I am entering my second year of staying home with our son, and it has been the best learning process! I have had to create some sort of schedule/routine to keep me accountable and foster his learning/development. I thought I would share our general daily schedule as well as the pros and cons to staying home. I have shared his morning and night time routine (Toddler AM Routine & Toddler PM Routine) as well as my morning routine (Morning Routine ). I would love to know if you have a daily schedule or structure in place and what that looks like!
Daily Schedule
4:30-6:30: Teach
6:45: Start Our Day
7:00: Breakfast (unload/load dishwasher)
7:15-8:00: Independent Play (coffee, gratitude, devotional)
8:00: Dressed
8:15-9:15: Walk & Park (morning prayer/affirmations)
9:15: Morning Snack
9:20-11:00: Out of House (library, play date, activity, errands, etc)
11:15: Nap Routine
11:30-1:00: Nap (workout/house chores/listen to professional development/write)
1:00: Lunch (prep husbands lunch/snacks for next day)
1:30-3:00: Play, Read, Learning Activities
3:00-5:00: Family Time (husband gets home) & TV Episode
5:00: Dinner
5:45: Clean Up (room and living room)
5:50: IPAD Songs
6:15: Bedtime Routine
I will share my personal night time routine in another post that I generally do from 7-9pm! I will say I absolutely LOVE being home with our son and have really enjoyed this precious time together. Like any other job, there are some pros and cons to staying home full time….
Pros
- Primary caretaker
- Foster what you want your child to be exposed to
- Quality time and experiences
- Present for milestones
- Model choices, words, conversations, etc…
- FUN!
Cons
- Never “leave” your job
- Can be taxing mentally/emotionally, especially during leaps, spurts, teething, etc.
- No day to day adult interaction/conversation (if you chose to not participate in groups/activities)
Of course, not every family wants a structured day or routine, and that is perfectly okay! I like chunking our day and staying consistent because he knows what to expect. I would love to know if your family does anything particular!
Blessings,
Jaclyn
The Bridwells 