How We: Save Money on Family Vacations

Vacation! Just the word conjures up feelings of excitement, images of frothy waves rushing ashore, mouth-watering cravings for crunchy-sweet funnel cakes, sounds of laughter and children's squeals, and the scent of 

sunscreen, salty ocean air, or fresh mountain breezes.  

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Or maybe the word "vacation" brings feelings of stress, images of evaporating money, cravings for a fat wallet, sounds of the cash register's cha-ching!, and the scent of gasoline. Taking a family on a vacation can be pricey and nerve-wracking, to say the least. Today's economy certainly doesn't help. Does that mean we have to forego having a fun time away with our kiddos? Nope! But, it will take some planning, research, and string-pulling to make it happen. Here are a few tips that I've either used myself or about which I've heard positive reports. 

Gotta Get There First

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I don't know about you, but the first concerns that come to mind at our house when we talk about going anywhere are...you guessed it...gas and hotel/cabin prices. I've looked up a few sites that might help with finding cheap gas:

• GasBuddy.com (They have an app, too. You'll find it on their website or at Amazon: GasBuddy app)
• Automotive.com
• mapquest.com (This one looked especially helpful.)

Also, don't forget about the gas perks offered by grocery chains. It's a great way to save money on gas! 

A Place to Land

In my opinion, the place you stay can make or break your vacation. But maybe that's just me. We've saved money on a motel before without doing it as cautiously as we should have...and we were miserable. The room was filthy. So, when trying to save a few bucks on a motel room or cabin, do it carefully and consider what's important to you! 

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It takes hours of research to find a good deal on a great room. (Well, it does for me. Please don't laugh, and, if you have pointers on how to do it in just a few minutes, please don't tell me...yet.) I hope these tips will make that time frame a little shorter for you. 

You've heard of sites like Priceline.com, Travelocity.com, Expedia.com, and Hotwire.com. I've used some of theses sites, but usually only to help me find motels and to read reviews. You can find good rates in this way, but I always recommend calling the hotel directly, just to be sure you have the best rate. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that, no matter what the site says, you do not have to separate your family into two rooms, unless, of course, you have so many children that they really won't fit into one room. We have four children and they can still sleep like puppies; piled any old place. We've been told by some hotels (when calling the main reservation number) that we would need to get two rooms, but we've never done it. We either called the hotel directly and found out that that wasn't, in fact, a requirement, or we've used a different hotel. 

Review the Reviews

As I mentioned before, the sites listed above are great for reviews. Don't trust photos of hotels or even the name of a well-known chain to ensure a nice, clean room or good service. Do trust the reviews of actual customers, if the majority agrees and if the review has been posted recently. It's a let down to arrive at your destination and discover that your room is dirty and the service is poor. 

Boarding Your Pet

Our Shorkie, Snickers :)

We have a tiny, four-pound Shorkie. We love that little dog, but it's a little difficult to figure out what we should do with him when we go on a trip. Do we take him, or board him near home? If we take him, do we board him near the hotel, or haul him around with us? The best choice, usually, seems to be to take him with us and board him, at least during the day, near where we're vacationing. That way we don't stress about him, but we don't have to deal with dragging the poor little thing around all day. Here are a few sites where you can find listings of Pet-Sitters/Boarders. 

• All Dog Boarding (Not sure why the name, but I don't think it's only for dogs.)
• ASPCA 

DruryHotels.com

A Personal Plug, If I May

I'd like to put a plug in here for a hotel where we stayed once; Drury Inn. The room was one of the nicest we've seen, the service was amazing, the amenities were better than most, and the price was very reasonable. One of the biggest pluses for us was the fact that they were pet-friendly and didn't charge extra for our dog. We'd love to stay at these hotels wherever we go, but, I guess we just haven't gone to the right places. :)

Admission Fees

So, you're there, you've got a place to stay, now what? Admission prices can deplete a family budget in no time flat. There are ways to bring down the cost, however. 

