Sunday, April 25, 2010

Attempt at a schedule

I used to be so good at scheduling ... before Hannah was born Nathan and I had a very predictable routine every day. He had a time each day to play on his own in his room, to play with me, to nap, etc ... Once Hannah came our schedule got a bit crazier, and with the impending move things just kind of went out the window. Nap times are still fairly consistent, but all other aspects of the schedule went out the window to a certain extent.

The constraints we are dealing with for our new schedule are mostly related to Peter's shifts. When he is on nights our days are much less structured than when he is on days. We do more family outings, so I have to leave time in the day that is flexible to do that. Since he usually sleeps until around 10 when he works nights, I have tried to plan several of the elements of the day that I think are necessary before Hannah gets up from her nap at 11:30.

Peter also either works until 6 pm or leaves for work at that time most days of the week. Our supper time switches based on that. On nights he works until 6 we eat later, and on nights when he has to be at work for 6 we eat earlier.

The last consideration is there is a mom's group that meets twice a week from 9:30 am - 11:30 am. I guess the only option at the moment for that is to go off-schedule one day a week. Twice a week would be too much for the kids right now.

So, with all that in mind, here is my tentative schedule. I'm sure it will change as we try it out.

7:00 AM - Everyone up and eat breakfast
7:45 AM - Baths for the kids, dressed
8:30 AM - Hannah will have independent playtime while Nathan helps me with whatever daily chores we have
9:00 AM - Sibling playtime. I will have to supervise this for a bit as Nathan has been pushy lately and because it's somewhat new to them.
9:30 AM - Hannah goes down for her nap, Nathan has learning time / game time with me
10:00 AM - Independent playtime for Nathan
11:00 AM - Help Nathan clean up toys in his room, then get Hannah up
11:30 AM - Prepare, eat, and clean up lunch
12:15 PM - Play outside if at all possible! Run errands around town, go to library, etc ...
2:00 PM - Nap for Hannah, rest time for Nathan.
3:00 PM - Free playtime for Nathan
3:30 PM - Hannah up from nap, small snack for both, reading time with Mom or Dad
4:00 PM - TV time for Nathan, independent playtime for Hannah. If we are eating early, I will prep supper during this time. If not I will clean during this time.
4:30 PM - TV time for both
5:00 PM - If eating early ... supper, structured playtime at table, jammies (clean up kitchen during structured playtime)
If eating late ... structured playtime at table, jammies, supper (prep supper during structured playtime)
6:45 PM - Story time
7:00 PM - Teeth for both and bed for Hannah, Nathan independent playtime in his room. He often wants to play in bed before sleeping. I'm hoping giving him 30 minutes to play in his room before bed might help him to get to sleep faster.
7:30 PM - Nathan bed.

And I have to add a third to this mix in less than 6 months?? Questioning my sanity at the moment ... lol.

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