children have chores and they get started on those.  The kids get all the chores done quickly while I diaper and dress the baby.
8:00 a.m. Breakfast
I like to read to the kids while they have breakfast.  This doesn't always happen but I try to make it happen most every morning.  Right now we are reading a book on manners and we always read from Psalms.  Ethan cleans the kitchen after breakfast.
8:30 a.m. Bible
For Bible time everyone reads their bibles independently.  After the day's reading is done the older 3 boys work on Balancing the Sword and the younger kids do catechisms and work on their AWANA verses.
9:00 a.m. School
From 9-12 we do Math, Language Arts, and Writing.
12 noon Lunch
It is our goal to take 30 minutes for lunch.  This does not always work out perfectly but we try to keep it at that.  Colin cleans the kitchen after lunch.
12:30 p.m. School
From 12:30-2:00 we do History (M,T,W) and Science (R,F).  We also do read aloud time.
2:00 p.m. Nap for little ones, more school for older kids.
Here's when the kids work on special assignments and projects, book reports, etc.  I work one on one with each child.  They also do their reading assignments during this time.
(3:00 on Thursdays-music lessons, leave our house at 2:20)
4:00 p.m. Free time
The children usually head outside, unless it's raining.  I sometimes go with them, other times I stay inside and work.  Our older 3 boys run several miles every day and they usually go running at this time.
5:00 p.m. Dinner prep
If I really want to keep the evening on schedule I will start dinner prep at this time.  I really like to put dinner in the crock-pot in the morning and if I've done that it makes dinner prep easy.  I usually have one child in the kitchen with me.  They take turns setting the table and helping with meal preparations. 
(5:45 on Wednesdays leave for AWANA - we eat dinner early.)
6:00 p.m. Dinner
Everyone sits down together for dinner and it is my favorite part of the day.
7:00 p.m. Baths
The girls get their baths and our youngest boy gets his shower during this time.  Nic cleans the kitchen after dinner and either my husband or myself will help him with that, (whichever one of us is not bathing the girls).  The other 2 boys usually take the dog on her evening walk.
7:30 p.m. Family Worship Time
We do Bible study, prayer, family meeting, games, and read aloud during this time.
9:00 p.m. Kids' bedtime
Lights out for the kids!  (A few exceptions on this for special occasions.)
11:00 p.m. Parents' bedtime
 One of my goals for this school year is to get to bed at a decent hour.  I have a habit of staying up very late and that's just not good for a mama of 6.  

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Our Summer Schedule and FAQs

People often ask me if we home school during the summer. 


We do a four day week during the summer, Monday - Thursday.  Fridays are for family activities, projects we wanted to do during the regular school months but never got around to, field trips, special science experiments, crafts, picnics, lake days, picking berries and making jam, gardening, camping, fishing, having friends over, movies, bowling, appointments, baking, cleaning, garage sale shopping, playing and traveling out of town.     ~smile~


I'm posting our schedule to help answer the question of what we do during the summer months.  We do not do everything perfectly every single day.  This our goal.  If you have a schedule, even if you don't follow it perfectly, you at least know what you are aiming for.  If everything isn't accomplished every day you are still getting more done than you would if you had no schedule.  Always allow room for grace!


6:00 - Wake up time - Mom
Shower
Dress
Make bed
Start laundry
Make coffee
Prayer and Bible time
7:30 - Wake up time - kids
Kids shower
Make beds
Feed pets
Chores 
8:00 - Breakfast
Read one chapter of Psalms and one chapter of Proverbs during breakfast.
After breakfast -  kids brush teeth, take the dog out, and finish up any remaining chores.
8:30 - 12:30 School
Bible, Spanish, Reading, Writing, Math
(10-11 nap - Clare)
12:30 Lunch
1:00 Read aloud
2:00 - Nap time (little kids)
Older kids read, draw, games, puzzles, work on projects.
3:00 - Library (Mondays), errands (Tuesdays), grocery store (Wednesdays), music lessons (Thursdays).
6:00 - Dinner
7:30 - Family Devotion (bedtime - Clare)
9:00 - Bedtime (kids)
Me - correspondence, cleaning, scrapbooks, coupons, projects.
11:30ish - Bedtime (me)


There are some other questions I'm asked often so I thought I would throw them in here.  I don't mind questions (except maybe rude ones about my daughter's birthmarks from strangers).  These are the ones I get asked a lot.  If you have others, feel free to ask.


