Several years ago on a message board I frequent, the ladies were discussing their MOTH {Managers of Their Homes} schedules. The conversation moved to how they were able to "wing it" when their children were small or when they had only 2 or 3. As the children got older, their responsibilities grew. As the family grew in number, it's obligations grew as well. Terri Maxwell to the rescue.
The basic premise is that with a schedule you can accomplish the things you and your children need to. No more looking back at the end of the day and realizing that guitar was never practiced or someone never got their turn on the computer. Each desired activity is given a block of time. Those blocks are then arranged to achieve the best flow.
Through the years I'm had varying success with my schedule. However, it gives us goal. As framework. Accomplishing our morning activities is more important than our afternoons. Errands are run in the afternoon and, for our family, if school isn't accomplished in the morning it won't get completed.
The most important thing I've learned about my MOTH schedule is to let it be a guide. We won't have a perfect day - ever. Trying to force everyone to start and stop each activity by the clock only leads to frustration and tears. What works well for one family will be a disaster for another. That said, I've gained lots of insight from looking at other families schedules. I thought I would share our current schedule. My middle children do help keep their younger brother and sisters out of trouble during the nitty, gritty part of our day. Our dining room {school area} and living room are open to each other and we all stay in this general area together.
For reference - Madisyn is 12 {7th grade}, Ty is 10 {5th grade}, Griffin is 8 {3rd grade}, Ben is 6 {1st grade}, Henry is 4, Mary Claire is 2 and Liberty is 15 months. {Click and schedule will open in a larger format}. You can also click this link to see our schedule.
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