A day in the life of our kindergarten routine!!
It's taken us all a few weeks to switch our schedules. As you know, I'm a night owl. I love staying up late. However, I figured out pretty quickly that I was going to have to go to bed much earlier if I wanted to help my family start waking up earlier. We're doing everything earlier - waking, eating meals and heading to bed. It's been a pretty good change for all of us.
Here's our current schedule for Fall 2018:
6:45am My alarm goes off. Put in my contacts and wake up the house - open the curtains, turn on the lights and get breakfast prepped for the kids. They aren't big eaters so dry cereal, a mini muffin, or cinnamon bread and milk are their usual requests.
7:00am Wake up Olive. Set her up with breakfast, a show and talk about the upcoming plans for the day for home and for school. I get dressed and comb my hair.
7:15am Wake up Fletcher. Grab his breakfast and he hangs out with sissy. I load up Olive's lunch box, gather her things and get ready to walk to the bus stop. Both kids get ready from head to toe together. Fletcher gets super grumpy if we let him sleep in and he doesn't get to see Olive in the morning.
7:40am Walk down to the bus stop. We talk about our plans for the day, say a prayer and just chat. We enjoy sending Olive off to school together. Sometimes Kevin joins us. Olive told me she wished I could hide in her backpack and come to school with her today.
8:00am Back home. Fletcher plays while cartoons are on in the background. I pack Kevin's lunch and we talk about our days. He heads off to work. I make something for Fletcher and I for breakfast and get busy on my to do list - laundry, dishes and some quick computer work. We make beds, tidy up the whole house and feed the pets. I also do my hair, makeup and really get ready for the day at this time.
9:30am-12pm Out and About. We try to get out of the house during this time. Some days we play outside, meet friends at the park, go for a walk, run errands, head to the grocery, story time, children's museum, science class, gymnastics, friends, etc. We don't have plans every day, but I try hard to make plans to get out and about because it's good for both of us. Some days we'll work in the yard or ride bikes. It really varies from day to day.
12:15pm Lunch. We eat lunch at home most days. Fletcher asks for a pbj every day and I usually eat leftovers from the night before or a big salad. Fletcher plays while I clean up the kitchen.
1-3:00pm Fletcher goes down for a nap and it's my time to get all the things done. Chores, blog work, emails, phone calls, projects, pay bills, jobs, etc. I always have an iced coffee at this point in the day and look forward to this quiet time. Here's what I'm currently reading. This is the first time in a long time that I've had this chunk of alone time during the day. It's been nice :)
3:10pm Pick Olive up at the bus stop and hear all about her day. She's usually super tired, hungry and hot. She's anxious to get home. I fix her a big snack because she eats lunch before 11am. She watches a show and snacks. I go through her backpack to look over homework, important notes and plans for the evening. After her snack she's super chatty about her day. Today she was thrilled to be twins with her teacher - they were both wearing polka-dot dresses.
4:00pm We play. Read books, puzzles, duplos, etc. I've been trying to read for myself during this time since the kids are usually playing well together. We try to tackle homework before dinner. We are slowly getting into a good routine and getting this out of the way earlier in the evening.
5:15pm I start prepping dinner and Kevin gets home. He usually plays with the kids while I make dinner. I will also pack Olive's lunch for the next day while I'm prepping dinner.
6:00pm We eat dinner all together. It's super important for us to sit down together, talk about our days and talk about the highs/lows of our days. I clean up dishes and the kitchen while Kevin plays with the kids.
6:30pm Head outside to play! We've been riding bikes, going on walks or visit with our neighbors.
7:00pm Come inside for the night. Take care of baths, book club for the kids, snacks, games, etc. We have been trying to play more board games with the kids as they get older. We all work together to clean up toys and tidy up the house before bed time.
7:45pm Family devotion time, brush teeth, lay out clothes for the next day and head to bed. Kevin puts Olive to bed and I put Fletcher to bed. Fletch goes to bed super quickly after a couple books and a little bit of rocking him. Olive takes longer so I head to Olive's room next to tuck her in.
8:30-10:30pm Kevin and I sit down together. We try to have a dessert together and debrief about our days. Some nights we'll watch a show (currently watching Arrested Development) or football. I work on computer stuff, read, shower and relax. Kevin's usually doing some work or reading for fun. I lay out everything for the morning - backpacks, shoes, jackets, lunches, etc so it's ready to grab and go in the morning. Kevin heads to bed about an hour before I do.
10:30pm I'll watch a fun show on the DVR, read blogs or do something. This hour is the cat's favorite time of day because they have my full attention. They both want me to hold them or pet them. Crazy cats!
11:30pm Go to bed. It makes a big difference in my mornings if I can get in bed before midnight. In the past I have not been good about having a set bed time and wake time so this is all new territory for me.
I'm still trying to figure out...
the best time to exercise,
to make appointments
and make the most of our afternoons/evenings since Olive is away at school for several hours during the day.
It's time to link up with my favorite Welcome Wednesday ladies!!
Join us with a recent post or two.
Thanks for a day in the life post! It was so fun to read about your day and remember how fun it was to have kiddos that age! I loved that Olive said she wished you could hide in her backpack and come to school with her, so cute! Have a great Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are getting a hang of this schedule. I should probably start a schedule as well, but my evenings are always unpredictable. I may have to help with the cows or something else. I do have a daily cleaning schedule though. That helps break up cleaning throughout the week after work. I'd say if you need appointments, make them in the morning. You never know how late they'll run in the afternoon. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about your day! Your days sound very fun and special too. I’m so glad that you get some time to read and recharge during the afternoon - my kids used to do room time during that time slot (when they had outgrown naps) and I was crazy productive :) Have a great one, friend!
ReplyDeleteWhew! You pack your days full - it's all good stuff, but it's full! :) Thanks for obliging us with this post, it was so much fun to read all about your day!
ReplyDeleteI’m totally a night owl as well! And Mason is the same way. The school year really cramps our style. Lol. Our breakfast is very much like yours. I love that you guys pray before Olive gets on the bus. Mason and I pray every single morning as soon as we see his school. Those times are so special to me. “Lookin’ good, Mama” sooooo cute! Mason comes home from school super hungry as well. His lunchtime is 11:20 – 11:50. Is that your turquoise bike? I LOVE it! So cute!! I enjoyed reading about your day. It’s very much like ours.
ReplyDeleteThese posts are my favorite! Super neat to see into your every day - feel like you are a well oiled machine with your routine!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about your day. Readjusting a schedule can be tough, but it sounds like you've found a good routine. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun recap. I need to get better at finding things for breakfast that aren't always granola bars!
ReplyDelete