Balancing the Schedule
Hi, Mamas!
Let’s talk about the heavy weight of busy schedules.
You’re a mom.
You’re a wife.
You’re a working mom.
You have a working spouse.
Your kids are active and want to play sports. All the sports.
Your kids have 345 end-of-the-year field trips and activities.
Here are five strategies we use to make everything flow as easy as possible.
Let me add a disclaimer here, that these strategies can’t and don’t cover all the scenarios. There are times we reach out family for the assist. We recognize that our family dynamic is not always the norm, and if you fall into the category of doing this all by yourself – you deserve a MAJOR shout out. Because HOW!? Kudos, mama.
Phone Calendars
Sync your phone calendars. Set up you and your spouse’s phone to sync your calendar. My husband and I both use Gmail and have android phones. This is a fairly simple process; but, you will have to share your Gmail password with your spouse.
Syncing your phone calendars allows each of you to update (in real time!) any changes to the day, week, or month schedule. We add everything from who is in charge of picking up the boys and when, to sports practices. We even add professional development training, and any abnormal work schedules – which in my husband’s case, IS the norm.
Allowing both of us to make changes and view them on our phones, keeps us both informed and dun,dun,da,dun ----- it sends us reminders!
Family Wall Calendar
We also have a family wall calendar. This calendar is from and Etsy shop called Circle and Square https://brandcycle.shop/mwrov – and it has been life changing. It has so many features (that don’t apply to this post, so I won’t bore you) but – let’s say it’s the Family Headquarters.
Our calendar is divided into a section for each family member. I can easily put each member’s daily schedule for the week – and of course – we color code!
My boys are able to look at their row and see what’s in store for the day, or the upcoming morning. My littlest, while he can’t yet read, does recognize, my awful attempts to draw waves for swimming lessons and soccer balls for his game days. This reduces the stress of the unknown and allows for excitement for what’s coming.
Allowing them to see the schedule for the week, also allows them to take on a little more responsibility. Each boy has a bag for each “sport” they take part in. For example, my oldest has a wresting bag, a swim lesson bag, and a baseball bag; while my youngest has a soccer bag, a swim lessons bag, and a t-ball bag. When I ask them to get their bag for the day ready, they are able to quickly look and determine which bag needs prepped and ready to take with us in the mornings.
Talk with your Spouse
This may seem trivial, but I am here to tell you, no matter how many calendars you have, or how many pop up reminders are on your phone; one of you is bound to get mixed up on who is doing what. Take time once or twice a week to discuss the upcoming schedule and make sure you are both on the same page.
Touching base takes less than five minutes. But it can reduce a week’s worth of stress trying to decipher calendar entries on who is going where and when. Trust me, this talk with your spouse is worth it. It also allows the chance to express any potential hurdles or last minute changes that may occur so that plan B is already discussed and in place.
Plan Bs happen a lot in our family. With my husband’s night-shift schedule, plus being on-call for a specialty unit, there are plenty of times we have to be flexible and adjust. Knowing that there is already a back-up plan in case, has been helpful to calm my brain.
Limiting the Activities
If you’re like me, you struggle to not sign them up. You want them active, you want them involved and making friends, you want to give them the best childhood EVER! I can say no to toys all day long – tell me you want to get out there and be active – I’ll cave almost every time. And then you end up with a spring schedule that has two boys in baseball/tball, two boys in swimming lessons, and one playing soccer. Each activity has practice 1-2 times per week, and a game 1-2 times per week. Oh, and we have Wednesday night church activities! That schedule is impractical and logistically impossible.
We decided to allow our boys to choose 3 activities per year. As parents, we have opted to require swimming lessons until they have reached a level of skill that we are comfortable with. This allows each boy to pick two more sports/activities to play or do per year. We allow them to choose whichever sports they wish – the current favorites are baseball and soccer – but if they choose a different sport or a non-sport activity next year – that’s okay! My oldest loves mechanical things --- I see robotics in our future!
Limiting the activities helps spread out the practices and games by season (except soccer- does soccer have an off season?!?). If you’re lucky they will like different sports in different seasons – I’ll let you know if that ever happens for us, ha! It also helps your wallet; limiting the registration fees, equipment costs, and travel expenses.
And mama, it’s okay to say “not this season”. I am not an expert on parenting by any form of the imagination; however, I am confident that as long as I am raising my boys to be respectful, compassionate, and believers in Christ – it will not matter how many or which sports they played at the age of five (5).
It’s Ok to Miss
At this age, if you are exhausted, or you kiddo is exhausted it’s okay to miss. While we do teach commitment to the team, and don’t allow our kiddos to quit mid season, we do understand that sometimes YOU.NEED.A.DAY. A day for the kiddos, a day for the mamas, for the spouses, for the family. Take the day. No one will remember or care that your five year old missed one t-ball practice in 2023.
Two practices or games, or a practice and a game scheduled on the same night? Let your kiddo pick. Let them do what makes them happiest. My littlest guy will pick soccer over everything, every day. It’s where he thrives and what he is currently enjoying. Will that change next year, maybe, probably. But right now, soccer makes him smile.
Mamas –
No matter how you and your family choose to handle schedules and activities throughout the year, I hope that you found at least one “nugget” of helpfulness in this post. If nothing else, please know that if your schedule is causing you or your kiddo more stress than fun, it’s OK to miss.
Mama of Misters
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