Other FAQs:
Have you always home schooled?
Yes, I started doing preschool with our oldest when he was 3 and took it one year at a time.  I did not know when we started our first year of kindergarten how long we would teach the children at home.  My husband and I decided to pray about each year and to follow the Lord's leading.  Next year our oldest will be a senior and Lord willing we plan to educate all of our children at home through high school.
Why do you have assigned seating in your van?
 Having assigned seats simplifies the coming and going we do so often and eliminates any whining or arguing about who rides up front, by a window, or next to the baby.  Each child knows where their seat is and hops right in it when it's time to go.  For a while I had only 2 children who were old enough to ride up front so on odd days Colin rode up front and even days Ethan did.  This worked great as it was a big deal when they were both able to start riding up front. 
Why do you have school in the summer?
Doing school for a half day, 4 days a week allows us to take off during the traditional school year to do things we want to do, like vacations and entertaining.  Also, by doing school during the summer months we are able to stay ahead in math.  We do not have to do any review when we start a new school year in the fall.  Having a few hours of school in the morning Monday - Thursday does not interrupt our enjoyment of summertime since most of the things we would do are in the afternoon or on weekends.  I like the expression, "Give me 4 for 4" (4 hours, 4 days a week).  We are often surprised at how much we are able to accomplish by the end of the summer and I like the cushion it gives us to take days off whenever we want to.
Do your older boys have jobs?
Ever since our oldest was 12 years old he has had a mowing business.  The two oldest boys have worked together now for 4 years and have had anywhere from 3 to 8 customers at a time.  They primarily mow and weed eat but have done other lawn care as well.  Our 3rd oldest had a dog walking business for a while and has also earned money washing cars.  We have encouraged our boys to pursue an entrepreneurial direction but recognize as they get older their desire to earn more money and sometimes that means an outside job.  Our 17 year old has been applying for jobs (selectively) over the past few months and he is praying and waiting for the Lord to open doors.
Do you have a reading list for the children?
Yes.  (future post)
What do you do with little kids while the others have school?
They play quietly doing a number of activities.  Clare has a big basket of toys and is somewhat blanket trained.  The others draw and color, play with toys, build legos, read books, play with play dough and make "crafts", aka - a mess!
Do the kids watch TV, and if so, what and how much?
I would love to tell you that they never watch TV but that would not be the truth.  They do however watch very little TV.  We allow the little kids to watch some PBS shows, we all watch the Duggars, and the older boys watch football, basketball, and soccer on occasion.  That's really it.  Our family rents movies from time to time and I like to watch The Food Network and HGTV, and usually the news.  The children are allowed no more than 2 hours of screen time per day and that includes ipods, computer, video games, TV, -   anything with a screen.  For years my husband has wanted to get rid of the TV but I talked him into keeping it for this or that.  I should have followed his direction in this area because the family would have been better off without it.  If your kids are little, don't even bother letting them watch TV...there are ALWAYS better things to do.  There are some good children's videos that I would recommend as special "treats".  The TV is certainly one thing I would do differently if I could go back and change something.
Does everyone take music lessons?
While we were in Knoxville everyone old enough did take music lessons. (guitar and piano)  Since being transferred to Chattanooga I have not found a music teacher for the children, however, that is about to change.  All of the kids except the baby should be back in music soon.  For now, on Thursdays I work with them on piano and my husband works with them on guitar. 
What is your cleaning schedule?
I get asked this a lot and I will publish in a future post.  
Do the children have chores?
Yes!  (Future post.)  Everyone works around our house.  I could never do everything by myself...plus, that just wouldn't be good for them.
Do the older boys date?
No.  Future post.
We are asked a lot of questions about food...like how much we spend and how many gallons of milk we go through in a week.  Here's what I can tell you, not sure why it interests anyone as there are families a lot larger than ours.
(I'm feeding 3 hungry teenage boys, 1 ten yr old boy, my honey, 2 little girls, and myself.)
We buy 5 gallons of milk each week.
We go through at least 4 loaves of bread.
When I fix eggs for breakfast I scramble 24.
If cereal is served, it takes 2 boxes.
Anything I make in a 9x13 casserole dish I have to make two.
When we make or order pizza, 4 is the minimum we can get by with. 
Food is definitely our biggest expenditure and I'm always working on ways to spend less. 
Do you do laundry every day?  How many loads?
I do laundry every day except Sunday.  I do at least 2 loads of laundry each day, oftentimes more.  Dirty clothes are plentiful around here.
And my favorite...
Are you done having kids?
We will be finished having kids when the Lord is finished giving them to us.  We have explored the possibility of adoption and are prayerfully considering.  We would certainly welcome more children into the family in any way the Lord sees fit to give them!  God has taught us a lot along the way about the blessing of children.

