Bored SAHM - Addition

Hey there...
I am a mother of two beautiful girls. My oldest is 8 and my youngest is 2. A few months ago I started being a nanny for a family who also has a 2 year old boy and a now 6 month old baby. I have found that a schedule is the only way to go. Here is a typical day for us......

8:00 breakfast
8:30 - 10:00 inside play time/some TV(PBS Kids Sprout channel)
10:00 Morning snack
10:15-12:00 Outside playtime (art if the weather is bad)
12:00 - 12:30 Lunch
12:30-12:45 Story time
1:00-3:00 Nap
3:15 afternoon snack
3:30-5:00 Back outside

I hope that this helps.

Our schedule is flexible as well. Especially since certain days are school days for my oldest. Basically this is our day:
8:30/9 Breakfast, brush teeth, straighten up
The kids will usually go and play in their room for a bit, While I make beds, vacuum, fold a load of laundry, etc.
10:30 Snack, some coloring/painting, educational games online, pre-school pages (If my younger child gets bored their room is usually closed and instead we have a big box full of cars and Legos he can play from in the same room)
11:30 One TV show while I make lunch
12 Lunch and then a nap or quiet time (books, legos etc.)if someone doesn't feel like having a nap
2:30 Wake up time and an afternoon snack
3 Arts & Craft/play a game/go for a walk etc.
5 Start making dinner & let them have one more show/movie until Daddy gets home then he has his time with them.

The big thing is to be flexible and use a schedule as a guide. Sometimes my kids just wake up with way to much energy to do a craft or stay in the house all day. Which is when I usually just take them to a park and let them loose. Also when your little one starts pre-school a big help is to model the schedule like that of the pre-school. This way he knows what to expect and it is not hard for him to adjust to both.

Try checking out the SuperNanny website (I'm looking through it right now). You might find some great tips or examples you could use to make up your own!

This summer we don't really have a schedule just because my daughter was born on July 2nd so we're all adjusting to our new life with baby! I homeschool so staring in September we'll have a daily schedule that will include my son's first grade curriculum and we're involved in a homeschool co-op so every Friday we have that to go to.

Just sit down with a daily planner (you can find free printable ones online...just google to find one you like) and write out the things you know you HAVE to do (breakfast, lunch, dinner, naps, etc) then look at what it seems like your kids need. Is there certain times of they day that they seem bored or have a desire to be more physically active? Schedule play during those times according to what they like. Do they like to run and play ball or play dress up or color, etc...Obviously you'll want to find activities to keep them busy while you have to cook or clean or else they'll be whining and hanging off your legs when you need them to give you time!

Good luck (I gotta run and feed my little one) but I hope this helped a bit!

A very loose schedule that works for us. I didn't put times in there because it's all a crapshoot based upon when we get up in the morning:

Wake up, watch video, eat breakfast, get dressed, mom makes coffee and lunches, etc.
Outing #1: Something fun, usually outdoors before it gets too hot, such as a park; possibly grocery store as it's not too busy at that hour; library, Goodwill, etc.
Home to play, indoors or out
Snack or lunch
Nap
Snack or lunch, depending on how much was eaten before nap
Outing #2: An errand or appointment I can take my son to, such as the ATM or my allergy shot, etc.
Home to play, indoors or out
Video while mom makes dinner or regroups her sanity
Dad home
Dinner
Family goes on a walk to local park
Home for bath, bed

We created a daily schedule. It seems to work for us. Obviously every day is not going to go as planned but we keep basically to the schedule:
6:45am family prayer
7am breakfast
7:30 morning routine (get dressed, make bed, brush teeth)
8:30 Jobs/Play
9:30 Activity or Outing (snack?)-we are trying to eliminate morning snack because our oldest is starting school next month and won't be having one at school, so we've moved lunch up to 11:30 which is when he'll be out of school
11:30 Lunch
noon quiet time (books/movie/nap)
2:00 coloring/worksheets/reading
3:00 snack
3:30 jobs/playtime (outside/video games-30 min. each/pick out a bin of toys)
5:00 clean up/mom makes dinner/ play(playdoh, paints, outside)/t.v. okay
6:00 dinner
7:00 clean up/bedtime routine (bath, pajamas, brush teeth, read, prayer, songs, bed)

