School starts on Wednesday and I've been thinking about what our daily routine is going to look like. Of course, what's in my head and what it actually ends up being are most likely going to be vastly different. But hopefully writing it out will help me stay on track (because that's worked so well for me in other areas of my life, i.e. weight loss).
The new school will start a half hour earlier than the previous one, at 8:35. We will have the choice of riding the bus, walking or me dropping them off on my way to work. The school is just under a mile away but they are still providing bus service to certain neighborhoods because of having to cross a super busy 4-lane with a median road. And the only reason I would let them walk (without me) is because there will be roughly 23 other kids all walking with them, most likely with a grown-up or two or eight in the mix. Either way, we will all leave the house around 8:15. So here is the schedule I'm hoping to adopt:
6:15 or 6:30, depending on whether I'm going to shower (sometimes I shower at night (and sometimes I skip a day {gasp}) - I get up and get ready for work.
7:30 - wake the girls if they aren't already up. Supervise dressing, hair brushing and bed making, because if I don't they will go straight for the TV or computer or iPad, which they've gotten away with so much in the past because I'm BUSY getting ready for WORK and don't have time to stop every 2 minutes and make sure they're not doing any of that. Or refereeing fights over bathroom use or whatever. God, I love school mornings.
7:45 - breakfast, then brush teeth, then get shoes on and gather backpacks, lunches, coats, etc.
8:15 - leave
3:15ish - girls home. Alone, for 20ish minutes.
3:35 - Paul gets home and administers snack, if not already self-administered, then supervises homework time. This is the stuff that I HATE not being home for. And the taking to activities. :( At least I get to do pick-up sometimes. Anyway, sometimes they will probably play with friends for a bit right after school and do their homework after dinner.
5:30 or 6:00 - dinner for Paul and the girls
6:15-6:30 - I get home and have dinner. There are rare occasions that they either eat later or I get home earlier and we can all eat together (another thing I HATE, not eating together as a family, but I go in to work pretty late so I can be there in the mornings, and they eat lunch pretty early so they get pretty hungry and can't wait until 6:30 to eat).
6:30 - 7:30 - I finish eating, clean up and make lunches while they finish homework if not done already.
7:30 - 8:30 - violin practice (Olivia) and family time. Usually they just play and I'm busy folding laundry or getting things ready for the next day, but I hope to start using this time to spend together, playing games, reading together or even just chatting or watching YouTube videos together.
8:30 - pajamas, brush teeth and read
9:00 - bed time.
So that's my plan. I also want to start having a weekly Family Game Night and Family Movie Night (we have those now but not regularly). Also, the girls have soccer every Monday and Wednesday until mid-October, so that's usually from 6-7:30. Typically they eat dinner around 5 and then go to soccer and I will meet them there after work. Lastly, Olivia did have violin on Wednesday afternoons but she's off until after Labor Day and then it's going to change to Saturdays. And she may start gymnastics again which will probably be on Tuesdays, and we're going to try and get Kayley in something, maybe Karate, maybe just jump rope club at school.
6:15 or 6:30, depending on whether I'm going to shower (sometimes I shower at night (and sometimes I skip a day {gasp}) - I get up and get ready for work.
7:30 - wake the girls if they aren't already up. Supervise dressing, hair brushing and bed making, because if I don't they will go straight for the TV or computer or iPad, which they've gotten away with so much in the past because I'm BUSY getting ready for WORK and don't have time to stop every 2 minutes and make sure they're not doing any of that. Or refereeing fights over bathroom use or whatever. God, I love school mornings.
7:45 - breakfast, then brush teeth, then get shoes on and gather backpacks, lunches, coats, etc.
8:15 - leave
3:15ish - girls home. Alone, for 20ish minutes.
3:35 - Paul gets home and administers snack, if not already self-administered, then supervises homework time. This is the stuff that I HATE not being home for. And the taking to activities. :( At least I get to do pick-up sometimes. Anyway, sometimes they will probably play with friends for a bit right after school and do their homework after dinner.
5:30 or 6:00 - dinner for Paul and the girls
6:15-6:30 - I get home and have dinner. There are rare occasions that they either eat later or I get home earlier and we can all eat together (another thing I HATE, not eating together as a family, but I go in to work pretty late so I can be there in the mornings, and they eat lunch pretty early so they get pretty hungry and can't wait until 6:30 to eat).
6:30 - 7:30 - I finish eating, clean up and make lunches while they finish homework if not done already.
7:30 - 8:30 - violin practice (Olivia) and family time. Usually they just play and I'm busy folding laundry or getting things ready for the next day, but I hope to start using this time to spend together, playing games, reading together or even just chatting or watching YouTube videos together.
8:30 - pajamas, brush teeth and read
9:00 - bed time.
So that's my plan. I also want to start having a weekly Family Game Night and Family Movie Night (we have those now but not regularly). Also, the girls have soccer every Monday and Wednesday until mid-October, so that's usually from 6-7:30. Typically they eat dinner around 5 and then go to soccer and I will meet them there after work. Lastly, Olivia did have violin on Wednesday afternoons but she's off until after Labor Day and then it's going to change to Saturdays. And she may start gymnastics again which will probably be on Tuesdays, and we're going to try and get Kayley in something, maybe Karate, maybe just jump rope club at school.
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