UPDATE: I now use this magnetic schedule so I don’t have to cut out all those little pieces of paper! Everything else is the same.
See this schedule?
This is my saving grace. And I HATE schedules.
I did all right getting things done when there were only three, maybe four, children running under foot. As more were added to our family I started lagging further and further behind. My to-do lists just didn’t seem to get anything crossed off of them. I felt like tearing my hair out most days when we were homeschooling as everyone seemed to be clamoring for my attention or help with this and that. I couldn’t find any time to refuel myself, emotionally or mentally. Falling asleep I’d realize I’d said maybe just a few sentences to Mr. Ferrero Rocher all day. Okay, probably more than that because, duh, how did all those kids get added to our family in the first place? But you know what I mean. I was slowly losing it. I realized whatever I was doing wasn’t working so maybe, just maybe doing something drastic like following an exact schedule would help.
I tried making a schedule for us to follow. Get up at this time. Do school between these hours. Eat meals at certain times. Didn’t work. The girls were still clamoring for my attention during school time. I still didn’t have any personal time. We did wake up, get fed, and go to bed on time but that was it. I needed a better schedule.
Enter the Managers of Their Homes (MOTH) from Steve and Teri Maxwell. I learned how to schedule time with each of my children, how to schedule our homeschooling day so that I spent time teaching each child and they weren’t all asking for help at the same time. There was time for personal scripture study, exercise, and blogging or other projects. Two half hour cleaning periods, one in the morning and one at night, even snuck their way in. And yes, there was also time for one-on-one with Mr. FR every day.
Was it easy to implement? NO! It was hard because I hadn’t learned to discipline myself. Discipline is key. It is STILL hard not to get distracted. I’m like a butterfly. I like to flit here and there, never concentrating on one thing for a long period of time. And that was my problem. I’d start to do things but didn’t stick with the task until it was done. I’d think of something else that needed doing and start doing it before I forgot. And before what I had been doing was finished. The worst part is I was teaching my children to do the same. We committed to trying the MOTH schedule for one week, five little school days, to see if there was any noticeable difference. There was more accomplished in that one week than I’d been able to get done for the last three! Yeehaw!
Everyone has a part on the MOTH schedule except for Mr. FR and the baby. We aren’t strict about sticking to the exact time frames either. They’re just there as general guides.
Here’s a closer look at our morning routine.
As you can see the wake-up times are staggered. These are the latest that they wake up. If the kids wake up before their time they just move on to the next item in the schedule. Breakfast is at 8am so Mr. FR can eat before going out to work. We have a short devotional at 8:30 after which I spend some time with Special Dark while the other kids start their school work. Throughout the morning everyone follows their own schedules as outlined. They each know they will have an hour where I will work specifically with them so if they have questions about their work they wait until then to ask. I work with two children at a time, paired according to similar learning levels. If they get their work done early they are free to do whatever we want. We always have someone practicing the piano even though we have music practice scheduled as that’s what they choose to do when there is free time.
The mid-day schedule finishes our school day by lunch (for most) and starts our project, exercise, and one-on-one times (which I will talk about tomorrow).
We eat lunch at 12:30pm, have family scripture study at 1pm and rest time at 1:30. One-on-one times are on Thursdays and Fridays so any doctor appointments or play dates are made on Mondays or Tuesdays. The bookmobile also comes every two weeks on Mondays. Most of the afternoon is free time especially for the younger ones. They also have time scheduled to spend with one another. I’d never thought about doing that until I read MOTH. I first thought it was dumb. Force my children to spend more time with each other? They enjoy it! The little ones look forward to having special attention from their older siblings. They each have different things they enjoy doing together – making cards, going for walks, laying on the hammock, etc.
The evening schedule is pretty typical of most families I think. Dinner, chores, bedtime routines, and bed.
I also give piano lessons in the evenings on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, two daughters a day. When there aren’t piano lessons, it’s my time to play. ☺ It helps me relax, pounding out the stress of the day on the piano, instead of losing patience and yelling at the kids (unless I’m on to them to be quiet so I can actually hear the piano). Bedtimes are staggered according to age. And look, there’s even time to talk to Mr. FR about my day.
