Welcome! Nuestra Casa Es Su Casa ...Our house is your house

A glimpse into the life of Daniel and Jaynee Lockwood and their 12 precious blessings. Thank you for visiting; we pray that what we share here may always bring glory to our wonderful God and Saviour. May you praise the Lord with us for the great things He has done and continues to do as we serve Him sharing the gospel here in the little town of Cuidad Insurgentes, BCS Mexico. He alone is good and faithful!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Answering Questions about the schedule! :)

*Please understand, I share our schedule with you all hoping that it will be able to be a blessing/encouragement or give help/direction/ideas to another as so many have done with me. I do not think that scheduling is the only right way to manage your home; I just want to share what has been a blessing and help to me :)

First, for those who are interested, I highly recommend the book Managers of Their Homes by Steve and Teri Maxwell (http://www.titus2.com/); if you already have the book I encourage you to read (or re-read) it.
Now on to the questions you all have asked :) I'll be working on writing the answer to these over the next several days and then publish the post when I'm through :) I thought about dividing it into two or three posts as I'm sure this will be very lllooonnnggg, but thought I'll just write it all out here and you can scroll down, choose the question/answer you're interested in and skip the rest! :)
(I will write a separate post later on about children and chores.)

Okay...here it goes!

Why do you make a schedule if you can't follow it 100% all the time?
Our schedule is a guide we use to order our days. By praying about and then planning out our days, I am able to focus on the priorities God has given me. I don't come to the end of the day wishing I had spent my time differntly. A schedule brings so much peace and calmness into our home as we all know what we need to be doing at any given time. Nobody is wandering around aimlessly or bored. It gives rest to my mind as well as I do not have to make countless decisions about what this person or that person or myself should be doing or trying to figure out how everything will get done. It also helps me to actually get to the things that are really important to me (example...Quiet time with the Lord, sewing with the girls, reading to the children ect...)...things that I may not make time for if I don't have the time planned for them.
Of course interruptions to our schedule come daily. I have to use wisdom in deciding if I need to tend to whatever has come up right away or if it can wait and we continue on with what we have scheduled.
I may need to miss teaching a piano lesson one day due to a visitor or needing to do something for Daniel, but most likely, that child will get their lesson the following week because although interruptions come, they do not always come at the exact same time each day.
Even with the daily needs of comforting a child with an owie, redirecting a child back to what they need to be doing, changing a diaper, ect... I am still able to spend some time each day doing most of our planned activities.
We have found that we are able to accomplish more in 1 week on a schedule (interruptions included!) than we are in a month without one. :) And for those days when everyone is sick or some major thing happens that we can't do much of anything other than get everyone fed, I look for all the blessings the Lord has given us, am so thankful for my hubby and children, and know that we'll get back on schedule when we can.


Do you ever get overwhelmed with all there is to do?
I have had times of being overwhelmed but as I go to the Lord in prayer, and read and meditate on the truth in His Word, He is so good to encourage me and calm my heart.
The schedule does not overwhelm me...it does quite the opposite! I can see what needs to be done, when it will be done, and can end the day thankful and happy that we were able to accomplish all we needed to that day.

How do you recover when you get off schedule due to an interruption?
Normally I just pick up on my schedule where I am suppose to be when I get back to it. For example, if I was unable to spend my time teaching Benjamin because something else needed my attention, I would most likely not teach piano that day and teach him during that time so he wouldn't get behind in his lessons. But if I was unable to sew with the girls one day or our time was cut short, I would just continue on with my schedule and we'd get to sew the following day.
I do not feel like we have "failed" if we are not able to do everything exactly how it is written out each day. It is there to help guide our days, but we are flexible. For example, if I am up for most of the night for several nights with a fussy teething baby, I'll modify the schedule for that time so I can get some extra rest during the day. But I try my best to get to bed on time (not stay up reading or on the computer etc...) so that I will be rested and able to get up on time to start our day.

Do I make adjustments to our schedule after we start it? Does it get easier once the children get older?
When I first started scheduling, I made LOTS of adjustments the first month or two of using it. Now that I've been doing it for so many years, I still have adjustments I need to make each year but not as many.
I don't remember if it was more difficult or not when I was scheduling when all our children were really young. I imagine it would have been more challenging is some areas; but I do know that from the first year I began scheduling (I had 6 children then ages 6 and under) I loved it!

Why do you have everything in 1/2 hour time frames? What if something takes longer than 1/2 hour?
I use 1/2 hour time frames as it seems to be a good amount of time to spend on any one activity...a little bit of time on any one thing over several days sure adds up!! But there are some activities we spend more than 1/2 hour on and we just order the schedule to reflect that (examples- we have several 1/2 hr. blocks set apart for school work; the younger ones take a 2 hour nap in the afternoon).

