I have always loved reading “A Day in the Life of Me” posts. It reminds me of the old Mr.Rogers show when he travels to meet a new neighbor. When I was a new homeschooler, I found so many great ideas as I read the semi-frightening posts.
Now, as I have entered a different phase of homeschooling – educating my older kids while the toddler runs circles around our table – I troll the internet looking for new ideas, wondering how other plate-spinners keep them all going at once.
Our Homeschool Schedule: A Day in the Life of Me!
Today did not begin as usual. On normal days, my toddler (AKA my alarm) is up 4:45 or 5, which gives me plenty of time to get a good breakfast made for he and myself; sometimes start a French press of coffee, put on an episode of Thomas, and maybe start a load of laundry.
But this morning, heaven was on earth for a few extra hours in my house because my baby slept until 7am. Two more hours of sleep for all of us was simply marvelous, but it did set me behind on my day. Oh well. I happily adjusted the day’s homeschool schedule. (And can someone tell my son that he can do that any day?)
- 7:00 – Baby and husband are up and starting their day with Cheerios and coffee
- 7:20 – Coffee was delivered to me, bedside. (Again, amazing way to start my day!)
- 7:30 – Older kids wake up and need breakfast and husband is off to work in the office downstairs
- 8:00 – Everyone gets dressed/make beds/clear dining room table to pull out school books
- 9:00 – (Where did the rest of that hour go?) Start morning meeting with girls, son is running dining room laps.
- 9:04 – Son asks to sit in his high chair because our morning singing clues him in that it’s time for busy boxes
- 9:06 – New busy box for son
- 9:08 – New busy box for son
- 9:16 – Start math; new busy box
- 9:40 – Remove chair from wiggly child; she now has to stand at the table
- 9:55 – I take son upstairs to put him down for a nap and leave the girls with independent math work
- 10:06 – Son is sleeping, which gives girls quiet to complete their math
- 10:45 – Grab snack and girls put away math books and pull out language arts and history things
- 11:00 – Start spelling
- 11:15 – Grammar
- 11:30- Make quick copies for history lesson and complete the first half of history for the week
- 11:50 – Son wakes up, but stays in crib for a few minutes while we finish up
- 11:56 – Get son and start lunch prep. I eat while I make lunch. Start one girl on computer for French lesson.
- 12:15 – Lunch. I read aloud while they eat. They beg for more reading and since son is happily playing with his toys nearby, I give in. One girls plays with dominos quietly while I read, the other wiggles but listens quietly.
- 12:40 – Silent reading for one daughter while the other does her French lesson on the computer.
- 1:00 – School work is done and all books and supplies are put away. Girls do their daily chore. Kids play.
- 2:30 – Failed attempt at son napping. So, we load up for a quick trip to the playground and run a few errands.
- 5:00 – Home and fixing dinner
- 6:45 – Put son in bath tub.
- 7:05 – Girls get into pajamas and head downstairs to do two more rows of math problems, then draw and work in activity books. I sort through son’s drawers and filter out all of the too-small clothes.
- 7:45 – Put son to bed
- 8:30 – Put daughters to bed
The Things Unseen
First, I am starting to work with my daughters to become a bit more independent with their school work. One of the perks of moving our school room to the dining room was so that I could get chores done while they work. There have been a few days that this has happened, but more often I am still at the table with them.
Second, I spent a few days creating the busy boxes mentioned in the early part of the day. He goes through everything in his basket within 45 minutes or so. He is learning that he can only play with these activities while we are doing schoolwork, but still asks for them if he sees the basket later in the day.
Third, I try to keep our school hours squished between breakfast and lunch for a few reasons. Mostly, because we are all fresh and happier during these hours in the day. Finishing up around lunch also lets us participate in a local afternoon co-op, take piano lessons, run errands, and just get other stuff done. I know this will change as the girls get older and require longer hours of study, but for now it all works well.
So, there ya have it. The days of the second half of my week all look so different, but this was my day today. What is homeschooling like for your family, Neighbor?
Lindsay Banton is a caffeinated mother to three great kids. She never expected to homeschool, but has found that it is a wonderful addition to their lifestyle and wouldn’t change it for the world. In addition to homeschooling, Lindsay works alongside her husband in campus ministry at a large university in Connecticut. She grew up in Virginia but has settled into life in New England, learning to love the long winters, cool springs, green summers and gorgeous autumns- and has built a boot collection to meet all the demands. She is currently blogging at www.oaksreplanted.blogspot.com