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I am having trouble trying to stick to my MOTH schedule.

I think part of my problem is that I need more of a routine instead of a schedule. The times are driving me up the wall. I don't like knowing that I have to be doing such and such at 10:15 when the newborn wakes up from a nap, the toddler has just pooed in his diaper and the 4 year is having temper tantrum at 10:10!!!!

But, that is the way MOTH says to do it, so that is the way I am trying to do it. But I am wondering if I should try more of a routine instead of a set time schedule.

What do you alll think?

If you do prefer a routine, how do you go about setting it up?

I am new to HOD, but I can say I have always worked better with a routine and not being tied so much to times. Our boys are only 19 months apart, and a time schedule would drive my crazy for the very reasons you have mentioned. However, they know what comes next in the day and our day is fairly predictable. I just found it easier to divide the day in chunks; play time while I fix breakfast, playtime while I clean up breakfast, reading time after breakfast, finally mommy's shower, then outside or outing or mommy and boys play together, etc. I try not to swing wildly with times, but if we eat 45 minutes later then usual, oh well, we still have reading time next, and so on. I will be figuring out how to weave homeschooling into that type of schedule as I go and I am sure the ladies will have lots of good ideas for you.

I do not like schedules at all. It stresses me out. I much prefer a routine.

We have a routine rather than a schedule. We need structure but also flexibility.

SoaringEagle wrote:I do not like schedules at all. It stresses me out. I much prefer a routine.

Yes, this. I think having to stick to specific times would drive me crazy!! In a perfect world, it would be nice to do the same things at the same time everyday, but it's not perfect and things come up....telephone ringing, math taking twice as long as it should, the dog throws up, the oven breaks so mom needs to come up with a new meal, washing machine leaks water all over the floor (can you tell I've had a rough week lol?) Anyway, you get the picture. A routine is much more flexible but still allows you to accomplish what you need/want to. Just my two-cents!

I do it like Moth but with blocks that don't have a specific time really. I have a guide time but it is only a guide. In fact I wrote my day up two ways to give myself an escape plan. I do far better following blocking in order rather than at specific times. I am just not wired that way. It just flows better for me that way. So basically took the MOTH principal but do it the way it works for me. The exact time thing wake up 5:30 and read the Word is not happening but for instance, crawl into bed early and read the Word until I can sleep works. I think it has to do with how you are wired some people thrive on time and some people thrive on more of a routine. I think if you thrive on time you know it and if you don't you sort of know that. I have always been really good at doing things in order but never good at getting them done at a specific time. So instead of calling it a flaw I go with it. Honestly we get off track time wise but we tend to end our school about the same time no matter how much I am off during the day just by doing things in the order that works best for us.

Hope you find what works best for you. But don't feel less efficient if the whole time thing does not gel with you. It's however works for you and neither is right or wrong.

Hi!

I am definitely more of a routine kind of girl. I read MOTH, put the schedule into practice and within two weeks I was 'breaking' out of the boxes. I felt quite constricted by the time factor. So...the only 'set' times at my house are: breakfast (somewhere around 8am--give or take fifteen minutes either way). Lunch is around 12:30, supper around 5:30. I have two nappers so that time stays pretty consistent. Other than that, we have a routine, where we all know what comes next, and that provides a lot of security and predictability. On a side note: people seem to think I am super organized which I am really not, I just have found what works for my personality/temperament. I would encourage you to take the things that work from MOTH and combine them with your perspectives and personality.

As for setting up a routine--pick those things that are non-negotiable, like eating or naps, maybe a little quiet time just for mom, and plan things around them. When planning your routine prioritize the activities you are wanting to include. For me, personally, I didn't have any trouble getting Math/Reading/Writing in, but I skipped all the other stuff more often than I did them so in our routine we start our school day with history, science, etc and end with math and reading. However, this is what works for our family, not necessarily what works for everybody, I am just giving you ideas.

I hope you can put together something that works well for you and helps you feel successful as a homeschooling mommy!

Jess

We need structure but also flexibility.

I have not heard of MOTH. But for our family, we also stick to a routine better than a schedule. I agree with creekmama above. When deciding upon a new routine. I always start by making a schedule but I only use it as a guide line. I also agree with Jess that mealtimes, nap times, and bedtime at our home have always fallen around the same time. They are the only thing that consistantly happen at a certain time. Although we are flexible there as well, when need be. Also like Jess, I too think it's wise to list priorities for the day: Bible study, school, exercise, etc. and be sure they get fit in before extras. I try to do our least favorite or toughest subjects first. Leaving the fun stuff or less brain powered things for the afternoon. The most important thing I have found is just staying with the order of the day. We never complete subjects according to my original time outline, but we do consistently go in that order everyday until complete. My children enjoy knowing what's coming and the feeling of security and familiarity it gives to have a daily routine. Routine with flexibility. I fully agree.

I, too, am chiming in to agree with all of the above posters. I tried really hard to be a schedule person. I implemented the MOTH plan and tried to make everything run the way it did when I taught school. Nothing drove me crazier. I am so glad to have found the freedom of a routine loosely wrapped around a time frame that allows me to get done what I need to (with a busy almost 2 year old running around). Go with the schedule.

In His love,
RuthAnn

Oh goodness, a routine for certain! I read the MOTS book and while we only have three dc at home (oldest is on his own), just looking at the timed schedules stressed me out.

