Finally, A Rule

Well, this is the day we begin our new Rule. I know it’s not perfect, but it’s a start and I’m excited to see how it works. We had a family meeting yesterday after my oldest got home from her Junior Ladies of Charity meeting. I introduced the Rule and to my great surprise, everyone agreed that we needed to do this. Not that I needed their consent, but it sure is nice to have it! I spoke to them about the benefit of knowing what to expect and when to expect it. Even though there was a sort of rhythm to the day, it was not consistent enough (by a long shot) to let them know, “yes, I can play guitar now,” or whatever. This, of course, is our summer Rule because we do take time off of formal schooling in the summer. It really helps the kids to have a bit of a break and gives them the time they need to spend with their institutionally schooled friends.

So here is a basic look at our Rule:

• 5 a.m. - 8 a.m. : wake, dress, coffee, prayer, computer time, unload dishwasher, start laundry
• 8 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. : kids up, dressed, beds/bedroom, breakfast and clean up
• 9:30 a.m. : family morning prayer
• 9:45 a.m. : weekly chores
• 10:15 a.m. : snack, clean up, reading time (mom & laundry assistant keep laundry moving throughout the day)
• 11:30 a.m. - 12:15 : prepare lunch, eat, clean up
• 12:15 p.m. : daily chores
• 12:30 p.m. : weekly chores part 2
• 1:15 p.m.: mom~ paperwork and computer time, girls ~ free time/tv or movie time
• 3 p.m. : mom, begin dinner, one or more girls dinner assistant
• 3:30 p.m. : mom: more laundry! girls: free time
• 4:30 p.m. : finish preparing dinner, set table
• 5:00 p.m. : Dinner time, clean up
• 6:00 p.m. : Family prayer time
• 6:15 p.m. : 7:45 p.m. : reading time (either read alouds or individual reading)
• 7:45 p.m. : snack time, clean up
• 8:00 p.m. : mom ~ laundry, plan the next day, computer/reading time, girls ~ free/reading/occasional tv time
• 9:00 p.m. : youngest 2 to bed, oldest free time/reading time/occasional tv time
• 10:00 p.m. : mom to bed, oldest to her room
• 11:00 p.m. : oldest to bed

During various chores time, I will play rosary cd’s or chaplet of Divine Mercy cds or audio books so we can pray or learn as we work. This plan has to be flexible, though as there is no clear cut time for things like errands, or daily Mass (well, Mass is when it is, but I’ve not written this for M/W/F Mass, but I did consider that it would necessarily change things.) I figured that it will be easier to see what needs to change/give when it actually happens. Field trips, visits to friends or periodic shopping trips for birthday presents or the like will affect the Rule. A sick or teething baby/child will affect the Rule to some degree, but those are times that we need to just suck it up and adapt and then, when things return to normal return the the Rule.

Daily Chores are the the things that we have to do every day, sometimes multiple times a day, like tidying, sweeping, etc. Weekly chores are those things that are not done daily, but once a week or so and also monthly kinds of things. I have a list of those things and have divided up the weekly/monthly things so that there are certain things (like windows or dusting or getting down cobwebs or grocery shopping) that are done each week/month on certain days. We will just consult the list to see what’s to be done on any given day. I tried to balance out the chores so that there is a pretty consistent level of work to be done each day. It may not be as balanced as I hope, so it too may change, but at least it’s written down so I will be less likely to miss those things.

So, there it is. My Rule. I’ll keep ya posted (because I know you’re dying to know how it works out!)