7:00 am: My two girls come out of their room, and are allowed to watch Netflix till breakfast. My oldest daughter (Ernie) is six, and is a to-the-letter kind of girl. They normally wake up around 6:30, but she knows that door doesn't open till 7:00!
Breakfast normally happens around 8:00, once the baby is up, and I'm feeling more awake. Some mornings, I'll teach piano for an hour. THOSE mornings, Ernie is supposed to get her math work done while I teach, and then she can watch cartoons with her little sister. Yeah, it doesn't always work out that way, but at least she gets a bit of a start on the day. The girls are also responsible for doing their "morning chores:" get dressed, brush teeth, brush hair, make beds. After lessons, the Wonder Boy baby gets a snack, I get the girls motivated on finishing up their morning chores, and we pull out the rest of the curriculum books.
Hopefully, Wonder Boy takes a nap in the morning so Ernie and I can plow through a bunch of work at once. Mimi has a box of "school toys" she likes to play with- Aqua Doodle, flash cards, beads, an old box of costume jewelry, coloring books, etc. If everything goes well, school is done and put away by 10:30 or 11:00, I give Wonder Boy another snack, and start making lunch. If the dishwasher needs emptying, that's one of Ernie's chores. Lunch is around 11:30, and naps are at noon for the girls. YES, my six-year-old still takes daily naps/quiet time. No, she doesn't sleep most days, but she reads for about 2 hours.
During nap time, if Wonder Boy will take a nap too, I clean the kitchen, eat my lunch, or just....veg out. What? Please tell me you'd do the same. It will make me feel better.
Naps end around 2:00, and from there on the girls get to just play. I spend the rest of the day entertaining the baby, doing chores, doling out snacks, teaching piano, and getting dinner ready. You know, when I list it out like that, it sounds kind of lame. But trust me, it FEELS very busy at the time!
What is your schedule like?
