Routine

Having a healthy routine for a homeschooling environment works great for productivity.  Here is our weekly schedule:

5:15 a.m. - The Boy wakes up.  Sigh.  I attribute that to his farmer genes.  After some morning affection, he dashes off to the kitchen to play his morning Angry Birds time. 

5:40 a.m. - Everyone is awake.  The hubs gets ready for work, and I head to the kitchen to get the boy some water and get online to check my book sales (I'm a writer). 

6:00 a.m. - Oatmeal breakfast for me and the boy.  Every single day without fail.  It is the best way for he and I to get the day started. 

6:20 a.m. - He gets his morning Wii time.  During this time, I finish up whatever it is I am doing online and then proceed to dress (and put make up on), make the bed, straighten up the living room before starting the homeschool lesson.

7:00 a.m. - After he is done with his timed Wii time, he gets changed and comes to the kitchen table for the morning's homeschool session. 

9:00 a.m. - We are usually done by the time.  After this, we do chores, get ready to go on play dates, coop meet-ups, or whatever errands we might have.

1:00 p.m. - Additional penmanship, art, or math work occurs. 



The above schedule only occurs between Monday through Friday.  On Saturdays I do zero homeschooling (which my son does not approve of).  However, I will grade whatever voluntary work he does.  On Sunday, I take about an hour and a half to do the homeschool planning for the following week. 

The above is what works for me.  On a personal note, I find that getting dressed and putting makeup on makes me feel more prepared for my roles and my day.  Let's face it - keeping house, tending to kids AND homeschooling them is not one job, but THREE jobs.  We have to do whatever we can to give ourselves a boost for the day.