I’ve wanted to give you a glimpse of what our homeschool days look like for a long time.
It feels like this year has taken a long time to come together in a cohesive way.
I knew this year would be a challenge with EA & MC, my first graders (I have two of them) beginning more difficult work and trying to incorporate in my four year old into some learning time while wrangling my one year old.
I did a lot of tweaking and adjusting with our routine at the beginning of the year.
We’ve finally fallen into a good-enough-for-me pattern.
Simple Homeschool’s day in the life series has also given me extra motivation to get our daily routine written down for you…and for me.
I want to remember this time and come along side new homeschoolers as an encouragement that, yes, this can be done.
Sometimes I look into the years ahead and wonder how in the world I’ll ever be able the handle the new challenges that we will have.
Along with remembering to just take one day at the time and trust God to equip me for that time and those challenges when they arrive, reading how others make it work at that place is a real encouragement to me.
Our “ideal” day {and please remember that this is ideal} goes like this…
4:00/4:30 Mommy (that’s me) wakes up, changes into workout clothes, & stumbles downstairs for coffee
5:00 After a quick check of e-mail I read my Bible, journal and pray
5:30 Walk on treadmill and read.
6:00 I shower and do hair & make-up. The kids start waking up usually around 6:30 and come into my room to hang out while I finish getting dressed. I read through my google reader and sometimes a book on my kindle while drying my hair.
7:00 Jenny usually is waking up so I get her out of the crib and change her diaper before heading downstairs. I begin breakfast preparations and unload the dishwasher. Typically, the kids have an easy morning of waking up and playing together. The girls will often read their Bibles and journal before breakfast.
7:30/8:00 Breakfast
8:00/8:30 Kids go upstairs to do their morning chores. My girls who are six have four chores that they are responsible for completing before we begin school each day. These chores consist of getting dressed, brushing their hair, brushing their teeth, and making their bed. I don’t think that’s too much to ask at all. I am cleaning the kitchen and starting laundry while they’re doing these chores.
9:00/9:30 Begin our school day. Ideally, we would begin school at 9, but realistically, I’m usually tying up loose ends around the house at that time, so we actually begin around 9:30 most days.
9:30-11:30 Bible, Math, and Language
Bible is usually done together. Will and Jenny sit in on this.
We’re using Saxon for our Math curriculum and while I am very happy with it, it does take more “teacher” involvement. During this time Will (my four year old) and Jenny (one year old) are watching an educational program on PBS (most likely Sesame Street or Super Why).
After our lesson from First Language Lessons, I give my girls assignments for their seat work (Bible, Math page, copy work, Handwriting, Explode the Code, and Spelling). They begin working on these assignments and I work with them one-on-one on our Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading phonics lessons and Writing With Ease lessons.
When I’m done with these one-on-one lessons if there’s time left before lunch, I begin working with Will, if not then I work with him after lunch.
11:30 I tidy up the house a bit, check e-mail/social media, and prepare lunch.
12:00-1:00 We have lunch together. Lunch usually consists of sandwiches or leftovers. After lunch, the kids have some free-time to play. If it’s nice they may run around outside or they may play in their rooms during this time.
1:00 Put Jenny down for her nap and keep everyone else quiet downstairs while she settle down to sleep.
1:00-2:00 Work with Will. We read stories, do a phonics lesson and a little work in his Explode the Code book. He just started with book A, Get Ready for the Code. While I’m working with Will, EA and MC are finishing their assignments and/or reading independently.
2:00-3:00 History or Science – We do History on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays and Science on Tuesday and Thursdays. I had such a hard time fitting History and Science in last year and this has really worked for us!
3:00 Jenny wakes from her nap. On Mondays we go to the library. On Tuesdays the older girls get ready for dance class (we leave for that at 3:30) and on the other days they have free time or we run errands. This is the time when I do some blogging or digi-scrapping.
4:00 I begin dinner preparations and the kids help me straighten the house if it needs it…it usually does!
5:00/5:30 Dinner, depending on what time my husband gets home from work. We have family devotions, reading a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible and praying together after dinner.
6:00 Prepare for bed…baths are given if needed and the kids change into their PJ’s. Sometimes they watch the Goodnight Show on Sprout as they’re settling down.
7:00 Bedtime for the kids. (yes it’s early, but it really work for us!!) EA & MC (our first graders) can read in bed until 7:30/8:00. I also read a chapter from a read-aloud selection before tucking them in and heading downstairs to spend some time with my husband.
7:00-9:00 My husband and I spend time together. We usually have a loose plan of what we want to do. Some nights are set aside as hobby nights where I blog and/or scrapbook and he reads comics, blogs, or does ancestry work. Some nights we watch TV together. And some nights we play games (Super Mario Bros. on the Wii and a card game of Canasta are our favorites).
9:00 We begin heading to bed. We usually read our kindles or just go straight to sleep if we’re really tired.
And there you have it…my day in a nutshell!!
All times given are an estimate rather than exact times. This is much more a description of our daily routine than a set-in-stone schedule that we keep.
Please remember that this is an ideal day. I’m given curve balls all the time and have to adjust as they come. Having a routine and a plan in place really gives us a great starting point and takes a lot of stress out of our days.
And another please…please don’t compare your routine to mine. We’re different people with different personalities and family dynamics. I didn’t post that I wake up at 4:00 to make you feel bad about waking up at 7:00. I’m a more natural early riser than I am a night-owl in personality. Also, that’s the only way I can fit in the things I want to make a part of MY day like Bible reading and exercise. You may have found something else that works for you, and that’s okay!
Do you have a daily routine for your home?
I would love for you to give a brief description (or even not so brief) description of what your day looks like in the comments. If you’ve posted yours, also feel free to link to your post in the comments as well.
Kristi says
This post was really helpful for me. I am considering starting homeschooling next year and this is so much like our current schedule that it gave me hope. My biggest reason for hesitating is my husband’s deployment. I would love to hear what you think about homeschooling during deployments. This will be our first deployment. I’ve experimented with homeschooling but right now my oldest is at a preschool in town.
Chaney says
Hello! I follow your blog and like the tips and advice you offer for homeschooling parents. I have found a website that you might be interested in… and those that follow you. 🙂
http://www.BookTestOnline.com
Seems to be a great source for reading comprehension help for all age of kids.
Hope you have a good week!
Mindy says
Very fun to read about your day via Simple Homeschool! I kept saying “Me, too!” as I read. I like to get up early (not as early as 4:00, though), have four kids including twins (although my twins are my youngests), and use a lot of the same curriculum with my 6- and 5-year old. Flexibility is certainly the key!
Keep Smiling!
Mindy
http://ruminationsoneducation.com/our-day-in-the-life-2012/