A Day in the Life

I am shamelessly lifting this idea from my favorite homeschool blog, Simple Homeschool.  For years, Jamie has published her own and other homeschooler's schedules.  It is so helpful to see what other moms do, and to see if any of those ideas might fit into one's own homeschool schedule.  Lately, I have had a lot of people ask me how exactly I homeschool all 4 kiddos.  What do the other kids do while I have individual time with one child?  What does a typical lesson look like?  Where do I get my curriculum?

Some people are just curious, and some friends are actually considering homeschooling (yes, please join me on the dark side…)  So I thought I'd record a typical day.  Keep in mind that I am very flexible, perhaps too flexible, so our day changes depending on my kids' moods, health, interests, attention-spans, etc.

• 6:00 am I get up.  Exercise, reading, getting laundry started.  The only time of day the house is quiet.
• 6:30 Boys get up.  They are allowed to watch TV in the early morning.
• 7:00 Ellie comes screaming down the stairs.  We eat breakfast
• 8:00 Start our "morning routines":  make beds, get dressed, chores etc.
• 8:30 start school with Peter (Nicholas is usually playing, but sometimes he joins us; Ellie is alternatively interrupting us and joining us.  She likes to cut things out, color, play with manipulatives etc.).  I used Sonlight curriculum with all the kids. With Peter in particular, I do reading, writing, math, and some basic Kindergarten stuff (like learning the months of the year, as we are doing now).  We also do a little but of Bible and scripture memorization.  I started this because it is part of the Sonlight curriculum, and because I want to learn it myself.  Yes, I need to start at a Kindergarten level!
• 9:30 Start school with Nicholas.  We do the same things as I did with Peter, but it just takes a bit longer since he is in 1st grade.  (Peter is usually doing "Reading Eggs" or "Math Seeds" on the computer. Also, around this time, Olivia usually gets up, makes her own breakfast, showers, does her morning routine, and starts the schoolwork she can do by herself.  Sometimes (ok, most of the time) it takes some prodding.  But, I am intentional about letting her get more sleep and about letting her work later in the day which works better for her.)
• 9:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Ellie has speech for an hour.  She is doing wonderfully!
• 11:00 - 1:00 work individually with Olivia.  Lots of writing workshop-y things, spelling, vocabulary, science, cursive, and math.  
• 1:00 on Tuesdays and Thurdays, Olivia works with her math tutor -- doing more in-depth work than I haft time to do.  Olivia is really into logic problems, especially. 
• We are also going to start Science Seeds classes in the afternoons for the 3 oldest kids.
• Early afternoons, for the other kids and for Olivia on the days she is not with her tutor, involves science for the boys, a lot of outdoor play, and naps for Ellie.  Sometimes, Mommy naps too (shhh, don't tell…)
• 2:00 Our wonderful babysitter Leah comes.  She takes the kids to their after 'school' activities, or stays home and plays with some of them while I do other things.  This is really flexible.  Sometimes, I need to finish work with one child; some times I need to go to a doctor's appointment etc.  I love the fact that we redirected out tuition money towards such a useful purpose.  One day per week, Olivia and I cook together, following our "How to Be a Grown Up" plan.
• 4:00 start making dinner.  Now that I am not always sitting in the waiting room at The Dance Factory or guitar lessons etc., I actually have time to cook.  I love it.
• 5:00 - dinner (kids can't wait until Dad gets home -- I read from our current book while they eat).
• 6:00 John gets home; Leah leaves.  John and I eat dinner.
• 7:00 bath time
• 8:00-9:00 bedtime.  John and I collapse!