Of course, being a member of a club like AAA makes it easy to get discounts at many places, but you can get some discounts without being a member of a club. 

• Student discounts
• Homeschool discounts
• Group Discounts
• Minister's Discounts
• Military Discounts

If you are a college student, or have school-age children, you may be eligible for discounts at quite a few museums, parks, etc. Many are even free! The same goes for homeschoolers. It never hurts to ask! You just might be surprised who offers these discounts, and how deep those discounts are! 

Ripleys.com

Case in point: We stopped by Gatlinburg on our way home from a campmeeting once. I knew that Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies offered a sizable discount to homeschoolers, but I knew they required paperwork before they'd give that discount. Since we hadn't planned on this little mini-vacation I didn't have the paperwork with me, but I thought I'd take my chances and ask. Couldn't hurt. I explained the situation to the man at the ticket counter and, after just a few moments of consideration, he said (rather apologetically, I thought) "How does half-off sound?" How does it SOUND? It sounded fantastic! Our family of five (I think we only had three children at the time) got in for around $35! Now beat that! I was very, very grateful. That was several years ago, but you can be sure that the next time we plan to visit Ripley's Aquarium, I'll have the necessary documents/cards in hand and I'll ask about getting that discount again!  

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If you have several children and are traveling with other family members or friends, you may qualify for a group discount. I've never done this, but I don't know why it wouldn't work. It's worth checking into. 

If there is a member of the family who is in the ministry, you may get a discount at certain hotels and cabin rental agencies. These discounts aren't as plentiful as the others, but they're around. You just have to ask. 

If you're a member of the military, you should be aware of the many, well-deserved Military Discounts available to you. 

Tips on eating out frugally will be addressed on the blog at a later date, so I'll just add this: 

• Decide if you want to cook while you're on vacation, eat out, or a combination of the two. Plan and buy accordingly.
• If you're eating out, you may want to make sure that the prices don't skyrocket at dinnertime. Once, when we went to one of our favorite restaurants in Pigeon Forge, we arrived just a few minutes after the price change and the difference was ridiculous! We knew better the next time, I can assure you.
• Don't forget the coupons! Retail Me Not is a great, safe site where you'll find coupons to meet your needs. 

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Go Local

If you simply can't swing an "away" vacation, it might still be possible to have a staycation, or to spend one night at a local hotel. Take some snacks, movies, and games, and enjoy the togetherness of family.Plan visits to local museums, zoos, and historical landmarks. You might be surprised at the fun stuff located in your own backyard! 

Go Off-Season

One of our favorite traditions is to head to the beach in December or January. We load up with games, snacks, and movies, rent an ocean-front suite, and have a blast. The cost of a deluxe suite, in the off-season, can be as low as the cost of a regular hotel room. 

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If at all possible, unless you particularly enjoy crowds and price-hikes, it's always best to visit tourist areas in the off-season. You'll be amazed at the difference in cost, and you'll find your vacation far quieter and more relaxing. Do be aware, however, that all of the attractions may not be open. 

Ready, Set, Go!

Well, this post got rather long-ish! But I do hope it's helpful to you as you plan your next vacation.

Have a fun, safe, and happy summer!

How We Celebrate Easter

Easter is kind of a work of transition around our house. Every year I try to make it a bit more meaningful for the kids while combining elements of traditions my husband and I grew up with. (Except for re-creating the Easter that I had chickenpox---not a great memory!)

Three Things We (Almost) Always Do

1. Color Easter  Eggs.

This is not my favorite part of the holiday. There, I admitted it. Frankly, I would do without it altogether if not for my husband's insistence that it be included. I am usually a reluctant participant because I don't care for craft-type activities. Especially not messy ones.

I'm also not a big fan of food dyes. (Yeah, I'm that kind of mom!) Lest you think I am a total grinch (Oops! Wrong holiday!), I do buy the egg kits and eggs. This year I got white free-range eggs from Earth Fare for free, so I'm happy that at least our petroleum-drenched eggs are healthy ones! :-)

One year, my mother-in-law colored eggs with the kids and thought my quick grabbing of upsetting cups of dye was hilarious. Last year, we were in the middle of a big remodeling project and had to color eggs on a piece of cardboard on the newly laid floor of the living room since our furniture was all removed. That was especially nerve-wracking!

