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What Kind of Mom Are You?

So often homeschool moms find themselves entangled in the great debate, the Super Bowl of homeschooling, the 2000 elections of home education.

The topic?

Their daily routine/schedule/plan/un-schedule.

Whatever you want to call it. It is there, and it is in your face.

I used to think there were just two camps to this whole debate: Type A moms vs. the world. Apparently there are way more. WAY WAY MORE.

What kind of mom

Here is a simple breakdown of homeschool families by daily routine/schedule/plan/un-schedule:

Schedulers.

These are the moms who plan their entire day in 15 minute increments and stick to it. They are the moms who make sure co-op ends on time and Little Timmy is eating his snack at exactly 2:04 PM. They are the moms you want running meetings, because you know you are leaving on time. These are the “Type A+” moms.

Routine lovers.

If Sally has to be at gymnastics at 10:00 AM, she will be there. However, there is no schedule outside of important events. These moms rally around the idea of routine: wake up about the same time, do school about the same time, and eat dinner at about the same time. They never seem to be stressed. They are what I call “Type A-.”

Non-planners.

These are the moms who completely go with the flow. Skip science for two weeks? Sure! Do extra math, because Little Jane thinks multiplication is fun? Definitely! The non-planners don’t have heart attacks when dinner winds up on the table an hour late or things get completely thrown off track. They embrace it.

Schedulers who don’t follow the schedule.

Oh, these are the moms who have good intentions. Really. They spend hours making schedules and hanging them on every visible surface so the whole family can see them. Except no one else follows the schedule, and 99% of the time mom doesn’t either. She needs to use pencil in her agenda book, because there will be at least 20 changes to that day’s schedule. She doesn’t give up though. Every month she sits there planning with high hopes of schedule success.

So…which type of mom are you?


Stephanie and her family live in Roswell, Georgia. Originally from the Northeast, Stephanie ditched snow for sun five years ago and hasn’t looked back. Stephanie loves the kitchen, summer dresses, and a good book. She is also active in Junior League of Atlanta and at her local Catholic Church. Armed with an English degree and a MBA, Stephanie is preparing to homeschool her young son, Samuel. She blogs at The Brunette Foodie.

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32 Comments

  1. Oh I love this! Going to share this one at our newbie night on Tuesday. but I have to say, after 10 plus years homeschooling, I’ve probably fallen into each one of these categories at different times and seasons. But right now definitely I’m solidly 2, 3, and 4 🙂

  2. Hi! You are absolutely correct in that there are many types of homeschooling moms! Me? I’m the Scheduler, But having a toddler and two children with special needs means I often end up stepping “down” to a Routine Lover. But, I have to admit, if I spontaneously decide on a field trip we definitely become the Non-Planner family! LOL! So how’s that for you? It all depends on the week, which one I’ll be. And yes, sometimes I’m even a scheduler who doesn’t follow the schedule. Except that homeschool is the only place I do that. Dinner and other routines are very much set in stone.

  3. Wow, is it possible to be a mix! I on a scheduled, no planning scheduler who doesn’t follow the schedule, haha! Every week we pretty much do the same thing at around the same time but I will leave out certain things for a week or so and then try and jump back in. I will leave school at the drop of a hat if something with friends pops up or a fun outside learning experience. And then I will try to schedule everything down to 20 min increments that no one follows including myself. Actually when I read this article, I was hoping for some answers for me because I am the process of trying to schedule yet again, haha!

  4. I’m number 4 a scheduler who doesnt use the schedule. It’s terrible! I really want to follow it but something comes up or we have math issues so we stick to that. I have bought organizing books and printed out a ton of schedules and I so badly want to follow it but it just doesn’t seem to happen.

