Category: Planning/Scheduling

Dr. Raymond Moore, and his wife Dorothy, often spoke of creating a schedule.  They focused on what they called “anchors”.  These anchors are the parts of life that need to be regular.  Think of rising and sleeping times, mealtimes, nap-times, a spouse’s work schedule (if regular), etc.  These are things that you will work your routines around.  These are the “stable” parts of life.  You will see after creating a schedule with anchors that you still have quite a bit of your day that is empty.  These empty places in your schedule are where you get to add in the parts of the day that have a little more flexibility, things like chores and study routines, music lessons, church activities, and more.

Be careful not to try to schedule every minute of your day for you will become a slave to your schedule.  The schedule is there to help you, not to make you miserable.  If you haven’t worked with a schedule before, give yourself some growing time. If you notice that you are not good with the anchors, don’t try to change all your ways at once.  Try choosing one and being deliberate in making it work.  Put your attentions on that one routine until it becomes common to you.  Once it is a regular part of your day and you don’t have to think so hard about it, move on to the next one.

Another thought is that a schedule is just a way to organize your daily routines.  This helps you see if you are getting everything done that you wish to get done.  Just as a financial budget helps to keep you from overspending, a schedule helps you from taking on too much.  If you can’t get everything done, you probably are trying to do too much.

We also need to be temperate in our daily activities.  We can’t spend 4 hours exercising and still get everything done in a day.  We need smaller increments of time for some of our activities and we need to learn to set aside things when our time allotted is up.  This is especially important for those activities which tend to be time stealers, leisure activities like internet browsing, TV watching, reading emails, etc.  However, we can also choose to do “good things” to excess, as well.  Practicing music for several hours a day and not getting any exercise is not good for us either.  Balance is a very important concept to keep in mind as you plan your schedules and routines.

Schedules and routines are very enjoyable for a child.  Children like having some control in their days.  Schedules and routines give them some control.  They know perhaps that when mom starts making dinner that it is time for them to wash their hands and help set the table.  They don’t have to be told to do things all the time and when they remember to do things they’ve been taught, they feel some sense of control and a sense of responsibility by being able to follow those routines.  When we live in disorder and our kids do not know when breakfast will be eaten or when school will start or when family worship will be done, our children become restless waiting.  They are waiting for some favorite parts of the day to happen.  They are waiting and sometimes those activities never happen.  It is discouraging for them, as well as us, to live in constant chaos.  They become irritable; we become irritable.  They struggle to listen and respect us, because it seems that nothing gets done when it is said to be done.  We get distracted and our kids get distracted as well.  Sometimes we then yell at our kids when it is “us” who needs the talking to as it is our example that has created a child that has no sense of responsibility.

There is hope.  God loves order and He will give us order in our lives.  Sometimes we just need a little reminder, or maybe we need to learn in an area that we were never taught about why something is important to implement in our homes.  Either way, do not be discouraged.  Take a deep breath, say some prayers, get some resources if you need some help, and let God direct your paths.

*As a disclaimer, we are not asking anyone to have a rigid schedule or routine.  We all must be flexible to the things happening in our lives.  A flat tire can set an entire day off.  A sickness or death in the family can create a temporary setback in our routines. An emergency call for help should not always be ignored because we did not schedule it in.  We just need to be aware of how often these unscheduled interruptions happen in our life.  Sometimes others learn that we can be easily swayed to talk on the phone when it’s time for math.  Sometimes others call on us for help because we’re “home” and not working.  Once in a while is okay, but you may find that it is happening all too often and you are struggling to keep your home clean, you are struggling to get studies done, you are struggling to live the homeschooling life that you had once felt strongly called to.  It is these times that we need to reevaluate our lives and reorganize them, if needed, so that we can continue to do that which we feel called to accomplish.  It is times like this, where we can change our schedules to allow for a phone call from friends, to help an ill family member, and still get the other things done, rather than setting them aside and being frustrated that we never get it all done.  Remember schedules and routines are just tools to help you keep your life less stressed and more on track.