2. Get New Outfits.

I know this borders on materialism and is often dictated by peer pressure. However, there is something to be said for the celebration of Resurrection Sunday and the newness of life represented by new clothes. My mom often buys all of us coordinating outfits for Easter while she's out scouting for deals. (Bless her! Shopping is also one of my least favorite activities.) Usually my kids need spring dress shoes anyway, so I just make sure they are new for Resurrection Sunday.

3. Give Easter Baskets.

Another materialistic expression, right? Well, it doesn't have to be. We keep ours small and try to focus on a few small meaningful toys and yes, candy. (Refer to #1 for my thoughts on this!) My kids honestly don't think much about bunnies and no one in the family cares for Peeps. I've gotten them chocolate crosses instead of Easter bunnies and one year, we included Christian Easter music CDs and books.


Things We Have Done in the Past

1. Resurrection Rolls.
When I accidentally bought colored marshmallows so they looked a little funny. (And you know where that coloring comes from!)

2. Resurrection Eggs.
Which I tried to save for this year but found the carton crushed underneath our Christmas decorations in December. Oops!
 
3. Easter Egg Hunts.
Which proved to be too much of a temptation for not treating the other children as they would want to be treated and netted my youngest with about 2 eggs.
 

4. Visit the Easter Bunny at the Mall.
Yes, I know---the pagan icon which my children knew was just a dressed up mall employee 'cuz I told them. (Yep, they also know I'm the Tooth Fairy and Dad is Santa. We choose not to lie to them.) This resulted in my youngest (at the time) giving a terrified scream and a less-than-serene photo. We haven't done that for about 5 years since! Who really wants to sit on on the lap of an larger-than-life-sized mammal anyway?

What We're Going to Do This Year

I have really enjoyed this devotional by Ann Voskamp over the last few weeks to prepare my own heart for Easter. She generously offers it free on her site, and it is so meaningful!

Our church also has a special Communion service the Wednesday before Resurrection Sunday, so my husband and I take turns participating while the other watches the children. We feel that they should have an understanding of the sacrament and a relationship with Jesus before partaking themselves.

Since I have small children that are difficult to get up and dressed for regular Sunday morning worship, I haven't attended our church's early morning Sunrise Service for many years. I believe I might attend alone this year in order to prepare myself spiritually for the day without the welcomed but distracting presence of my children. We all attend the later services together, of course.

As far as celebrating with the children, I am planning on making a new set of Resurrection Eggs. I also thought these Easter Cookies might be a bit more meaningful to explain the Resurrection story to my kids.

I also downloaded these Easter Listening Pages to help my kids participate more in the services on Sunday.


What are your plans for celebrating the Resurrection with your family?

How We Involve Our Children in Household Chores

"How do you do it?!" The question homeschool moms are asked all the time. Although it is elusive and not clearly defined, today we will share with you how we do the housework part of  it. Ready for our big secret? We employ our children. 

Yep! We consider child labor laws to be as new of a concept as public education so we throw it all out the window. Just kidding! Sort of. As Tonya says, "I honestly don't know what I would do without my girlies! They are my right hand helpers."

You see, all of us don't just sit at a desk and lead our children in the Pledge of Allegiance and other school activities all day. We have busy lives. Marion helps her husband run a farm and the farm store. Tonya helps her husband run a church and cleans the occasional house to add to the family income as well as the church (which her kids help with, too---what a ministry opportunity!). Jessica takes up the slack while her husband goes back to school, and I do some work from home to help the family income while my husband works long and varied hours.

