We have now crossed the lines into what is often considered a “large” family. We have 4 young kids and schedules can become complicated. Here is how we make sure everything is planned out.
Related: How to get “you time” with kids
Less is more
The biggest tip I have is to schedule less. Don’t sign up for all the things for all of your kids. Kids don’t need too many activities. They will actually do better if they have less planned and they have more free time.
Flexibility
Be flexible with your schedule. Allow for freedom in what you plan. Don’t overwhelm every second of every day with plans. Allow for lots of free time for play and time together as a family.
Plan a weekly activity
Each day of the week we have something planned. For example we go to the library one morning each week. One evening my oldest 2 kids go to AWANA. We have a playgroup one day as well. One evening we have a movie night that my kids always look forward to. Two nights a week are bath nights. Planning a specific activity for each night or morning, gives us a structure to our week so we can get out of the house and have things to look forward to.
Appointments
Have a specific day that works well for appointments. This day would be a day that you have someone to watch your other kids, so if your husband is your go to babysitter and he is off work on Friday’s then your appointments should be scheduled on Friday’s as much as possible. For us the grandparents are our go to babysitters so mornings work best for them, so all of our appointments are scheduled in the mornings as much as possible.
Date night
Before we had our newborn we ideally would go on a date every other week on a night when my mother-in-law could watch the kids. Currently we go on a “date” while our oldest 2 kids are at AWANA.
Meals
Currently I’m making up meals as I go, but ideally we would have a flexible meal plan with meal ideas for the week listed and I would make whatever sounds good to me the day it sounds good to me.
Related: How to meal plan
Weekly schedule meeting
Each week my husband and I have a meeting to go over our schedules. We sit down, look at our calendar’s and we discuss anything that we have planned or anything that deviates from the normal plan. So if my husband plans to work late one evening he and I will have discussed this. When My kids get older, we may include them into this meeting.
