Daily Routine

I am working to establish a daily routine in the hopes that when it does come time to formally homeschool, it will be a much easier transition with a skeletal routine already in place.

My children are still quite young - Anna is 3.5 and Nate is 2 - so the main focus is definitely on habit training and fun at this stage. 

I let them wake up whenever they are ready and they get 30 min of TV while I stumble around and try to wake up myself!
Then, get dressed.  Anna does this all on her own now (yay!). 
Everyone comes to the breakfast table dressed and ready to start the day.  While the kids are eating their cereal, I review the previous day's Bible story (modelling narration) and read the current day's selection.  This is the Bible story book we use.  If I'm ever being lazy and not iniating the Bible reading, one or both will "remind" me!

Free play and chores after breakfast.  Then we go out somewhere.  Anywhere.  Sometimes to the "party church" - a local church with a GREAT indoor play park that is open to the public during weekday mornings.  Sometimes we go grocery shopping.  Sometimes we walk to the park.  Sometimes we go hiking at the local conservation area.  Sometimes we just hang out at home and do a craft.

Then it is lunch, stories and quiet time.  Nate still naps.  Anna plays quietly in the living room while I am on the computer or napping on the couch.  The last 30 minutes of quiet time I spend with Anna either teaching her to read or playing a game or doing some online homeschool at Time4Learning.

After quiet time, it is tea/snack time.  I have begun reading them a story from For the Children's Hour by Carolyn S. Bailey.  So far the stories are a bit over their heads - especially Nate! - but we push through and they get something out of the story.  I often "narrate" the story back to them (in a simpler version) afterwards to give them the feel for narration (which they will need in a few years!). 

After tea time, it is outdoor play time.  I'm aiming for at least 30 minutes in the backyard.  They're getting there.  They last longer if I go outside too.
Then it is free play time or occasionally TV cartoon time while I make dinner.
Dinner, bath and evening and bed routine time.

Thus far, I've been able to incorporate Bible reading and literature each day.  I'm slowing working in Language Arts for Anna as she wants to learn to read.  I play classical music in the car and sometimes in the kitchen while I'm cooking.  We do nature study as we stumble across it. 

I think that when it finally comes time to do "formal" homeschooling, it will be a pretty smooth transition.