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Beginning Stages
The key to having children help around the house is to start them young. Wee little ones love being with Mommy, so this is a great time to train them on basic chores. My toddlers have especially loved pulling laundry out of the dryer and emptying the lint catcher. Tonya starts hers out with emptying the trash. The idea is that if a child can take toys out of the toy box, he can put them back in. This seems perfectly logical, but the application gets a little tricky at times! 

Age-Appropriate Chores
We know that age and grade are  just a standardized way to classify unstandardized kids. Different children are ready for different chores at different times. Our job is to plug them into the "team", as I like to call it around our house. We depend a lot on our older children. Jessica's older girls each have a bathroom that they are responsible to clean, can do the dishes alone and help the younger ones hang up clothes when they can't reach the clothes rack. Tonya's oldest can bake and take care of breakfast and supper. Tonya and I depend on our oldest to babysit our youngest children as well. Washing laundry is also on our chore lists for our older girls.

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Even younger kids can be a big help, though. Our three and four-year-olds help clean their rooms and Marion's little ones (ages 7, 5 and 3) clear and set the table and feed the dog. Tonya lets her younger son help out, too. She says, "He knows how to make his bed, clean up his room, empty the trash, set the table, put away silverware, fold laundry, put it away, etc." In our house, if the three-year-old is slow in loading dirty silverware into the dishwasher, his 18-month-old brother will beat him to it!


Motivational Tools
Making work fun is not always possible, but we all pull out our "Mary Poppins" tricks when possible. For Marion, it is a Celtic Christmas CD her girls love all year round. She also uses a timer to let them "race" to get done. On cleaning day, I separate us into "teams" and have each team complete their list and check it off. It's hilarious to see the "boy team". My 18-month-old bumps down the steps on his belly clutching pillow cases to carry to the laundry room to be washed while his brothers carry the rest down.

Chore charts are great for little ones. I have a hard time keeping with them, but I always think they look so fun. Like this one:

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Allowances and financial compensation is a subject of great debate. I do use a pay system for my kids although they realize that some jobs are "just because they're in the family". I don't pay on a strict commission basis---just a set fee based on their age and number of expected chores. However, if a chore is not done they might have to pay me or another sibling to do it. We get paid monthly so we pay our children monthly. If it's a tight month and we can't afford "fun money" for ourselves, they don't get paid either so they see it's a family enterprise not necessarily something we "owe them". Jessica gives her children small rewards from time to time and Marion rewards her girls with a tea party or some other fun activity after they get their work done.


Life Lessons Learned

Although our children help us a lot, the main reason we teach them to work is for their own benefit---not just ours. As Jessica says,

"The small rewards they do receive from time to time are an added benefit to the plain ol' feeling of accomplishment they feel after completing a task, the housekeeping skills they're learning in preparation for keeping their own home one day, and the knowledge that they're doing their part to help the household run smoothly."

How We Homeschool

It's interesting that all of us that contribute here at Cherish the Call that have school age children homeschool them. I really didn't plan it that way, but in reality any mother serious about her calling is responsible for training her children, isn't she? Whether we delegate it out to teachers or do it all ourselves this is imperative with little (and no-so-little) ones!

I love it that we do it in such a variety of ways. Those of us who are released from the mandates of a school system enjoy employing our creativity to get the job done without destroying our children's love of learning.

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Joanna doesn't have to put much effort into her homeschooling efforts yet. In fact, she has another 5 years to decide on educational options. Right now, schooling for her little one consists of Daddy reading books to her belly! :-)

If any of us are experts (which no intelligent homeschooling mother claims to be!), Judy is. She homeschools in one of the states with the most stringent laws while she has blended parenting 7 and homeschooling 5 children into her day for quite a few years (my memory refuses to cooperate on the exact number!). She blogs often about it on her excellent blog.

Tonya uses an online program for her 2 (out of 4) school age children while juggling the responsibilities of a parsonage as well. We started on our journey at the same time, so we try to encourage each other now and then.

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Jessica tells how they homeschool in interesting detail here.

There is so much to say about homeschooling since we all embrace it as a lifestyle. However, I'll mention just structure and curriculum. Jessica aptly covered that in her blog post, so I'll just mention the other three of us.