  5. I’m a combination of the last three I guess. I need somewhat of a routine but I don’t freak out if something unplanned comes our way (I more often than not just roll with it and embrace it). I do love planning and creating schedules though, but don’t always follow them. :o)

  6. I never knew homeschooling mothers were put into these groups! So, I was so amused reading through the types though, and I see it all now!!
    So I would say I am, with absolute certainty, a #2-Routine Lover. I always say that “we don’t have a schedule but a general daily routine”. Even though every day does not really look exactly the same. We have piano days, and our kids are really involved in a couple of other things. Our oldest daughter (also homeschooled) is very involved with the high school’s sports teams, so she has a wacky daily practice schedule, and lots of games, many of which our whole family travels too, also. But still, there is a general routine for any one of those kind of days, if that makes any sense.
    I’m a planner, and so routines really make me feel like I have most things under control. (That may not REALLY be the case, but as long as I feel like I do, things go pretty smoothly! ; )

  7. Ha, #4 is hilarious!!!! Will anyone admit to that one?? I usually start out the year being a #4 but I’m not really fooling anyone. Mostly I’m an A- . I like my routine and I’m always punctual but it doesn’t give me a panic attack if we skip math one day or haven’t done a spelling test in umm….months. For the most part, we get our basics done…and dinner is always on time (I think I just freely admitted that dinner is more important than spelling).

    1. Well, I am the scheduler who no one follows my schedule. Just saturday I spent 3 hours setting up our daily schedule 15 min by 15 min time period. then made up the weekly schedule of the school pages of work to do during that time. It is invisible to my whole family and i am total frustrated. I dont have the support to see follow through. But guess what. I continue making those schedules to see them be invisible the next week again. We then school by the seat of our pants. I dont like this but this is the way it is.

  8. I am a card carrying 4… though I am starting to just accept myself over the past couple of years and I might yet trade in for the #3 place. Sometimes things just go better when you admit who you are… >wink<

  9. I am somewhere in between a two and a three. I have a routine that I stick to, but I let the children lead the learning experience. This means my kindergartner is doing science at a second or third grade level, but barely meeting state standards for math. I DON’T CARE. He’s healthy and happy and learning 🙂

  10. I’m with the other lady who said she totally thought she was a #2 until she got to #4–yeah, so me! lol… I’d like to move more into a #2 phase though.

  11. I am a combination of 1,2 and 4! It really depends on the week. I plan out our year in August. I plan each week and try to stick to the schedule. Some weeks we actually accomplish our goals, but I will admit that most weeks we are usually behind. No matter how well I plan or schedule our day, something always comes up. I guess that’s life.

  12. I am 2. Routine lovers. with a little three mixed in..Some days, we take it alittle slower and maybe not get to that science or history because Lang arts took extra long or we are learning a new concept in math..

  13. Finally someone understands the “Routine Lover” category! I am not a type A personality, b/c I am super flexible with details but like a general structure, and I am the last person who would be in charge of a co-op or meeting b/c I really don’t care if the agenda is completed, but I do want to know I will get out of there at the expected time! Awesome post from a proud A- homeschool mama:)

  14. Totally bought into #2 as I was reading it, then came across #4 and involuntarily let out a this HUGE belly laugh! So loud my kids yelled down from upstairs to ask, “Are you ok? Aren’t we suppose to be doing math?”
    Caught in the act…..

  15. Totally bought into #2 as I was reading it, then came across #4 and involuntarily let out this HUGE belly laugh! So loud my kids yelled down from upstairs to ask, “Are you ok? Aren’t we suppose to be doing math?”
    Caught in the act!

  16. I love this list! so funny! I am the scheduler who does not keep the schedule! Yup! and when it dawns on me like just now…I go ahead and become the non planner… and my heart stops racing.

  17. I’m a #2 NOW.. I was #1 when I had only one child but years later and total of three kids, I learned being that way- was going to put me into the grave much earlier. So now having a 17yr old, 8yr , and 7yr old.. We have a routine with flexibility. I think it was said best, we start around the same time, take breaks around the same time-etc.. When we have appts for gymnastics, dance, art class, we are there on time and ready to go.. I do find myself alot less stressed since I am able to let things go..

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