I am currently trying to re-schedule my day... but countless cups of tea get in the way.

When I was young, I used to like making schedules of what I would do and when, though my sister was better at drawing up hers, particularly for revision. Some people can't stand schedules and that is fine for them. I however like to use them, not to make myself feel guilty if I don't achieve it, but as a guideline or a little nudge of what it would be a good idea to be doing.
I had written out a schedule I was using, that included one to one study time with each kid, each day. But now M has gone to school I need to completely re-jig it. The morning school run means I am often not home before 9.30am, later if I have shopping to do.
I also am getting no chill time early in the morning. I long to sit with my brew but often I am making sandwiches whilst drinking it. So that is my mission for the next few days.

I will write up alternatives for days we have home-ed stuff on, though I am not getting to as much as the kids Dad likes taking them to the social groups, while I stay home. We also seem to be doing more after school activities so we are in more during the day. I am trying to make it fun for J though, as he has lost his playmate for a few months.

I think M is still enjoying school. I don't think she loves it nor does she hate it but I suppose it is different so she is still happy to go back after this half term. I will have to start waking her earlier though over the next few days. She struggles to get up at 8am and there is no way I could get her up any earlier than this or she would just fall back to sleep.

It is a good job I am here to get anyone up actually. I think in the summer I will experiment and see what time people naturally rise. I had to wake A up yesterday at 11am - which she was not happy about - as she has some GCSE work to complete. She has practically finished the course and I know she finds it boring but after all, she did choose this.....

I can't believe how much of my time is taken up with he kids stuff. A while back, I had time to read for an hour a day, now when I get to bed, I am lucky to manage 5 minutes. I don't think the schedule will improve this much as A needs a heck of a lot of help with her work due to her dyslexia so that takes up any free time I did have during the day but I am her parent so needs must. This won't improve much in September as D starts 3 GCSE's then, well that is the plan!

I have had many struggles with the whole GCSE thing and now realise colleges cannot think outside the box so if a very intelligent home-ed kid applies without having taken any, they will not only not know what to do with them, but most likely place them at the bottom. IMO there is no point in this but they may as well stay home and access the courses that are available to them for free at 16. Of course, when compulsory education age is raised (when is this?) it will once again make it harder for home-ed kids.
Gah, if I had the funds, mine would be doing so much more qualification orientated work than now, but that is the sacrifice you make when choosing this path. I have thought long and hard about whether to put them in school at 14 so they can sit them for free, yet my conclusion for this family is that the reason I object to schools is still there if they went at 14 and it would change our family. Yes my kids may not have the same number of qualifications but they are intelligent and we have a strong family. You can't put a price on that.