Structure
While Tonya has to be fairly structured in order to fit the recorded lessons in on their proper days, Judy and I are "on our own" for lesson plans and schedules. Judy has the added responsibility of a baby that still wakes up at night. I was so encouraged by her approach, because I have done it this way myself many days, then felt guilty because it wasn't the proper way to do school:

The one area in which we are NOT structured is a starting time for our school day. Due to the fact that Kendra is usually up 6 or more times each night, I try to catch a little extra sleep in the mornings, and therefore allow the kids to sleep till they are ready to get up. My oldest is 16 and tends to sleep till 9:30 or so, but he is growing rapidly, and I'm okay with that. (Side note: He now wears a men's size medium shirt, and size 11.5 shoes, and is nearly 6 ft tall!) Our nurse practitioner says that our schedule is actually ideal for teens, whose body clocks naturally tend to be set to go to bed later and get up later. The younger ones often set their alarms for 6:30 or 7:00, and get up and get most of their work done before I'm even remotely coherent, LOL.The staggered schedule is great for our family, since I can help the younger ones get finished up before lunch, and they can go wear off their excess energy outside. Then, my late morning/early afternoon is free to help the older ones with their more challenging coursework (one of my older kids needs me to read much of his texts to him).

 I try to do something with the little ones while Jessica practices piano and Jeffery does independent work. Then, Jessica (4th grade) does independent work while I work with Jeffery (1st grade) and I focus on Jessica when he is all done. This may happen early or it may happen late. Just depends on the balls I have to juggle that day. :-)

Curriculum
Tonya and I both use the Bob Jones curriculum. As I mentioned, she uses the curriculum company's online teachers. I teach the material myself. I supplement it with my own Bible curriculum, P.E. at a local gym and piano lessons once my kids get in 2nd grade and vocal music with my little ones. If I remember correctly, she does violin lessons and possibly piano and choir with her school age children. (She was too busy schooling to take time to comment on this one!)

Judy has more of an eclectic approach like Jessica:

My 2nd and 5th graders love ACE, since they can work on their own and get on with their interests without too much waiting on Mom. However, I score ALL work in order to keep tabs on what they are learning, and to make sure they are understanding their PACEs. The other 3 are in grades 7, 8, and 10. They have some PACEs, some textbooks of various styles, and some reading-based subjects (PA history, primarily). I pick and choose each subject on an individual basis, based on their preferences, strengths, and weaknesses; each year may be different from the year before it, and 8th grade for Brandon was totally different than 8th grade is for Devin this year. Just another reason why I love homeschooling!

Is everything always perfect? Nah! This is how many more days than we'd like turn out:

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Or maybe that's just me? :-)


 

How We Do Date Nights With Kids at Home

When I asked the Cherish the Call team members about their best tips for date nights, one mom e-mailed back, "Ummm date nights?" Another one said, "That's a tough prospect with a lot of little ones!" With small kids at home, date nights are a little different than they were BC ("before children", as opposed to AD which is "after delivery").

Even Joanna, whose little one is still "in the oven", has seen the difference:

Before I was pregnant, we liked to load up our kayaks, and head to "our" quiet river spot to kayak down the river together. Now, the most unique thing we do is go to our local auction or out to dinner.

Jessica and I had similar answers to what we do with our spouses for date night. Her words:

We usually just go out to eat, maybe walk around a store, and sometimes we'll pick up a shake or iced coffee on the way home as a last treat.

Yup! That's about what we do, too.

I didn't get a comment from Judy so I presume she didn't have time to reply because:
a) she was away from the computer on a romantic date with her hubby or
b) she couldn't reply to me since she hasn't been able to even talk to her husband to help her remember what they used to do for date nights.

Tonya lives far away from family so she and her husband only get a date night about once a year or so.

This is when it's good to get creative. Or so I'm told. At-home date nights are all the rage, and they always sound lovely.

I tried it a week or so ago. I put the kids to bed, lit all the candles in the living room and turned on some nice "candlelight music".

