feeding my inner planner

I'm a planner. I always have been. I love to plan days, weeks, months, even years ahead. I plan parties, vacations, special events, get-togethers, and playdates. I plan work schedules, animal breeding schedules, feeding schedules, project schedules. I'm planning an addition onto the house that won't even get drawn up by an architect for another 6 years. I've planned an entirely new house. And a garage. And several barns. The fact that most of my plans will never be seen in reality does not deter me -- it's not the completion of the plan that is the fun part for me, it's the actual planning.

So planning for our fall homeschooling semester is feeding my inner planner in a big way! I'm choosing curriculum stories, movement activities, baking projects, art exercises, craft actvities, and special excursions. I'm planning out daily, weekly, and seasonal rhythms. I'm ordering art materials and craft supplies. I'm planning how to fit all my farm chores and housework into our homeschooling days. It's a veritable planning fest!

And it looks like we're going to be having a bunch of fun this fall! At least until I feel like I need to replan everything....but so far, here's what I've got:

7:30ish -- wake, arise, and greet the day; kids play while I feed the critters

8:30 -- Breakfast; followed by clean-up, tooth brushing, and dressing
-- outdoor play while I finish up the morning chores

10:00 -- Movement Circle (@ 20 minutes of songs and verse with sensory integrative related movement)
-- Curriculum Story (same story is told each day during that week
-- Creative Play (@ 1 hr), which is the "work" that a Kindergartener does

12:00 -- Lunch; followed by clean-up
-- Rest Time (@ 1 hr)

2:00 -- Afternoon Adventures:
Mondays: Baking at home, followed by a trip to the Playground
Tuesdays: Painting at home, followed by a Nature Walk
Wednesdays: babysitter here to watch kids while I work
Thursdays: Craft at home, followed by a Playdate
Fridays: Excursion (field trip)

5:00 -- outdoor play/chores

6:00 -- supper; followed by clean-up
--play

7:00 -- tooth brushing/bed prep
--Family Story Time

8:00 -- bedtime

We'll be starting our "school year" the day after Labor Day. In the meantime, we'll keep on enjoying the lake and our laid back Summer rhythms! (Which are basically the above listed rhythms, just replacing the entire morning activity block with creative play and the entire afternoon activity block with the lake, plus an hour later bedtime.) And I'll keep on planning -- now that I've got the Autumn semester pretty well figured out, I'll probably start looking at Winter....I am giving myself a 2 week break between semesters to plan each semester, although I'm sure that won't stop me from doing some of the planning now!