On a Schedule, Made Up My Mind, &............

Ok, after much talk (drove my husband crazy) and prayer concerning going private (most of this week), I finally decided last night not to go private right now! I do promise that if I eventually do go private I will give enough notice that you can be added to the friends list! With that said, on to more important stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Someone asked me if I prepare my meals ahead of time. Not really, unless you are talking about last week when I was cooking for so many! I did prepare some of those ahead of time. I mostly cook each meal at a time, but have a weekly menu so I know where I am going. I have a dear friend that has a 6 weeks of menus planned and every six weeks they start over. I wish I were that organized, but...:sigh:.......I am not!!!!! I can only manage one week at a time! I try to cook enough at each meal that we can have leftovers the next meal, but with an 11 yr old sometimes that is not possible. He has hit a growth spurt and food is VERY important right now! I shutter to think what he will be when he is 16. Also, I usually do my main cooking at dinner, because preparing a meal during school hours is HARD!!!! That is when leftovers come in!


I am a sale paper shopper and my kids know that if it isn't on sale it will not be on the grocery list. My kids all poor over the sale paper each week to see what they could ask for in the way of junk. It is so funny to see them pen in hand initialing their chosen items. Granted some requests make it to the list and some do not!


I have resisted to a strict schedule for several years. Oh, before you think that I am some disorganized homeschooling mom that hasn't a clue where she is in life, quite the contrary. I have always had a loose schedule, but after BOTT I decided that if we were going to get anything accomplished I had to have a little stricter schedule. I realized that if Nic was going to learn to read, if I was going to get Kensli under control, if we are going to adopt another child and home school, and if Ricky is going to be really ahead when he enters high school, I had to be on a schedule. We have only been at this schedule for 1 week and it seems to be working. Here is what I have put down on paper.................

Monday-Friday at 4 pm
6 am Parents up and at them
6:30 Kids up
7 am Breakfast and morning routine
8 am Devotion and Prayer
8:30 School starts during this time they all have individual blocks of learning and activity.
11:30 Lunch
12:30 pm History, Science, and Read Aloud (me reading to them)
2 pm Free Time
4 pm Chores, Dinner prep., and free time
6 pm Dinner and clean up
7 pm Media time
7:30 Baths, 15 min house cleaning blitz
8:15 Independent Reading
8:45 Nightly routine
9 pm Lights out

Starting at 4pm on Friday until after church on Sunday Night there is no schedule that is set in stone. This is our time to breathe!!!!! Hope that I am not stifling their creativity or anything like that!!!!! I do so enjoy the wonderful days when we have the whole day stretched before us to just learn, but I have come to that proverbial bend in the road where changes had to be made! Wish me luck or just PRAY!!!!