Homeschooling Mom Routines that Saved my Sanity
Getting your homeschooling mom routines down pat takes refined skill; they are always in need of tweaking. The good news is that the more you figure out which routines work for you, the quicker you are able to figure out the next routine that is in need of altering. (Whoo-hoo mama win!)
We can all benefit from peeking into another homeschooling mamas day to day routines, to glean wisdom on what will work for our own families. Here are some homeschooling routines that are saving my sanity each and EVERY day!
1) Wake up Ready
Each morning I get up a couple of hours before my kiddoes. There is grace here, especially if I have been up all night with a baby or we were out late at an event. But everything runs smoother when I have gotten myself up and ready in the morning, without the kiddoes interrupting. Quiet showers are worth their weight in GOLD let me tell you. 😉
You can read more about my morning time plan here! <3
2) Time with God
Missing my quiet time with the Lord makes me a much less tolerable human being. I have learned this the hard way. Repeatedly. Without Jesus, I am a grumpy, discontented person who is unable to teach her children effectively. I will run on empty if I haven’t been poured into and filled up by the Holy Spirit. Like a car that is out of oil or gas, or a toddler without snacks: I can’t function well, and avoid crashing and burning, without Him.
So just like I plan on eating every day, I plan on spending some one on one time reading God’s word and praying each day. Avoid the spiritual hangryness that comes when your soul is starving, and get in your time with Him mama! <3 Don’t skip out on this homeschooling mom routine! (If this is a struggle for you, check out this resource!)
3) Run the Dishwasher
Eating on clean dishes has nothing to do with homeschooling; however, not having clean dishes is enough to throw off your homeschooling routines and your sanity. So we run our dishwasher every day even if it isn’t full. After mealtimes, we try to clear the table, scrub the dishes and load them immediately which saves us from having to wash a whole sinkful later. However, if our day is too full to find time to fill the dishwasher – we complete the task before we go to bed. And we turn it on.
Clean dishes at the ready! Homeschool routine win! 🙂
4) Do a Load
We make a FULL load of laundry simply by existing each day. I haven’t figured out if this is because my kiddoes are extra messy, or because there are about to be 6 of us. Either way, we create a mountain of laundry each week. (Ask me how I know 😉 ) It is never wise to put the laundry off until later. So, we work in the time to complete a load of laundry during our school day.
Gathering the laundry is part of one child’s daily chores. Another child is responsible for moving the dried laundry to the couch for folding. (Yes, the couch is our piling ground. There is nowhere else for folding in our tiny home!) I throw the wash in and move it to the dryer. When we need a break from our schoolwork, we gather in the living room to fold and put away all the laundry. Even the toddler pitches in and viola! Clean clothes for all! Homeschooling mama’s sanity still intact. 😉
5) Plan Meals Once
Ah, the sneaky homeschool meals. The kiddoes are always hungry! Planning meals ONCE can save so much time and effort. This can be once weekly, monthly, or even seasonally! I cycle through the three of those depending on the season of life we are in. Right now we are planning 15 monthly meals and keeping them on repeat. That way our grocery list stays consistent. If you would like a free ultimate grocery list printable, go here! Plan it once and reuse it over and over! Even the snacks we keep in the house remain consistent.
I also write out our weekly menu once a week on Sunday evenings. I take a request from each family member off of our 15 meal option list, then add it to our schedule. There is no more wondering whats for dinner while staring at all of our frozen food at 5 pm every evening (….not that that happened all the time or anything….ahem… 😉 ).
6) Stash Outfits
I stash our outfits like a squirrel stashes nuts for the winter! First of all, I buy clothing from the thrift shops in OUTFITS. No more random shirts that are without matching pants. As we do the laundry, I fold all of the kids’ clothing into outfits. Then, once a week, (usually on Sunday evenings) I lay out a stack of outfits for each child for the ENTIRE week. This has been such a game changer for my family!
I have a strong-willed daughter who is particularly difficult to get dressed in the morning. She doesn’t understand why she can’t wear her princess dress and winter boots out in the dead of summer. Having an outfit stack to pull right off the top from has removed most of these morning struggles! (*Happy dance in the kitchen!) Plus, each outfit is appropriate for the week’s activities (soccer or gymnastics clothes on soccer/gymnastics day AND church clothes on church days = win, win, win!)
7) Homeschool Prep
Keeping in line with my “plan it once” philosophy, I prep our homeschool once for the whole week. All of my kiddoes paperwork is divided into one file folder for each week. I simply divvy out the proper subjects work into the appropriate workbox drawer and our school work is ready to go for the week.
My kids are able to work through their workboxes at their own pace (with my oversight of course). This helps them to manage their time well and teaches them to work independently. For example, if they finish all their math on Monday, then they are done for the entire week! But if they don’t get through their language arts, then we are working on it over the weekend instead of doing a fun activity together.
What homeschool mom routines are you using to save your sanity? 🙂
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Tiffany
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