Probably the #1 thing homeschooling moms of many get asked is,
“How do you do it?”
The real question behind this question is,
“How do you find the time to take care of all the children, do housework, and school everyone all in 24 hours?”
Frankly, there are days when the answer to this question is,
“I don’t.”
But, let’s just pretend that I *do* get it all done in 24 hours…what does that look like???
Well, here ya go…a quick, bare-bones run-down of my day:
(note there are no times attached because we are more of a routine family rather than a scheduled family. To read more about how this concept applies to you, CLICK HERE.
Wake Up
Morning Chores
Breakfast
Weekly Chores (more on that below)
School
Lunch
School
15 min. Tidy
Rest Time or Free Time
Dinner
Family Time
Nighttime Chores
Bedtime
Now, for things a little more spelled out:
Morning Chores
These consist of different things for different children, but basically they are :
Get dressed, Brush teeth, Brush hair, Make bed, Tidy room, Take care of pets, Laundry In/Out, and Read Bible
The only item on this list that probably needs some explaining is Laundry In/Out. I do laundry every day (even with a Big Laundry Day), so there is usually a full laundry basket somewhere that needs to be emptied so I can refill it. The girls have a laundry basket, the boys have a laundry basket, and Ty and I have a laundry basket.
So, Laundry In means they get those baskets from downstairs and put their clothes away. They are allowed to just throw their baskets down the stairs when they are finished. There is something very rewarding about throwing an empty laundry basket down the stairs! lol
Laundry Out means they take the dirty laundry from their rooms to the main laundry basket (a nice heavy-duty basket located in my bedroom). Usually from there, my oldest son takes the heaping basket downstairs for me (have I ever told you how much I LOVE having an 11 year old?!)
Weekly Chores
These are based off the Large Family Logistics site. (which is now a BOOK!)
Our weekly break-down looks like this:
Monday ~ Laundry/Dust
Tuesday ~ Floors
Wednesday ~ Bed/Bath
Thursday ~ Basement
Friday ~ Van/Outside
(Click here for a more in-depth look at our Weekly Chore List)
I used to write down each person’s chores on a dry erase board each morning, but recently I decided to try making the list static and have assigned chores for each day that do not change. For instance, on Monday, Blake will always dust the dining room and living and Megan will always dust the bedrooms. I’m hoping this will eliminate some of my workload and keep children from arguing over who gets what chore. (and as of 2011, I’ve gone back to writing on a dry erase board because it works the best for our family–it really is OKAY to change you mind!)
Here I’ll interject a bit about Breakfast & Lunch. I know many people have a rotating list, but I’m not one of those people (yet ;o) ). I keep a list on my refrigerator of potential meals and grab from there. Lunch tends to be fairly simple and something I can throw together quickly since we school both before and after lunch.
We also do Table Chores after every meal. Each child is assigned an age appropriate chore. (This is a typically a 4 year old and up event.)
Table Chores
15 minute Tidy
This is just what it sounds like. I set a timer and we race around the house cleaning as much as we can in 15 minutes. You would be amazed just how clean a house can get when you have 5 people cleaning (well, 3 good cleaners and 2 who are good for about 5 minutes). I also do impromptu 15 minute Tidies whenever the house feels too messy to continue our regularly scheduled lives.
Rest Time
Around 2 pm every day, we have Rest Time for about and hour. Everyone is expected to stay in their beds with a book or paper and a pencil or a small toy. They are to be quiet and “restful.” Often, I have the toddler or the baby with me on the couch or in Daddy’s big chair. And yes, I do go to sleep! On the days when I can’t squeeze in Rest Time, we have…
Free Time
This includes everything from playing outside to reading to computer time to whatever each individual person likes to do. School work has to be complete. This is my free time as well and the place where piano lessons fit in.
Family Time
This is the reward for a long, hard day. Sometimes ice cream, sometimes a walk in the park, sometimes a campfire or a family movie. Whatever it is, we’re together enjoying the end of the day. (On bath nights, baths fall into this time slot either before or after the activity depending on whether it is an indoor or outdoor activity.)
Nighttime Chores
Same concept as Morning Chores. Things like brush teeth, tidy room, get a drink, go potty, and say prayers are part of this list. From there, it’s off to bed…
Bedtime
Some nights, the children are sent straight to bed, but as often as I can, I let them have Rest Time before their actual Bedtime. A friend introduced me to the idea of a time of unwinding with a soft light on and a book or pen and paper in bed for each child. It gives them a chance to slow their pace and calm down. If we’ve had a particularly hectic day, I also give them some Chamomile Calm
. After 15 minutes or so, lights go out and the day ends.
So, there you have it…a glimpse at my day!
baptisthomeschoolresources says
I have enjoyed your blog. I found your blog by reading your arcticle about “me time” in the Old School House Magazine newsletter. What an awesome article – it truly blessed my heart! Thank you so much for writing from your heart and making that article available.
Collette@Jesuslovesmums says
When you put it all down in black and white it doesn’t look too bad, but I bet there are days when it all goes to pot! I only have two kids and get days like that!
Collette xxx
mama4x says
Routine- 15 minutes- laundry in/out- sounds like you may have heard of Flylady! I love to follow your blog! I just got subscribers # 2 & 3 last week on mine! I love the phrase “too messy to continue our regularly scheduled lives!” I know what you mean.
Amy @ Raising Arrows says
Yes, there are many days when things do not go as planned. Micah has a much better routine now than he used to, so there is less of him needing things right when I start something w/ someone else than there used to be. But still, life sometimes just happens…those are the days when I just hang on! lol
Millie says
Thanks for the glimpse of your day.