Our Family Schedule

My honey will be the first to tell you, this family must have a schedule!  

In order to do all that has to be done, everything has to have a time slot.  He and I only have each other.  We get no help from grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.  We are it.  We must successfully manage doctor appointments, dental check-ups, soccer practices, grocery shopping, school-work, cooking, visits to the eye-doctor, cleaning, laundry, haircuts, his more than full time job, and everything else that goes on in a family of eight.  We are often envious of families where the grandparents baby-sit, or take the kids to the dentist, or teach a subject of school, but that is not the circumstance the Lord has us in.  

We have learned that if we are going to manage everything, and do it well, we must maintain a schedule.  If things don't get put on the schedule, they won't get done.  

There have been periods of time when we have abandoned our schedule (a move, a new baby) and things quickly turned to chaos.  The key to success for us is to have a good schedule and stick to it.  

We have to know who is doing what, and when, and make sure that everything that needs to be done is getting done. 

Before we go any further and you start thinking we pull this off perfectly everyday let me assure you, we don't!  The schedule is our goal.  It is our plan.  It keeps us focused.  There are many days we get off track but since we have a plan we are able to get back on track if we derail.  We can jump back in where we should be.  We know what the plan is for each day but we allow room for grace.  When company comes, or someone is sick, or we have an opportunity to do something special, we alter the schedule or just get the bare bones of it accomplished. 

Here is our current family schedule.  It changes frequently as we tweak it throughout the school year, as seasons change, as babies get older, and as sports seasons begin and end.  This is what we are doing right now.

6:30a.m.-  Mom up, shower, dress, start laundry, read bible and pray.  I put a load of laundry in the washing machine before going downstairs.  Once I am downstairs I start coffee and then have my bible/prayer time.

7:30a.m.-  Kids up.  Mom - feed baby.  Kids - shower, dress, make beds, chores.  The 2 oldest kids shower in the morning.  We have 2 other kids that shower at night and the 2 youngest ones take baths at night.  So, for the 8 of us we have 4 of us that shower in the morning and 4 that shower/bathe at night.  It works for now.  The children have morning chores like feed the animals, empty trash cans, swiffer the floors. They work on getting ready and doing chores while I feed Clare Grace.

8:00a.m.-  Breakfast and clean-up (Ethan), switch laundry.  Every Friday I wash sheets.  We have 7 beds so I do 3 beds one Friday and the other 4 beds the next.  Each bed is getting clean sheets every other week.  After breakfast one child unloads the dryer and another one puts what is in the washer into the dryer.   

