We’re on a roll! We’ve made so much progress and now it’s time to get to the daily rhythm.
As a refresher, here’s our schedule for the week:
Day 1 - The Big Picture
Day 2 - The Yearly Plan
Day 3 - The Weekly Schedule
Day 4 - The Daily Rhythm
Day 5 - Taking a Break
You have done most of the work already: considering the big picture, the yearly plan, and the weekly schedule. Now it’s time to put some thought into your daily rhythm! This will vary depending on which day of the week it is, but there are some mainstays that can keep your homeschooling life feeling cohesive and...rhythmic.
The sun, the moon, the seasons. These all follow rhythms that anchor our days, months and years. We breathe in and out all day and rarely ever think about it, and while our homelife is never going to be that seamless, breathing can be a useful metaphor to help bring more balance to your day. We breath in (stimulating activity) and then we breathe out (restful, grounding activity). Too much of either will not work. Balancing in-breath moments and out-breath moments is something you probably do naturally. If your child has been sitting around for a few hours, you may suggest some outside time. If things are spinning out of control, you might suggest a snuggle on the couch and some read-aloud time. Finding your daily rhythm involves noticing and expanding upon this natural instinct.
Your days at home already have a structure, but do they feel rhythmic? Is there a feeling of balance and minimal frustration? Very few of us can claim that that is the case. Finding a good daily rhythm in your home is about striving to improve with the understanding that you will never achieve perfection. What is already working? What is not? Put some thought into what areas could use adjustment. Try. Then try again. It will always be a work in progress. Being aware and open allows us to notice what feels right, and welcome those adjustments, without judgement.
It’s worth the work!
Daily rhythms reduce the chaos and contribute to a more balanced family culture. Clear expectations and consistency makes everyone's roles easier. Putting in some time here will help diminish nagging, rushing, and frustration. When you can keep your daily rhythms consistent, things will flow more easily. Rhythms are not schedules, and are not meant to feel restrictive. Rather, they are meant to feel sort of like a container to hold your day.
A good place to start is to write down what your current days already look like. Think about what parts you want to keep, change, or make more solid. Here are a few things to consider:
Morning rhythms:
When do you all usually get up? Are you late sleepers or early risers?
What does the breakfast part of the day look like in your home? Does everyone help themselves? Is this a sit down time where you review the day?
What are the morning expectations in your home? Are there daily chores? Self care? Do your children get ready by themselves or need help getting ready for the day?
Do you have or need any system to help make your morning go more smoothly, like checklists for morning chores or responsibilities?
Do you have time for some physical activity in the mornings?
Is this a high energy time of the day for your family or are you slow starters? Be sure to honor the reality of your unique home life! It might seem logical to do more activities in the morning, and leave things free in the afternoon, but that doesn’t need to be the case! Do what works for you and your family!
Group learning rhythms:
When are start times? End times? When will they happen in the day?
What has to happen before start times? (gathering materials, daily responsibilities)
If you have multiple ages in the house, what will you do all together? Adult support might need to be shifted around to help different children at different times.
Thinking about your transitions will help streamline this part of the day. How do you start things off each day? How do you wrap things up? Does everyone help clean up and put all the materials away before moving on with the day?
Start small. So much can be done in just a little amount of time… don’t pressure yourself to be doing things together all day long!
Stay consistent with expectations. If everyone is expected to help clean up, discuss that, model that, and do it every time (or at least as often as possible). Eventually, things become a habit!
Meal rhythms: For some families, meal times are the biggest anchors of the day.
Consider which meals are sit downs and which are more of the grab and go variety.
What are the expectations for meal prep? For cleaning up?
Where can each member of the family take some responsibility? Meal planning, learning to cook, contributing to dishes and clean-up.
Having a weekly food plan can be helpful in streamlining the week (for example: every Friday we do pizza and a family movie).
Independent Time: No need to write anything specific but...
Remember that setting up family rules around independent time will help avoid conflict in the moment. (But also, know that conflict is inevitable and healthy!)
What are your family guidelines? For snacking? For screen time? For clean-up?
So many possibilities here! Research, long/short term projects, musical instruments… the list goes on and on!
Evening Rhythms: How do you close out the day?
Evening clutter patrol and dishwashing rhythms can help your family feel like you are all on the same team.
Consistent hygiene rhythms can reduce the constant reminders and eventually will result in a more seamless flow.
Read-alouds do not have to end when your children start to read, and can continue to be a great way to connect and settle down in the evenings together.
When is it time to be in bed? What time is lights out? Consistent bedtimes are important, but as a homeschooler this time can be entirely of your own choosing. If your kids are good at sleeping in, later bedtimes may make sense. Just don’t schedule anything early.
For readers, what are the bedtime rules? If they like to read for a long time before sleep, then perhaps they need to get into bed sooner (for example: bedtime is 8, lights out at 9:30).
Write it somewhere for all to see
This may not seem necessary once everyone is used to the routine, but it’s a great way to start, and considering that some days will vary from the regular schedule, posting it can help.
Also, it’s worth noting that not all aspects of a daily rhythm can be captured on paper. Getting the general feel of things is what is important, not the minute details.
It's nice to review it the night before, or in the morning. That allows everyone to know what’s coming up or to note any changes for the day.
As you work toward improving upon your daily rhythm, remember that it will evolve throughout the year. Cultivating an awareness of the subtle flows of your home, and striving to fine tune, is the practice. This step is an ongoing process so remember what we mentioned back on day one:
Be patient!
Finding a schedule that works for your family takes time, be easy on yourself as you figure out what is going to be right for your own unique family culture.
Be flexible!
The home school is different from the school school.
Rigid schedules are hard to maintain in a living, breathing, ever-changing family system.
Fine-tuning is a constant in the scheduling life of a homeschooler.
Be open!
Recognizing moments of joy and nourishing moments of love and connection are crucial and important to acknowledge. Cultivating gratitude for these moments can help make all the times of tension easier to take.
Use inevitable hiccups as grist for the mill; learn from what isn’t working; make some changes; try again.
Congratulations! You've made it through all the steps of scheduling! Tomorrow, we'll be closing out the week with a much needed topic... taking a break!
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