Last week, I shared with you about a new series I’m writing, about managing and scheduling a homeschool with multiple young children. I’m going to share with you the first step in doing so today.

Step 1: Create a Daily Schedule

Children function best, feel most comfortable, and behave better when they know what to expect throughout the day and have a general routine.

My own daily schedule includes a very basic time-frame and is arranged kinda like a to-do list. I’m not too strict on myself by trying to adhere to specific times for completing tasks, but instead, I try to stick to a general order of activities.

A checklist-style schedule allows me a general idea of the time frame in which I can expect to get certain tasks done, but also allows flexibility. Young children are just not predictable, (especially when you throw a nursing, crawling baby into the mix).

This is my daily schedule for managing multiple young homeschooled children. (This is not my official copy – I changed the names on this one to protect the children I keep).

I made it myself using OpenOffice Writer (like Microsoft Word, but free), simply because I like to type things rather than write/draw them. But you can also draw one from scratch on a blank sheet of paper if you want – it doesn’t have to be fancy.

(Click the image to view it larger)