Daily Rhythm
During the school year, this rhythm has served us well for 2.5 years now and I bet out 2022-2023 year will look very similar to this. I like to call this our “default routine” because, naturally, not every day looks like this, but we always default back to this.
Of course there are days where we decide to run errands in the morning and school in the afternoons. Of course there are days where my kids aren’t cooperating or I am just not feeling it and we’re pulling math books out at 5:00 PM (or not at all).
But, I really really like to try to do school work first thing. I just feel like we are all more focused for the first part of our day. Also, does this go without saying? — we’re always learning and embracing a lifestyle of learning so I’m not turning on and off that lifestyle here - just trying to give you a feel for the natural rhythm our home life beats to.
Morning Routine 7-9
I wake when my kids wake. I usually get breakfast going first while everyone is getting up. The kids will often do a handwriting page or any other morning work/invitations to learn I may leave out for them. And then they eat and get ready. My three oldest kids (twins 8 and 5 year old) can get ready independently now - which is so nice. I usually do a quick clean up or sometimes leave the dishes to do at lunch time - and then help my toddler get dressed. Then, I get ready and help with everyone’s hair while they finish brushing their teeth and any other chores or work we need to finish - like making beds or cleaning up. My twins, 8, know to start a load of laundry and unload the dishes which my 5 year old helps with.
Core Studies 9-12
In past years its worked really well for us to begin with devotionals. This usually takes anywhere from 5-15 minutes just depending on our day. You can read more about our devotionals here. We also like to set aside an additional 10-15 minutes for scripture study. This year we’re studying The Old Testament and this is the time we use our Come Follow Me materials - including The Red Headed Hostess. The days we’re reading and marking in scriptures (versus doing stories or hands on activities) I feel like usually take us a little longer - sometimes 30 minutes. I do this with my twins, but always keep it short and sweet for my younger sons.
Then we move into math and language arts - I would say usually around 9:30-10. We do one or the other, break for snacks or a little play or outside time, and then finish up. Most days we finish around 11:30-12. If we’re done early and having a good day, we will jump into our unit study and if not, then we do that after lunch.
This will be my first year where I need to have a little more structured time with my Kindergartner. My two youngest sons (5 & 3) will be gone to a Montessori school, Tuesday and Thursday mornings for a few hours. So the above routine will work great with my twins on those days. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I will work one-on-one with my Kindergartner first right after scriptures while my girls either work on independent work or play with my 3 year old (or they may switch back and forth on this). He will probably need more breaks in between his work so it may need to be that I do one subject with him (like math), break and he plays while I work with my twins, and then switch back and finish LA with him. I also want to make Mondays and Fridays more about him so I’ll be more intentional about using the science and social studies units we have with him on these days.
On the days my Kindergartner is gone - we will follow this same routine except his math and LA will be in the afternoons from 1-2. My older girls can, again, help with their younger brother and switch back and forth between independent work or something I set up for their unit studies. Ideally, I am hoping that since my girls are older and we won’t have any interruptions on T,W, Th, that we will be able to cruise and finish up our unit study on these days too, but we will just have to see how it goes.
In year’s past I’ve taken a flex day on Fridays and we don’t do any school or occasionally we’d do a bigger art/craft project. I like to clean and work on other errands or house projects, but I’ll probably be doing those things one of the days the boys are at school. Because of this, we are going back to a 5 day school week mentality, just knowing one of the days, T, W, or Th, will probably look a little differently and we won’t get as much bookwork done in the mornings. I am really looking forward to this shift in our routine this year.
Lunch 12-1
It’s always been natural for us to take a longer break anywhere from about 11:30-12 until about 1:00. We make lunch, usually do a quick 10 minute tidy and when the weather is good - the kids will go outside and play. Their cousins live right behind us and homeschool too so it isn’t unusual for the younger kids to all be playing by this time of day. I also connect lunch to switching the laundry and tidying up.
