Memory Hymns for 2014-2015 School Year

Bryan and I had time over the 4th of July weekend to sit down together and select our memory hymns for the upcoming school year.  As we memorize "I Want to Be Faithful" for the month of July, we'll be wrapping up last year's selections.  It's the first time we ever memorized a dozen hymns in a year.  What an amazing way to worship our Lord!

Our current method for memorizing is working well.  We sing through verse one and the chorus the first week of the month.  Then we add verse two the next week and so on.  If there are more verses than weeks, we simply add them in a bit faster--after four days or so instead of a full week.  The kids are picking up the songs quickly.

Throughout the year, we revisit the songs we learned previously to keep the words and tune in our minds.

A quick note on tunes...those of you who know me in real life know that I cannot carry a tune!  In fact, my college piano professor (I took beginning piano thinking it'd be an easy humanities credit...) told me that I had no rhythm and should try singing along with my playing.  Until I started.  Then she quickly said...um never mind!

So what's a tuneless gal doing teaching all of these songs to her kids?  Teaching them the words!  I figure that they can always adjust to the "real" tune when they are singing with others, or in a worship type setting with piano in the background.  The words are more important anyways!  We also always listen to a YouTube video or two the first few days of the month, just to hear what it should sound like. 

My husband has amazing musical talent.  He works with us on Saturdays and Sundays, and is very patient with my invented tunes.  We sound much better on the weekends when he leads us!  But alas, his crazy work schedule doesn't allow time for singing together during the week.  So I do what I need to do--and lead singing most days.

I said all that to say this...don't let a lack of musical knowledge or ability keep you from memorizing hymns. After all, the Bible says we are to make a joyful noise unto the Lord--not a perfect noise.

Here you are...our selections (and the section of our church's hymnal that they are in...):

August 2014
Just As I Am (Invitation)

September 2014
A New Name in Glory (Salvation)

October 2014
At Calvary (Repentance & Forgiveness)

November 2014
Here Am I, Lord (Commitment & Consecration)

December 2014
Go Tell It On the Mountain (Christ's Birth)

January 2015
Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus (Faith & Trust)

February 2015
Tell It to Jesus (Prayer)

March 2015
Lead Me to Calvary (The Cross)

April 2015
He Lives (Christ's Resurrection)  

May 2015
Blessed Assurance (Assurance)

June 2015
Heavenly Sunlight (Peace & Joy)

July 2015
Got Any Rivers (Comfort)

Do you have any plans to memorize hymns for the new school year?

Updating Our Menu

July is here.  Now's the time to update chores, menus, school plans and schedules for the upcoming school year.  By planning now, we'll be able to practice for most of July and August before we jump into school mode the beginning of September.  Ideally all the changes will be second nature by then, and adding school to the routine will be simple.  

We'll see how it actually works out!

The kids were very excited about updating our menu.  Just FYI, here is the thinking behind my meal plan. The post I linked to has last year's menu, and some additional information.

• We eat the same breakfast and lunch every day of the week (Mondays are the same, Tuesdays the same, etc.)
• The kids each have a day of the week.  On their day, they were able to pick breakfast and lunch.  
• Each dinner has a theme.  The kids were also able to pick which theme they wanted for their night.  
• One snack a day is planned.  (Which is a change--this year we had two, but my kids weren't eating meals really well, so one has to go!) 
• The snack is something the kids will ideally be able to do most of the prep work for.
• Jayme is responsible for cooking one breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack this year.  She picked which meals she wanted, and spread them out over four different days. Break for mom, great skills for her!
• We add seasonal or frozen fruit and veggies to round out each meal choice. 
• This menu will stay the same (with minimal changes as needed) until next July.  

Why do I menu plan like this?  Good question!  Here's some insight into my brain..

