Do you keep about the same routine/schedule all year or do you change things as you go along? This year has been progressing better and more smoothly than any other year, with the exception of the last couple weeks. Our energy and momentum are waning while whining is increasing. Considering that the kids are also finishing or have already finished some books they have been working on, I think we might take a break and completely revamp our day! Or maybe we just need a spring break? Cabin fever anyone? :lol: I've started going through the cupboards and piles of books around the house finding things which I had forgotten. Our house and work area are so cluttered with extras, maybe I'll take next week off to declutter and regroup.
My glib answer to the original question is: Too often!!! But in all honesty, my dh "came home" this fall. He's on long-term medical leave until his sick days run out, and then he's retiring. It's really thrown a giant kink in my schedule, though he really tries to keep out of my way!
You too? My husband works days and nights, so it is always messing up our day. I love it when he works days, which is seldem, because then he's out of our hair. When he's sleeping, we have to be quiet, and if he wakes up, the kids lose their focus and want to be with Daddy. It's sort of a "Daddy's up, so school's over type thing."
My kids are old enough to not have that attitude, but.... DH took Phillip hunting for a week down at his cousin's land in southern Ohio. And I KNOW that week with Dad is far more important than any academics. And Friday was the opening of the new Cabella's in central Ohio. He and Phillip were there; I guess the line went on FOREVER! There was a Costco not too far away that literally shut off their parking lot; you had to show your Costco card to them to get into it! But it's a "guy thing", and my guys had fun!
That good ol' fashioned guy time will probably be more remembered than any lessons they would have studied.
My husband just moved into an office at our church after working from home for almost three years. Honestly, it was easier when he was here. Ha! We have one car so if I need to go anywhere, I have to take him to work. He still works for himself so he doesn't have to be there at a certain time. This means I never know what time our school day will be interrupted. I'm still trying to figure out the best order to work in on those days. While I try to keep a routine, it gets rearranged at least one or two days a week. Every now and then I will switch things up for something different but we are such creatures of habit that it doesn't always go over well.
I usually change up the schedule after Christmas, and then again in spring. We keep 3 terms b/c we do report card for our ministry of Ed. So after each term we usually change our focus and our schedule.
Daily, lol. We keep the same "basic" routine weekly. Tues and Wed we have activities, but M, Th, & Fri we do about the same thing everyday. It is always in a different order and time though, lol. We usually school from about 11-1 or 2, but sometimes we dont even start until 2ish. Some days we meet dh for lunch (at least once a week) and those days we start after lunch.
Well, this week we were suppose to get back in our regular routine. Sigh.... With the time change, it was still dark. And then DH was gone all weekend, and wanted some attention this morning. So we got up and started about an hour later than normal. AND I need to go with Faythe to pick up her dress for the Celtic Ball TODAY, and I promised the neighbor I'd be by to get an hour or so of work done. Yeah. Back to our regular routine. RIGHT!
I have a public schooled kindy and high schooler and my hubby works from home, so it feels like our school days are always changing. At first it drove me crazy but lately, I am trying to not let it get to me and roll with it. I am laid back about so many things in my daily routine but when it comes to homeschooling, I seem to be really high strung.
I could have written your email! My husband works days and nights too, and it's definitely easier when he's on days (which isn't as often). When he's on nights, we're tiptoeing around, then as soon as he gets up, he "pops in" to say hi and it's really a challenge to get my daughter refocused after that. It's wonderful to homeschool, though, because my husband's days off are all over the place, and frequently fall during the week. We often take days off whenever he's off, then do school on the weekends as if it's any other day. We go year round to enable us to take more stretches off. It puts us out of sync with the rest of the world, but that's just our "normal". Nice to see a fellow homeschooling mama on here that can relate! Hugs to you!
We usually keep pretty much the same routine. However, we take time off at Christmas and are now taking time off for spring break! The breaks do us so much good!!!!! We regroup, reorganize, and re-energize!
We do not have a routine. Each day is different. There are activities and ministries that have set times, like piano lessons, choir, and other activities. Other than that, we decided what our routine will be like as the day comes. It works for us.
We just changed it up today! :lol: This will be our third so far since the fall I think. Whenever we get bored or stuck in a rut we just change it up!
We've done school on Saturday and during the summer too! I don't think we have a sync with anyone either.....lol It is more whatever we can get to work for that day. It's tough, isn't it? I get so annoyed that I can't ever plan anything--not even dinner! But it is worth it for me because if my kids were in PS, they would hardly ever see their father.
Your post made me smile. Despite the old adage of "the family that dines together stays together", that certainly doesn't apply to us. My husband rarely eats or sleeps at the same time we do, but the end result is only that we don't view meals as a social event -- more like a means to an end. (Less pressure to be a gourmet cook, I suppose -- that's a relief as I'm surely not! ; ) Yeah, I agree with your point that my daughter would rarely see her dad if she was in public school. The flexibility of homeschooling and of going year round is really wonderful. I know some folks (including my mom and sister) feel that she's somehow punished by doing school throughout the summer and on the occasional weekend, but it really works for us. Nice to know there are folks here that can relate to our lifestyle!
I'm embarrassed to admit that we probably have a family meal around the table around 6-8 times a year. One reason is because our table is set up as the school area, and to remove everything is a pain, not to mention the only place to put it is in piles on the floor. The other reason is just that we never eat at the same time. I make food when needed, and it is easier to just eat and be done with it when someone's hungry, rather than worry about setting the table multiple times.
