It is still a work in progress. I foresee cards for evening chores, a mid-day routine, school work, a reading list, and I’m not sure what else.
These cards have worked so well for us, I’ve found myself wondering why it took me so long to figure all of this out, but we really arrive at different times, don’t we?
I’m thankful the Lord gave me a vision for how my home should run and I’m really thankful He has given me ideas for how to make sure everyone is moving forward in our day.
I don’t like being a “drill sergeant” kind of mom but I was honestly becoming frustrated having to tell everyone every single day exactly where and what they should be doing.
Of course, there was also always that question in my mind when a child didn’t complete a job, was that an issue that needed discipline or was it really an innocent mistake?
Having everything typed out means I don’t have to think about everything all the time. My brain is happy. I am happy. All is well. (Well, normally.)
You can also watch a short video explanation here:
Those cards are not the same as our morning routine. This post explains morning routines, and why I differentiate between the two.
This third post is our evening routine. (My next set of cards will be evening chores…things like checking on our chickens and turkeys, laying out breakfast items, etc.)
Below, you can see what an evening routine looks like for our children by age. Again, I’ve left Jacob out since he works full time outside of our home and Owen is still too little.
Bedtime: 7 pm (This is bedtime, NOT get ready for bed time.)
- Dress for bed
- Brush your hair and teeth
- Give Mama and Daddy night kisses!
- Evening prayer and reading
- Lights Out!
Darby’s Evening Routine (age 4)
Bedtime: 7 pm (This is bedtime, NOT get ready for bed time.)
- Do one act of service for someone else
- Straighten your room
- Dress for bed
- Brush your hair and teeth
- Go potty!
- Give Mama and Daddy night kisses!
- Evening prayer and reading
- Lights Out!
Meredith’s Evening Routine (age 6)
Bedtime: 7 pm (This is bedtime, NOT get ready for bed time.)
- Do one act of service for someone else
- Straighten your room
- Dress for bed
- Brush your hair and teeth
- Give Mama and Daddy night kisses!
- Evening prayer and reading
- Lights Out!
Jonathan’s Evening Routine (age 8)
Bedtime: 7:00 pm (This is bedtime, NOT get ready for bed time.)
- Do one act of service for someone else
- Help straighten your room
- Dress for bed
- Brush your hair and teeth
- Give Mama and Daddy night kisses!
- Evening prayer and reading
- Lights Out!
Benjamin’s Evening Routine (age 11)
Bedtime 9pm (This is bedtime, NOT get ready for bed time.)
- Do one act of service for someone else
- Straighten your room
- Lay out your clothes for tomorrow
- Dress for bed
- Brush your hair and teeth
- Give Mama and Daddy night kisses!
- Evening prayer and reading
- Lights Out!
Timothy’s Evening Routine (age 13)
Bedtime 9:30 pm (This is bedtime, NOT get ready for bed time.)
- Straighten your room
- Do one act of service for someone else
- Lay out your clothes for tomorrow
- Dress for bed
- Brush your hair and teeth
- Give Mama and Daddy night kisses!
- Evening prayer and reading
- Lights Out!
Matthew’s Evening Routine (age 13)
Bedtime 10pm (This is bedtime, NOT get ready for bed time.)
- Empty AC buckets
- Do one act of service for someone else
- Straighten your room
- Lay out your clothes for tomorrow
- Dress for bed
- Brush your hair and teeth
- Give Mama and Daddy night kisses!
- Evening prayer and reading
- Lights Out!
Jessica’s Evening Routine (age 17)
Bedtime: 10 pm (This is bedtime, NOT get ready for bed time.)
- Do one act of service for someone else
- Straighten your room and bathroom
- Lay out your clothes for tomorrow
- Lay out breakfast ingredients for tomorrow
- Dress for bed
- Brush your hair and teeth
- Give Mama and Daddy night kisses!
- Evening prayer and reading
- Lights Out!
Courtney’s Evening Routine (age 23)
- Do one act of service for someone else
- Lay out supper to defrost for tomorrow
- Lay out your clothes for tomorrow
- Lay out Jackson and Darby’s clothing for tomorrow
- Straighten your room and bathroom
- Dress for bed
- Brush your hair and teeth
- Give Mama and Daddy night kisses!
- Evening prayer and reading
- Lights Out!
Again, a couple of notes here…
First, we don’t really tell Courtney when to go to bed. I like that she tries to be careful to get enough rest but she’s a grown person. 🙂
Second, if you have a small family, you may think all of this is “over the top”. Having a larger family means you have to think a little larger and do things in a way that are efficient for everyone involved. That said, I think this would have been a great lesson in personal responsibility for my children even when my family was much smaller.
Third, many of my children have different bedtimes. Honestly, it’s easy to just get confused. I’m training each of the children to pay attention to the clock and their individual bedtimes.
