First Few Weeks of Fall

It seems as soon as Labor Day passed, the cooler weather, darker evenings and quieter days began. All the neighbor kids are back in school and we have begun a new routine around here as well. I am so pleased with how it is going! I thought I would share in case any one was curious about our "homeschooling" days. I came across a really helpful tool to assist me in organizing our crazy life around here. It is quite Type A, but having a plan and everything organized greatly reduces the stress around our home. Plus, both Sam and I do best with routine.
So, here's our day:

Brian is almost always around for breakfast. He then leads us in worship and prayer before we head upstairs to "do our charts." Sam and Lydia have a checklist of personal chores to complete in the morning and before bed. When we are all ready for the day, there might be a small job to do together or some laundry to start...OK...there is almost always laundry to start.

Then we are all together for storytime. With all three kids, I am using this book and this curriculum to encourage our kids to love books and to love learning. The quality literature and fun learning activities make this an enjoyable time for everyone. After this, I am with just Sam and sometimes Sam and Lydia to do a bit of math, reading and/or handwriting. (The girls have play time alone while I do this.) Then we are all together again for snack and Bible immersion...reading Bible, memorizing verses, etc. After this we head outside to let off some steam. This is also when I can catch up on chores, run errands, or just feel free to play with the kids. It has greatly helped me to have a time to feel free from home responsibilities and to enjoy the kids.

Then we grab lunch. I have found that right after meals is a good time to have the kids do a small job, so they might fold some washclothes, change some laundry or pick up some toys after lunch. Sam and Lydia each have a half an hour of computer time while I catch up around the house, feed Noah and put Sophie down for a nap. Then Sam, Lydia and I read for a bit from a chapter book. We have read Charlotte's Web, Dangerous Journey and others. We are currently reading through the original Winnie the Pooh collection, which is my absolute favorite. Then we all have an hour of rest. Since the rest of my time has been so well organized, this has actually turned out to be a rest time for me, too.

Then Sam, Lydia and I have another story time using this curiculum. Same great idea: quality books, fun learning stuff. Then we head outdoors again when the babies are awake. For dinner, I have one of the kids help me while the others either keep playing outdoors or are in their rooms for alone time play. This is one of my secrets to sanity, too. Dinnertime is crazy because we are all tired and hungry, so keeping it simple and orderly really helps.

So, this is the way it goes around here, for now. Oh, except Wednesdays, when the girls are at Kindermusic with my mom. Sam and I make bread, which he is selling to learn math, interpersonal skills, etc as well as earn a bit of money. This has been a sweet time for us to work together. Oh yeah, and don't forget: plenty of Lego time!!

A couple things that have really helped me keep organized around here: 1) We have four weeks of favorite dinner meals chosen which we rotate through. I have these recipes in a simple small photo album so I can access them easily. 2) I do certain chores on certain days (groceries on Monday, clean the bathrooms on Tuesday, wash sheets every other Friday, etc) I write all of this on my calender so I don't forget. 3) I plan to do three months on/one month off of official "homeschooling" subjects. The off month will be spent planning for the next season and enjoying the change of pace.

OK...that was really long. Maybe nobody cares, but I have been so pleased with how smoothly and quickly the days have been going. I wanted to share the joy!!