This is the last in the 5 Things that Changed our Homeschool for the Better. So far, We have discussed Building a Reading Foundation, Year-Round Homeschooling, Combining Subjects for Your Kiddos, and Making Your Homeschool Curriculum Work for you. Finally, we are talking about routines versus schedules in your homeschool.
To me, a routine is a natural rhythm without adhering to set times during the day. A schedule is the opposite and is a more regimented timetable for things to happen throughout the day. Because of my inexperience, I tried to set up a homeschool schedule when I started our homeschooling journey. I constantly looked at the clock and lost focus on what I was trying to do. I often felt behind, and then I would rush through things. I would abandon the schedule and then try to restart over the next day and the next.
So, instead, I implemented more of a natural rhythm to our day. I did the following things to help ease the pressures a schedule had on us.
1. I found the things that had a fixed time in our day and began working around those (mostly meal times). This allowed me to see what chunks of time I had and what would fit in the day.
2. I began filling in the spaces with what we needed to get done in a day, such as getting ready for the day, school, chores, dinner prep, and getting ready for bed. I knew we could realistically get our schoolwork done in the morning before lunch, and everything else flowed from there.
3. I then tweaked and worked our routine until it felt natural, and I was no longer feeling rushed or consumed by the cock. Each chunk of time is on natural routine, and even within our school day is a routine of the order we do things.
4. Able to adjust as things come up that are unexpected. If we have morning appointments, they no longer derail us. There are certain things we know that can be taken with us and done before or after appointments. Also, some things get abandoned for the day, which is ok, and chores get moved to the next day and stuff like that.
5. Remind our kiddos as needed. There are natural consequences when they don’t do things timely, and if chores aren’t done or school isn’t done, they don’t get their playtime or evening tv time until their tasks are done.
I will say we still have hiccups, I mean, we did add a new baby in 2020, and as she enters toddlerhood, we are constantly adjusting our rhythms around her. With our routine already in place, we could fit our day around her. Also, some mornings the girls poke through their morning routine before school, but it is getting better; after all, they are just kiddos.
Alternately this rhythm allows us to adjust well as we travel with my husband for his job. We usually need a day or two to get out home set back up and things put away. But then we are right back into our routine, and away we go.
As always, keep following our journey on our Facebook Page or Instagram. If you want more in-depth conversations, check out our Facebook Parent Group.