1.  Having a set meal plan saves on time during the school year when I'm really busy.
2.  I'm able to prepare a shopping list that stays the same for each monthly trip.
3.  I'm able to take advantage of savings on items I know I'll need, and don't end up with a pantry full of something we don't actually eat.
4. My theme dinners allow me to be as flexible and creative as I desire.  For instance, Fiesta Night can be as simple as nachos.  Or it can be complex with homemade tortillas turned into wonderful enchiladas.  Some weeks are crazy!  Some are less so.  I have a plan (and ingredients) for them all.
5.  I have a rotation for each of the theme nights.  These are four meals that I know the family will eat.  But...I don't have to stick to them.  I can change that part up.  But having four planned out means I'll always have a backup if I need one!
6.  I'm able to save on groceries!  This method allows me to buy what we need, stock up on what I can, and not go all crazy buying fancy ingredients that'll only be used for one specific meal.  I used to be horrible at that!
7.  The kids know what to expect.  They thrive on routine.  They also have some ownership in this menu.  After all, they are the ones who picked many of the meals.  Makes meal time less of a headache! 
8.  It allows me to commit many recipes to memory.  You try making the same thing every Monday for a year and see how naturally it comes to you after awhile.
9. This plan makes prep work easy.  If we're having oatmeal for breakfast every Friday, I need to start the oats soaking on Thursday.  I can easily see what kind of meat might need pulled out for the next night and let it thaw too. In order to make egg fried rice for lunch, I need to cook it the day before so we have cold rice to start with. Simplifying life is good--especially at this season of my life!
10.  I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them off the top of my head!

You'll notice some hyperlinks in my menu table.  Those take you to the sites with the recipes.  I might not always use the same one, but most of the time I do.  This makes it easy for me to find them when I need them. It also gives Jayme a place to turn when she does the cooking!

So here you are...our 2014-2015 Master Menu Plan!

Day	Breakfast	Lunch LEFTOVERS FIRST!	Afternoon Snack	Dinner
Sunday	Breakfast Casserole & Juice	Crockpot	Popcorn	Baked Potato Bar
Monday Ellie’s Day	Banana Bread	Meat, Cheese, Crackers & Pickles	Oatmeal cookies	Pasta*
Tuesday Jayme’s Day	Sausage patty & Egg	Mini Pizzas*	Blender Ice Cream	Seafood
Wednesday Owen’s Day	Oatmeal	Grilled Cheese & Carrots	Pretzels & cheese	Fiesta Night
Thursday Sydney’s Day	Yogurt & Jam/Honey	Egg Fried Rice	Granola Bars	Asian Night
Friday Jeffrey's Day	Scrambled Eggs*	PB & J, Applesauce	Jello	Pizza @ Grandma’s
Saturday  Simon's Day	Pancakes & Hashbrowns	Quesadillas	Cookies/Brownies & Milk *	Hodge Podge

*=Jayme Cooks!

Baked Potato Rotation:

Taco Potatoes

Cheesy Broccoli

Steakhouse Spud

Pizza Potato

Pasta Rotation:

Mac & Cheese

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Oriental Noodle Delight (Basically homemade oriental noodles, veggies, diced meat and whatever else Jayme feels like adding—she loves making this dish!)

Chicken, Peas & White sauce over homemade noodles

Seafood Rotation

French Bread Crab Sandwich

Shrimp Broccoli Delight

Tuna Patties (or Salmon) with mashed potatoes and peas

Baked fish with baked potato and broccoli 

Fiesta Rotation
Enchiladas

Tacos or Taco Salad

Nachos

Crockpot Mexican Casserole

Asian Rotation

Egg Drop Soup

Lo-Mein with homemade oriental noodles

Egg Rolls(wrapper recipe)  or Potstickers with rice

Mandarin chicken over brown rice with sautéed cabbage

Hodge Podge is basically mom's choice!  Whatever I feel like making, or leftovers or whatever.  Simon is still too young to pick meals, so I also picked for him! (Benefit of being mom!)

I'm looking forward to getting into the groove with our new menu plan!  What works best for your family now for meal planning?

Utilizing Swagbucks: What Works For Me

I've been noticing the word Swagbucks around lately.  Until a few months ago, I had no idea what it meant.  Bloggers kept talking about buying things with Swagbucks.  It sounded complicated, and I don't have time for complicated.

So I ignored Swagbucks.  Until I came across this review one day, and realized that it wasn't really complicated. Or at least it didn't have to be!