You only have a 1/2 hour set aside on Friday for lesson plans. Do you find that is enough time?
I spend 1/2 hour in the afternoon each day working on a different project. But I also have an hour in the evening, if Daniel is not home or he's busy working on something, when I also am able to work on my projects. Much of my school planning or computer time is done then.
Since we have used the same curriculum for all our children for many years, I have most of the years lesson plans already written out.

What do you do for Pre-school time?
I have 30 minutes in the morning while the older ones are cleaning up from breakfast when I teach just the little ones. We have several activities which we do which I have planned out each week. We work on colors, numbers, letters, shapes, etc... We learn verses, count beans, sort things, play games, do crafts, flash cards, read stories, sing, learn poems, color, write, ect... Rebekah also has a half hour during the morning when she "teaches" the little ones...it's her favorite part of her schedule she says. :) I already have the activity planned out for her and she directs it.

What do Noah and Susannah do for activity time?
We have a box with strips of paper with different activities written on them. Each morning, Noah or Suannah take turns drawing out a paper from the box and that is the activity they have for that day. Some examples are puzzles, legos, a craft, playdough, painting, sandbox, etc...

Who do your children write letters to every day?
Each week I make out a letter sheet for who we will write each day. We write to family or friends who have a birthday, get well letters, thank you letters, the children have pen pals, churches or individuals who pray for and support us, missionaries ect...
Often they will draw a picture on the back of their letter as well :)

What do you do with your girls for Home Ec.?
This year, we are concentrating on sewing. Last year, we did crafts and made bread. Of course, the time can be used if needed for any home project (making a birthday cake or decorating for a party, etc...), but the emphasis this year is going to be on sewing.

What do your children do for their personal Bible time each morning?
Each of our children around the age of 7 or 8 have been able to read well enough to read and have a basic understanding of the Bible on their own. These children will find a spot on one of the couches in the family room, bring their Bible and notebooks, and have their time with the Lord. Some of them are reading through the Bible, some of them are reading through the New Testament, and some of the younger ones are reading a certain book (like one of the gospels).
They bring a notebook where they have written down the things they want to pray about (they also are able to record the answers to their prayers) and can also jot down anything they want to from what they have learned from their reading.
The younger ones who do not read or are reading but not well enough to read the Bible on their own sit in the living room with their Bibles and notebooks. They listen to the Bible on CD for about 10 minutes. The older ones in this group can sometimes read well enough to follow along in their Bible. The younger ones will listen and often draw in their notebooks. I then encourage them to pray and then they either look at a book quietly or hang out in the kitchen with me while the older ones finish their Bible time.
I love talking with them throughout the day about what they are reading and praying about...it's such a sweet time of sharing!
We want to encourage the children to make their time with the Lord a top priority each day. We have them dress, do their chores and we take a walk to help them wake up a bit :).

When do your children stop taking naps?
When they turn 5 years old, they no longer are required to nap. I will schedule an hour "quiet time" for my 5 and 6 year olds during the little one's nap time. During that time, they have to be in the family room either reading, coloring, or doing another quiet activity. If they are tired, often they'll rest or sleep on the couch. But as long as they keep quiet, they do not have to be in their bed in their room like the younger ones.

Do you have a bedtime routine? How do you keep your children from getting out of bed before their wake up time?
We have family devotions and prayer time each night before bed. Then, as each child's bedtime comes, I hug, kiss, tuck in, talk or pray a bit with, and sometimes sing to each one.
Our children normally don't get up until either the alarm goes off or I tell them it's time to get up. If someone does wake up early, they are welcome to get dressed, begin their chores etc... as long as they keep quiet so the others can sleep.

How often do your children shower/bathe?
Most every day as it is a very hot, dusty land :)

Do you find walking with the children provides enough exercise for you? Do you use a stroller or sling?
This is the first year we have scheduled walk times. The children love walking with us. One of the boys or I often have to walk down to the store in the morning for tortillas or something, so I thought it would be fun to schedule in a time we could all go together and schedule enough time that we could walk to the tortillaria (where the tortillas are made) if we wanted.
Daniel wanted us to begin walking around our neighborhood in the evenings as many of the neighbors do the same, so I scheduled in an evening walk too.
So I'm not doing it only for exercise, although that will be a nice side benefit :)
We will take the stroller and a sling or two :)

Do you do a summer schedule as well as one for the school year?
Yes! Since things run so much smoother and efficiently when we are on a schedule, we make one for the summers as well. Summer's give us extra time for projects (inside and out) and allow the children to keep busy with writing, reading, and some light school work as well.
We have breaks throughout the school year as well (Thanksgiving, Christmas ect...) where we can celebrate special holidays or take time to catch up on some spring cleaning or have a family fun day :)

Do you teach your children piano?
Yes. I was very blessed to have a mom who taught me to play and I enjoy teaching my own children as well. We love to sing and play instruments together as a family. I also teach a piano class to some of the girls in our church each Saturday.

