• Known our goals
• Accomplished them
• Enjoyed each other in the process

This was simple, focused, and attainable.
We started our first routine when our oldest children were preschool age. I used the term school very loosely. It involved preschool activities, simple science studies (let's watch this worm crawl), music appreciation (everyone sit down and listen to this song), etc. In other words, basic "school readiness" stuff--fun stuff that could be interpreted as educational. But then, to a child, what isn't educational? They are so ready to learn and absorb the world around them. I was tuning in and learning so much.
As I worked within the structure of a schedule, the gloominess lifted, we seemed happier working together, life ran smoother, and it appeared to work! In her book The Stay At Home Mom, Donna Otto says, "If I could only tell you one thing about order, this is what it would be: In everything you do in your home, ask yourself, 'How could I be better prepared for this event?'" I use that not just for my home, but for everything in life: thinking through, planning, and being prepared.

Older Children
As the children grew, the schedule grew along with them, as did the chores and list of "To Do's" for each day. No longer did they nap, and school became serious study, so our schedule looked different.
Up at 5:30 AM, our children do chores like picking up their room, vacuuming, emptying trash, and putting dirty laundry in the laundry room baskets. From 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM, we exercise. Then comes breakfast, and school begins at 8:00 AM.
In her 1984 book Teaching Your Children at Home, Virginia Baker, a pioneer homeschooler, tells about her "Magic Clock." When they started school each day, it was rarely exactly the time they should have been there. Usually they were a few minutes late, due to farm chores or some other exciting activity. So, they would lift the clock off the nail on the wall, and turn the clock hands back to reflect the starting time from their schedule. It took the pressure off of them to catch up. We've adopted this magic clock, and use it often.
School goes until noon, then we lunch and each child has an afternoon schedule of activities to include Boy Scout work, reading, piano practice, homework, needle arts, baking, origami and other things.

Why Schedule?
There is a debate between the schedulers and the unschedulers--and there will never be a solution which fits everyone. But, we have lived with and without a schedule, and everyone in our household knows they accomplish more with less stress when we have a schedule in place to make time for all we want to do.
Having a schedule is just another way of being prepared, of organizing one of our most precious commodities: our time. And that tends to make everyone happier!

Twenty-year homeschool veteran, author and speaker, Kym Wright pens the "Learn and Do" Unit Studies, written for or with her eight homeschooled children. You can visit her websites at: www.KymWright.com and www.Learn-and-Do.com. She can be reached by email at: Kym@KymWright.com

This article was originally published in the Nov/Dec '06 issue of Home School Enrichment Magazine. For more details, visit http://HomeSchoolEnrichment.com.