Much to my amazement, my new school schedule is working! We’re actually getting up early in the morning. The kids are actually getting school work done. And believe it or not, no one is really complaining about it much! I was only grumpy on the first day of the schedule. The last few days I’ve been surprised how cheerful I’ve been despite being quite busy.

One thing I miss is the slow lazy days where I could do what I wanted to as long as the kids stayed out of the way. But the guilty feelings that chased me around my day weren’t fun to dodge. Still, feeling guilty isn’t quite as frantic as being busy!  (Laziness does have some rewards.) 
I’m eager to share with you what is working for us, just in case it might help you.

Kids have to be up by 7 a.m. Then they have an hour to do what they need to do before school starts at 8 a.m. They can’t have breakfast until they are ready for the day. And once school starts, they can’t keep eating breakfast.

At 8 a.m. everyone starts school. Since we’re using the ACE curriculum they each get started in their paces and I go around helping kids, listening to reading, solving dilemmas, etc.

During school there is to be no talking. As you might imagine, it’s impossible to have NO talking, but I am rather strict that they sit quietly and work. If they need help they are not to interrupt me while I’m helping someone else. All of this is taking some getting used to, but it’s working!

We take a break at 9 a.m. The kids have to run outside (while the weather is nice) and I get to spend a few minutes checking my e-mail, etc.

It’s working well for all of us, and I’m eager to see if we can continue. Amelia is getting my attention each day and she’s doing great on her learning-to-read curriculum. Luke is reading each day and I can really see wonderful progress for him. Isaac is reluctantly making progress in his areas, most importantly in math and handwriting. Laura is doing great with grammar and math.

Alas, I must cut this short. My 15-minute break is almost up, and I need to keep on schedule.

Have a great day!