What computer program did you use to make your schedule? How did you get it on your site?
I use Microsoft Publisher to make our final schedule each year as it is the program with which I am most familiar. I think most word processors (like Microsoft Word or Works) have the ability to make a table.
I used scribd.com to upload our schedule (which I converted to a pdf) and posted it on our blog.

When do you do laundry?
Provided we have a working washing machine :), laundry is just done here and there throughout the day. I wash every day (rather than having a certain day or days to do laundry) as we seem to keep up best that way. I am able to put in a load or two at in the morning before breakfast and then either one of the older children or I will continue to put loads into/out of the washer/dryer/clothesline throughout the day. When the clothes are dry, we simply lay them out in the appropriate piles on my bed so they don't wrinkle. Then in the afternoon, the children get their own pile and are able to in just a few minutes put their clothes away. I put Daniel/the younger ones/my clothes away during my housework hour. Saturday, when we have extra time for house cleaning, I wash/change sheets on the beds.

What do you make for Sunday lunches?
Anything that can be made the Saturday before :) This Sunday we had Shepherd's Pie and the Sunday before that we had lasagna. I like things I can have all put together and can just pop into the oven to cook/heat up while we are at church. Then when we get home, the house smells so good and we have a nice meal waiting for us. I usually have some homemade bread baked too and often we just make a quick green salad when we get home and we're good to go :)

What kind of sandwiches do you make for lunch?
There's not a lot of choices here...there is no peanut butter or sliced turkey. But they have sliced ham and tuna, so it is usually one of the two (although Tuna is not Daniel's favorite, so ham is usually the choice). In the cooler months, we sometimes do grilled cheese too :)

Do you have a supper menu like you do for our lunches and dinners?
I do make a supper menu each week, but it varies. What I am working towards right now is having 4 complete supper menus that I can just alternate each week. :)

What kind of snacks does Isaiah make for snack time?
This is something new we've added to our schedule as Isaiah wanted to do something on his own in the kitchen. I told him he could help me make a snack menu each week and then he could be in charge of making the snack/setting it out for everyone. Some of the ideas that we've thought of so far that he could do on his own are:
Sliced Apples (I have an apple corer/slicer), cheese and crackers, dishes of applesauce or jello, toast, yogurt with granola, chips and salsa, etc...

19 comments:

  1. Wow, Jaynee, this would be a great tool to publish. I know the Maxwells got you started but these details into an ordered home are valuable in our generation. Those of who are privlidged to follow your blog realize that you have given a sacrifice of time by answering these questions. What a valuable gift your own daughters will have in this also. I love the concept thatyou bring out by explaining that even when interupptions do come that they so not always come at the same time. A house of bored children who be chaos. I also appreciate the truth that if times like sewing, reading o children etc.. are not scheduled they may not happen. I am so blessed by this - Thank you. Sj

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  2. Thank you for taking so much time to answer all our questions!

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  3. Thank you for sharing Jaynee. It does help us a lot to see a large family scheduled so well. We use ours as a guide as well. Not letting the schedule rule us but being very flexible at times and very "on schedule" at other times.

    I'm loving reading all this. Thank you again for taking the time to post all this~

    ~Cinnamon

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  4. When will your book be coming out?? :) You are full of wisdom!!! Thank you for this. Thank you for sharing your life. I glean much. Bless you Lockwoods.
    Jessica

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  5. I love your schedule! I don't have 12 children, but the schedule appeals very much to my "inner organizer." I can completely see how you'd get more done in one week with the schedule than an entire month without one! Thank you so much for sharing!

    Peace to you all!

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  6. Hi Jaynee: I just purchased MOTH for the first time this year. I now realize that I should have purchased it earlier! :) It will help us so much. Also, may I ask, what curricula do you use? We are praying about making a switch.

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  7. Thank you SO much, Jaynee! I too appreciate your sacrifice of time in answering so many questions - they have been a huge help to me. I really liked the idea of choosing an activity for the preschoolers - I'm going to try that!
    Love in Him,
    Steph

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  8. Jaynee,
    Thank you for sharing your schedule and answering the questions. I used the Maxwell's schedule when my 6 were younger and what a difference it made! Now my youngest is 14 and I'm only schooling 2! I am praying God continues to bless you. Please know how much what you have to say is needed and is encouraging!
    Terry

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  9. Thanks for your help with the schedule, you get more done in a given day than I do with only one child! I'm thankful for the wisdom the Lord has given you, and excited to implement this order in my own house.