8:30a.m.-  Kids - Bible time, Mom - tend to baby, get everything ready to start school and start dinner.  When Dad is here he does catechisms with Olivia while the other children read their bibles and spend time praying, journaling, and working on memorization.  They do this alone in separate locations and I use that time to do any little quick thing I need to do before we start school.  Sometimes I answer an email, or return a *quick* phone call, or make copies of a worksheet, or gather materials, or whatever I need to do.  Clare Grace usually lays on a blanket with some toys near where I am or swings in her little swing in the family room.  I also use this time to do any sort of dinner prep I can do.  I like to go ahead and start dinner in the crock-pot if I can and let it cook while we work.

9:30a.m.-  Language Arts - Ethan, Nic, Eli, and Olivia.  Colin - Algebra with Dad.  On the mornings Dad is here he does Algebra with Colin and gives him plenty of work to do independently for the mornings he is not here.  I do Language Arts with the other children and just move around from one to the next.  I use this time to do Olivia's reading lesson also.  Baby naps.

10:30a.m.-  Math - Ethan, Nic, Eli and Olivia.  American Lit - Colin.  At this time I feed Clare Grace but I am available to the children if they have questions or need help.  It takes about 1/2 hour to feed and change the baby and then I put her on a blanket near us and help the children with their work. 

11:30a.m.-  Printing/Cursive practice younger ones, Bible for the older boys.  The younger children copy verses from the bible to practice their handwriting while the older boys work on their Bible.  We use this time for Balancing the Sword, and Christian Character, or Plants Grown Up.  While the children are doing this I start lunch prep.  It only takes Olivia a few minutes to do her printing practice (she's 5) so I bring her in the kitchen with me to help get things ready for lunch.

12:00noon-  Lunch and clean-up (Colin), switch laundry.  After lunch one child unloads the dryer and another one puts what is in the washer into the dryer.  The baskets of clean laundry are put in my room to fold later.  Every time the washer is open I start another load.  *Yes, we do that much laundry everyday!*

1p.m.-  Read aloud. I read to the children during this time, or sometimes one of the older children will read.  We read all different kinds of books.  Sometimes we read a book about a missionary, sometimes a history book, sometimes a classic that is on our "to read" list or a good biography. 

2:00p.m.- Mom- feed Clare Grace, Little ones nap, older ones work on science lessons.  I'm available to the children if they need help with their science lessons and after I feed Clare and put her down I usually have someone to work with.  Sometimes we are doing a science quiz or a science project. Occasionally we will have a science video to watch.  Colin is doing Chemistry, Ethan - Physical Science and I combine the younger boys' science lesson.

3:00p.m.-  History While the younger ones are napping I help older kids with History.  Right now Colin is studying American History while Ethan does World Geography.  I teach Eli and Nic a combined History lesson.  On Fridays we don't do Science and History and I use that time to grocery shop.  I take two helpers and the baby with me and the rest of the children stay home with Dad.  The children who are home get to read books or do art.  We rotate the helpers each week so that everyone gets a turn to go.  For some reason our kids love to grocery shop.

4:00p.m.-  Snack.  Kids-free time, Mom- cleaning.  We do a light snack at 4p.m. and then the kids are free to play.  They usually head outside.  On Tuesdays and Fridays we leave at this time for soccer practice.  If Dad is home he takes the boys to soccer and the girls stay home with me.  If Dad is at work, I take all the kids with me to soccer practice.  On the days that I am home during this time I clean.  I take an hour each day and clean something.  I have different zones to clean each day.  I do not ever have 6 or 7 hours straight to clean house anymore ( I used to have a cleaning day when the kids were little).  I work on cleaning 1 hour each day.  That adds up to 5 hours of cleaning during the week and I do additional cleaning on Saturdays if I can (depending what we have going on).  By cleaning a little each day the house never gets terribly dirty.  The kids clean their bedrooms and their bathroom once a week.  One child is in charge of cleaning the hardwood floors each day with the Swiffer.  I work on dusting in each zone and deep cleaning the kitchen and the other 2 bathrooms.

