Guest post by Leah Damon – @leahdamon
I spent the majority of my childhood growing up as a missionary child in a remote village in the beautiful wilderness of the West African bush. Most of my tribal friends lived in mud huts without the conveniences of clocks, watches, or other technology, and the concept of “being on time” in this culture was often a very fluid one. Yet the people lived their lives slowly and intimately attuned to the changing months, the nuances of the rains and dry seasons, and the sun’s daily path through the sky. There were hundreds of times that I remember wandering through the bush and checking the sun’s position to determine if it was time to leave my play and head home for supper!  I certainly experienced a bit of a learning curve when my family moved back to the US and were thrown into the faster-paced average of a much more rigidly-scheduled culture! I am now a homeschooling mother of three precious wild boys, and I have begun to appreciate finding a gentle balance between the importance of our planned/structured activities, while allowing enough freedom in our schedule to be flexible when the inevitable interruptions or creative rabbit trails of life occur.

In order to support a sense of peace and cooperation in our home, we have come up with a chart to detail the general flow of our day that meets the multi-faceted needs of our family. This is something that the Waldorf method of education often calls a “daily rhythm.” It is a bit different from a daily “schedule” in that our activities are not planned for specific times during the day, but they are organized in such a way that one activity leads organically to the next as each of them are completed. For example, in this way, whenever we spend a brief twenty minutes or a lingering hour at breakfast, my children know that as soon as we are finished eating it is time to tidy up and move directly into circle time—but without the stress or pressure of feeling that we are a half hour “behind” if we happen to begin our movement circle at 9:30am rather than 9:00.

Humans, especially young children, are creatures who need a certain sense of security that comes from knowing what to expect next. Following a predictable daily rhythm is something that creates a sense of physical and emotional safety for a child.  The abstract concept of the “time” of day, or even the day of the week, is something that young children are often developmentally unable to understand. Having a gently flowing rhythm to the day, and especially a chart on which they can see a few small visual clues, can serve as a guide to provide them with anchor-points in their day and therefore with the comfort that comes from knowing what is happening “next.” I would love to share with you the materials and instructions for creating a rhythm chart for your home that can be crafted to fit the individual daily needs and educational values of your family! There are myriad ways you can choose to organize your chart to make sure that you are including a comfortable amount of formal structure, but not over-filling your day with unrealistic expectations. Here are a few things that you can consider as you are contemplating and jotting down a rough draft of what to include in your chart.

How to Create A Daily Rhythm:

1. Begin with the most important “anchors” that are required to happen around the same consistent time each day, such as mealtimes and the bedtime routine. Do you always eat an early dinner because one parent works night shifts? Perhaps there are specific times a day that medications need to be given to a child? Do you have a toddler who needs a nap right after lunch? Do you tend to nurse your infant at specific times of the day that need to be left activity-free to promote ideal focus and bonding? Perhaps one of your children has speech therapy on certain days of the week?  Record these “necessary” anchors in the day before taking into consideration the extra values and educational activities that are important for your family.

2. What are each of your children’s developmental needs, and how can you align their educational goals with their need for a balance between activity and rest? Waldorf pedagogy often describes the need for “in breaths” and “out breaths” throughout the day. This means that if you try to organize too many focused lessons/activities one after the other without leaving time for those “exhales” of movement, outdoor play, or “brain breaks” through your morning, your children may express the frustration of that unmet need by becoming resistant, upset, hyperactive, or irritable. In our family rhythm, we value outdoor play or a nature walk immediately after the morning’s main lesson so that my energetic sons can decompress from their longest stretch of focused academic work! I also determined very early on that my boys enjoy doing their math practice during our movement circle when they are freshly alert in the early mornings after a wholesome breakfast, rather than waiting until later in the day. (Alternatively, if your children are too young for “formal” academic lessons, you may want to plan a simpler routine including story-time with a small nature craft, followed by a healthy snack and a time for free play!)

3. Don’t forget to include some element of home-care into your rhythm! I truly believe that homeschool cannot happen to the fullest without everyone in the family learning to pitch in (according to their developmentally-appropriate capacity) to help care for the environment we all use and enjoy each day. When you devote time in your rhythm to include your children in the small activities such as sweeping up, wiping down a table, or folding cloth napkins, they will come to understand first-hand that it is a joy to enrich the lives of their family by engaging in the acts of service known as home-making!

4. Remember that your daily rhythm is only meant to serve as a gentle guide. Spontaneity is certainly essential to brighten our days on occasion if things ever begin to feel too “mundane,” but there are so many ways to bring excitement into your daily rhythm without disrupting the sense of calm that it can bring to your family.  Perhaps you could bring your circle time outdoors under a shady tree in your yard? Could story-time be done under a blanket fort with popcorn and lanterns? Creating and keeping to a rhythm should never be devoid of infusing enchantment, delight, and imagination into your days!

How to Create a Rhythm Chart:

Materials:

– Watercolor paper
– Watercolors (liquid or pan)
– A wide-tip and fine-tip paintbrush
– Jar of water for rinsing your brushes
– Scissors
– Ink pen
– White and orange acrylic paint

Instructions for Creating Your Rhythm Chart:

Step 1: Begin by painting a watercolor wash across your paper to serve as the background for your rhythm chart. One color would be lovely enough on its own, but consider layering three horizontal strips of different colors (lighter at the top and darker towards the bottom) and allowing the edges to “bleed” together to create a lovely ethereal effect!

Step 2: Once your painting has completely dried, cut your paper into a shape you enjoy; perhaps a circle? Or a rectangle with gently rounded edges? You could of course leave it as the original size and simply draw larger words and pictures!

Step 3: Using a dark ink pen, list the morning-to-nighttime details of your individual rhythm from top to bottom down the paper, and draw a simple graphic to describe each activity (this could be something your children may want to help with!) Don’t worry if you don’t feel confident in your drawing skills…your children will be absolutely delighted with any picture you can include, even if it is the sweet simplicity of “stick people.

Step 4: Lastly, paint a cheerful sun in orange acrylic near the top of your chart to signify the day’s beginning, and a white moon with stars at the bottom to represent the day’s end.

Step 5: Hang and enjoy your beautiful homeschool rhythm chart! Refer to it often at the beginning of your year as you all get used to your new routine, and allow your younger children to point to the graphics throughout their day as a way to orient themselves in the flow.

May your year together be filled with love and connection!