So far, so good

The schedule is working! It's not smooth sailing, by any means, but I've been pleasantly surprised by how well K is responding. The first day I unveiled the schedule, he was really excited and wanted to check it all day long. He still does and is in such a better mood as a result of the greater sense of control and understanding of what to expect from his day.

I still don't have the strength to wake them up every morning if they are still sleeping (which is maybe 1 day in 7). It goes against just about every instinct in me, the product of compounded lack of sleep, I'm sure. And I still have some trouble staying on task when I'm tired or have other things to do. So there's plenty of room for improvement.

The good parts have been wonderful, though. My husband or I are doing at least an hour of homeschool each day with K. He's loving the learning and attention of that time. And I'm finding that I'm much less scared of having him home now that I'm actually doing it. The theory of schooling him got a bit intimidating. Putting it into practice is showing the benefits of this time with him: how much he likes it, getting to watch him learn, being a part of shaping his love of learning, etc. We still haven't made a concrete decision, but I feel more informed already!

Another benefit is that K ends up watching less TV. We're busier and have limits on when he can watch, so even when he CAN he often doesn't WANT to anymore. And that also means less noise in the house. Win, win!

I'm optimistic about the future of this. I'm very happy to see something like this working. Sometimes it seems like nothing will change for the better-at least that's what my pessimistic tendencies tell me. It's good to be proven wrong!