5:00p.m.-  Mom - dinner prep.  Sometimes there is a lot to do, other times not.  If dinner is in the crock-pot I might just cut up a salad.  On the soccer nights when I will be taking the kids I make sure to have a crock-pot meal so once we arrive home dinner is ready.

6:00p.m.  Dinner and clean-up (Nic).  We try very, very, hard to stick to this.  Soccer may delay it slightly but as soon as we are home we eat dinner together as a family.  Usually we are home from soccer by 6:30 at the latest and if dinner is ready in the crock-pot, or if I stayed home while Dad took the kids, then we can quickly sit down to eat.  On Wednesday nights if we are going to church we need to leave by 6:45.  Tuesdays and Fridays are soccer nights.  Wednesdays are church nights.

7:00p.m.  Baths/showers.  After dinner and clean up 2 boys head upstairs to their bathroom for showers and the 2 girls are given their baths in another bathroom.  The 2 oldest boys usually take the dog for a walk during this time or work on "homework".  We all meet back up at 7:30 in the family room for devotion.

7:30p.m.-  Family Devotion.  We read the bible and talk about it as a family, discuss prayer requests, pray, and have a family meeting. I feed Clare Grace while we are having our devotion time.  She is diapered and in her pajamas and will usually sleep until her next feeding. 

8:30p.m.-  Read aloud.  Most of the time Dad reads but if he is not home I do or occasionally one of the older boys.  This is when we read Jotham's Journey or some other book like that.  (This may turn into my exercise time since I don't really know when else to do it.  Just last night I walked from 8:30 to 9:00 and it worked out well except I missed read aloud time.  I'm still working on where to put my exercise time.)

9:00p.m.-  Kids to bed, Mom - fold laundry, work on checkbook/bills, correspondence, baby book, etc.  This is the time when I get to work on all of the things filling up my to-do list.  Answer email, write out the bills or write a thank you note, or catch up Clare's baby book or work on the kids' scrapbooks or fold clothes and put them away or balance the checkbook or........the list is never ending.  I do run into some trouble here if I have a lot that I need to get done and I will work for hours and hours.  The house is very quiet and I am able to concentrate and I enjoy the peace.  I have one teenager who likes to stay up later and work on things he wants to do and we allow him to choose his bedtime for the most part.  He is pretty responsible. 

10:30p.m.  Mom - feed Clare Grace and put her to bed for the night.  I should probably go to bed here but I have never gone to bed at 10:30 in my life!  The ideal amount of sleep to me is 6 hours so I try to be in bed by midnight.  If I work from 9p.m. until midnight with a half hour break to nurse the baby I can sort of stay on top of things.  I like to do a coupon match-up and make a grocery list on Thursday nights and I like to at least jot a few notes in the baby book periodically.  If I am sending a thank you note or birthday or get well card this is a good time for me to write those out because I can think about what I am doing since only me and the washer and dryer are up,and sometimes that teenager I mentioned :).  Once a week I will use this time to clean out my purse and balance the checkbook and write out the bills that are due.  I try to avoid turning the t.v. on since it can be a major distraction.  This time has also been nice for private talks with my older kids if they have something private they need to talk to me about when everyone else goes to bed.  I will put down whatever I am doing if they need to talk because I see that as more important than pretty much anything else.   

Well, there you have it.  That is our current Monday-Friday schedule. We fully realize that Jesus Christ is the power behind the schedule.  Without Him we are nothing.  We ask God to help us when we fail, show us when we are wrong and bless our feeble attempts to be organized.  He is so faithful!  Feel free to shoot me an email or comment if you have any questions!



  

Where Have I Been? Getting Organized!

After a couple of weeks of not blogging I am ready to get going again.  Life has been challenging recently and I needed some time to get myself moving in the right direction.  (more to come on that later.....)

Currently I am reading MORE HOURS IN MY DAY by Emilie Barnes.  I'm excited about all that I am learning (in some cases re-learning).  I want to share some of what I am learning since I think it is helpful to all of us who are working at home.  

