Schedule

After the initial shock of realizing we are home schooling our children, people's questions usually go from why to how. I've read a lot of books and tweaked my schedule a million times already. But for now, this how a basic day looks at our house. Keep in mind, times are only basic guidelines. I do not start and stop at an exact time. We just follow a basic routine.

• Mom exercises For now it means walk/jogging with my friend Jamie and is a great way to wake up and get my day started.
• Shower/dress
• Family scriptures/prayer with Marcos We read scriptures in Spanish in the morning. We're trying to incorporate more bilingual moments. It is sometimes only a few verses and may even take place AT the breakfast table, but we try to do it regularly.
• Breakfast Sometimes the kids are already eating when I get home from my jog so cereal happens more than I'd like. In general, I like to fix breakfast and eat together, but it's not a huge priority for me.
• Devotional For us devotional goes like this - song, prayer, pledge, patriotic song, day of the week, weather chart, reading one chapter in the illustrated Book of Mormon and one story out of the Friend.
• Memorization I read a lot about memorization and its importance later in children's writing. So we're memorizing a lot. Well, Dylan is and Preston occasionally surprises me with what he's picked up on. We usually alternate between memorizing church stuff like Articles of Faith and scriptures and memorizing poems. So far, Dylan has the first 6 Articles of Faith memorized, two or three scriptures and about 6 poems. We also use that time to memorize other things like talks for Primary he needs to work on.
• Marissa Morning Nap Marissa's nap ends up happening either before or after devotional, depending on how quick we are getting going and what time she woke up.
• Chores It's been a bit difficult for me to realize that much of what takes place naturally at home is learning. I still catch myself freaking out about what my kids may or may not be learning and have to remind myself to chill. Chores are part of that learning process. Dylan and Preston each have a chart on their bedroom door that lists their chores. Dylan's are written, Preston's are pictures. They both make their beds, get dressed, brush their teeth, put away books and toys and Dylan is also responsible for unloading the dishwasher and taking out the trash. Chores is also the time of day I do whatever I need to do...laundry, bathrooms, vacuum, etc.
• School This is the time when I teach what I want to teach. In general Dylan starts with his language arts and math and then we move to whatever we're learning that day. I've been teaching units, which so far has worked really well for us. More to come on that later.
• Lunch
• Free time Depending on what time we start lunch, we sometimes have time to spare. For awhile the kids were in swim lessons at this time. It was a rush to fit it in, but it was perfect to get some activity in during the day. During this time they might play with toys, go outside or just follow me around the kitchen.
• Reading I read out loud to the kids before quiet time. I usually read to both of the boys together, but sometimes do it one on one
• Marissa Afternoon Nap
• Preston Quiet Time Preston goes to his room at this time. He picks a few books to take with him and once in awhile a little toy goes with him too. No big deal. I mainly just want him to be alone in his room for an hour and a half. He often ends up falling asleep, which is great too.
• Dylan Reading Just like it sounds. This is the time Dylan reads to me. If it is a difficult book for him or really long, we will alternate reading a page each.
• Dylan Quiet Time Dylan does quiet time in my room. He takes books and often listens to a book on CD from the library. He has also been known to take encyclopedias or a globe up there to study.
• Mommy Quiet Time In general I use the hour Dylan is in quiet time for scripture study and church prep, but I sometimes use the time for other projects I need to catch up on like my blog.
• Afternoon Stuff Afternoons are less structured. The kids play, Dylan has music class once a week, I might run errands, we try to get dinner ready or prepare for any night activities we have. Afternoons are also a great time for walks so we will head outdoors and go on a neighborhood walk or a hike in the mountains if the weather is decent.
• Dinner
• Evening Stuff Evenings are reserved for family time, but with our callings, we are often tag teaming the evening activities. It works, but sometimes is hard not to have as much time with the entire family together.
• Bedtime Bedtime usually entails bath, teeth, books, prayer and bed. If the bedtime routine goes well, I will sit on the floor and read a bigger chapter book to the kids. They love this and is how I get in some of the "classics" I want them to read. We try to maintain quite a bit of flexibility within our routine...especially with a baby.

Throughout the day I do a lot of feeding, changing diapers, cleaning up messes, kissing "owies", disciplining, teasing, tickling and snuggling.