Unit Studies 1-2
If we don't get to our science or social study unit in the morning, then we will do it after lunch. And to emphasize this here, we only do science OR social studies during this time - not both. Instead of doing one science unit and one history unit every day or every other day - we study one subject more in depth for about 3-4 weeks and then switch. So, for example, at the beginning of the school year we’re starting with our Birds unit from TGTB and we’ll study that every school day probably for about 3 weeks and then switch to history and study that for around 3-4 weeks. So it’s during this time we’re working on one of those subjects.
I feel like we’re usually totally done by school by 2 at the latest, but many days the routine moves a long a little smoother and we finish up before then. But, I feel the most comfortable transitioning into our afternoon activities by 2. It feels like in the winter months, when we’re inside more, I naturally plan a little longer projects or fun activities that the kids can do into the later afternoon hours, but these are usually pretty laid back and more fun.
Afternoon Activities 2-5
It isn’t unusual for my husband to be off work mid-afternoon so I like to keep our afternoons flexible. I used to be all about 100 extracurricular activities, but I have learned to slow down and make it a priority for my kids to simply have unstructured play time. Since my little boys will be gone in the mornings, this year we’ll also using this time to play, do some laid back preschool activities, maybe some of my Kindergartner’s science/social studies, and any other fun arts and crafts or projects.
I also want this time open for all of them to play with friends - once other kids in the neighborhood are out of school - and just have time to do what they want or what we’re in the mood to do. Time to be outside! When the kids are busy, I like to spend this time working on housework, clean, blog, or other projects. We’re in the stage where my youngest son (3) will fall asleep in the car and then be up all night if we drive too much in the afternoons so we stay close to home. When we do have extra curriculars then we do them during this time.
Dinner & Family Time 5-7
We start thinking about dinner around 5 and like to eat between 5:30-6. After dinner we clean up - I always try to start a load of dishes at this time so it’s ready for us to unload in the morning. When it’s still light outside we often will do a family bike ride or walk and then the kids will sometimes play a little more before we start settling down for the evening. This year, we’re hoping to take the kids to the rec center a little bit during this time - or maybe during the afternoon activities depending when my husband gets off work. I also like to try to get in a little exercise during this time.
And because I know someone will wonder about TV, during 2-7, we used to let the kids have their “electronic time” and do about an hour a day, but in the last 6 months we decided to eliminate this time completely and it’s been a really positive switch. I’d have to write more about all this, but right now we try really hard to keep electronics off and only use them at random versus a scheduled time.
Night Routine 7-9
When 7:00 PM hits, I am ready to slow down! Children need good rest and relaxation or it is just harder on all of us. Usually we start with a 10-15 minute tidy because it’s just so much easier to begin our next day with the house clean! Then the kids get ready for bed which is a good signal for them to start calming down. Again, I help my 3 year old, but the older 3 are pretty good to do this independently now. The twins will often fold the laundry that we started that morning. And, then we all read. Ideally, I like to have my kid’s read aloud to us during this time to practice. My husband and I get our younger two boys down and then the girls can stay up if they’re doing quiet activities or reading in their room. In winter months when the sun is down earlier, the boys are asleep by 8-8:30 and the girls by 9. And because we’re moms and sometimes even a shower is hard to get in with little kids - I almost always shower at night! I pull my hair up, sleep with it wet, and dry or curl it in the mornings when I am getting ready. I am a night owl and like go to bed by about midnight so I usually have a few hours here to spend with my husband, relax, read, prep, study, ect.
And, that’s it! One thing I’ve come to really appreciate about everyone’s home is how different our routines and schedules look! I hope this gives you some ideas. Find what works best for you and don’t be afraid to try some new things and tweaks. I really do believe little tweaks can sometimes make all the difference in how our days go!
UPDATE October 2023: I had so many requests for this file in an easy to edit template! It’s now available HERE. I have it available as a summer, autumn, winter, and spring themed template, but you can utilize it however you’d like. I print our rhythm on watercolor paper and have it posted in our school room.
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