A Tiny Change

Routine is good for me.  It ensures that what needs to get done happens.  Since I am naturally a procrastinator, it is vitally important for me try and establish routines.  (My husband would laugh if he read this.  Her?  Have routines? LOL!)  I'll admit that I struggle with actually sticking with them even though I know they are good for me.

At the same time, you can become so dependent upon routine that you get stuck in a rut.  For example, 13yo does not like math.  As part of our routine homeschool day, we do math first to get it out of the way and over with.  But, it was causing a problem.  It made our day start with a feeling of already being stuck in the mire.  The day seemed to drag on.  Plus, I never felt like I had enough time with the other girls once the 13yo and I finished her school work (no, my kids aren't independent).

Today we tried something different.  Mom picked out the order of subjects and left Math for last.  We were playing a mental game, but I believe it worked.  By about 10am we had covered most of what we needed to do together.  She did have work to finish (kind of like seat work/homework) to do, but it freed me up to work with someone else.  It told my mind that we were finished.  Usually we plod into the afternoon which leads to discouragement and mentally slowing down even more.

Usual sequence:

• Math
• Grammar
• Latin
• History/Science

Today:

• Grammar
• Latin
• Writing
• Science
• Math