A Habit A Month: Evening Routine

Towards the end of July, I resolved to work on an evening routine for me and the kids. I’m pleased to say that, apart from the 5 days when we were out of town, the kids and I have been following our evening routine four days a week.

Ideally, we should be following our evening routine on all weekdays, but we attend a prayer group meeting on Fridays. So, four days a week it is!

Here’s a rough outline of our late afternoons after the kids get back from school:

• Kids wash up.
• Lunch time.
• Do the dishes and quick kitchen clear up.
• Kids lie down for an hour. {They don’t have to sleep, but they have to remain quiet}.
• During their quiet time, I edit/publish my blog posts, read a little, and reply to emails/comments.

And here’s what we do after the kids are up from their quiet time:

• Kids are free to play for at least an hour.
• They have a glass of chocolate milk.
• Learn/review Bible verses.
• Homework and study time {We try to review whatever they are taught in class, on a daily basis}.
• By then my husband is home, so the kids hang out with him a while until it’s time for dinner.

This has been working pretty well for us, and the kids know what’s expected of them. Except for their quiet time (3:00 – 4:00 PM) and dinner time (7:30 – 8:00 PM), everything else is flexible. This gives the kids room to pursue anything else they may be interested in – drawing, coloring, playing with their cars, building with Lego and even going out to play if it’s not too cold.

The only thing this routine lacks is time to read with the kids. I wanted to incorporate it this month, but I just couldn’t make it work. So, I’ll be working on making reading to the kids a daily habit during the month of September. I’ll post my progress a month from now.

To Do: Stick to our evening routine and set apart time for reading.

To Read: How to Develop A Routine that Works – And Stick With It! {A four-part series from Money Saving Mom}.

To Ponder: 

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-8)

“A Habit A Month” challenge is about working on just one habit a month – one small step at a time. Focus on just one area in your life that needs an overhaul and make it the habit you want to develop this month. It could be as simple as waking up early or spending time with God everyday. This would be an opportunity for you to actually take a step forward and work on that one good habit you have always wanted to develop. Or kick that one bad habit that has always been nagging your conscience. Are you up for it? Who’s with me?