Our 17-month-old decided he was not ready for bed and proceeded to cry. We proceeded to ignore him.

My 9-year-old pouted, "How come we don't get to have candlelight time?" I ignored her, too.

My 6-year-old called me to the room in alarm, "Mom! What is that smell?!" Apparently I don't burn candles enough. He either believed the house was burning down or wanted me to help them evacuate the house, and therefore, their beds.

My 3-year-old came down the steps several times because he needed "covered up again". By the time I got everyone settled and quiet, my husband had fallen asleep.

So, that didn't go well.

Marion (I'll introduce her officially later!) and her husband have the at-home date night down pat:  

We usually  settle for popcorn and a good movie.....with the kiddos :-)

I do believe it is important for couples to connect in the midst of the chaos and excitement kids bring to the family. Whatever you have to do to get time with just you and your husband, it is well worth it.

Here are a few ideas from a more creative lady than us (thanks for the tip, Jessica!):
50 Fun and Cheap Date Ideas

How We Prepare for a New Baby

That title probably got your attention! Rest assured that although babies are much-loved around the Self house, the only babies we are actively preparing for right now are a nephew and a niece that are due within the next six months. That preparation involves only buying a few shower gifts and stocking up on camera batteries.

However, we have prepared for four babies around here. The first three were born right after or during a major remodeling project. Remodel the family, remodel the bedroom----it's all the same to us. We finally got smart when the last child was born (or at least smarter) and decided not to replace living room carpet, paint a whole floor of the house or tear apart the kitchen days before delivery. It's amazing how much easier it was! (Coming home to a put together house. Not the delivery. )

Preparing for the fourth baby was much less complicated than the first. Pull out bin of little boy newborn clothes. Find they are all stained from being stored in a damp basement even though they were in a plastic bin. Buy new clothes.


hoI have a great church family. Someone got wind of this dilemma and threw a shower for me. For my fourth kid. The fourth kid that was also the third boy. Yes, I know, they're sweet ladies!

I've always thought that the idea of stocking the freezer with foods so I don't have to cook for awhile after the baby is home was a great idea. Unfortunately, it never got out of the idea stage. Once again, my dear church family came to the rescue and brought me meals for a week after my baby was born. Yes, I wish you could meet them, too!

Other than those things for which I should have prepared , I did set up a bed for the baby, sterilize bottles and spend the last month of pregnancy practicing sleeping intermittently through the night. I packed my hospital bag ahead of time and put the car seat into the car but waited until I went into labor to clean out the car. Some essential things just don't occur to me ahead of time.

One more thing for which I always prepare myself is the sweet,cuddly feel of a newborn nestled up against my neck. It never works. I look down at that little bundle and tears of joy and amazement form in my eyes. Every. time. But then, one doesn't generally prepare for miracles.

Stop by Joanna @ The Lavans 
to see how she's preparing right now!

The Lazy Way to Do Laundry

Laundry....some people hate it, some people actually like it. I'm somewhere in between. I get upset when I can't get a stubborn stain out, and I sometimes have trouble keeping up with the clothing of six people. However, for the most part I like to see neatly folded clothing in drawers and don't mind the process of getting it there.

No, this is not my laundry room! I only wish mine were that neat!

I have greatly simplified our laundry routine over the years. Some of you might call me lazy. Maybe I am, but I take the Bible literally when it says my life is "more than raiment". I don't want to spend hours caring for clothing. I have children to love on, train and educate and a husband with which I hope to grow old.

I have a small laundry basket in my bathroom. Everyone puts their dirty clothes in it (or around it) when they get their baths. Every morning, my son takes the basket downstairs to the laundry room, and my daughter starts the first load. My daughter or I switch it at some point. When it is finished, I fold it and put it in a basket, then carry it upstairs to distribute to the dressers and closets.

