Rhythm Nation
- Happy Seed Sarah
- Jan 24, 2017
- 3 min read
When the decision to homeschool came to fruition after years of contemplation and one solid day of clarity, I had little time for planning before we officially started (about one week to be exact).
When trying to figure out where to start, I found there was an incredible amount of information and resources, and frankly, I felt a bit overwhelmed (heck, I STILL feel overwhelmed!) However, I knew I'd be in trouble if I let it consume me. I had to start somewhere.
So, I started with rhythm. Our daily rhythm. Our family rhythm. My personal rhythm. RHYTHM. RHYTHM. RHYTHM.
To be clear, I'm NOT talking about a schedule. As defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary, a schedule is "a procedural plan that indicates the time and sequence of each operation." By contract, and as defined by the same source, a rhythm is "movement, fluctuation, or variation marked by the regular recurrence or natural flow of related elements."
Based upon these definitions, I knew if I had a schedule, I'd stress too much about what I should be doing at certain times and sequences of the day. Although a schedule can occasionally be nice, and frankly is sometimes necessary, I knew it would create an undue amount of tension and "clock watching" for us in our day-to-day homeschool journey.
Simply put, I didn't want to be pulled away from the natural flow and inevitable variations of the day. What was most attractive to me about focusing on our rhythm was the idea of a systematic, "regular recurrence" of the day. I knew the predictability of the day would create easier transitions and a more seamless flow. Kids like predictability, but a schedule felt too rigid for me. So, rhythm it was!
Having a rhythm to our days helps us in many ways in addition to the aforementioned benefits:
It enables us to not be slaves to the clock. If we start our "morning lesson" at 8:30 am, great! If we start it at 10 am, great! This lifts a huge weight off my shoulders that I believe a schedule might otherwise bring.
It allows for the uniqueness of each day to unfold.
It allows activities to be driven by the level of the boys' engagement, rather than the clock.
Thus far, our rhythm has been slowly evolving as we figure out what works best for all of us. And the reality is, that each day the rhythm looks slightly different depending on if we have any pre-registered classes to attend, errands to run, etc. But, generally speaking, it's given us a good framework for which to jump into our day.
Our typical daily rhythm looks similar to this:
Awaken, individual grounding time for all of us (Odin and Viggo usually read or play quietly in their rooms while I get ready for the day, read or make final tweaks on my daily lesson plan).
Morning chores
Get dressed
Head down for and eat breakfast
Morning movement (walking dog, yoga, dancing, etc.)
Morning lesson/snack
Free play and/or quiet time/handwork
Lunch
Story time
Afternoon lesson
Snack
Free play
That's it! For the most part, this is how it plays out. Such a rhythm ensures that the boys know that we don't head downstairs until we do our morning chores and get dressed. They know that after lunch is story time, etc. etc. This makes my job of transitioning them from activity to activity throughout the day less work and less time consuming for all of us.
If nothing else, I wish I would've established a family rhythm earlier. It's something I would do regardless of if we were homeschooling or not. I've noticed that there's something wonderfully seamless and reassuring for all of us about knowing how we operate as a family unit. It bonds us and ties us together when we all know that we play a vital and important role - from the very youngest to the oldest.
Rhythm brings predictability and value to everyone's role. There's something wonderfully warm about these qualities as it relates to establishing a solid family foundation of love, trust and dependability.
To me, that's worth it.
Comments