Well, now I’ve showed you how our days go ….about 60-70% of the time. Sometimes mornings are the only thing that goes according to plan because of other arrangements that were made for the afternoon. Sickness occurs, beautiful spring weather comes, visitors arrive, etc. so we scrap our schedule and do whatever.
Tomorrow’s post . . . One-on-One Time With Mom
This? Is. Amazing.
I have attempted to make something similar in the past (though I don’t homeschool), but I find it kind of whimpers out over time. How do you keep it going?
Good for you! It’s so important to find a system that works for you and your family.
Everyone seems to think that routines and (good) habits are restricting when the opposite is actually true.
When you develop good habits and routines, things get done faster and often without you even realizing it.
Sometimes our brain gets to daydream as (some) habits take over and get the work done for us!
It takes at least 20 days (and some say 30) to develop a true habit. Keep with it and it will get even easier as you go.
Btw, new to your blog and I’m thoroughly enjoying it, and those of the other homeschool ladies you’ve paired up with.
I have created this schedule for our family too, but I have not really applied it. I like the idea, but lack the discipline, majorly. And really, what is hard about following a schedule? It has to begin with me.
I have heard about that book several times over and now I think that I’m going to break down and finally buy it. Thanks so much!
Blessings,
Sue
i don’t homeschool, but this sure sounds familair! and i always appreciate HONESTY! and a good laugh. I love it when a Godly mom sometimes just tattles and laughs at herself. thanks:)
Oh my. I can’t believe you used a swear word in this post. I didn’t read past that.
So, I really like this way of scheduling. I can see how it works with older kids who can do things on their own. Do you have any recommendations for someone who has JUST little ones? I have a 3 year old, a 2 year old and my baby is just barely 1. (All girls) I would like to have more children, but I don’t want to go insane! They all need me all the time! What did you do when your older girls were little? Any advice? PLEASE? I just signed my little 3 year old up to start preschool in the neighborhood, but ultimately, we are thinking about homeschooling. We just are new to the area and don’t have a lot of friends, so I thought she could use some socialization.
Thanks,
Gina
@Samantha,
I’m sorry about the swear word! At first when I read your comment I couldn’t figure out what you were talking about as I definitely do not swear (now). Then I read through the post. In my defense this is actually a re-post from over a year ago when I was overcoming that bad habit. I had completely forgotten that it was in there and have gone back and changed it. Thank you for pointing it out to me. I definitely did not mean to offend in any way.
I really enjoyed this post! I think I am almost ready to take the plunge into homeschooling, but still have a lot of questions in my mind about how to make it all work. Reading your ideas really helps. I particularly appreciated what you said about discipline. I am an “if you give a mouse a cookie” type of person! I get so distracted and flit from task to task just to get to the end of the day and realize I accomplished nothing. I think implementing a similiar system in our family would really be effective.
One on one mom time with each kid is something I need to start adding into our day – thanks!
All I can say is, “WOW.” I have that book and frankly, it scares me. We have six, five still at home, four under age 7, and the thought of having the whole day mapped out for me makes my head hurt. And it alreay hurts quite often since I have chronic migraines, so I have never implemented this idea.
However, I have not gotten rid of the book for the reason that I have a feeling that as the younger four age up, a schedule like this will come in handy. Right now, I keep them organized by having blogs for the group of little ones and for my 13 yo. All of their work is listed in order (much of it is online since I am frequently out of commission and this works for us in this season of our lives), and the links are there to make it easy for them. Once I did this, I felt so much more organized and our days started going more smoothly.
Whatever method you use, organization is a definite must for large families. I admire your ability to stick to that schedule. It must be liberating because you can feel like your “free time” is really yours and not stolen from some area that still needs your attention.
Thanks for sharing.
Blessings,
Heather@BlessingsPourOut
Oh, I forgot to mention…the bookmobile comes to our house, too. Three cheers for bookmobile days!! Hooray!
