Teachable Tuesday: A Schedule

You know, it’s difficult to stick by a daily schedule with little ones: they change their sleeping and eating habits every month (sometimes every week! sometimes every day!).

So, for the first year of Lia’s life, I’ve resisted a formal schedule and have enjoyed the freedom and flexibility. But as she nears her big One-Year birthday, her sleeping and eating schedule is more regular and I think we’re ready to ease into a more structured day.

Not to mention, my days were becoming a flurry of trying to accomplish everything – and I mean no-rest-for-the-weary-EVERYthing – on my to-do list and yours!  My brain had become one giant check list.  I could see that if I kept that up, my family would easily get lost in my never-ending agenda.

So, over the past few weeks, I’ve had to calm down a bit, re-prioritize, and seek the Lord’s wisdom for the best use of our time. Some people create schedules in order to accomplish more; I needed to create a schedule to accomplish less – rather, to accomplish enough.

Of course, I was inspired to put it all in writing by my cousin, Katie at The Mommy Factor, by Crystal at Biblical Womanhood and the Mahaney’s at Girl Talk.

So first, I determined the most important occasions in our day: healthy meals, Scripture, worship music, reading, playing, and serving. (At this point, I’m not as concerned about following a school-type curriculum as I am about developing my relationship with the girls, encouraging their relationship with each other and the Lord, and teaching them how to serve their family and their neighbors.)

Then, I sketched out a generous plan that works best for us and keeps us focused on our goal: to love God and to love other people. I chose my favorite parts of any day and fit them all together into our ideal every-day schedule.

So, here’s what I came up with:

For the Most Part, Let’s Do This:

5 – 7 a.m. Personal devotions

7 – 9 a.m. dress, girls up, breakfast

9 – 9: 30 a.m. scripture, worship music

9:30 – 10 a.m. logic play (puzzles, blocks, etc.)

10 – 11 a.m. Lia naps; Vivienne reads and plays

11 – 12 p.m. errands or chores

12: 30 – 1 p.m. lunch

1 – 3 p.m. naps/ quiet time; reading aloud

3 – 4 p.m. play together (outside!) or visit neighbors

4 – 5 p.m. Listen to King’s Kid’s Club on the radio (artwork); Laura prep dinner

5 – 5:30 p.m. clean house together

5:30 – 6:00 p.m. play piano & instruments while waiting for Ryan!

I do the laundry when the basket is full, iron when we are looking straggly, and clean before we have visitors. The way I figure it, if our house ever becomes too dirty, we aren’t having enough people over!

Teachable Tuesday is designed to share teaching ideas that specifically connect a child’s heart with God’s. What are you teaching this week?