Does your new method cut down on arguments? I use the assigned chore method too but…
And I’m wondering does your baby (who is I think just two days younger than my baby) just happen to KNOW when you are starting a project and decide that he needs food or a fresh dipe or something right at that moment? My guy has a knack for that.
Angela says
Thanks for sharing this. I have four children three and under and often wonder what my days will be like when I start homeschooling in a couple years. I think I have a lot to learn!…
christinnjon says
(My last comment was sent into cyberspace!)
I have four children and have just begun to feel like a large family since my little one just began walking.
Now I am pregnant with #5 and am sure some things need to change around here! We are not a typical family (which I LOVE), so we can’t do things as a typical family.
Thank you for posting this. It gives me a few ideas for my own schedule. 🙂
Tracy Grubb says
I recently found your site and have been reading it while I should be in bed….shame on me. 🙂 We do things in a similar fashion. I like your 15 minute Tidy idea. We do an “Age Cleanup,” (each child has to put away the same number of items that corresponds with his/her age) however, sometimes we have to do two or three because the littles have made a mess while I was homeschooling or I just haven’t been on top of enforcing our “Put what you are playing with away before you take something else out” rule.
I’ll be perusing more, but right now, it’s time to feed the baby and get to bed myself. God bless you!!
Amy says
The Age Cleanup is a neat idea. My littles are very little help (great dancers to the music, but poor cleaners!) I have to spend a lot of my time standing over them keeping them going. But, I figure eventually they will learn. I might need to try being more specific with them about how much they put away.
And thanks for reading!
Tami says
Tracy, the “age cleanup” is such a good idea!!! I am going to implement that, particularly with the youngins! Thank you! 🙂
I also have the rule to “put away what you are playing with before you take anything else out”! When the rule is not followed, I tell them to put everything away, and start over. For us, this is rare, but it happens. They are allowed to play with two sets of toys (or more) if they ask, because I know that their creative minds can muster up all kinds of things with all their toys together. Sometimes one set of toys just isn’t enough. 🙂 But as long as it is put away properly at the end, it’s no big deal, and they are very good at that. This works very well in our household! 🙂
Vickie Bordelon says
I really have enjoyed your blog. It has been such a blessing to me and my family.
Vickie
Natasha Miller says
Sounds very similar to our routine. I also went to having chores assigned to a specific child for each day of the week. It just took too much energy to figure it out each day. They each know which household chores they are responsible for each day.
Tami says
Amy, I have really enjoyed your blog tonight! Well, except one part, since I related very well. (Your dearly loved, Emily! Oh, how my heart goes out to you! (((Hugs))) I know the pain. Thank you for having the strength to share!)
Thank you for sharing your daily schedule, because it made me feel more comfortable in mine. I have a similar one and sometimes I wondered if I was selfish for that “rest time”, but we call it “quiet time”. I know Moms who just go all. day. long! I am an introvert, so I NEED just a little down time in the afternoon to regroup and I find that it really helps the children, too! You also encouraged me in your chore list for table clean up! Wiping off chairs! What a simple idea for the youngins! We are going to implement that! 🙂 Thank you!
I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to share a small tip we do in relationship to chores, that has somehow made a BIG difference in the attitude of the children with chores!
Our kids seem to love the word, “manager”. My husband started this with my coffee making days. (I’m pregnant now, so I don’t crave it anymore. But I am sure that will change in the future again.) One child would be the “coffee manager” to grind the coffee, while the another would be the “milk manager” to froth my milk. He would just call out, “Coffee Manager”, and that child would come cheerfully running to do their job! The other knew they would later be called for the milk and would hear, “Milk Manager”, when it was their turn.
So silly, but the kids LOVE it! The word, “manager”, seems to make them feel all grown up and proud of the job they have within the family! 🙂 This has spread to all areas. We even do this with the lint from our laundry! We call out, “Lint Manager”, and the child who takes care of the lint, comes joyfully running! They each wanted to put in the laundry, but that was overwhelming with all these little hands. So there are “Whites Manager”, “Darks Manager”, “Towels Manager”, you get the picture.
The point being that for chores, they are not just “chores”, they are “managers of their chores”. Perhaps a better way for children to grasp that it is their “responsibility for their chores”, but who likes the word “responsible”, when you can sound all grown up with, “manager”? 🙂
Plus, I sometimes forget who does what, but they don’t forget! So I just call out for that particular manager and at least one child comes running! Haha!
It works very well in our household and it has made a dramatic difference in their attitude towards doing chores, since we emphasize doing them “joyfully, as unto the Lord”. Oh, how I know that is my own weakness some…okay, a lot of days!
Maybe that will help someone else, too!
May the Lord bless you, Amy!
(I’m sorry I wrote so much!)
Amy says
OH, I LOVE that idea! I will definitely be trying that! Thank you 🙂
Sarah H. says
I will have to try that as well, we have 5 under 10 here and we are trying really hard with the older ones to get them to understand the joyful thing while doing “chores”. Life’s been really nuts since our youngest was born last november and has had a ton of medical issues which have landed her (and I) in the hospital for about 10 weeks off and on from January till the beginning of May. It has been such a transition to try to get back to some semblance of “normal” for us. Anyways, yes this sounds fabulous and I will be trying it out as well! Thanks for the idea!
Jenifer Harrod says
I’m glad I found your site. I am a Mom of 7 and I love this kind of site. If you would like to be a guest blogger at my blog and give us a frugal recipe let me know. Thanks!
http://www.feedingnineonadime.blogspot.com
Amy says
That is very kind of you, Jenifer. I’m swamped right now, but I’m heading over to your site to peruse! Many blessings, Amy