I still thought it was probably a scam, but decided to give it a try.  I cautiously signed up, expecting lots of spam to follow. But it didn't. And I started using their search engine a few times a day.  I answered their daily polls.  I took part in a survey or two. And I slowly started earning Swagbucks.

Earning things for something you do anyway (searching?) That is pretty neat!  After a month or two, I earned enough Swagbucks (450) to redeem for a $5 Amazon gift card. This was my goal.  Earn something and see if it really worked.

I was impressed! A few days later I received email notification that my purchase was complete and was able to access the gift card code.   I used this the next time I bought something at Amazon, and it worked perfectly.  How exciting!

I've now earned three gift cards, and will continue using this website.  There are features I don't use (like the games and the TV part) because of our limited internet.  I'd waste too many precious bytes on those activities.  However, if you have unlimited internet like most of the country, it sounds like you can quickly earn even more Swagbucks that way.

My final bit of good news with this website?  I earned enough points for a $5 gift card in a single day.  By using the links from the Swagbucks website to shop.  I needed to buy somethings online.  I used Walgreens and Walmart.  By going through the Swagbucks link (instead of just going directly to the sites), I paid the same amount for the items I was going to buy anyways.  But, I was rewarded 2 points per dollar at Walgreens and 4 points per dollar at Walmart.  It added up to 481 points, and enough for $5 at Amazon!

I had problems with the toolbar, so I don't have it installed. Our anti-virus program kept calling it spyware, so I didn't feel comfortable installing it.  If you do install it, you get a point everyday you use it. Many bloggers out there are using it, and I may look into it again in the future when I have some more time to research it.

 I don't fret about doing the poll everyday or anything. I'm definitely a very casual Swagbucks user.  But, I've earned $15 in Amazon money for doing activities I do anyways.  That's awesome!  If you haven't signed up yet, check it out. If you use my referral link, that'd be awesome!  Then I get to earn Swagbucks along with you. 

It does take some time for the rewards to get posted to your account.  My online shopping points won't actually be credited officially to my account for 30 days or so (depending on the vendor).  But they are pending so I can see them there. I'm looking forward to saving $5 off my next Amazon order! The polls and surveys and video watching seem to post right away.

Have you used Swagbucks before?  Any good tips for utilizing it?

Getting It All Done: Farm Chores--Winter

After taking an extended break from the Getting It All Done series, I thought I'd add a new post.  Farm chores are essential here at Grouse Creek.  Here is how we get them done...

Our Winter Farm Chores:

Feed Sheep Hay
Feed Cows Hay
Feed Calves Hay
Feed Chickens Scraps
Feed Chickens Grain
Water Sheep
Water Cows
Water Calves
Water Chickens
Milk Maggie & Epie
Feed Calves Bottles
Strain Milk into Jars
Clean Barn
Bedding for Animals
Clean Milking Supplies
Gather Eggs
Straw for Chickens
Let Chickens Out in AM and Lock them Up in PM

And occasionally take care of other things that come up like escaped animals or fence mending.  And scraping ice.   

Writing everything down was essential.  Didn't want to forget anything!  But, it looks like a massive list.  So I had to divide it up to make it more managebale for my brain to wrap around at five in the morning. 

Here are our AM Farm Chores, in roughly the order they get done:

Water cows (this time of year using 5 gallon buckets since the hoses freeze pretty solidly.)
Milk Maggie
Milk Epie
Feed calves milk & rinse bottles
Strain milk into jars & get equipment soaking
Clean barn
Give animals hay
Check on bedding
Let chickens out and check straw, water and feed (large containers don't need done every day...)
Give chickens previous day's scraps
Wash milk supplies

Jayme and I handle these most days.  Two days a week she gets to sleep in and I get them all done.  By myself it takes approximately 45 minutes on most days.  More if there's a lot of ice and it's cold.  Less in the summer.  When Jayme helps, it takes about 30 minutes or so. 

When Jayme helps me, she takes over the hay and straw while I milk Maggie.  She then helps milk Epie and feeds the baby calves.  On her way in, she lets out the chickens. 

