March 23, 2009

A School Schedule Fit For A Circus

Bookmark and Share

Most of my world started to unravel when the third child came along. Oh, she's delightful, for sure. But she's busy. And did I mention "busy?"

There are days I dreeeeeaaaaam about what it would be like to "do school" without a two-year-old jumping on the couch beside me. Or stealing and scribbling all over our books. Or brushing ripping out my hair while I teach.

It was her entrance into our home that made me create a schedule. She also "taught" me to relax my restrictions on TV, give up having a clean house, and work like a dog when she's (appropriately) occupied.

Here's the schedule we usually ignore stick to (click to enlarge):


That schedule makes me look quite organized and perfect, doesn't it? Yes?

(*cough*)

I posted that Excel chart hoping it would help someone else figure out how to manage three or more monkeys at once. It's a circus, no doubt. But it's doable.

For those of you looking into homeschooling and wondering how anything can get done with small kids at home, here's hope: School at home does not take nearly as long as school at "school." The efficiency of homeschooling is one of the reasons I love it.

More scheduling tips can be found over at the 8 Ways to a More Organized Homeschool carnival.



10 comments:

Jennifer said...

LOVE IT!!!! This is my 2nd year HSing and I still don't have a schedule. But now I'm gonna work on one. You got mt motivated. :)

Meme said...

Love your spreadsheet - would hate to show you mine, that is, if I made one. We will be jumping into the adventure of homeschooling come fall - thanks so much for honestly sharing with all of us!

Momma said...

you schedule is awesome! I can see where when you have more kids you need that spreadsheet. I sure would! lol

Erin said...

Boy, you are orderly! You even schedule your chaos.

I'm a big fan of run and scream time. I think I'll try that tonight from 6:00 to 6:30 when it's time for me to do dinner.

Love the humor and honesty. :)

Heather said...

I love your schedule! Thanks for keeping it real. :)

Julie said...

Oh right on. "Scamp lots of snacks" ... "Scavenge for crumbs"... "run and scream"... or something like that.

I think I would have to add
* "Scatter broken toys, random pieces of plastic, and other things that look like trash around the back yard. Call it Dino-opolis."
* Dismantle my living room.
* Spread "Calvin and Hobbes" books from the bookshelf into every room of the house

Sounds like fun!

Tina Marie said...

You know, I was going to paint the little foyer area that leads to the kids' rooms, but then Tim and I realized these walls are the PERFECT place for hanging schedules, commission charts (AKA chores), and other stuff the kids need to know.

I am ALL ABOUT ROUTINE!!

Kelli said...

Hysterical. I have one of those at home too. I know we'll get through it!

Amy said...

I absolutely LOVE your (brutally honest) schedule!! It gives me some much-needed motivation to tackle my own. ;) And I love the "Five B's" and "Five P's." Clever!

My Own Terms said...

Oh my, I laughed so hard when I read your "schedule"! I take that long, or longer, to wake up too. And not to scare you or anything, but the older they get (mine are 11, 13 and 16), the fighting continues, they just find more creative ways of doing it. LOL Thanks for a good read!