The Magic of Morning Music

As the season has shifted so has our daily routine.  It seems the simple shinning of the sun has become an instant invitation to abandon whatever work we should be doing inside and by 8 am half the household has found their way to "free play" outside. It has been hard to wrangle them back in because I too want play.  There have been more than a few days where no books were cracked and a whole day's dishes have been left till 10:30 pm, all for the sake of outdoor fun.

So now I am hearing the call back to establishing a rhythm and routine.  Here's how I'd like our mornings to go:

6:00 am I'm up and tip toe into personal study time

6:30 am quiet exercise or project time

7:30 am kids wake up/personal prayers/make beds/tidy rooms/get dressed - I do meal prep for breakfast, lunch and dinner

8:00 am family scripture study

8:30 am breakfast

9:00 am milking/farm chores/breakfast clean-up

9:30 am house chores

10:00 am morning meeting with mom to report what was done and discuss plans for the day

10:30 am play outside or organized project outside

12:00 pm lunch

Oh how easy it looks on paper!  The reality is it is not easy to gain full cooperation, and it only takes the resistance of one individual to throw us 2 hours behind.  

I've tried yelling in the past, it does get us all moving but not necessarily in the right direction.  We've tried many different reward systems as well, they work for a time and always seem to fizzle out.  Right now though I am reminded of the magic of morning music, of setting a tone for the day.  I've found with just the right music our chores can be fun.     

Lately the kids have been responding well to modern remakes of Elvis songs from the  Honeymoon in Vegas soundtrack.   I tell them once the rooms are cleared and swept they can have a rock party.  I can't say this works for the older batch, they only roll their eyes and plug their ears at my singing into the broom.  But keeping the younger kids happy (if not helping) while we clean is nearly half the chore.  

Other album favorites include Putumayo World playground, Elizabeth Mitchell, Kodo drummers, Heather Forest, and Frankie Smith's Double Dutch Bus.  The mix is as eclectic as our personalities, moods and moves!

A smooth morning is a gift, oh the possibilities for our day!

12:30 pm we clean up lunch and move into quiet time/naptime for the youngest

1:00 pm- 4:00 pm is school time and what that means is different for each individual.  For me I am attending to my crash courses in farming and gardening, drifting around helping and shushing and sometimes napping with the younger ones.

4:00 pm certainly deserves a snack and for those who have completed their school work the invitation is open to free play or DIY projects inside or out- and of course the invitation is always open to help me in the garden 

5:30 pm is dinner prep

6:00 pm dinner

6:30 pm baths and clean up

7:00 pm bedtime for youngest three

8:00 pm bedtime for the next three

9:00 pm tuck in animals and milking

9:30 pm bedtime for the oldest two (but sometimes we hang till 10 pm eating ice cream and talking) I use to beg them to go to sleep but these days I beg them to "hang out" just a little bit longer

10:30 pm hopefully I'm not facing a days worth of dishes, or worse, lost in the land of pinterest - hopefully I'm tiptoeing into bed

These days are moving fast, sunset comes at us quick and it seems my children are taller every day. May these containers of time I wish to create be blessed with cooperation and music, and when they are not, may I relax into the experiences life wishes to offer.