Have you seen discussions on the WTM boards about loop scheduling? I'm not sure how it would work with HOD, but maybe that's one option to ease some of the time constraints.

Here's a link: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/s ... id=3603263

God bless you Terri,

We do a routine around a basic schedule, I guess. Like others, breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus bedtime, are about the same times everyday. I don't let my kids get up and out of their rooms in the morning til 7:30am. We try to start school by 8:30am, and from there, we just go in a certain order to get school done. If one day takes longer than another, so be it. If math takes longer, so be it. If it goes shorter, great! I can't imagine trying to keep it all on a strict time schedule. We're usually done by noon. I think the structure is important... the kids know what to expect each day, but the only time we really consult the clock is when to start! It works great for us! When they were younger, I was more of a "schedule" person when it came to beginning naps, bedtimes, etc. But... you can't always predict how long things will take with school, esp. with each child.

Thanks ladies.

It seems like the vote goes to routine.

But, I don't really know how to turn my already made schedule into a routine .

Do I just take the times away and still go in the same order?

I would love to hear any resources you used for coming up with your routines!

MommyInTraining wrote:Thanks ladies.

It seems like the vote goes to routine.

But, I don't really know how to turn my already made schedule into a routine .

Do I just take the times away and still go in the same order?

I would love to hear any resources you used for coming up with your routines!

Yes, exactly, you just take the times away and go in the same order.

I always start the year with a very specific schedule with times, but then switch over to routine rather quickly. The schedule is more just for me to pick a start time and shoot for an end time by figuring out about how long each thing should take and figuring out logistics - i.e. where to have everyone in the house and what to do with the toddler. Writing it out with times in a schedule helps me do that quite easily to start the year with. But then, after about a few weeks or so, we all had the "order" of the schedule down, and therefore just do the routine, with me only glancing at the time and knowing if I need to pick up the pace here or there in a general sort of way. I haven't looked at my schedule with times for a month. I hope I am making sense here. So, for example, here's my original schedule for this year:
http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj8/ ... dule-1.jpg

But here's the ROUTINE we follow now in a nutshell:
*Start at 8:15 AM. (I no longer do LHTH with Emmett first. It worked better to move it later.)
*Beyond... time block with Riley where I get through as much as I can with him by 9:30 AM. I basically do the same order of the boxes each day, and the goal is to get him to only have left things he can do independently. Emmett is following the normal routine of the schedule, and Wyatt is working independently through the CTC boxes in a routine order we've established in the schedule. If Wyatt gets ahead before Emmett's video is done, he starts his science box and gets as far as he can.
*CTC time block with Wyatt where I get through DITHOR, dictation, my teaching math time, and sometimes we even get to Storytime. Riley is playing with Emmett in the playroom at this time, and that has generally stretched out to go well about 45 minutes now. If things go south at 30 minutes, then we don't get to Storytime. We usually leave his independent math (workbook usually or textbook review) for after Riley and Emmett come up, unless it's a tough concept and he needs me by his side for it.
*LHTH half-speed time block with Emmett ... Wyatt finishes his math and starts his second round of independent CTC things (Poetry, Reading about History - if time). Riley finishes independent Beyond things.
*CTC teaching time block with Wyatt... we do Storytime (if we didn't get it done during the last block I was with him), Bible Study, and Write with Best or R & S depending on the day. I check over his work, make sure all of the boxes are done, and he finishes whatever is left (usually a bit of science and/or sometimes Reading about History) while the rest of us prepare lunch and set the table.

These "blocks" of time for everyone work great and while they are planned in a schedule originally, the routine is what is kept throughout the year instead of the exact times. I do find we end every day somewhere between 11:45 AM and 12:45 PM. I agree keeping times exactly on a schedule is difficult, but I like to start the year with a schedule and a timer to establish a routine and then tweak as necessary and work from there, the rest of the year. Great question, Terri!

In Christ,
Julie

my3sons wrote:I always start the year with a very specific schedule with times, but then switch over to routine rather quickly. The schedule is more just for me to pick a start time and shoot for an end time by figuring out about how long each thing should take and figuring out logistics - i.e. where to have everyone in the house and what to do with the toddler. Writing it out with times in a schedule helps me do that quite easily to start the year with. But then, after about a few weeks or so, we all had the "order" of the schedule down, and therefore just do the routine, with me only glancing at the time and knowing if I need to pick up the pace here or there in a general sort of way.

These "blocks" of time for everyone work great and while they are planned in a schedule originally, the routine is what is kept throughout the year instead of the exact times. I agree keeping times exactly on a schedule is difficult, but I like to start the year with a schedule and a timer to establish a routine and then tweak as necessary and work from there, the rest of the year.
In Christ,
Julie

This is exactly the way it's worked at our house this year! We started with a schedule that told me where everyone needed to be when. Tweaked just a little as we tried it. And, then after a week or 2, everyone knows exactly where to go when. I don't really look at the clock, we just keep moving along. Sometimes we're surprised and done a little "early". We start at 8:30, and we're usually done between 12:30 and 1. I feel like the actual making out of the schedule was more for me to see how I could be on hand for everything that I needed to be this year, not to actually look at daily. I found that it did help Grant to have a list in front of him, too, and we still use the timer when he gets to dragging a little. So, I guess my answer would be both.


We "scheduled"...and now it's just a routine that flows along.

Kathleen