Back to Homeschool Blog Hop-Day 1: Getting Back Into a Routine

Summer days are almost gone and it is time to get back into the routine of school. Is this something that you find a bit difficult to do? I don't know about you, but we never planned to fall away from our routine. As we did, I decided I wanted to make sure we were easing our way back into it. So, we are taking this a step at a time.

This is the first year I am trying these ideas, so we will see how they go. If it all works out as I hope, these ideas will become a part of our back to school routine every year.

Two weeks before school starts back up:

I decided to allow the children to get even further off schedule. I wanted them to enjoy their last week of no routine. As it also happens, it was the last week of both of the summer reading programs we were participating in. This meant our week included 2 parties, with lots of fun and yummy food. Can you say pizza? 

Additionally, the children were allowed to pick two shows during their midday show time. When school starts back up, we will be back to watching one educational show before lunch each day. I also permitted longer game system time. I allowed the children to enjoy their last week of late bedtimes, even letting them sleep downstairs for what they are calling slumber parties. Really, this just meant bringing their blankets and pillows downstairs to watch the show and falling asleep when it was done, if not sooner. 

The week before school starts back up:

The plan for this week is to get back on a schedule in regards to time certain events happen, and getting back into doing chores. This means getting myself back into my routine as well. Up early, start a load of laundry, Bible time, some exercise and a bit of blogging done before getting the children up. The children will be getting up at 8am and going to bed by 9:30pm. They will start their day by getting back into the habit of making their beds and getting dressed before coming downstairs. We will eat breakfast and get hair done right away, instead of messing around for a while. 

During the school year, the girls have the My Student Logbook that they use to keep track of their schedule. We will start using them this week, just for making sure chores and other daily routines are remembered. Computer time, Wii game time, and WiiFit time will again be set at specific times, instead of randomly through the day. While they won't really be doing school work (except for a bit of working with blog review products), they will hopefully get the feel for our routine again. 

We are also going to add in a daily read aloud time after lunch, as that has been lacking during the school year in recent months.

Our evening show will start precisely at 8pm, allowing for the children to be in bed by 9:30. As usual, they will be able to read for a while in bed. They all enjoy this, even Harold. 

Our days will begin to have some semblance of order, which mommy is desperately needing, as are the children, whether they know it or not.

By Sunday, I am hoping we will all be in school-mode, ready to start our year.

The first day of school:

Well, that is a post in and of itself. In fact, I will be sharing our First Day of School Traditions this week, on Wednesday to be exact. I invite you to stop by and see what our traditions look like. Maybe you will choose to adopt some as your own. 

It's a blog hop!

Don't forget to stop by to visit my fellow Crew Mates. We are all sharing Back to Homeschool from our own perspective, so enjoy the varied subjects and views this week. Below is a list of 11 of my friends with links to their blogs. Each day I will be sharing a different group of bloggers. If you would like to see the full list of participating blogs, I encourage you to check out my Back to Homeschool Blog Hop introduction post. 

Marcy @ Ben and Me

Debra @ Footprints in the Butter

Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses

Amy @ Homeschool Encouragement

Missica @ The Open Window: An Autism Blog

Misty @ Year Round Homeschooling

Jennifer @ A Glimpse of Our Life

Heather @ Only Passionate Curiosity

Clarissa @ Counting Our Blessings

Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool

Monique @ Living Life and Learning

Let's Celebrate Back to Homeschool with some giveaways:

I happen to be hosting what I feel are some great back to homeschool giveaways. Each of these giveaways feature products related to school and learning. Just click on the link and you will be directed the the giveaway.

Enter to win:

A 3-month membership to A+ Interactive Math's Adaptive Placement Test w/ Individualized Lesson Plans 

A Classroom Friendly Supplies Pencil Sharpener

A copy of  The Reading Game