The little “schoolhouse” I put together late last night because anxiety = insomnia.
Remember the other day, when I posted that it was okay to handle this in whatever g-d way you want? My way is apparently to become a scheduling beast. Now, to be clear, that doesn’t mean that I’m sticking to the the schedule I put together for us hard-and-fast – I’ve been adjusting daily based on sleep/energy/mood – but it is unbelievably helpful to be able to point to a piece of paper hanging on the wall and say “See that? That says lunch is in ten minutes. Give me TEN. MINUTES.”
Here, in case you’d like to copy/paste, is our daily schedule (based on the template that you can find if you scroll to the end of this post – it was suggested by my friend Erin, who is both a third-grade teacher and the parent of a third-grader and a first grader). Please note that nowhere in this schedule does it say “Time allocated specifically for Mom to write her book that is due in one month.” We’re working on that part. (Holy Jesus this is stressful y’all.)
Alright, let’s get to it.
Morning/Wakeup: Brush teeth, get dressed, scoop catbox/feed cats, neaten rooms. When they’re done with this, they can watch Collins Key or Monster Bug Wars (both so good) on YouTube until breakfast. This is the time when I check emails, (maybe) shower, make the bed, slather my face with moisturizers to stave off the wrinkles that are accumulating by the second, and so forth.
9:30: Breakfast.
10:00: Math. They each get 20 minutes on the computer, then switch to 20 minutes of worksheets.
10:40: Outdoor walk. They can bring one weird thing with them to play with (yesterday it was umbrellas, despite the fact that it wasn’t raining). I don’t bring my phone on this walk, which is nice.
11:00: Reading. They each get 30 minutes of computer or worksheets (provided by the school), and then 30 minutes of free reading.
12:00: Lunch. I always make my kids get hot lunch at school because a) who doesn’t like pizza bagels?! and b) that was something I could just go ahead and take off my plate. But I have to say: It’s kinda nice, making them whatever it is that they want.
12:30: Recess! Beach walk, basketball, skateboarding – anything, so long as it’s active. I’ve found this is a good time for me to make any necessary work-related phone calls.
1:30: Free creative time. I found it was difficult to transition out of recess straight into work-work, so we take some time here for art (try Art for Kids Hub on YouTube), Legos, free play, or whatever.
2:15: Writing. They each have to journal (either from a prompt, or what they did that day), and then do 20-30 minutes of worksheets.
3:00: Snack.
3:15: Science, Social Studies, or Cooking (alternating days).
4:00: “Help Mommy clean the house so Mommy doesn’t cry.”
4:30: Baths. Then more free creative time until dinner.
And then, at 5:30 – a.k.a. dinnertime – I give up, put plates on the coffee table, and turn on a movie. And we all stay planted right. there. until bedtime.
Godspeed, my friends. This is insanity.
P.S. Here’s the PDF I based my schedule off of – note that it’s two pages, and you have to hover the mouse over the lower part of the page to scroll to the second page.