At night, I have more help.  Jeffrey, Ellie and Sydney love going to chore.  In the summer, everyone comes along.  With the weather this cold, Jayme is now staying in the house with Owen and Simon.  They don't do well in the cold. 

Here are our evening chores;

Water cows & calves
Sled hay over to the sheep (We put hay on the sled, the three kids jump on, and I pull them across the road!)  This task isn't as much fun in the spring and fall without snow. 
Check sheep water (they don't drink it very quickly)
Sled back home and Count Chickens (Should have 18)
Gather eggs and lock up chickens
Feed calves and cows hay

It typically takes 15 minutes.  Jeffrey gathers the eggs.  Ellie and Jeffrey feed hay to the calves.  Sydney pets the animals.  :)

That's how we handle farm chores. This time of year they aren't too bad, especially now that milking only occurs in the morning.   (Since we were all sick over Christmas, we stopped milking Epie at night as well.)

Having kids help makes the chores go more quickly and be more enjoyable!

Barnyard Blessings

In my recent Bible studies, I've been learning about complaining.  And mumbling.  And grumbling.  And about how we aren't supposed to do those things.  About how our tongue can get us in a lot of trouble.

The Israelites are the focus of my study.  My how they grumbled.  I can hardly believe their response in some situations.  They are receiving numerous blessings from the Lord and they still aren't happy.  Instead of manna, they want meat.  Instead of walking through faith with Moses, they desire the captivity of Egypt. It's like they just can't see the blessings.  They focus on what they want.  On how tired they are from all the walking.  On the sameness of life.  It's crazy! These are God's chosen people.  And they are mumbling.

And then I start thinking...I'm just like those Israelites.  I've been doing my fair share of complaining lately.  About being tired.  About my husband being gone a lot because he's working overtime.  About Owen not sleeping.  About getting up to milk the cows. About life in general.  I take the blessings that God has given my family, and I mumble.

I complain that I have to milk twice a day.  Instead of enjoying each day, I'm eagerly counting down until the calves are weaned (at three months) and I can switch to my preferred method of once a day milking.   I complain about it being dark for both milking sessions now.  I complain that I have to pack the hay and water.  I complain about frozen water tanks...I think you get the picture.

Convicted...again.  That seems to be a theme in my life lately.  So, I felt lead to focus on all the good God has given us.  Today's blessings are in the barnyard, since that's the area of life that seems to be causing me to grumble the most right now.

Barnyard Blessings

 

 A husband who is willing to get his hands dirty.  He cleans the chicken coop out for me.  And chases rouge cows.  And is just a blessing in so many other areas!

Bryan in the freshly cleaned laying hen coop!

 

My cows.  I really am thankful for my cows.  They are Dexters, and smaller than many cows. Most important...they don't have horns.  (Those kind of scare me!)

My milk.  Creamy, raw milk sure tastes delicious.  I love knowing that it's good for the kids and everyone else in the family.

 The dairy products.  Milk and cream can be so useful!  White sauce, ice cream, cottage cheese, mozzarella, yogurt.  And I know I haven't even begun to skim the surface of possibilities! 

Our meat cows.  These are really scary to me.  (They have horns.  And are MUCH bigger than my Dexters.)  But...oh they will taste so good!  I'm definitely thankful for them. 

 Homegrown meat in general and eggs!  Store bought stuff is even scarier than those horns.  Pink slime?  Not in my hamburger! The chickens in the summer are a pain.  But they are tasty!

Opportunities to spend time with my kids.  When Owen is awake at 5 and I can't get him to go back to sleep, he gets bundled up and strapped into his wheelchair and accompanies on my chore mission.  He enjoys petting the cows and helping hold the bottles for the babies.  Jayme gets up and helps me in the mornings, and we have some great conversations.  These wouldn't happen as naturally if it weren't for our chores.

Ability to teach my kids good work habits. The cows need milked.  The animals need fed.  They need bedding and water.  By taking our farm responsibilities seriously, the kids will learn to have a great work ethic.

 Opportunities for creativity! Seriously.  When you are in the barn for an hour, you can get bored.  Sledding in the straw is one of the many ways my kids have kept themselves entertained.They sure keep me entertained with all they come up with!

