Homeschool Memoirs #3 Routines (Running Late!)

Hmmmm... My title probably shows that I am a bit lacking in routine....or maybe I have not allowed much margin in my life ( I have been thinking a lot about having margin in life this week since it was the subject du jour at church this past weekend).

We don't have too much of a schedule for school. I do try and make sure the kids are up around 8ish. This is not a problem for Chase at all and he is usually up long before 8. It is a problem for Gabriella! I would like for them to eat breakfast and then "get ready for school". If I allow them to dilly dally, it makes it that much harder for them to get on task for the day.

If Paul is home, we often start the school day off with prayer. Shamefully, we pretty much never start off that way when he is not home ;( Both of the kids almost always start out with math and then usually move on to spelling. Reading is always the last "regular" thing we do. Sometimes I let them have a break and they run around the backyard halfway through the morning, but that often backfires and it is hard to get them back to work. History is often saved for later in the day or sometimes nighttime. Again, waiting to do it often means we skip it and play catch up later on.

The main subjects are pretty much always done by lunch time. After lunch, I try to get Ava down for a nap while the kids play quietly. They are not allowed to watch TV, play games etc until after I leave for work on T, W, and TH. The other days, they are not allowed to until after 3ish.

The kids have Keepers/Contenders every other Friday in the afternoons. The other Friday afternoons they are supposed to be doing a science co-op at Rebekkah's house, but we have not actually started that yet. Most other "homeschool" stuff we do outside of the house occurs on Thursdays with SLC.

I do have a strong desire to be more organized and definitely desire to have more margin in life to actually spend quality time with the kids. I will most certainly be reading what everyone else has to say about their routines to try and glean something from it!