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Friday 29 June 2012

Our Family Rhythm (Part 1)

What is rhythm?  According to Wikipedia (okay not the best source)


Rhythm (from Greek ῥυθμόςrhythmos, "any regular recurring motion, symmetry"[1]) may be generally defined as a "movementmarked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions."[2] This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or frequencyof anything from microseconds to millions of years.

For our family and many others rhythm is the regular pattern of our life.  Rhythm is different from a schedule in that you are not tied to the clock.  You know what you'd like your day, week, year to look and feel like.  It is more of a natural flow to your day rather than checking to make sure that you are on schedule.  Today I am going to share our daily rhythm, and in another post (as this will get too long) I'll share some important lessons I have been learning about creating and keeping our rhythm.

I have been struggling for a long time now with having some consistency to our days.  Our situation has changed several times over the years and my adjustments to it have been okay, but there isn't a sense of peace.  While researching different forms of homeschooling for our children I came across Waldorf education.  What I read really resonated with me and I realized it was more of a lifestyle than a specific curriculum. I'll be posting more on that all later too.

I can't tell you how excited I am to have joined the Thinking Feeling, Willing (TFW) program from A little Garden Flower: Waldorf Essentials. Over the next year I'll be sharing with you some of what I am learning, what the kids are up to and the projects we make. The first Mom lesson is about rhythm.  TFW was a great help because there is practical help along with some great articles addressing different areas of concern many other moms have encountered.

I am taking the time to slowly digest what I am learning and putting it into practice.  I look forward to starting some of the children's lessons with TJ and the daycare children once I get some time to read through it.  There are also sections for handiwork too, as you know I love that side of things.

I started by writing down what our current week looks like.  I realized how much we were out and what gaps we had during the day.  Slowly I worked on what I wanted our week, and each day to look and feel like. Here is our current rhythm that is starting to work for us:


Wake (Usually between 5-5:30am)
Bible
Mommy time (Emails, shower)
Breakfast        (TV time)
Daily chores   (Play or help)
Circle Time
Snack
Activity of the day / Outside
Lunch
Chores / Free Play
Quiet Time      (Nap for MJ)
Office work
Timmy Time
Diner prep
Outside/Free play
Dinner
Free play or activity

Activity of the Day
Monday – Handiworks
Tuesday – extra cleaning or outings
Wednesday – painting/crafts
Thursday – Baking
Friday – Sensory/Water
Saturday – Gardening/Nature
Sunday – Church/rest

For more about the program check out the links above.  If you are interested in finding out more about rhythm here are some other good posts or do a google search.  Stay tuned for some lessons I'm learning about keeping the rhythm!

Ordering of days - Waldorf Essentials
Rythm: Part One - Parenting Passageway
Creating Family Rhythm - Imperfect Homemaking
Beginners Guide to Creating Family Rhythm - Natural Parents Network

For more on Waldorf or if you want to know what I'm up to with the kids check out the sites below.  I will be posting about our homeschooling decision later once we are sure that is more of a reality for us.





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