If you’re feeling like life has changed as you know it, you may want to take a look at this! With your children home now 24/7 you can rest assure you will never be alone!
I read a great post this evening, and I felt I should elaborate and extend an invitation to you into my day. I thought by sharing our daily rhythm with you, that you may find peace in the chaos. Now, I am writing off the top of my head, this is no edits so I gentle request for positive comments only. Be blessed!
Here it goes:
I get up early and go for a 5 km run🐢, just kidding, I am lucky to make it to the bathtub! But when I do, it’s salts and eucalyptus always. Then, I usually listen to Verse by Verse Ministry App for my reconnect and bible time https://www.versebyverseministry.org and if I’m feeling extra stellar, I squeeze in emails and journaling.
🌞Rise & Shine when the dog needs out🐾, because the school bus will not be bombing down the gravel highway to wake you!
🌞Stay Dressed in your Pj’s as loooong as you want, put on extra comfy cloths because you can. Layer the fleece up!
🍊Breakfast number one, vitamins & clean up
Everyone slowly trickles in to table for breakfast, you can chat about your day ahead, and bigger children can help wee ones if needed. Everyone clear their own place, and give each child a specific clean up chore (washing the dishes, sweeping up crumbs, putting away the toast rack, etc.) Empty the dishwasher from the previous evening.
🌞Family Morning Time AKA Mom’s Coffee Hour☕️
Gather together to have morning time, in whatever way that works for your own family. You may wish to pray, read your Bible, make a telephone call to an elderly neighbour (after 9 am) . Whatever works best for you.
We then move to a comfy living space and light a candle, because kids love fire! (Disclaimer: with parental supervision) Someone plays the Doxology at the piano or we put a worship hymn on Spotify! Pm me for my playlists! Morning time can last for more than one coffee☕️☕️, so littles and older children may wish to bring a handicraft and depending on ages you may want to excuse children based on ages or priorities in the older years.
What is a Handicraft you ask? Okay, we are not basket weavers…but we do watercolour nature journals, a practice I will be sharing more about soon. We also do needle felting, knitting, Legos (QUIETLY!) and colouring beautiful art.
During morning time is when I read most of all our READ OUT LOUDS. Currently we are reading Robinhood. We also cover history at this time, A Child’s History of the World https://www.audible.ca/pd/A-Childs-History-of-the-World-Audiobook/B07VN9RVPB
(AUDIBLE) is a great place to begin. Your older children may go off at this time to do MATH (Nicole the Math Lady https://nicolethemathlady.com/, KHAN ACADEMY), Literature, Second Language, Science Reading.
📕Reading time
WHEN I AM READY FOR A CINNAMON BUN, we break: https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/cinammon_rolls_/
🍊Second Breakfast (this is usually a form of child charcuterie ex. Cheese, grapes, muffins, nuts, carrots, playdough etc.)
Take a bathroom break, then settle everyone down with drinks and snacks as you read aloud to them more! Read fairy tales, stories of heroes, books of your children’s choosing, poems & rhymes, tales from history. Read whatever you have, read, read, read. Our favourite book last year was “The Golden Goblet” a story of lower Egypt. Littles also love Aesop’s Fables, or Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Look for beautiful books at the link below.
📕Narrate
Simply ask your child to tell back their favourite part of the story (or the most interesting part, scariest part, etc.) Older children can write this instead of telling or perhaps record on your iPhone (if you decided to have a dozen children, this is optimal)
🚽Chores
Everyone can help here, even little tots can help sort out laundry; you’ll just need adjust your standards a little! Wiping baseboards is fun, or everyone always loves splashing around with the toilet brush!
Play some joyful music (Such as “Baby Yoda”) & set a timer.
🥑Lunch & clean up
⏰Nap or rest time
Everyone can lie on their beds and read / look at books quietly, or take a nap/nature journal/copy a poem/favourite quotes/start a journal of literature. And all homeschool mom’s drink TEA, get used to it. I had to!
🌳Time out of doors
Make a bird feeder, watch the birds at the feeders, play in the snow, not the yellow stuff…take a walk through the trees somewhere and collect treasures or ride bicycle when you can see the road. Make a nature table designated to all your nature finds! If you need to stay indoors, then there are many videos with movement songs on YouTube, or nature study type films.
🌈Creativity
Lego, drawing, colouring, painting, knitting, sewing, playing with blocks, puzzles, baking, flour & water, mud & water, sparkles & water, plant some seed for the Spring etc.
🥗Dinner – WAIT! Where did the day go? You may be on cup 6 of tea, but don’t worry no one will know…
This is an opportunity to break bread, reconnect, and open the table to your little philosophers. If you don’t do it now, they will become thirsty philosophers at bedtime. www.classicaleducationbooks.ca
📕Maths games after supper with the family (Think Cards!)
(Or incorporate this into outside play in afternoon) Play hopscotch, throw beanbags as you recite timetables, set up a wee ‘shop’ using tins and packets from the kitchen. There’s lots of practice there with addition and subtraction, and maths facts.
Some of this is schedule is adopted from Raising Little Shoots #exploringnaturewithchildren ; Teaching from Rest, and other sources I have adopted through the years. Check these links out for more.
Searching for books worth reading? www.classicalreader.com
Searching for Science worth doing? www.raisinglittleshoots.com
Searching for rest? https://readaloudrevival.com/rest/
Now, if I am completely honest my children have core subjects emphasizing importance in the three R’s (Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic) when they are in their youngest years, and as they grow we add more to our days. With this comes independence which I am sure your children are experts on. Whereas my children want me for everything, you may be able to sit your kids in front of a screen while you do one million other things. Let me tell you, I was never as busy when I worked full time out of the home as I am now, and I wouldn’t trade it for a day! The days are long but the years are short! Take this opportunity to turn in and reconnect with one another even if it feels a little overwhelming. When it gets too much, go for a walk, do some microbiology on your hands and knees, or put on a crazy song and bake something (and let them crack the eggs)! When life gets too full, or things feel like they are out of control remember kids naturally learn and they are filled with wonder. Provide a feast, awaken wonder, and contemplate with your children it will change your life more than you know!
Forever blessed to share,
Katie Kiemeny
