Managers of Their Homes

Well, I don't know how to make this fit my blog better and I don't know how to do like an attachment or something, but I still wanted to share, especially because it has helped our family and hoping maybe it will help yours, too!  I got all this from reading Managers of Their Homes by Steve and Teri Maxwell.  What a blessing!  I've already loaned to another mommy in our church.  Now, I will start off by saying that I am a pretty organized, tidy, scheduled, rigid person so we were already living by an unwritten, in my head schedule for the most part.  Actually, I have always felt that I wished I could be more messy, more of a "fly by the seat of my skirt" type gal. I have really wanted to change my organized, clean, scheduled person into a more fun person!  In this book, however, they point out how God is a God of order (think of seasons, night and day, time, etc.) and we are made in his image so he would like for us to be orderly, as he is.  This made me realize that I should stop trying to change this part of myself, but instead embrace it and be thankful for this gift that God has given me.  Lord knows I have plenty of other faults and areas that I should be changing and working on!!!!!  So, I say read this book!  It will help!  Especially if you are a wife and mother with children and you stay-at-home and you homeschool.  And you would like to be a joyful mother of children.  And have peace in your home!  And keep your kids from getting so much discipline.  We have been on the official schedule for a week now and we LOVE it!  http://www.titus2.com/managers-of-their-homes.html

I will explain a few things.  CQ is character quality review.  We review character qualities we have worked on during family devotion time, go over our previously memorized scriptures to keep it a little fresher, and sing a hymn.  Alone time is exactly that.  Each child goes to a separate room with a toy to play quietly. Ry and Hunter playtime is where they pick a toy and go to their room quietly to play together.  We read the Proverb that corresponds to the day of the month and a Psalm during lunch. Honor hubby is a time where I do something special for Sean, either something that he has mentioned that he would like done or I write him love notes that I stick in his lunches or welcome home we missed you signs, or whatever else I can think of that would be special.  I have allotted one time to do phone calls and texts so I am not consuming my day with it.  Except I always answer for my husband.  Some of the things that I do during naptime don't take as long as the time allotted.  Then I just move on and it sometimes ends up that I have more reading time or I will stick in a movie.  The blue bag we use during dinner has Bible hero flashcards that we read and then we will do educational flashcards, too. Ryan and Andrew have scheduled playtime alone, too, but Sean is close by and listening since Andrew is just a little guy!  We rotate where I get 10 mins one on one time with each child to do whatever they want and Sean will have the other two as we go through the rotation.  After Ryan is done with his 10 minutes with me, he is allowed to play on the tablet or on the computer if he has done well all day.  We will give him 10-20 minutes for that.  I get together our grocery list on Wednesdays, which also includes putting together our nightly dinner meal plan for the week.  Such a big help to already know what is for dinner for the week and to be able to plan accordingly.  If we don't all go together, I will take one child a week with me to the grocery store and farm for milk and rotate it weekly.  I have scheduled to clean at 9 p.m., but if there is extra time during the day, which so far there has been between dinner prep and eating when the boys are watching a movie, I do it then.  I try to do at least one load of laundry a day, if not more, that I sneak in usually around 8 a.m. and change to the dryer around 930 and so forth so I have laundry to fold at 430. 

Daily Schedule	Mom	Ryan	Hunter	Andrew
Time
6:30 AM	Shower, get ready, devotions
7:00 AM
7:30 AM
8:00 AM	Morning routine w children	Morning routine	Morning routine	Morning routine
8:30 AM	Breakfast, CQ review, cleanup	Chores/color, breakfast, CQ review, alone time	Color, breakfast, CQ review, alone time	High chair w toy, breakfast, CQ review, alone time
9:00 AM
9:30 AM
10:00 AM	Ryan school/violin	School/violin	Educational DVDs	Free time/Educational DVDs in jumper
10:30 AM
11:00 AM	Diapers, potty, walk, play outside	Potty, walk, play outside	Diaper change, walk, play outside	Diaper change, walk, play outside
11:30 AM
12:00 PM	Lunch, Proverb/Psalm, cleanup	Ry/Hunter play, lunch, Proverb/Psalm, cleanup	Hunter/Ry play, lunch, Proverb/Psalm, cleanup	High chair w toy, lunch, Proverb/Psalm
12:30 PM
1:00 PM	Nap prep, storytime	Nap prep, storytime	Nap prep, storytime	Nap prep, storytime
1:30 PM	Nap for me	Nap	Nap	Nap
2:00 PM	Honor hubby
2:30 PM	Phone calls/texts
3:00 PM	Computer
3:30 PM	Workout
4:00 PM	Read
4:30 PM	Wake up from naps/fold laundry	Up from nap, fold laundry, feed Allie	Up from nap, fold laundry	Up from nap, Exersaucer
5:00 PM	Dinner prep	Dinner prep/movie in office	Dinner prep/movie in office	Free play, movie in office w snack
5:30 PM
6:00 PM	Eat, blue bag, cleanup	Eat, blue bag, cleanup, Ryan/Andrew play	Eat, blue bag, cleanup, free time or play w Daddy	Eat, blue bag, Andrew/Ryan play
6:30 PM
7:00 PM	One on one time w each child	One on one time w Mommy/CPU or tablet	One on one time w Mommy/play w Daddy	One on one time with Mommy/Play w Daddy
7:30 PM	Playtime w all children	Playtime w all	Playtime w all	Play w all
8:00 PM	Bath, family devotions, bed for children	Bath, family devotions, bed	Bath, family devotions, bed	Bath, family devotions, bed
8:30 PM
9:00 PM	Clean if not done	Good night!	Good night!	Good night!
9:30 PM	Bible time with Sean/Get ready for bed
10:00 PM	Relax, TV
10:30 PM
11:00 PM	Good night!
Weekly Amendments
Sunday	Church, morn and eve	Church, morn and eve	Church, morn and eve	Church, morn and eve
Monday	Ry violin lesson 3:30	Violin lesson
Tuesday		Movie night	Movie night
Wednesday	Grocery list, church	Church	Church	Church
Thursday	Farm/groceries	Rotate farm/grocery day	Rotate farm/grocery day	Rotate farm/grocery day
Friday	Date night/movie night with children 1 x per month	Ice cream, movie night	Ice cream, movie night	Movie w all 1 x per month
Saturday	Family Day	Family Day	Family Day	Family Day