The Rhythm of Our Day, Part 1

I thought I would share a snapshot of how our days are shaping up thus far.

5:30 AM (!) I wake up and nurse the baby/pray. Then either he's upstairs with Daddy or asleep in the swing or bassinet and I do laundry, clean, get the kitchen in order, precook anything that needs precooked, wash dishes, pack lunches, etc while listening to NPR. I also set something out on the dining room table for the children to do.

7:00- Hop in the shower. On my way out, I wake everyone up. I supervise them getting dressed while I get dressed.

7:30- Breakfast.
Monday: Eggs
Tuesday: Hot cereal
Wednesday: Pancakes or Waffles
Thursday: Hot cereal
Friday: Eggs
Saturday: Pancakes or Waffles
Sunday: Cold cereal
The junior chef helps me cook and get drinks, the host or hostess says the blessing, and the clean-up crew takes out the recycling.

After breakfast, they go upstairs, wash their faces and brush their hair and teeth, and make sure their room is in order. Michael tidies the bathroom, Katie Grace checks the hall, and Nicholas makes sure all the lights are out. Then they come downstairs and make sure everything they need for the day is ready. They can read or work quietly at the table.

8:30- Michael goes to school and Katie Grace does what we call her "daily warm-up". It might be a word problem, a short piece of copywork, or something like that. Then we have circle. At some point, I put the baby down for a nap, but otherwise he hangs out on my lap. If he's super fussy or nursing to sleep, we read/recite nursery rhymes and poetry instead of having circle.

After circle, we have "Jesus Time" (Christian Ed). We have a couple projects going. We're making a prayer book, and we also have a saint main lesson book. It doesn't go into detail, but if we're celebrating a saint's day she might draw a picture or write a quote. We're also working on a Bible timeline to hang on the wall, beginning with Creation. Again, nothing deep, but it's part of the Great Story and it's one more way to help make sure she knows it.

Then we have math. We're using Miquon Math this year, but jazzing it up with Waldorf. Gnomes live among our Cuisenaire Rods and find lots of treasure. We're also working on a "qualities of numbers" book. We write the numeral, draw a picture, and maybe copy a short rhyme or verse.

By now it's generally 10:00 and we take an hour off. We have a snack and maybe do some baking. This is also cleaning time. I encourage Katie Grace and Nicholas to go outside and burn off some energy.

Coming soon... part 2 :D