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  10. Loved reading about your schedule and answered questions. I LOVE the Maxwell's book. Once you start scheduling there's just no turning back! I am no longer privileged to be able to homeschool my children, but even though they are not home all day during the year, their mornings and afternoons and summers are always scheduled. (We currently have 7 children and are expecting number 8.) Things go so much more smoothly that way! Thanks for sharing.

    I always enjoy reading your blog but don't usually say much in return. ;) Glad Samuel is doing better.

    Amanda

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  11. Hi Jaynee,

    Thanks for sharing with us...
    Schedules are what works best for me too and I can get so much more done with one then without one...
    I must get myself that book...this is will the first year homeschooling my special needs child...now I have homeschooled my other children but I must say homeschooling my special needs little boys will prove to be very challenging...
    I found it interesting when I read you do things in 30 minute increments..because our behavioral aide( our boys have autism) said to us it is better to keep it to a maximum of 20-30 minutes per activity as their attention span and learning opportunity is best is that time range...
    I am truly blessed by your site and love to come on and learn from you...
    I would have a favor to ask you...
    could you please pray for my marriage...we are hitting a very hard spell right now...I am discouraged and frankly tired with some of the issues that seem to prevail in our marriage...I do not know how to be a good wife to him right now as I am angry at him for not providing for our family and we are on the brink of loosing it all...just pray...
    my heart is heavy this morning...

    Thank you...
    God Bless

    Nadine ...(my husbands name is Guy)...

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  12. I can't stop reading your blog. I too gave birth to a preemie in March (the 19th). She is a 24 weeker. She had 10% chance of survival. We had so many people praying for her. She is here and healthy! We spent 116 days in the NICU. God bless you and your family. You are an inspiration.

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  13. Dear Jaynee,
    I am rereading my MOTH book, thanks to your influence. Though we have a working routine here, I am still daily frustrated with what does not get accomplished. I am reading and praying and thinking about setting up a schedule that I can actually implement. I'm seeing that I don't have nearly the amount of character that you do as far as actually carrying out what I plan.

    Thank you so much for your prayers for my/our health. That means so much to me. Now would you be willing to pray for me as I seek God's will and consider a new schedule for our family? Thanks so much. Your friendship is a treasure to me.

    Love, Amy

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  14. Ok, Jaynee,

    It's about time you quit being so lazy, stopped watching all those Mexican soap operas, and got a real job.

    Sheesh, you make all of us stay at home moms look bad, as much as you fritter away your days.

    Seriously, now.

    How much does one pay to get to come live with you, and learn your discipline?

    Do your babies nurse/eat at night? I don't see any naps scheduled in there for pregnant or new mothers! My babies get me up at least two or three times a night for at least 6 months, and even though I WANT to rise early, I have an incredible time functioning. Any advice?

    I'm requesting MOTH for my birthday. I've put it off for a long, long time out of fear of failure, but I'm getting enough children now that I feel I'm going to have to get more routine into our days!

    You are a terrific inspiration. A glorious example of a home maker and loving mommy. I'm proud of you!

    Love,
    Kim

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  15. Thankyou for answering my questions!! It was helpful!

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  16. Jaynee,
    Thank you for answering all the questions! The one thing stuck out to me is the peanut butter issue. Is there really NO peanut butter in your area OR does you family not like it OR is there an allergy in your family so you choose not to have it? What other kinds of things does your family enjoy (foods) that you cannot get in your area? Anything that they haven't even tried that you think they would enjoy?

    If you are able, could you post some more recipes and pictures of what you cook for your family? I make the beans you posted a while back all the time.

    For your sewing projects, do you use patterns, or just "wing it?"

    Thanks,
    Julie Schroeder
    jules_ac00@yahoo.com

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  17. Hola Jaynee! First of all - thanks so much for taking the time to answer the questions. I am going to join the chorus that this was just amazingly helpful! Now, another question for you!:) Over the weekend, my oldest daughter was struggling with doing things cheerfully, and I was wondering how you handle this with your children. I try to be a good example myself, and I can certainly put in some consequences so something is done, but do you have any specific ideas/reinforcements/trainings in the areas of cheerful attitudes? (One side note is that my children are 4 and under, but still, I feel a four year old can demonstrate cheerfulness - most of the time she does, just many times not around chores...) Thanks for any help! - Sonya

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  18. This is my second year of homeschooling. Thank you for posting your schedule! I have been a little overwhelmed to put everything on paper... but know that we will benefit greatly from it. Thank you for your encouragement on so many levels! I am so blessed to have found your blog!

    Thanks again!
    Maureen

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  19. I'd be interested in what sonya asked but for the oldest child if you have a minute.

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