 My milking parlor.  I've seen many pictures of homesteaders milking in the pasture or other less than ideal environments.  I have a beautiful parlor, and don't have to squat!

Time for prayer.  When it's quiet in the barnyard, it's a wonderful time to spend in prayer! 

 Time for singing.  The cow like music.  They don't complain if I'm off tune (which I usually am!)  I've been trying to practice all of the hymns we've memorized.  When the kids are out with me, we all sing together--making a joyful noise unto the Lord.

 Opportunity to practice memory verses.  When we're working together, I can ask one of the kids to say a verse for me.  We can take turns reciting them together.  We can play a game to see who can do the most.  You don't need free hands for learning like this, which is good when you're busy milking or feeding!

 Grouse Creek Farm. It really is a beautiful land the Lord placed us on.  I grew up here, and have so many memories.  I'm thankful to be back. We have a creek with a waterfall.  We have the remnants of a beaver pond.  We have forests.  We have fields.  So much to see and do.  Who needs to pay for entertainment when we have all that?  Thank you Lord!

There are many more barnyard blessings, but I'm going to stop there for today.  My goal is to focus on these when I feel like complaining.  I'll practice taking my thoughts into captivity and stop letting the blessings that God has given me turn into reasons to grumble.  I'll choose to learn from the Israelites instead of being just like them.

Any advice for someone trying to stop complaining?

Please join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemaker

Let It Snow!

The first snow of the season fell on us yesterday. I have to admit the kids were way more excited than Bryan or I....

Being Jeffrey's birthday, he got to choose the activity for family playtime.  Of course, he picked playing in the snow.  By that time, the snow had pretty much melted from our yard.  But, down by the creek it was still visible. We bundled up and headed down the road. 

Sydney loved the snow!

 We played.  Snowballs were made and thrown.  Cool foot patterns were created.  It was cold.  But oh so fun! 
 Hot chocolate was the perfect treat when we ventured back to the house. Sitting in front of the wood stove drinking cocoa was a great way to relax before quiet time.  The rosy cheeks slowly faded away as we drained our cups and watched the flames rise. 

I may not like the snow.  But I sure love spending time with my kids! They have the ability to warm me up even during the coldest activities.

Has any snow fallen on you yet this season?

Saturday's Breakfast

Saturday's breakfast starts on Friday.  I throw a dozen or so potatoes into the oven and bake them at 350 for an hour.  (Be sure to prick them so they don't explode!)

After the potatoes have cooled enough to handle, I get out my grater.  I pick a medium size and set to work.

I grate right into a bowl.  Then I cover it with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge until morning.

On Saturday, I melt a wad of butter in a large skillet.  I usually saute a little onion in it.  Then I dump in my pregrated potatoes and cook for 6 minutes or so.  I flip them over carefully and let brown on the other side.

When they're done, we toss some grated cheese on top, or maybe some ham.  Or both! Yum!

Super fast hashbrowns from real potatoes!

Friday's Lunch Menu

Friday is Jayme's day.  When I made my repeating breakfast and lunch menu, she got to pick breakfast and lunch options for the day.  She picked omelets for breakfast, and mashed potatoes, meat gravy and corn for lunch.  Yum!  This is one of my favorite lunch meals:

 It's a great way to use up any leftover meat from the week.  Chicken, turkey. tuna and ground beef all work well.  Peeling the potatoes takes a little time, but I have some great helpers!  While the potatoes are  boiling, I  just make a simple white sauce and stir the meat in. Organic frozen corn is an easy addition.

We keep freezer bags of cooked chicken and turkey in the freezer, which I can grab for this meal if I don't have leftovers.  By utilizing already cooked meat, this meal is really simple to make.

What'd you have for lunch today? 

Memory Hymns 2013-2014

Songs to Memorize for the 2013-2014 school year: 

Each month the kids and I work on memorizing a hymn from our church's hymnal.  Since the hymnal is divided up into sections, we decided to try for one song from each section over the next few years.  

We sing our hymn of the month every morning and evening during Bible Time.  By the end of the month, most of the kids are able to sing it all. If we need help with the tune, we use You Tube.  It's been very helpful! 