I know my kids go to bed early but they wake up early no matter what time they go to bed. We recently printed the schedule out so my sons can look at it and know what is going on and what is expected of them (the 5 year old anyway). We are expecting our third boy in a few months, so organization and consistency really matter to me right now. Hopefully this helps. Our boys are five and two and the day seems to flow a lot better with the schedule and it keeps me on track also. Good Luck, you are not alone, I think that every SAHM gets bored sometimes and also overwhelmed. We've all been there:)

You asked about constructing a schedule. I'll share what has worked for me and the children in my life.

I generally think of the schedule as a skeleton and muscles. The bones are more firm, and tend to be things that we all need, such as meals and rest. The activites are the muscles, and I try to keep them flexible. This is what a standard day might look like.

Wake.(shower?)

Eat breakfast.

Get dressed/play. (Give this a while, kids dress slowly.)

Outside time/ physical activity. (In the summer, walking around the neighborhood in the morning is nicer than in early afternoon.)

Playtime, if any time left before-

Lunch

Art/Creative work Available: (Here I like to have paper and markers/crayons, scissors (?), dot stickers, playdough available as a bare minimum. If you are interested in adding to your art supplies, I'm happy to send you a bare-bones list.)

Reading and Rest for at least 45 minutes. NO TV. Just a pile of books (or books on tape/cd) and relaxing.

Snack.

Free play/ Wading Pool time (depending on what your family likes to do.)

Dinner.

Baths, stories, bedtime.

I've found over the years that the more rigid the schedule, the more impossible it is to keep. That said, I usually decide on one or two things that I really want to do and focus on those, keeping the meals and rest in mind, but letting go of other expectations. A rigid schedule is misery for everyone, so stay flexible!

Just a suggestion, but parks are free and can be endlessly fun for everyone. You can pack up a picnic the night before
and spend the entire morning out somewhere. Playdates will also keep your older one busy with a friend, and you might find that having a chance to trade care will give yourself and your youngest a little freedom to do some things that you enjoy which might be easier to do with one child!

I would suggest you look at the book Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley or her site at www.flylady.net. Her site and emails are becoming a little cluttered over the years and it's easy to get lost in it. You can also search for local groups to help guide you. I'm a moderator of one and give lots of support. Every person/ family is individual.

Instead of set times, we have "routines." I have developed morning/ midday/ evening routines as well as weekly. Don't forget to add lots of interaction time with your kid/s. I look at SAHM as a full contact sport!

Schedules work for some parent/kid combos and not for others--I have friends who HATE schedules and others who thrive on it. It depends on how you were pre-mom! i'm a planner and like to plan so we usually have something to do each day.

We have a loose schedule with a bit too much t.v. at the start right now because my son (almost three) gets up way too early and I go to bed too late--trying to change that (slowly). Anyhoo, here it is:

Wake up (he's usually up by 6:00 or earlier but I don't get him until 6:00). It's a blissful day if he wakes later (and usually less t.v.)
Watch 30 min. t.v. with mom in bed (sometimes 45 if I'm dead tired)
watch another episode of Curious George while mom showers
t.v. off and we have breakfast together

He plays alone (or he's encouraged to) while I clean up the b'fast dishes (usually trains or cars)

I play with him for 30 minutes or so (sometimes read books and sometimes some "game" he comes up with involving cars, etc.) and then we get ready for whatever we're doing that day.

Most days we go somewhere (zoo, park, beach, playdate, etc.) Wednesdays we have soccer and starting in September we'll have preschool 2 days (last year it was one day)

Either eat lunch while we're out or come home by 12/12:30 and eat lunch

Read book downstairs, then up to his room for more books and he lays down for a nap (nap time varies depending on how early he woke up and how tired he is) it can vary from 12:00 to 1:30.