I don't sort unless it is something that I'm afraid will run. I do try to treat stains myself since my daughter doesn't think to check those usually. If I have a load that needs bleached, I obviously only put whites in! :-)

Since we rest from laundry on Sundays, we usually have a few loads on Monday. We wash sheets and towels on Friday so there are a few extra loads then, too. That's pretty much it. See how lazy I am?


Jessica shares how laundry operates in her house at It's the Little Things. And rumor has it that Joanna has been so busy in the laundry room herself that she didn't get a chance to emerge long enough to post about it.

How do you do laundry at your house?

How We Schedule Our Days

In Around the World in 80 Days, a classic by Jules Verne, Phineas Fogg has a very predictable routine. To be honest, when I read how he took his breakfast at exactly 8:05 and went to bed at exactly 10:17, I am a bit envious. My personality craves order and predictability, and the thought of doing the same things at the same time every day brings me peace.

Enter four children and a spontaneity-loving husband. Living by the clock, if it were possible for me, goes by the wayside in the happy unpredictability of a household of six. So, we compromise.


Some things in our day are set (more or less) by the clock. We get up at the same time and go to bed at the same time every day. (At least the kids do!) Mealtimes are usually within a half hour of the same time and nap times are exactly on the hour (give or take 5 minutes). Changing these around results in very cranky children, which doesn't help Mom's disposition much either.

For the rest of the day, however, we go by a flexible routine.There is a certain flow to the day, and if a part of it is left out, things can crumble into chaos pretty quickly.

Morning chores are essential to a peaceful day. After dressing, each child has a few chores to do that keep us on the right track. One child unloads the dishwasher that I ran the night before. Another child puts away the silverware. Another child empties the trash and takes the dirty laundry basket down to the laundry room. By this time, the child that unloaded the dishwasher is free to start the first washer load of the day. In the meantime, I prepare breakfast and dress the little ones. By the time we sit down to eat, the essentials of the day's chores are complete.


The hours between breakfast and lunch are a little more flexible since I have a toddler and a preschooler. We try to clean up the kitchen and sweep the main area of the house before Bible Time, which we do all together. This is also the time for music practice. After Bible Time, the little ones do different things each day while the older kids do their independent school work. At some point, I switch the day's laundry from the washer to the dryer. By the time the youngest goes down for a nap at 11:00, I am ready to do the teaching part of school, alternating working with each child as they need my help.

This year, during the second hour of the baby's nap, we are trying to incorporate Play Time. This is the only way to fit exercise into my day at this point, and I know the kids need active play during the winter when we are stuck indoors most of the time. We all alternate between the treadmill, the trampoline and Kinect games. I fit in folding the laundry load during this time since the laundry room is right next to the game room. If there is time, we end up with a board game or card game.

By this time, the baby is usually awake so we eat lunch and finish up and schoolwork that is left. When I put away the kids' schoolwork from that day, I pull the worksheets and supplies they will need for the next day's work so we are ready to go the next day.

Afternoons are usually spent in free play time and chores when we are at home. A few days a week, we run errands, go to doctor appointments, visit the library or go to gym class during this time. Every once in a while, I will go against the grain and do something spontaneous like a field trip. I try to always be home by 4:00 for the baby's second nap. I want to hold on to that as long as I can! That is when I do some computer work and supper preparation.

After supper and cleanup, I try not to schedule the kids' evenings very much. If we don't have a place to be, they spend time with Dad or free play. We do the bedtime bath/story/prayer routine so lights are out by 9:00 most nights.

This schedule, however imperfect it may be, gives me several hours in the morning before the kids wake up and several hours at night after the kids go to bed to pursue all of my personal essentials like devotions, writing, blogging, reading, planning and preparation. I try very hard not to do any of this at the expense of time with the kids, so the schedule frees them up to get the rest they need and me to pursue my own hobbies and interests. It also gives me time to spend with my husband who is away for much of the day. In that way, scheduling is very freeing to me and absolutely essential!

See how a homeschool mom with no babies and a preacher's wife expecting a baby schedule their days:


Jessica @ It's the Little Things
Joanna @ The LaVans