After playing around with wake-up times, I've settled into an approach that firstly values my kids getting the sleep they need and secondly accounts for making sure we're getting the important things done before I've completely lost all hope for the day's productivity (ha!). There was no great scientific study that went into this. I simply noted what time they were all generally awake by and went from there. For us, this is 7:30am. They pretty much have to be sick to sleep later than that. It's just the way they are. After that, I figured out the "big rocks" for our family-- the things that are the most important in each day for us-- and put those in first so that even if the train of our day totally derails, we have usually finished what I truly care most about.
(More on the "big rocks" another time.)
By 7:30am, I have changed diapers, wiped the sleep from my eyes, had my personal quiet time, and tied my running shoes. Sometimes I've had a chance to start breakfast prep or make my bed, but those are the really good days and not the norm, I'm afraid. I head out the door while the troops all prepare themselves for the day (often, the little girls are already dressed by then since they tend to rise shortly after the little boys). If Daniel is home, he watches the little boys (he's always had his quiet time and gone running or is home from a meeting by this time, as he's a natural-born morning person!); if he's not home, I throw them in the double stroller and leave the older 5 behind. This is a perk to having fairly competent and responsible 10- and 11-year-olds in the house (hang in there, Mama of little ones: your day will come!), but I'm not sure how it will work once the temperature is -15 degrees outside.
Around 8am, I am back so Bronwyn watches Elliot while Gabriel or Jackson makes breakfast and I oversee. The little girls often get a jump on their housework for the day.
Breakfast and family devotions around the table. Daniel likes to be home for this, but it doesn't always happen and that's okay. We've been working through Leading Little Ones To God for the past year or so, taking breaks from the book at times to talk about things that come up and need to be talked about and addressed. I've used a couple different devotionals over the years and this is my favorite so far.
At 9am, we get to our chores. A big and little kid are partnered for every meal clean up. Other chores at this time include cleaning various rooms of the house, checking on the chickens' food & water and collecting any eggs that have been laid, starting beans or soup for lunch, making granola, etc. Oh, and I try to get a shower somewhere during this hour.
School work keeps us busy from 10-12:30. We begin with read aloud, which includes all the kids. Then we do history or science (alternating days), which is also combined. After that, it's like a puzzle, making sure the two computers are available for the right kids for math (they take turns with it while working at language and handwriting) and keeping Elliot and Oliver busy while I work one-on-one with Aubrey.
Lunch is at 12:30pm. Bronwyn mostly makes it with help from me based on the predetermined menu plan: rice bowls, soup, PB&J, tuna lettuce wraps, etc.
From 1-2pm, kids go outside for play and fresh air and I try to join them for at least part of it if at all possible. Oliver usually goes down for his nap somewhere between lunch and this time.
At 2pm, I put Elliot down for his nap and call kids in. The little girls rest with books while the older three kids work on various assignments.
From 3pm on, I try to make sure they mostly have free time. Daniel's day off is on Tuesday and he's started giving Gabriel guitar lessons, which is simply replacing what was the old piano lesson slot for the duration of this semester. Literature group on Thursdays means our post-lunch schedule is all a little different and Friday School on Friday means our day is entirely different (and the best, as far as the kids are concerned-- and I think it's pretty terrific, too!).
I have a whole hour for dinner so that we can eat a little late if need be, linger around the table when possible, or eat at the front-end in order for Daniel to get out the door for evening meetings. At 6:00pm, the Kitchen Patrol crew gets busy while the others do a House Blitz (every single room in the house gets a quick tidy). After that, we rotate movies, wii, and board games in the evening hours. It's extra-special when Daddy is home for it!
Here is a sample schedule for inquiring minds. I know it's not the clearest image, but hopefully you can read it okay. I just use Pages and make a table-- it's nothing fancy. I have one of these for each of my four "school kids". Aubrey can't read it on her own yet, but it helps to have something I can have one of the other kids read to her when my brain is just too tired to figure out what she should be working on at any given moment.
Oh! One thought: my older kids are getting to the point where they can't always finish an assignment in the given time slot or, for example, I've checked their language and handwriting while we eat lunch and they have some things they need to correct/re-do. For the sake of computer and instrument and my personal schedule/routine, I have them simply close the book/chapter/lesson and get to the next thing; they can use some of their free time to finish the assignment later on. (Generally, this doesn't happen often or take very long!) The only assignment that most often takes place outside of designated "school" time is reading, which they do at night. Even the older three are in bed at 8pm, but they each have a bed lamp and are allowed to read for up to an hour.
And a final note: this is what we get back on track with. It doesn't happen everyday or even mostly everyday! Sometimes I slow it down because I want to deep clean the kitchen/school area (*ahem* Monday *ahem*), or there's a dental or doctor appointment for some/all, or the weather is beautiful and I decide we're going to eat a picnic lunch at the park (*ahem* yesterday *ahem*), or somebody had a new baby and getting a special meal made for them is the most important thing of the day, or one/more of the kids is sick and half my day is spent tending to them, etc. Our schedule is simply what we get back to when we're aiming for a routine day. My oldest son is a very orderly, rule-oriented person by nature and I am constantly reminding him that I made the schedule and I get to break it!
So make those routines, Mamas, and set expectations that are realistic yet growth-oriented. But please don't let some idea of what the perfect school week looks like become a burdensome thing. This is just one more tool in your tool belt. The goal is not to obey the routine; the goal is to raise up arrows who know what it is to love God, work hard, serve their family, and cherish learning!
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