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Personal hygiene: brush hair, brush teeth, wash face, clean nailsMake bedTidy toysLittle chores: Empty the bottom half of the dishwasher, unload the clothes in the dryer into

a basket, fold rags, vacuum with a small vacuum, water the potted plants, rock the baby,feed pets, throw diapers away

Daily walk or exerciseFree play timeTable time: coloring, clay, sorting beads, lacing cards, etc.Video

Build train tracks or play with blocksSandbox or other outside playMeal prep: Little ones can crack eggs into a bowl and fish out the pieces, slice bananas with

a butter knife, peel garlic or onions, wash lettuce and tear it into pieces, arrange cheese and

crackers on plates, or squirt out ketchup and mustard. If all else fails, I give my preschoolera carrot to munch on while he or she watches me.MealtimeBath timeStory time, both at home and at the libraryFamily devotions

If you have older children, youll make a similar list for them, but it will of course includetheir schoolwork and outside commitments or classes.

Its a little daunting to see everything listed like that, isnt it? Sometimes when I write it all

out, I have a better picture of the craziness were trying to accomplish over the course of aschool year, and it helps me to pare down. Conversely, I can see where we might be able toadd an activity or how we can map out the year. I like a long summer, so seeing that we

can finish a subject or two in May makes me very, very happy.

Once you have everything listed, begin to arrange your day. I use a MicrosoftExcel or

MacintoshNumbers spreadsheet because thats what works for me, but you can do it anyway that works for you. I make columns with each childs name across the top and thentime periods down the left side, in rows.

Sticking to a time schedule in a rigid manner just stressed me out, and I wasnt a nice momwhen I tried that style. Instead, I use the schedule more as a flow chart, and I glance at theclock every now and again to make sure were moving at a reasonable pace. Mealtimes are

pretty set; they anchor the rest of the schedule. Quiet hour/nap time is a non-negotiable, as

are our devotional times, chores, group teaching times (we call them Circle Time), andbedtime.

The key to a successful routine? Flexibility. Sounds a bit counterproductive, but its justwhat our unpredictable lives require. Weve spent weeks in the ICU with two different

children, the results of emergency situations we could never have planned for. Weve hadhigh schoolers change their minds about their course of education just weeks before school

was to begin. Job changes, moves, new babies, relationship issuestheyre all a part of life,and they arent there by accident. As such, we need to learn to hold our plans loosely.

Our sixth baby was born a week before Christmas, and I made a schedule for January that Ifelt would get us back on track once the excitement of her birth and Christmas wore off.After the first day, I knew I had to make revisions. So we tried the revised plan the next

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day. Within a week, I realized that I had to make some more major changes. We were now

onto schedule number three, and it was drastically different than anything Id done before.

My then-2-year-old was extremely busy, and I was increasingly frustrated by her innocent

interruptions, things such as falling over and whacking her head on the coffee table oreating a whole stick of butter. I revamped our mornings to be more toddler friendly, at least

until we were over that hump. We did everything together in the mornings, so our wholespring that year went something like this:

Morning stuffBreakfast/CleanupCircle TimeChoresWalk or play games

Read aloudFree timeLunch/CleanupLittle ones down for napsAcademics

It worked well for us then, and Ive even returned to a similar schedule during different

seasons of our lives that have required more focus on little people in the mornings, withconcentration on academics with the big kids while those little ones nap in the afternoons.Really, do what works! You need to feel the freedom to make adjustments, depending on

what is going on in your life at the time. This is the beauty of homeschooling, and knowing

when to change your approach and then doing it will go a long way toward preventinghomeschool burnout.

Kendra Fletcher is the homeschooling mother of eight, aged 18 down to 3. She has neverknown what it means to homeschool without the presence of preschoolers and loves toencourage other moms who are beginning their homeschool journeys with little ones

underfoot. Her website and blog can be found atwww.preschoolersandpeace.com.

Copyright 2012, used with permission. All rights reserved by author. Originally appeared inthe February 2012 issue ofThe Old Schoolhouse Magazine, the family education

magazine. Read the magazine free atwww.TOSMagazine.comor read it on the go anddownload the free apps atwww.TOSApps.comto read the magazine on your mobile devices.

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