Throughout each month, we review songs that we've already learned to keep the words memorized. 

Here are the hymns we are tackling this year:

September: Worship Section

Brethen, We Have Met to Worship

October: The Trinity Section

Holy, Holy, Holy

November: God’s Majesty and Power Section

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

December: Christ’s Birth Section

 How Great Our Joy

January: God’s Grace Section

Amazing Grace

February: Jesus Christ Section

Blessed Be the Name

March: The Cross Section

The Old Rugged Cross

April: Jesus’ Resurrection Section

 In the Garden

May: 2^nd Coming Section

 Maybe Today

June: The Word of God Section

Wonderful Words of Life

July: Life in Christ Section

I Want to Be Faithful

We'll select new songs at the end of July next year.  It's a great way to be able to sing praises to God!

Getting It All Done: Shopping Expeditions Part 2

Last time we looked at how we prepare for a shopping expedition. Today we'll tackle the actual shopping process for the six kids and me.

After we drop Bryan off at work, we tackle the first store on our itinerary. I strap Simon into a front pack and rally the troops. If we have the wheelchair, Owen uses it (with Jayme pushing).  If we don't, we just grab a second cart. Sydney sits in the front of this one, with Owen sitting in the back.  I push this cart, and Jayme pushes the cart we use for our items.  Jeff and Ellie walk along beside us, or take turns sitting in the front of the Jayme's cart.  I'm so thankful for an older child!  She is such a blessing and a helper.

The kids love showing me things they find as we walk through the store. We usually implement a one-finger rule.  They can touch things with one finger.  This prevents them from grabbing.  At least most of the time! Jayme helps me keep reminding everyone about this rule.  I try to practice it too, unless the item is going in the cart.  No fair for me to be grabbing things I'm not buying but telling my kids they can't. 

Some stores we go in, get what we need and get out quickly.  Others we take our time and just wander through.  Costco has good samples (yum!) so we go slow. 

No matter if we are in a slow store or a fast store, if energy levels are high, I'll suggest that the kids skip to the end of the aisle and back (in a non-crowded part of the store of course).  I might even join them. :) I've also done scavenger hunts within aisles. Who can find something blue first?  How about the number 3? Distractions are good. 

Shopping with six kids really can be fun.  It all depends on my attitude.  I really have to keep it in check and  not let myself get stressed. Kids are active.  My children are not perfectly behaved in stores.  They whine.  But, if I start barking out orders or whining, or stressing, the whole trip goes south pretty quickly. I sometimes have to stop and whisper a quick prayer for patience and a better attitude.  The Lord provides abundantly well!

Snacks are also important for keeping the day going well!  Hungry kids whine.  A lot.  At least my hungry kids do. We bring a substantial morning snack (usually cheese sticks and pretzels).  About 10:00 we park out of the way somewhere and eat.  If it's summertime, we'll find a park.  Otherwise, we just sit in the car.  I sit in the middle row and have Jayme sit up front.  This way I can keep Owen from taking Sydney's food.  If I feed Owen, it also cuts down substantially on the mess.  Win-win!

After a snack, we tackle a few more items on our itinerary.  We make sure to take a potty break shortly after. We've learned where clean bathrooms consistently are, and where to avoid.  I usually have Jayme wait with Sydney and Owen while I take Jeff, Ellie and Simon in.  Then Jayme goes when we are done.  I handle diaper changes in the back of the Suburban for all three kids who need them.  Time consuming, yes--but definitely manageable. We park in a spot with a garbage can easily accessible--Wal-Marts are good for this!

Lunch occurs in the car, unless the  weather is decent enough to eat in a park.  It's handled the same as snacks, only with more food. The kids love having their own lunchboxes!  They usually save part of their lunch for on the way home.  (If the weather is cool enough or the food not perishable.)

We finish our shopping and hopefully fit in a park or Mobius before picking up Bryan and heading home to unload all the groceries.  Our afternoon snack (usually cookies!) is passed out. 

