How do you structure your days?
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WIth some sort of routine?? I feel like we're so sporadic each day
plaidpanties666
--- In [email protected], "kristi3003@..." <kristi3003@...> wrote:
If the kids are fine without much routine, you can still create something for yourself. Sometimes little things at regular intervals can be... "touchstones" if you will. Cups of coffee are some of my touchstones. They help the day go better, just the act of getting a fresh cup, going through the little routine of pouring, getting milk and sugar, finding a clean spoon, stir, deciding where to put the spoon. I don't even have to drink more than the first sip, its the little ritual that matters.
You can do that with other things, too: preparing food or sweeping a floor, checking the mail, letting in the cat. The trick is to be conscious that you're doing this little thing as an aspect of meeting your needs - you're doing it for you.
If you think its the kids who need routine, food is a good way to create that. Even if you have food available all the time, meals can be touchstones, ways to organize the day. Alternately, if you don't do meals (we often don't) remembering to bring a plate to kids at intervals can be a kind of routine.
It might also help to think about a routine in terms of weeks rather than days. If someone in the family has a regular routine (work, a class or club...) then that builds in a routine. If there's not a regular schedule in that sense, there's still a regularity that develops around going out or staying in. The day after you go on an outting is often different from just another day at home - kids are recouping, or may be excited still from yesterday's fun.
In my own life I found it helped to notice the patterns that existed first, and then do what I could to make the good parts of patterns better. So, noticing that Ray did well knowing what times things would happen, I made an effort to create a more regular schedule for myself - get up at a certain time, have breakfast ready by a certain time, that sort of thing. I'm not quite so clock-oriented on my own, but it helped him, so I tweaked my own routine to line up with the clock.
Mo's own rhythms include long periods of focus at roughly consistent times of day, so I (and George since he's the at home parent) build my routine around those long periods. Getting out of the house early in the day, for instance, runs counter to Mo's regular routine, so its something that's better planned at least a day in advance so she can wake up knowing her morning routine will be different and not get quite so focused.
---Meredith (Mo 8, Ray 16)
>Is that a problem for you? That's a real question, not a snarky or rhetorical one. If having a sporadic day is something that bothers you, then finding ways to have more of a routine is going to be part of how you meet your own needs. Meeting your own needs is important!
> WIth some sort of routine?? I feel like we're so sporadic each day
>
If the kids are fine without much routine, you can still create something for yourself. Sometimes little things at regular intervals can be... "touchstones" if you will. Cups of coffee are some of my touchstones. They help the day go better, just the act of getting a fresh cup, going through the little routine of pouring, getting milk and sugar, finding a clean spoon, stir, deciding where to put the spoon. I don't even have to drink more than the first sip, its the little ritual that matters.
You can do that with other things, too: preparing food or sweeping a floor, checking the mail, letting in the cat. The trick is to be conscious that you're doing this little thing as an aspect of meeting your needs - you're doing it for you.
If you think its the kids who need routine, food is a good way to create that. Even if you have food available all the time, meals can be touchstones, ways to organize the day. Alternately, if you don't do meals (we often don't) remembering to bring a plate to kids at intervals can be a kind of routine.
It might also help to think about a routine in terms of weeks rather than days. If someone in the family has a regular routine (work, a class or club...) then that builds in a routine. If there's not a regular schedule in that sense, there's still a regularity that develops around going out or staying in. The day after you go on an outting is often different from just another day at home - kids are recouping, or may be excited still from yesterday's fun.
In my own life I found it helped to notice the patterns that existed first, and then do what I could to make the good parts of patterns better. So, noticing that Ray did well knowing what times things would happen, I made an effort to create a more regular schedule for myself - get up at a certain time, have breakfast ready by a certain time, that sort of thing. I'm not quite so clock-oriented on my own, but it helped him, so I tweaked my own routine to line up with the clock.
Mo's own rhythms include long periods of focus at roughly consistent times of day, so I (and George since he's the at home parent) build my routine around those long periods. Getting out of the house early in the day, for instance, runs counter to Mo's regular routine, so its something that's better planned at least a day in advance so she can wake up knowing her morning routine will be different and not get quite so focused.
---Meredith (Mo 8, Ray 16)
Faith Void
I go back and forth with this. Whatever is working for our family at the
time. If we are busy it is easy to just do and be and go. Flexibility and
being spontaneous is part of the flow. Occasionally there is a patch between
cycles where my folks start getting uncomfortable and could use a little
hand holding (scheduling, planning). We usually go like this...busy, rest,
busy, rest. Sometimes the rest periods lasts too long for someone(s). Then
we will build in a few things to do until people find more to do on their
own. These instances are fairly rare. Though we are in one right now. The
end of winter was hard this year. Everyone felt really antsy. So we made
more plans.
I found that when I discovered that other people unschool and I wanted to
know what others did I read a lot of blogs by unschoolers.
This site has a list of updated blogs. All by unschoolers, parents and
children.
http://enjoylifeunschooling.com/
Keep in mind to not compare your life to the ones you read. YOu are reading
snippets of people lives. Usually the good stuff or the big stuff. They are
all whole people :-)
Faith
On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 9:04 PM, kristi3003@... <
kristi3003@...> wrote:
www.bearthmama.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
time. If we are busy it is easy to just do and be and go. Flexibility and
being spontaneous is part of the flow. Occasionally there is a patch between
cycles where my folks start getting uncomfortable and could use a little
hand holding (scheduling, planning). We usually go like this...busy, rest,
busy, rest. Sometimes the rest periods lasts too long for someone(s). Then
we will build in a few things to do until people find more to do on their
own. These instances are fairly rare. Though we are in one right now. The
end of winter was hard this year. Everyone felt really antsy. So we made
more plans.
I found that when I discovered that other people unschool and I wanted to
know what others did I read a lot of blogs by unschoolers.
This site has a list of updated blogs. All by unschoolers, parents and
children.
http://enjoylifeunschooling.com/
Keep in mind to not compare your life to the ones you read. YOu are reading
snippets of people lives. Usually the good stuff or the big stuff. They are
all whole people :-)
Faith
On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 9:04 PM, kristi3003@... <
kristi3003@...> wrote:
>--
>
> WIth some sort of routine?? I feel like we're so sporadic each day
>
>
>
>
www.bearthmama.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]