Routines...

I am not a schedule person.  I don't like having a set time for something to do.  Instead I like knowing what comes next.  I do much better with time management if I have lists.  So, I decided to revert back to my FlyBaby days.  Have you heard of FlyLady?  She changed my life.  No really, she did.  Reading her book, Sink Reflections, opened my eyes to what I need to do to bless myself and my family.  (I should really read that book again!)  She lays things out in routines and it clicked.  I decided today that I needed to establish some good routines.  Now, I do have a routine I follow most every morning but I am still losing hours during the day.  She suggests making a Before Bed Routine.  Genius!  So I got started.  I wrote down all of the things I need to do in the evening.  This is my list...

•        Kitchen – Clean it and get it ready for tomorrow.
•      Classroom – Clean it and get it ready for tomorrow.
•      Check Calendar/Planner for Tomorrow
•      Load Workboxes for Tomorrow
•      Start To-Do List for Tomorrow
•      Gather/Sort Laundry for Tomorrow
•      What is for Breakfast Tomorrow?
•      What is for Supper Tomorrow? – Lay out meat if needed.
•      Lay Out Kids Clothes for Tomorrow
•      Lay Out My Clothes for Tomorrow
•      Brush Teeth
•      Shower
•      Get in Jammies!!!
•      The Day is Done!  Reflect.  

WOW!  I have so much that I need to get done before I start the next day.  If I can see it and can check it off then I will be sure to get it done.  Right?! If those things are done and ready to go for the next day, the next day is sure to go much more smoothly. 

Then I thought about the things I need to get done in the morning.  I made a list.  Here is what it looks like...   

•      Make Bed
•  Dress
•      Start Day’s Laundry – Check Chart (Yes I made myself a chart.  Big surprise, huh?!)
•      Exercise
•       Bible Study
•      Wake Kids – Get them going
•      Breakfast
•      Dishes
•      Check Laundry
•      Start the To-Do List and Complete

Not near as bad as the Before Bed list.  I will still need to write down my To-Do list for that day.  Things like what to wash that day, what to vacuum, etc...  Yeah, I need a list for those things too.  I need a paper trail to hold myself accountable.  It really helps me to see what I have to do next and know what has been accomplished that day.  My hope is that by starting to do these things each day I will be on the path to a better me!  A better me means a better home.  You know the saying "If momma ain't happy, ain't no body happy."  well it is very true in my home.  I am taking ME back and getting going on this new routine NOW before school starts back this fall and I am lost in what to do next.

What do you do to prepare for the next day?  Are you a list maker?  Do you have a routine in place?  What does it look like?

Workbox Planner

I have searched high.  I have searched low.  I have googled.  I have stalked.  I have even looked in office supply stores and NO one has what I am looking for.  I wanted to have a planner that I could use to get our workboxes organized and ready.  I found several online that I liked but they weren't editable and lacked a lot of what I was looking for.  So, I had to go back in time a few years and dust off my excel expertise and came up with 2 designs for our workbox planner that I love!

 The first one has enough room in the workbox area to allow for details on the lesson.

While the second one has enough room for me to fill out for both kids.  I just don't have the detail section. 

I haven't decided on which one I want to go with for the upcoming school year.  I have printed a version of each out so I can look at them side by side and decide which will better suit my needs.  I hope to get a couple of other pages ready to go and then have the local office supply store print and bind them for me!  That way I won't have to go to all the trouble of that.  I have plenty of time to decide.   My deadline is mid July to allow me a month of planning before we start back to school. 

If either of these looks like something you could use please let me know.  I am happy to upload them to the documents and share them if you want!

End of the Year!

Here we are at the end of our school year.  We have wrapped up most all of our work and are gearing into our summer break mode!  I have really enjoyed this school year.  It came with MANY UPS and MANY DOWNS!  There were days I would hide in the bathroom and cry and there were days that I went to bed almost singing because the day was great.  I plan to make a lot of changes starting now and carrying them over through next year.  Starting today we have quiet time after lunch.  The kids get to chose a movie and then they have to lay on the couch and be still and quiet from beginning til end.  They can go to sleep if they want but I need that little bit of quiet for myself to recharge.  We will also have more structured days.  I plan to start a chore board (I'll blog about that as soon as I create it) and a school board.  I want the kids to be held accountable for the things that must get done in a day.  I want them to see their progress and know that they are making a difference.  I hope that those changes starting now will help throughout the next several months to prepare us for 1st grade and PreK!  I cannot believe my babies are growing so much so fast!  I will leave you with 2 new pics of them at a local theme park from last weekend!