Until Lil was 12years old we followed a morning routine before our  home schooling day started  that really worked for us.

(Since Lil’s injury the routine has changed.)

From age 6 to 12 Lil  learnt some great life lessons about time management by following a predictable morning routine.

Showing up, being on time, time management, being held accountable for the commitment you have made to be somewhere.

Michael and I believe that in life there are always things that you have to be on time and show up for and that even though Lil isn’t attending a bricks and mortar conventional school she does need to learn about being on time.

Getting your hair cut, medical appointments, delivering something at a certain place at a certain time, job interviews, arranging to meet someone socially. It is also about learning to be respectful of other peoples time, after all their time is just as important as ours!

~ Time Management ~

In the early days of learning to tell the time I would prompt Lil and remind her of the time frame she had, we would talk about how long things would actually take to do (learning about the concept of time) and if she even had enough time to fit  in the activity she wanted to do before her 9am school time.

I have always given two or three warnings. A ten minute warning, then a 5 minute warning and sometimes if needed a two minute warning.

Giving Lil the respect she deserves, like any child she needed to be guided through the process, time is something that cannot physically be seen therefor can be hard for a child to understand. Learning to tell the time helps, so does anchoring a routine to a certain time of day.

Up, breakfast, teeth brushed, dressed, hair brushed, bed made, room tidy, time for morning activities, keeping an eye on the clock with adult reminders thrown in for good measure.

No tv in the mornings. We found that Lil was even more settled and focused when she didn’t watch tv in the am.

You can read more about that in my ebook: Nest. Looking for the Light during the Colder Months.

So what did 9am the beginning of Lil’s school day look like in those early years?

It began with drawing in a sketch book , Lil  called  the activity  “Out my Window” and to state the obvious Lil would draw something she saw or had seen that morning out the window in our garden.  It helped Lil become familiar with her immediate surrounds, the seasons changing, drawing helped her practice her fine motor skills and artistry. It was also a great opportunity for Lil to bird watch, practice her bird id skills then further extend the activity by creating and updating lists of birds that visited the garden from season to season.

It’s all about gently moving into the day.

Sending Light & Love,

Jude x