AMISH COOK: Regular schedules keep kids moving and growing

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, June 3, 2026

This week we’ll be turning back the pages of time and I’ll share bits of a letter I wrote to friends five years ago. Kick back and take a moment to relax, knowing that the One who held the past holds the moment and guards the future.

Julia is nine years old and enjoys being a big sister to all the little ones. Since school is out she thrives on having a routine around the house. (Thanks to Daddy for encouraging us to have an outline for the children, so they know what to expect out of their days.) At 6:30 she and Austin get up to do laundry. We have two washers, which makes it very nice for them. I’ve been telling them that when we have more children to help with the laundry we’ll go back to a wringer washer — we’ll see. After the laundry for the day is washing, they return upstairs to set the table. By that time it’s 7:00 and the other children are waking, and we’re ready for devotions. Breakfast comes next, then the children all help clear and wipe the table while I clean up Joshua. Yes, he absolutely loves eating — there’s food everywhere by the time he’s finished. I have come to enjoy this stage, though; my others have grown out of it so quickly!

Anyway, next Julia and Austin have what they call their “quiet time,” consisting of prayer time, reading, Jesus Calling for Kids, and jotting down a few things they are thankful for. Since Austin can’t read yet, I often read his passage for him, then he draws pictures of things he’s thankful for. Next they tackle their routine morning jobs of washing dishes, picking up toys, sweeping, and hanging up the clean wash. They have come to appreciate dreary days, as they get to use the dryer on those occasions. 🙂

Next, Austin waters our newly planted apple trees, then goes to the shop for “shop time” with Daddy. I’m chuckling as I write — in case you think this sounds too easy, hang on! Over the past months or years there have been a lot of “sweat and tears” that have gone into the training aspect. We don’t have some sort of super-home at all! It really is amazing how a child thrives on a predictable routine, yet how easy it is to not have one — and believe me, I’m not a person who is super disciplined by nature.

The three middle children, as we call them, also have some routine jobs of filling Daddy’s water jug, fetching the quail eggs, mixing up greens for everyone, and such.

Anyway, by 10:30 Baby Joshua has had his first nap, then we all head for the shop and have practice sessions. Now, these have somehow become lifesavers. We’ll practice all sorts of things — like how we want to ask a brother for a toy tractor by saying, “I’ll take a turn once you’re done,” or how to introduce ourselves to strangers, or what to do when we’re feeling upset, or to ask Mom for permission before sneaking outdoors barefooted on a snowy day. They often give input on what we could use practice on and love these times together. These simple practices of how to do things correctly have cut disciplining and correcting behaviors by more than half.

After the practice session, the oldest five children trek down to the pond to feed our catfish. By the time they get back it’s lunchtime. The afternoon passes with naps and routine jobs such as putting the dried laundry away, along with plenty of playtime.

It’s Monday evening — all the children are outside! You should’ve seen the show a couple of minutes ago. Daniel was mowing the yard with our stand-on mower and gave four children a ride, all at once. One was on his shoulders and three sat squished in a row on the platform where Daniel usually stands. With his foot space taken, he put his right foot on the side of the mower fender and the other next to the children on the platform. Four-year-old Hosanna proudly held Daddy’s Croc since there was only room for one bare foot — not even a Croc! Julia trailed behind, holding Joshua, who was quite impressed with what he saw. I laughed and savored the moment. Surely God is good. There are countless opportunities to savor days with six little people in your home, though we have our chaotic moments too.

Good morning, I’m back again. We’ll keep it a secret how many times I sat down to get in touch with you all, only to have more pressing needs come up!

I’ve been touched by all those of you who have had “deep waters to wade” and experienced heart-rending losses over the past year. May our loving Father carry you through each moment — all the way from here to eternity. Surely He knows our future far better than we know our past, or even the present moment!

With love from all of us at the Yoder household! Daniel & Gloria, Julia (9), Austin (6), Hosanna (4), Jesse (3), Elijah (3), Joshua (10 months)

I’ll wrap up with quesadillas — a super versatile food you can easily make last minute that Daniel enjoys. If you have tortillas on hand, you can put in whatever you happen to enjoy: ham, cheese, chicken, fried or grilled meat, a handful of cheese — you name it!

Quesadillas

1 flour tortilla
2 tablespoons pizza sauce
¼ cup sausage
pepperoni
1 tablespoon onion chopped
1 tablespoon green peppers chopped
¼ cup cheese

Instructions
Spread pizza sauce on half of tortilla, top with remaining ingredients. Note that any other pizza toppings of your choice may be added.
Fold tortilla in half and pinch shut with your fingers, working your way around the semi- circle.
If desired moisten edges of tortilla with water to help edges stick together.
Fry in butter over medium heat until both sides are golden brown.