What Does a Stay at Home Routine Look Like?

Snow days, summertime, homeschooling, school vacations….all of these can make moms go a little nutty. We love our kids and we want to give them their best childhoods, but what does that look like?

Check out these practical ideas and sample schedules to see what a stay at home routine looks like with kids.

One thing I know is that when you have multiple kids you have multiple needs.

Their personalities might make it challenging to find things that you all do together. These ideas will help bridge some gaps with practical routines.

Block Scheduling

Block Scheduling is pretty common in the homeschool world. This type of scheduling has you take chunks of time, or “blocks” and assign them an activity.

It creates more of a family rhythm where the family flows from one activity to the next. The expectations are set for when your family

Here are some examples of blocked times:

Morning Time – includes things like breakfast, bible + devotions, morning chores
Active Time – when kids, or the family, do a physical activity
Circle Time – read more about the value of this here!
Learning Time – includes varied academics for each child
Lunch Time
Creative Time – think arts & crafts, STEAM, and logic games
Nap Time
Chore Time
Quiet Time – reading in their room for 30 minutes can recharge them (and you!)
Free Time
Screen Time
Dinner Time
Family Time
Bed Time

Once you know what sort of blocks work best for your family, (not all of these apply to every family or day) then you begin to decide on what time of day that each block fits best.

You might also determine that one or two of the activities fit in the same block, like “Quiet/Nap Time” or “Learning & Creative Time.”

Read more about blocks in this post: Secrets to Developing a Family Rhythm

Blocked Time Defined

So what’s in the block?

The beauty of blocked time is that you get to determine what that time represents specific to your family’s needs.

For instance, Morning Time in my house consists of eating breakfast, reading bibles, getting dressed, making beds, washing & brushing up. My kids know that they need to do this before 9AM. If they finish, early then they get free time.

Since we are a homeschool family, Learning Time (or Academic Time) is typically when my kids do their assigned 3-R Tasks of reading, writing, and arithmetic. If they do not finish in the allotted time, I do have them stop to take a break. Then they can finish it later in another block that accommodates.

Active Time is one block you can modify depending on the day. It can be sending the kids out to play, going for a family walk or hike, having some exercise time indoors together if it’s raining, or it can be a fun dance party to get everyone moving.

Check out my Pinterest Board for Homeschooling that has lots of activities for ages 2-8.

I hope that gives you a good idea of what to consider in the blocks.

Putting the Routine Together

Now put your stay at home routine together.

Some time blocks are pretty self-explanatory, like Lunch Time or Bed Time, but now you get to consider the actual time span for them.

Here is a sample stay at home routine schedule that resembles our Family Schedule:

TIME	BLOCK
7:00 – 9:00	Morning Time
9:00 – 9:30	Active Time
9:30 – 11:00	Learning Time
11:00 – 1:00	Lunch Time
1:00 – 3:00	Creative Time
3:00 – 6:00	Active Free Time
6:00 – 7:00	Dinner Time
7:00 – 9:00	Family Time & Bed Times

One thing that is key is making sure you have plenty of “buffer zone” or “margin time”. This means building in MORE time than you actually need for the activity.

Life happens.

And if there is one word I have learned as a mom it is FLEXIBILITY! These buffer zones allow for those times of spills, meltdowns, phone calls, and other unexpected interruptions.

Mom’s Time (and Dad’s)

You should also keep in mind Mom & Dad Time and how that factors into the full routine. Leaving time for making meals and clean up is essential. There is laundry to wash and errands to run.

If you are working from home too then you can easily line up your family schedule with your responsibilities. Maybe have blocks that Mom manages and some that Dad manages kid needs.

Fill in one block on the page to get “Mom & Dad Time.”

We use the end of the day to connect and talk. This time is vital and you can weekly review the routine together to see what tweaks are needed for the coming days.

You also need to use the Quiet Time, Momma, to grab a cup of coffee and take a break!!