Returning to Routines: Starting the New Year Fresh in Your Home

The turn of the calendar to a new year brings with it a fresh start. Hope for good days to come is a common theme at the start of a new year and we can use it to our advantage within our homes. Let’s start off our year with a routine refresh and bring order to our homes and our schooling.

If you are a mom like me, you know that December feels like a marathon. You’re usually responsible for all of the magic that comes with the Christmas season; baking together, shopping for gifts, sending cards, organizing parties, coordinating Christmas outfits, planning menus… it can overwhelm anyone. By the time the new year comes, I am exhausted! It is at this time of the year that I am most craving a return to the simple routines we have established in our home.

Most of our regular lessons are set aside during the month of December to make room for what much of the homeschool community refers to as “Christmas school.” Although it can look different for everyone, Christmas schooling is an intentional focus on the season; preparing together for the birth of Jesus through shared experiences. While we typically keep our reading and math lessons as usual, I put away all other subjects and instead choose read-alouds and activities that are Christmas related. This shift has served us well in the past, but the lack of a normal routine is felt acutely by the time the month has ended.

Looking Ahead to the New Year

Sometime during the week between Christmas and New Years, after I’ve had some time to recoup from the chaos, I turn my sights to the rhythms and routines of our home and our schooling. Falling right around the midpoint of the school year, I take stock of what is serving us in our homeschool and what needs to go. Since we do not separate our lessons from our home life, I take this approach to all of our daily chore and housework routines as well. I also take a look at my own mindset and expectations to asses how I want to intentionally cultivate our home culture. By identifying what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to be added to our routines and expectations, I begin to feel a greater sense of peace return to my own heart and to our home.

What Works Well

Before making any changes to our home or schooling, I like to make a list of what is working well. This is usually a mental list for myself but you may find it helpful to write it down. First I take stock of our home life. This year, our morning routine has been working well, as have the expectations surrounding quiet time in our home. In terms of our schooling, our math and reading programs are going well for all of my children. Once I identify what is working well, I set out to revive and reaffirm these routines in our children. I remind them of expectations, reteach tasks that may have been forgotten, and praise them for their good work in both their lessons and in the home.

What Doesn’t Work

As a type A mom, I have a hard time not seeing a task through to the end, perfectly. It’s a struggle for me! But when something does not work for us, it has to go. This has been a lesson I have been learning over the last few years, especially when it comes to homeschooling. I would love to pick a stack of curriculum and see it all the way through from start to finish. In actuality, that almost never happens. At this midway point in our school year, I take a hard look at what curriculum is not serving its purpose in our schooling. This year, we dropped hymn and picture study. We will hopefully revisit these in the future, as I believe they have a place in a well-rounded education, but my boys and I were not enjoying them and they felt like a chore.

Similarly, some routines or expectations in our home may need a revamping as well. This year, my husband Sam identified that we needed an incentive for our boys to work towards to help them form better habits and behaviors. Together, we created a new rhythm of earning points towards an ice cream reward for obedience and kindness. Consequently, when undesirable behavior or attitudes occur, they lose points. This is an example of changing an expectation in our home. Do you need to revisit expectations with your family? Are there routines that need adjusting, such as your kids’ bedtime routine? The start of the year is a good time to revamp these.

Being Intentional in Your Home

The pace of our everyday life often prevents me from intentionally thinking about and creating a peaceful home culture. In the week following Christmas, our schedule changes dramatically because Sam is home on vacation. Our whole family has the time and space to breathe and reconnect with one another. Slowing down in this way gives me a chance to take stock of my own emotional well-being. Am I showing up as the mother I want to be? Have I made time for prayer, sleep, and exercise? Have I taken seriously the authority God has given me over my children? If we aren’t intentional, life will just happen to us and our families and the outcome may not be what we had hoped or expected.

A Change in Mindset

An example that recently surfaced for me was my attitude around our lessons. I’m grateful for the flexibility that homeschooling affords us, but I had not set clear expectations around when lessons will occur. Without realizing it, I made lessons “optional” for my kids. Sure, we sit down together to do lessons in the morning, but sometimes my kids would get distracted. Before I knew it, time would pass and our lessons weren’t getting done in a timely manner. So, I changed my mindset and communicated to my kids that our lessons are non-negotiable. We now treat them as our main priority in the mornings. We’ve also agreed that lessons need to be wrapped up by 2pm. If they are not, a consequence will occur. This shift has helped tremendously. I no longer have a “finish lessons” task looming over me long into the afternoon.

Where might you need to reframe your mindset? Think through your daily mental load and minimize battles you are fighting. Maybe you need to make meal options non-negotiable (you’re not running a restaurant after all!) or hold a more firm boundary surrounding screen time.

Have Confidence in Structure

It has been proven that children thrive when given routines and boundaries, but I would go even further to say that everyone thrives within these parameters. Orderliness brings a sense of security as we mark our days in our homes. Rest assured that setting up routines, boundaries, and expectations in your home will serve your whole family well.

What types of routines work well for your family? How have you set up expectations to keep peace and joy within your home? Share with me in the comments!

If you liked this post, check out my post about the Best Morning Routine for a Homeschool Mama to start your day off on the right foot!