Below are some pictures of my binder. In addition to the schedule pages there are sections with frequently used recipes, to-do lists, weekly housekeeping tasks, etc. It really is nice to have everything in one place. Most pages are cased in page protectors so I can make notes on them with dry erase markers. The page protectors also allow me to pull the recipe out and use it in the kitchen without worrying about splatters and such. On the cover are "Guidelines for our Home" which include ideals we would like to live by to make our home a place of simplicity, love and warmth.
Here is today's schedule, for example. Sections in blue are items which include the kids. This makes it easy for Brianna to check the schedule to see what's up for them that day:
MONDAY
7:00 – 7:30 get up, play game with Alexander (and B. if up)
(Check bread)
10:00 – 10:30 Mommy’s quiet time
(Check bread if necessary)
The kids like it too, because they know what to expect. "Morning meeting" is something new that we are trying out, and I tried very hard to keep it at 9:30 every day. (I think there was only one day when it was impossible.) Most days I have exercise scheduled in, which seems to be the only way I can manage to get to it.
Just don't ask me how I'm going to manage this in the fall with a newborn, lol! I may have to take a break for another few months or longer. ;o)
*NOTE* I won't link to the site I got the binder idea from because the basic binder and mother's schedule system are the only parts I can recommend. The woman who runs the site also schedules her children's every move -- down to when it is child X's turn to sit on the sofa and read (Yikes!) -- and believes in training her children like dogs to obey the parent's every command just as she apparently obeys her husband's every command. (I need a barf icon here!) I simply can't in good conscience direct any traffic her way. If anyone wants to know more about the pearls I picked out of that mud, I'd be happy to share via email.
5 comments:
Like you, I am a Flylady flunkee. However, I discovered my own system which also includes guilt-free time for me as well as with the kids. We have a magnetic dry erase calendar on our fridge. Each member of our family has their own color marker. I never thought I would embrace the color coded calander, but what it great about it is I can look at it and instantly know if there is a ton of red (my color) that maybe I am doing too much, or if there is hardly any red, I need more *me* time. I also can tell right away if we are having family time somewhere or if the kids have too much going on in their lives as well. We all have different ways of keeping track of our lives, and while I am not saying it is perfect for anyone else, it works well for our family. Good luck with your binder it sounds like it may be your answer too! We all deserve to live life enjoying our parenting and ourselves sans guilt!
Thanks for visiting Devra! I can see getting into a color coded calender when my kiddos get a little older and everyone is heading in different directions. Glad you found something that works for you. :o)
I've tried to do FlyLady, too. I mean, everyone is always posting about her so ... But, honestly, I get exhausted just reading about all the schedules. And theoretically, I would love to have everything sparkling clean, but I will settle for just clean if it means more time to just waste. OY.
I do need a schedule or SOMETHING. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed lately by this new house that we're renting.
If you could email me, I'd like to pick the pearls from the mud, as you colorfully said. Oh, I'm Maria from the iVillage Homeschooling board. You can email me at pixilated_momma@hotmail.com
Thanks, Stephanie!
That binder system sounds like it could be good--if you're organized enough, though, to keep it up. I don't know--I wish we could be more organized and scheduled sometimes, but it's so hard. Liam rebels at order and I feel like I'd be battling him all the time with the binder system. It probably helps that your kids are more accommodating!
Actually, the schedlues are mostly for me. The kids don't "feel" it much except for the chores part and the homeschooling part for Brianna, and within those they have a lot of flexibility about "what", "how", and even "when" to some degree. I don't schedule much of their lives beyond what most families do -- meals, bedtimes, etc. (Brianna probably has much *more* unstructured time in her day than most kids since she's not in school.) It's always up for negotiation, too. Alexander is not liking the Morning Meeting very much, so we may end up scrapping that. I'm going to give it a couple more weeks and see if he warms up to it, but if he doesn't, I'll probably try some other way to accomplish a sense of connection at the start of the day.
Brianna is the more accomodating of the two. In fact, I've found that having chore time on the schedule is much more effective than my simply asking her to do something. For some reason, if it's "on the schedule" she's less inclined to argue about it. It's as if she sees it as a "rule" or something. Alexander actually responds better to a spontaneous request, so I'm still thinking about how to work it out so that both kids feel good about helping around the house. It's a work in progress!
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