BACK TO ROUTINE: THE FALL PLAN
The weather this week has been absolutely divine–cool with a hint of fall, matching exactly with the mood of the hustle and bustle of readying schedules and the school room. I’ve gotten bitten by the homeschool bug hard this year. Maybe the excitement of my new planner or all the great ideas I’ve been reading out there on blogs and books, but either way I’m excited for school this year. There’s still some planning to do, but I’m counting down the days till September 8th.
I know one of the biggest things that gets me excited is the return of the routine. Summer is amazing and I would never wish it away–the break serves us all well, but then it’s time to regain our natural rhythm of sleeping and waking and business and play. The beginning of a new season is like a fresh new year. I love going into a new season expecting great things to happen.
This school year will be great.
A new routine will be great.
I’m expecting great things from this season blowing in.
A new season always calls for a little sprucing up of home and self. The fall calls for spiffing up after the lazy summer, the winter and New Year needs a plan after the holidays, the spring hollers for new life and crawling out of winter’s shell, and summer calls for less structured, relaxed days.
You can read about my Summer Plan and my 6-Week Spring Plan as well.
I’ve spiffed up for fall and created a shiny new plan. It’s not all that original–it’s pretty similar to what I’ve done before, but on paper it’s shiny and new. I like to lay things out on paper and see if logistically everything I want to happen, can. One thing I always think about is my limits. I can’t deep clean my whole house on Monday mornings, I can’t sign up for everything, I can’t schedule every day full, and I have to allow for a lot of setbacks, aka: I have a baby. I’ve written up weekly plans for school and home stuff, allowing for the whole morning for school and after lunch is independent work for the kids so I can get a few things done in the house.
For school, we like to be done by lunch. The kids usually have something they didn’t fully finish in the morning and they can finish that on their own after lunch. I also have some things for them to work on independently in the afternoon. I wrote out their weekly schedule for different subjects below. If you’re looking for more info on scheduling and planning, I write a lot on this subject in my PLANNING + ORGANIZING book. You might be interested to check that out.
For home, I set up a daily task sheet of one little thing I can do to keep my house clean-ish. I cannot function in clutter and dirtiness. I’m not a perfectionist at all, I just don’t like chaos, so I’m busy but it has to stay more neat than messy or I’ll lose it. For fall, I’m going to try to do laundry twice a week. I’ve always done it every day, but I’m going to try this. About once or twice a month, I will do a good deep clean in different areas of the house, but my weekly schedule for “home” will look something like this:
WEEKLY CLEANING SCHEDULE
WEEKLY HOMESCHOOL CLASS SCHEDULE
Meal planning is also a major part of a smooth-running routine around here. I’m trying something a little different this fall too with my meal planning. My friend and I are sharing a month of meal planning. I came up with half the meals for a whole month and she did the same. We mailed each other recipes and we’ll fill in our whole September calendar with meals. We’ll still go to the grocery store once a week or so but we’ll know just what we’re getting.
I created a little blank calendar that matches the planner I made at the beginning of the year for our meal plan. I actually laminated it so it can be wiped off for the next month.
I also whipped up a page to hold my weekly schedule that can be wiped off too. It’s nice to be able to see my quick to-do list on the fridge every day.
I know you’re ready for routine too. Happy almost-fall!!
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You are such a great momma. Those kiddos are lucky to have you. Good luck with a new school year.
one of the greatest desires of my heart is to homeschool. it's just not what the Lord has for us right now, but I'm having a hard time waiting! but when i finally get to, your blog will be my top resource!!
always, always love your organization posts. if i could only implant some of your brain in mine. ; ) little by little, with the help of your planner, i'm getting there. : )
I am definitely ready for routine. We started co-op yesterday & we're starting at home today with just morning meeting & math. Next Tuesday we will start full tilt. I've done the menu planning (your idea is fab – need to find a friend interested in trying that) but menu planning is my strong point & a necessity during ball season, which is pretty much year round for us. 🙂
We have loved this summer, maybe more than any other, but I am feeling the gentle wading toward Fall & I'm ready! xoxo