One of my favorite chapters is "A Daily Plan".  Ahh.....that's what I need to keep up with everyone and everything!  And with that plan, I need a gentle and quiet spirit which is so precious to God.  (*re-learning, AGAIN!  God is patient with me.) 

Here is a Sample Daily Routine: 

A.  Start your day the night before

     "She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.  She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.  Her lamp does not go out at night."  Proverbs 31:17-18   (She is energetic, a hard worker, and watches for bargains.  Go couponers!!  She works far into the night...that doesn't leave time for laying around at night watching tv!)

Gather, sort and wash laundry.  (my washing machine only sleeps when I do)
Set the breakfast table.  (I have found I love doing this before I go to bed)
Lay out vitamins in individual cups.
Set up coffeepot for the morning.
Make a "To Do" list for what must be done for the next day.

B.  Get up early 

     "She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens."  Proverbs 31:15 - (Getting up just one hour earlier makes a HUGE difference.  If you normally get up at 6:30, try 5:30.  You will be surprised at what a difference that one hour makes in your day.  By the way, I am still working on this!)

Make the bed.
Shower/Get dressed.
Do hair and makeup.
Personal devotion time.
Put in first load of wash.

C.  Advance to the kitchen

     "She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."  Proverbs 31:27 - (She watches carefully all that goes on throughout her household, and is never lazy.)

Rejoice that the table is set!
Cook breakfast.
Call everyone to the table with a 2 minute warning.
Serve everyone once and sit down yourself (Don't be a short-order cook.)
Remind everyone to take vitamins.
Review each person's day.
Have everyone take their dishes to the sink.
Put all the dishes in the sink to soak in hot water (or load into dishwasher).
Quickly put away all perishables.

D.  Say farewell to the family  (Or, say farewell to your husband!  Emilie Barnes did not write her book with homeschooling in mind but I think this part of the daily plan is still useful for those of us who are homeschooling.)

     "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue."  Proverbs 31:26 - (When she speaks, her words are wise and kindness is the rule for everything she says.  I want the children to remember me as a smiling mother and not a screaming shrew.)

See if your husband has any needs.
Check each child's room with him or her. (Remember it's not what you expect, but what you inspect!)
See that the bed is made and clothes are hung up or in the hamper.
Check the bathroom for dirty clothes and for cleanliness.
Compliment the kids on how well they have done something.
(Here Emilie Barnes says to send them off with a loving hug.  I would send my honey off with a loving hug and get the kids started on their morning chores.)

E.  Get to work

     "She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong." - She is energetic and a hard worker!

Put in a second load of wash.
Do the dishes.
Do any advance dinner preparation - here's where I am pulling out my crock- pot most days!
Clean up the counters
Water plants
Spend 15 minutes doing general housecleaning in some area of your home.  (It's surprising what you can do in just 15 minutes!)
Start children with morning devotion/school work.  (The school day schedule is going to look completely different for each family so I am going to let you fill in here what yours would look like.  My opinion is that school functions the best when there is a schedule of exactly what we are doing and when.  We've tried it different ways and we are the most productive with a detailed school day schedule.)

F.  Prepare the home for the evening

     "She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.  Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:  Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all."  Proverbs 31:27-29

Light a fire and candles (seasonal)
Prepare munchies if dinner is a bit late: veggies & dip, crackers & cheese, etc.
Set the table.
Prepare yourself: freshen makeup, check hair. (This may seem funny but I have had several older ladies share this advice with me and Emilie Barnes suggests this as well.)
Start thinking toward a quiet and gentle spirit.
Organize the children as best you can.
Be ready for husband's arrival.
Always meet him.  Get yourself to the door with a hug and kiss and a smile. 
Do not share the negative part of the day with him until after dinner.
Enjoy your family dinner!
Bath routine for younger children.
Family devotions/Games. 
Bedtime routine (Different for each family, we read books and pray.)