Well, this first week of back to school has just been exhausting–but joyful too. The Ladybug brought home her first math paper and it was…PERFECT! I don’t think we had one of those in math all year last year. No one was sent to the principal’s office, and Speedracer ate at least one thing on his plate at lunch all week. Only one, but at least he’s not starving! {grin}

All week I’ve joined with 21 other bloggers in a 5 Days of Organizing and Cleaning series, and today I’m wrapping up by talking about routines and learning lifestyles. If you missed any of the other posts, be sure to hop on back and read them!

Monday: It Starts at Home

Tuesday: Supplies and Gear

Wednesday: Food and Meal Planning

Thursday: Simple Wardrobes

Friday: Fresh Routines and Learning Lifestyles.

And this is the LAST DAY to enter all of the GIVEAWAYS throughout the week–so be sure to enter the $50 cash giveaway at the end of this post. And check out the other 10 GIVEAWAYS over at 5 Days of Organizing and Cleaning.

ROUTINES

The start of the school year changes our whole household routine. I love routine, so it’s probably harder on me than anyone else around here! But the start of school sets a perfect deadline for refreshing our family routines. (We use routines rather than schedules.)

We refresh routines for several reasons.

1. The kids get older, their skills improve, and they’re ready to tackle new skills.

2. Things around the farmyard change, so the scope of certain jobs changes.

3. Things around the house change (like going to a new school this year!), so our morning and evening timeframes change.

4. The kids get bored.

5. We find a better way to do something.

This year we’re trying something new for meal chores.  I’ve created specific jobs–Food Helper, Table Helper, and Kitchen Helper–and we’ve got a little chart that I can use to set daily assignments. Each Helper is just that–the person assigned to help me complete the jobs listed–we don’t really see these as independent chores. But it will also be a great way for me to focus on the kiddos one at a time to get some good teaching done.

I’m incorporating these new assignments into our new regular morning and evening routines. {Here’s a printable copy of the Meal Chores Chart for ya!}

I mentioned the other day that we make the kids do their chores before they eat breakfast or get snacks–it helps them be diligent about finishing up. I had to work walking the dog in somewhere too this year. We also successfully started “quiet book time” in the evening after dinner at the end of last year. This is the Ladybug’s homework time, but we also have the boys sit down at the table and work on workbooks, read with their TAG reader or a magazine, or do coloring or count by numbers.

Here’s what our new Fall routine looks like…

{You’re welcome to view a full-sized, printable copy here.}

You’ll notice that I have cleaning the mudroom bathroom on the list every morning. The kiddos use that bathroom for washing up in the morning, but it’s also our “guest” bathroom, so I try to keep it decent for drop in company.

You’ll also notice our “15 minute blessing.” That’s based on what Mr. Fix-It sees when he walks in the door in the evening. I try to tidy up the hot spots of clutter and especially right  by the mudroom where he walks in at night.

Wondering how I figured all that out? Well, I started by reading the FlyLady book (I like the book much better than the website.) It was a huge help!

Here’s how you can start…

1. First break your day into key components/steps/jobs. We have the AM slot before we leave for work, the PM slot right when we get home, the bedtime routines, and special weekend routines to get our housecleaning done. We happen to have way more work than time, so I avoid complete discouragement by not assigning time frames to anything. {smile} Just progressive order.

2. Note everyone required to or capable of doing a particular job.  I started on paper and marked initials next to each job. Then I started color coding with a highlighter because it just made it easier to see the big picture. Note what can be done independently and what requires supervision. (And what only you can do!)

3. Assign Jobs.We try to make it fair based on how much time and effort it takes–not based on the number of jobs. Watering the dog takes Speedracer just as long as water all the livestock takes the Cowboy.

4. Note tasks that can be done concurrently. Everyone gets dressed at the same time. Everyone does chores at the same time and for basically the same amount of time. Mr. Fix-It and I split up the evening routine so that someone is helping with homework/quiet time and kitchen clean up (since that’s all in the same room) and the other is rotating kiddos through the shower.

4. Start ordering things based on what you know works (or doesn’t work!) right now.  Try it for a while and then adjust. The key is to give things time to work–don’t rush out and change it or give up on something in the first week or two. Try it for at least two weeks and see if it works. The other important thing is to re-evaluate regularly–not frequently, but regularly. The start of summer and then back to school are perfect for this. Things in your household change constantly, you need to reassess what’s going on so you’re routine reflects your current priorities.

LEARNING LIFESTYLE

Part of organizing for the school year and refreshing our daily routines is reviewing any and all ways we create full-time learning environment in our home. I’ve posted before about creating a constant atmosphere of learning and encouraging your children to see learning and discovery as a fun part of life, not just something that happens at school. A learning culture, if you will.

Here’s some of the strategies we use that I’ve been purging, updating, and refreshing while we’re in back to school mode…

• Reading baskets. We have coffee table and bathroom reading baskets in our house to corral some of the magazine and book clutter. The week before school I went through and purged and restocked them. We keep our National Geographic Kids, several farming periodicals, our membership newsletters to the zoo and Living Museum, and our current read-aloud books in there. We keep the same stuff in a pocket of the car!

• Coffee table books. What’s on your coffee table? You’re kids will value whatever you put out there because it’s important enough to be left out when other things are put away. We have a jar of feathers and bones collected from our nature study this year, a Nature Study book, two bible studies (Who is God, and Food in the Time of the Bible), and a couple homesteading magazines.

• Wall space. What do you have on your walls–especially your kids walls? Did you pick it just because it’s pretty? Or does it also add to the learning culture of your home? We’re still developing this element ourselves. But so far we’ve got specimen shadow boxes from our nature study this year, a world map, and a cross stitch sampler for our walls upstairs.
• Movies and Media. We’re in process with this one too. But what is most of your movie and TV cabinet filled with? Are they films and shows that add to the education and morality of your family, or are they mostly entertainment. I love some Captain America (or Veggie Tales) as much as the next person, but our kids are also used to watching hours of documentaries–particularly nature-based ones right now. The Cowboy’s favorite “movie” right now is Life (Note: this one includes some Evolutionary commentary).

• Notebooks/Journals. Nothing will bring your kids’ minds into focus like giving them a notebook and pen and telling them to write about what they see, or hear, or think. It’s a great way to teach them observation skills, and to cultivate a grateful spirit by encouraging the disciple of counting their blessings.

And you know that old saying, “more is caught than taught”? Well, if you want a culture of learning, a love of learning and discovering and exploring in your home…then you’re going to have to lead by example.

What are you reading? What are you watching?  And what are you putting out for them to read and watch?

On Monday I’ll be sharing more about our first week at school, which is also our first week of soccer (and my first week of soccer-momhood) and the chicken mutiny that has broken out at The Lowe Farm recently.

In the mean time, be sure to stop by and visit some of the other inspiring posts in the series–I’ve been pinning my little heart out this week so I can go back later and catch up!

a Rafflecopter giveaway