Occasionally Bryan will need to go to a store or two, so we continue our shopping expedition with Daddy.  That's a lot more fun!  He can even skate on two carts going through the parking lot! I haven't been brave enough to try that yet, much to the kids' disappointment.

Shopping is a tiring day, but very worthwhile.  We usually sing on the way home.  What a great way to end a productive day! 

Getting It All Done: The Daily Grind

Since both cows became fresh last month, and farm chore times increased, I had to redo our daily schedule.  I finally feel like we have the major kinks worked out.  It's the first time that I really feel like the kids are used to the routine.  Before I share my schedule, here are a four reasons why I think THIS schedule works:

1. I cut out a bunch

 Honesty, there are only so many hours in a day.  When I had things schedule so tightly together that there wasn't any leeway, we all felt it.  We don't have many normal days.  Owen might have seizures and require more care.  The cows might get out.  The sheep might jump the fence.  Life might happen.  Scratch that.  Life DOES happen.  And because of that, our schedule wouldn't.

I'd get stressed over what wasn't getting done, and that would affect the attitude of the whole house. Now I have less planned, and it's working great! Less stress, and important things are actually getting done.  Major happiness here!

2. I stopped trying to have kids do chores before breakfast.

I don't know about your family, but my kids wake up ready to eat.  Every schedule I look at online seems to have chores that get done before breakfast.  I've always tried this in the past. For us, it lead to lots of grumpiness.  Now I've decided that we can eat first.  Chores get done so much more productively now! I love it.

3. I took time to teach the process

Too many times in the past I just made a schedule and tried to implement it immediately.    After doing some research on this--by reading posts at Large Families on Purpose and the Maxwell scheduling book (Managers of Their Homes), I learned the importance of teaching the schedule.

We had dry runs with different parts of the schedule before jumping in whole hog.  We were able to discuss what worked and what didn't work.  I got input from my older kids. 

4.  I have a list of extra things

With all the extra time in the schedule, we might actually have surplus time one of these days.  You know--if the distractions don't happen.  I'm prepared.  I have a list of things that could get done.  Or games that we can play.  Fun things.  Work things.  School things.  Depends on when we have the time. This way I don't just turn on the TV and veg.  It's hard to get back to reality after stopping for a TV break.

So without further ado...the schedule that is currently working for us:

4:30 am: Nurse Simon
5:00: Walk/Run with Bryan
5:30: Milk and am farm chores (clean barn, water animals, feed baby cows, feed hay) Jayme joins me at 5:45,
6:15: Shower and dress. Make breakfast.  Pack Bryan's lunch.
6:45: Say good-bye to Bryan, start English with Jayme.
7:15: Wake up rest of kids.
7:30: Breakfast & Nurse
8:00: Table Chores, Morning Chores & Morning Weekly Chores
9:00: Bible Time
9:30: School--Jayme on her own, Me with Jeff, Ellie, Sydney & Owen
10:00: AM Snack during school
10:30: Finish school & Clean up, Nurse
11:00: Free Time kids while I make lunch (one helps me)
11:30: Lunch
12:00 pm: Table chores & Afternoon Weekly Chores
12:30: Family Play Time
1:15: Pick up and get ready for Quiet Time
1:30: Quiet Time
         One child has special time with me for 30 minutes
         2:00: My Bible Study Time & Nurse
         2:30: My Nap
        3:00 My walk with one child 
3:30: Afternoon snack & story
4:00: Nurse Simon before chores
4:30: Milk & afternoon farm chores
5:15: Dinner prep
5:45: 15 minute cleanup
6:00:  Dinner
6:30: Table chores, ready for bed, nurse
7:00: Family Play Time
7:30: Evening Bible Time as Family
8:00: Kids go to bed, nurse
Time with Bryan
9-9:30: Bed

We aren't a slave to our schedule, but having the routine has been great!  We are actually getting weekly chores done twice a day!  We are staying on top of milking!  We are homeschooling with a purpose and plan.  I don't stick to the schedule as much for nursing, except for the times right before milking.  I don't want Simon hungry during farm chores! :) Otherwise, he nurses on demand through the day. It's about every two hours, so that's what I stuck in. 

I love it! 


What's your daily schedule?