Blessings,
Heather
I confess, this post makes me hyperventilate! In fact, it (almost) makes me feel like swearing…;)
Hugs and thanks for sharing so much of yourself. You are a generous, kind soul my friend. 🙂
Man, I want a bookmobile!
Looking at all those little colored pieces of paper makes my head hurt too!..but only becuase I have tried SO many times to do something similar and I always end up loosing it in the end. I read this post earlier and I keep thinking I should read the book but I can’t get past having everything SO mapped out. I literally start feeling anxiety when I start thinking about it. I have to make things really simple for myself. Really simple or I never stick to it. I am also a butterfly….but a perfectionist…horrid, horrid combination!…I get so frustrated when it doesn’t all go like it’s suppose to and being a butterfly it rarely does… BUT I think that it will work better when my kids are older. I really like your idea of having your kids keep you accountable and I love the rocks and sand example I needed remined of that! Someone asked Marjorie Hinckely how her marriage worked so well and she said, “I lowered my expectations”… Thats where I’m going to start.
Thanks for the great ideas!
Man, I want a bookmobile!
Looking at all those little colored pieces of paper makes my head hurt too!..but only becuase I have tried SO many times to do something similar and I always end up loosing it in the end. I read this post earlier and I keep thinking I should read the book but I can’t get past having everything SO mapped out. I literally start feeling anxiety when I start thinking about it. I have to make things really simple for myself. Really simple or I never stick to it. I am also a butterfly….but a perfectionist…horrid, horrid combination!…I get so frustrated when it doesn’t all go like it’s suppose to and being a butterfly it rarely does… BUT I think that it will work better when my kids are older. I really like your idea of having your kids keep you accountable and I love the rocks and sand example I needed remined of that! Someone asked Marjorie Hinckely how her marriage worked so well and she said, “I lowered my expectations”… Thats where I’m going to start.
Thanks for the great ideas!
Love. this. post. Love it! I have always been attracted to this kind of schedule and have used it to “frame” my time, though I don’t have it all written out anymore. Those little stickies make me so happy! 😉
A friend of mine bought this book and told me about it. I told her I wanted to read it and could I borrow it. Well, she surprised me and bought me the book. I got sick and read the whole book in 2 days. I implemented my schedule 3 weeks ago and wow, it was great. I didn’t realize how much of my energy was spent trying to cram everything in every day. Now, I don’t have to worry, it’s all scheduled, so I can concentrate on the things that really matter…my kids!
Thank you for posting this, I was so amused that you were using the MOTH program too! I love your blog!
I don’t even know what to say! Did it take you like 3 years just stick up all the colored papers? You are seriously my hero. I dream of being that organized…Baby steps.
Where do I sign up for the bookmobile? There is magic going on all around you and I am SO jealous! I wish I was your neighbor. 🙂
I have 4 ages 7 and under. I have the book, and tried to implement it (mind you, just a bit before the baby was due…) – but I just ended up feeling exhausted…
I do feel it would help, yet I just don’t seem to be able to do it. We do seem to be doing ok so far without a schedule, but would like things to be a bit more scheduled…. sigh. I’m rambling, I know…
….and I thought I was organized! I’m seriously impressed.
Thanks for sharing your system and your honesty!
-Christina S.
LessonPathways.com Team Member
I loved your post!! I have heard about MOTH so many times and I even looked it up at the library once, but never got up the nerve to check it out. Seemed too over the top to me. I think though I am going to try it out. I am homeschooling 4 now and I have piano lessons and tutoring and co-op and I am just running out of time for all the dailys let alone all the extras. Thanks for sharing your sticky filled pages. And I love that they are stickys!! That means they are changeable and not etched in stone. Does my indecisive heart good!! 😀
PS: It’s ok not to be perfect and have a swear word or two==if we were perfect we wouldn’t be here to learn would we??
Wow that looks great! I don’t homeschool, but I need a good schedule to stick to.
How did you know I was just thinking THIS WEEK about trying to implement a schedule like this??? Thank you for this post! I really needed the encouragement that I CAN do this!