Resources for Schedules and Routines

Adventist Home by Ellen White (helpful topics to consider)

Child Guidance by Ellen White (helpful topics to consider)

Fly Lady (main program is helpful for cleaning routines) – they even have a free app!

Managers of Their Homes by Terry Maxwell (helpful especially for large families)

The Moore Formula Manual by the Moore Academy Staff

The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook by Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore

The Well Planned Day Planner Books

Many of us know that a schedule or healthy routine is good for us. However, many of us are too busy or stubborn to sit down and make a schedule that really works for us. We figure that we know what we have to do and that going through the motions to “create a schedule” is unnecessary. Some even feel that orderliness is overrated, that it doesn’t matter what order you get it done as long as you get it done. We’re going to explore some reasons why a schedule is important for homeschooling families.

For many of us, the parent that stays home is usually not confined to a regular work schedule. That allows us to be flexible in our days. However, being flexible shouldn’t mean just flinging order out the window just so we can say we are free to do as we please. Many homeschool parents are heard to say, “We aren’t sending our kids to school, so we don’t have to set our days like the school. We have freedom to set our days how we wish.” While this is true, many of us struggle from time to time to set our days according to any schedule.

One problem homeschooling parents have with scheduling is the feeling of being tied down. We know we have freedom to make changes, so we do. We also know that routines are good for sleeping, eating and more and yet we’re so afraid to be tied down, that we sometimes throw out all routines all together. We want to challenge you to look at schedules and routines, not as a way to tie you down, not as a way to make you just like the schools and not as a way to take your freedoms away, but to rather use them as a tool to help you accomplish all that God desires for your home and children.

God created the world with order. He gave us days and years and seasons.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 it says,

“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.”

We have seasons in our lives. As parents, we have seasons in our lives. As homeschoolers, we will also have seasons in our lives. If we keep this thought in perspective, we won’t feel so tied down to the house and feel as if our lives revolve around potty training, sounding out words, and washing dishes.

In having a home, a schedule is important. We all need sleep; we all need to be fed. Some spouses need to work; some of us need to work. Chores need doing and kids need tending to. There is much to be done in the home and having an orderly home allows us to get it done with less frustration.

With homeschooling, we have just added some elements that most families do not have to contend with. We will be having our children with us all day long. They will be in the home all day long to create messes and get into things. We also have extra books and projects sitting on tables and in rooms that other families do not have to work around. We have essentially chosen a path that is a little harder on us to keep the home neat and orderly.

Our days are filled not just with 2-4 hours of study work, which some think to mean that we are done with school for the day. Homeschooling is a different type of lifestyle that needs some direction to get it all done. Many of us focus on the fact that we’re home “schooling” and our thoughts tend to think about how we can make everything a learning experience. Yet in doing that, we often forget about the part of the day in which we must carry out the mundane duties of daily living. Sometimes we get them done; sometimes we do not and we think, “Tomorrow will be a better day.” We begin to procrastinate on things that are important, even if we’ve tried to assure ourselves that they are definitely less important than what we accomplished.

“It is the faithful performance of everyday duties that brings the satisfaction and peace that come to the true home worker. Those who neglect to bear part of the responsibilities of the home are the ones who are troubled with loneliness and discontent; for they have not learned the truth that those who are happy are happy because they share the daily routine of work which rests upon the mother or other members of the family. Many are leaving unlearned the most useful lessons, which it is essential for their future good to understand.” {CG 352.4}

A schedule is a tool to help us create routines in the home that are healthy, that help us grow, that keep us happy, and that keep us moving forward. There are many different scheduling resources out there and we will share some with you at the end of Part Two. The best advice however that we can give you is to take this to God in prayer. Ask Him to lead you to that which is right for your family and your home. God knows your circumstances and He has answers for you.

Tomorrow: Part 2 of Thoughts on Schedules