An Ambitious Schedule

A few months ago, I got tired of feeling that important tasks were going undone and that our family would be so much happier off if we could make better use of our time during the workday. I made a daily schedule for the five weekdays and then outlined when each task needed to be worked on.

I started by plugging in the times that we have regular appointments-- music class, Cub Scouts, etc. Then I inserted a time to complete essentials based on each day's appointments-- preparing 3 meals, school, and Bible study/ prayer. Finally, I added things that it would be really great if we could accomplish each day-- exercise, play time with mama, rest time.

Here is how the Monday schedule looks:

7:30-Prayer and Bible Study for Mama/ Boys have breakfast

8am- Boys work on daily chores/ Mama unloads dishwasher and starts laundry

8:30- Boys report back/ Play time/ Mama works on Zone 1 cleaning

9:30- Family learning

10:45- Snack time

11am- Exercise 

11:15- Play time outside with Mama

12pm- Lunch time

1pm- Rest time for Baby/ Turtle works on school independently/ Diego Kindergarten

1:30- Rest time for Diego/ School time for Turtle      

3pm- Play time/ Mama folds laundry

4pm- Boys pick up living room floor and put laundry away/ Mama makes dinner

4:30- Eat, clear away dishes, run dishwasher

5:15- Leave for Kindermusik

We never complete everything that we have planned. There are even some days when I don't get the scheduled dinner cooked and we have a quick meal of tacos or spaghetti (again!) But my goal is to get better at doing the things that must get done for our home to run efficiently and to get the boys to help me in those tasks.

My Father's World Kindergarten

My 4 yr. old son "Diego" is working through MFW Kindergarten this year. He really enjoys it and would probably do it every day if I had time. His big brother's schooling takes a lot of my energy and his two year old little brother takes a the rest. School time with Diego is his chance to have one-on-one time with mama.

Diego listened in on MFW K when Turtle was in Kindergarten last year, so it isn't surprising that he already knows a lot of the information we are covering; but kids this age love repetition! For example, he already knows his letter names, sounds and how to write them. He can also blend letters into short words. MFW K gives him a chance to work on the fine motor skills required for writing well and for using scissors to cut shapes. The Cuisinaire Rods give him some work in following patterns and then being creative. Here is the barn he made to go with the letter "B".

He also enjoys the thematic units and making connections to the rest of the world. Last week we talked about Cows (lesson 13 of 26). We read The Story of Ferdinand which lined up well with our Spanish lesson which included information about "toros," bulls. I have to admit that when I read that book to my 5 yr. old last year, I wasn't a excited about introducing the concept of bull fighting; but it fits well with our Spanish curriculum which explains the culture in which the story takes place.

Another project that MFW K provides is a daily number activity. Diego likes connecting a quantity with a number and learning to write the number, the bigger the number the better as far as he is concerned! We use that time in the lesson to practice skip counting and grouping items. His favorite was the day we used jelly beans to see what the quantity 28 looked like!