Afternoons are pretty loose and depend on when he wakes up from nap. On early wake days we go to the park or play in the backyard. Often we get together with another close by family for park date or backyard play. Sometimes we walk to the ice cream parlor or to Great Harvest for a breadstick and/or the library.

I try to set him up with something to do around 5:00 or Curious George while I start dinner--eat dinner when dad comes home at 6:00 and then he attacks dad for a while.

Change for bed 7:30 (this has migrated later lately with the heat, etc.) read book downstairs, upstairs brush teeth and read books then down for bed by 8:30 or so.

T.,

The thing about schedules is that they are customizable to your life and family. My kids are almost five (boy) and almost 17 months (girl), here's our schedule:

Monday & Wednesday
7am get out of bed (both kids are usually awake before this but I refuse to get up earlier than 7)
7:30ish Daddy's home
8am breakfast
9am leave for the YMCA and Water Babies class with my daughter
10am Water Babies with her, son plays in the Adventure Zone
10:30am get showered and changed, daughter snacks while I wash
11am get brother and we all go home for lunch
12:00 Lunch for my son, daughter usually falls asleep on the way home
12:30ish nap time/quiet time for son
1:00ish/2:00ish daughter wakes up from nap, eats, then we all get Daddy up for the day
2:30 get ready to go back to the YMCA for son's swim lessons, and my teaching lessons (wednesday only right now)
3:30 son's lessons, daughter plays in the Kid's Corner
4:00 son out of the water, me in the water
5:00 me out of water, shower, change, all meet up and get dinner
6:00 jammies on for kids, brush teeth, clean rooms, start winding down for the night
7:00ish bed time for daughter, cuddles and Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy for son
8:00 bed time for son, ahhhhhhhh!!! the house is finally quiet.

Tuesday, Thursday & Friday:
Pretty much the same, only without the swimming stuff.

This schedule is really flexible too. If my daughter is cranky (like she's been lately teething molars) then she'll get a morning nap as well as the one during/after lunch.

The whole point of a posted schedule is so the kids have predictability in their lives. They know, ok after breakfast we can watch cartoons for an hour, or play board games, or whatever you plan for that time. My kids have a habit chasing each other around the house (usually the little one chasing and beating up on her brother). They're also good about entertaining themselves as well.

Hope this helps, sorry about the length.
Melissa

When my children were your kids age, I usually had a pretty predictable schedule, but like you...didn't wake up at a set time each morning. When I got up, the schedule started. You have several good examples of schedules. I usually started basing my schedule on meal and nap times, then from there made a list of all the things I needed to do each week such as laundry, trash, sheets, vacuum, dust, bathrooms, shopping, etc. etc. and filtered it in during the week on the days that fit best and also added some focused play time for the kids where they had time alone in their rooms/beds to play with a few things. It really helps them to become independent and learn how to focus and become secure with themselves (and gives you some time to get things done uninterrupted). I also added reading, bath time, any activities they are involved in and built my weekly schedule that way. I found it not only helpful for my kids, but for me. I knew I didn't have to do it all in one day and could pace myself throughout the week. The main thing to remember is to be flexible and use it as a guide. You are the one in control of it. And like I said earlier....I didn't work well with a time based schedule but more of an order of list of things to do for today. I found a magnetic weekly schedule list that I wrote on with a wet erase marker so it could be changed if necessary and put it on my fridge. You can buy several different colors and get creative that way too. Good luck! One day of brain storming can help set up a great weekly schedule for the coming months! :) Have some fun with it and add a date night- even if it is every other week or so.

My sister does a schedule. Everything is in 15min incrimints (for attention span purposes) She 's all over supernanny, so it works for her. My child isn't old enough to understand it yet, but she has a three year old that Loves it. She made a schedule board that has pictures of him doing every activity (play outside , eat lunch, 15min of tv,etc.) and when it is time to move on to the next activity he goes to the board and put's it on the time of day. It is helping him learn days of the week and telling time. She swears by it. Plus it makes her life easier and makes the day fly by!