Why a Flow Chart Works for Me

What's the difference between a flow chart and a schedule?

A flow chart is a guide for what to do next. A schedule tells you exactly when it will be done.

There's that book - you know the one. The "how to schedule a homeschool" book that has been so popular for so many years and by which so many of us have been encouraged that we can indeed do this crazy thing and succeed at it.

I bought it before it came out. I'm that old. And I made my spreadsheets (awesome!) and color-coded my kids and printed the whole thing out. It was beautiful!

But it made me a mean mom. Watching the clock, yelling for kids to come upstairs or start their lunch prep or go outside or whatever. "Hurry! We have 3 more minutes!" It wasn't good for us at all.

Instead, I began to make a list of what had to be done and then I listed everything in an order that made sense. I figured out roughly what we could accomplish before lunch at noon, and what could be done during naps. I knew how dinner was going to play out and that we wanted to get the house picked up before sitting down to eat.

The flow chart looks like this:

Get ready for the day
Breakfast
Kids do chores (I run laundry or get school stuff ready)
Circle Time
Individual Subjects
Lunch
Free Time
Finish Individual Subjects if necessary
Quiet Reading
Free
Zones and Evening Chores (each kid has a "zone" they are responsible for picking up + evening chores that help us get dinner on the table)
Dinner
Kitchen Clean Up
Little Ones Down

When there are errands to run or classes to attend or lessons or sports practices, the flow chart carries on as best it can with the interruptions. Sometimes individual subjects get done in the car or the waiting room.

A flow chart works for us, and it makes me a nice mom.

If you need more tips on scheduling your homeschool day, see Homeschool Scheduling 101

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