Ordering the Hours of the Day

It seems that in late summer each year I find myself sitting down to formulate the "routine" for the learning seasons. While I do take a flexible approach to the curriculum and the activities that fill our Research & Discussion sessions, there is still a household to run. Without pegs, we wouldn't get a lot done. Once there is an order to the day, we can have whatever space necessary to stretch and squeeze. I am not super disciplined or rigid by nature and, honestly, do not wish to be. Afterall, we would miss some outstanding opportunities if there wasn't some give. On the contrary, disorder and chaos leaves everyone in the family uneasy and volatile.

As the family grows and members in the family grow, we are obligated to reassess the routine. Is each child carrying responsibilities appropriate to their individual maturity? Is the routine helping or hindering us? Is there lots of together time, at least some one on one time, and no lack of quiet time? Are there demands that require discipline and is there time for freedom? These are some of the questions I contemplate when I consider the pegs for the days ahead.

We are just past one full week of a intense learning season and the hours, as I had ordered them, have already been subject to some tweaking. Nonetheless, this is a general outline of our pegs for the day:

6:00am Rise
6:30am Meet for family rosary
9:00am Research & Discussion
12:00pm Lunch, accompanied by a read aloud
1:00pm Quiet Time/Little Queen naps
2:30pm Domestic care contributions
3:30pm Afternoon Tea, accompanied by music or read aloud
4:00pm Recreation
?:??pm Dinner, varies by The Professor's evening schedule
7:45pm Ready for bed/Little Queen goes to bed
8:00pm Free time for reading, journal writing, drawing, quiet playing (each in their bedroom)
8:30pm Lights out!

It seems strict when I look at it here, but really there is so much give and take. Naturally, there is ballet class, tennis lesson, art class, appointments, and playdates that alter the day to day of it all. Our best friends are moving away soon, so we'll be sacrificing much of our schedule to spend precious last hours with them. And there is variation even within the routine; sometimes Recreation is spent playing with neighborhood playmates, other days we play a game together or go for a walk, and sometimes, it just can't be helped, there are errands to run.

Obviously, there are a lot of items not detailed above. For example, I start a load of laundry before the morning rosary and we try to set the table for dinner after Tea, the dishwasher is emptied before breakfast and, sometimes, the Little Queen is not agreeable to the prescribed nap time. Nonetheless, these are the guideposts for the days. They provide the stability when there seems to be too much to do and the focus when we are in an ebb.

In the next few days, I hope to post a little peak into our Research and Discussion. It has only been a week, but there is plenty of real learning going on already!