Our Morning Homeschool Routine | Lone Star Signers

I mentioned in yesterday's post that my goal for the new year is to be more consistent with our family routines instead of pushing everyone to stick to a schedule.

(Let's be honest--it's much more fun to MAKE a pretty new schedule/calendar than actually follow it.)

Last week was nice and quiet; my husband worked a normal schedule, and so we had five full days of homeschooling with ZERO commitments. I took advantage of the days to find a comfortable routine that worked for all of us.

Remember, I'm focusing on the ROUTINE, not the clock. :)

Wake up:
Usually our youngest child serves as our wake-up call. I'm pretty sure that my husband sets an alarm clock, but I typically sleep through it. (UNLESS it's Monday, and then I'm up first and in the shower before all the hot water is gone.) Our five-year-old has a basket of library books next to her bed; she is expected to read in bed until we come to get her (bathroom breaks allowed, naturally). The two-year-old hangs out with her daddy.

Mommy's quiet/wake-up time:
The goal is for me to exercise straight away, but we haven't gotten there yet. I check my e-mail and do my morning devotional using the YouVersion app. I start my to-do list and spend some time in my head thinking through the day. This time is *critical* for a successful morning. A short yoga routine is a plus.

Transition:
I take over parenting duties for the girls as Adam heads to work. Ideally, we have a family devotion before he goes. (I'm using one of the Buck Denver study plans for the girls.) I start a load of laundry after they are dressed for the day. Pigtails are done and glasses are found/washed/put on. We've also been watching an episode of Daniel Tiger during this time while I make a lap around the house doing chores. (I fondly remember watching Mr. Rogers when I was Addie's age and the music is nostalgic.)

Breakfast:
Yep. If I'm lucky, I can get in a bowl of cereal, but typically breakfast is quick as one child cleans her entire plate (and asks for more) while the other one throws her food on the floor. We listen to our Classical Conversations playlist while I finalize my to-do list. Dishes are cleared and hands are washed.

**Mondays, we skip Daniel Tiger/chores and head for Classical Conversations community day directly after breakfast. Wednesday mornings, we have a 30-minute signing class BEFORE starting our school day. Thursdays are an abbreviated school day so we can head to our science co-op class.**

School:
We have yet to have a "typical" week that I shared yesterday, but ideally we'll go straight into our school day from breakfast. Addie and I sit down with our lessons for the day and she chooses the order. We usually start with near work (coloring page) while I switch the laundry to the dryer and get Kate engaged in an activity. We switch back and forth between teacher-led lessons and activities that require just a tiny bit of supervision. Kate wants to be just like her big sister and usually insists on doing something similar right next to us.

**Both of my girls are learning to wait patiently as I balance the household chores with our school lessons. I try really hard to stay off social media during school time.**

Tomorrow, I'll share our curriculum choices and the layout of our daily lessons. As we ease into our second semester of Kindergarten, our language arts time is getting longer!

Thursday, I plan on sharing our lunchtime/afternoon routine, along with my all-time favorite homemaking tip!

Does your family have a morning routine? I'd LOVE to hear about it!