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Homeschool Day in the Life (with a 7-, 5-, and 1-year-old)

Some of my favorite blog posts to read are day-in-the-life posts. I love to see how others manage their day, especially when mine seems so crazy all the time! It is nice to see that I am not alone in that.

Today I am going to take you along on what our day is actually like. This isn’t an ideal day, this isn’t a “most of the time this happens” day, this is straight up exactly how our day went. I would love to hear about your day in the comments below!

5am – My alarm went off.  I don’t normally wake up to an alarm. More often I wake up on my own or by kids, but today I did.  Somehow I was able to make it all the way downstairs with not one of my kids waking up.  Brush teeth, make coffee.

5:15am – Lucy just woke up, and so I am back upstairs nursing her and trying to get her settled again.  Miraculously it works.  It doesn’t always work, I would say 50% of the time I can get her to go back to sleep, the other 50% she comes down and plays in the living room.

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After I get back downstairs, I pour my coffee and do my Bible reading and quiet time. I am trying to read through the Bible this year. It has been a few years since I have done that, and I am using the She Reads Truth app on my phone. I also read the Proverb of the day. I spend some time writing out my prayers and then fill in my to-do list in my Erin Condren Life Planner.

6:15am – usually everyone is awake at this point.  Today, for some reason, everyone is still in bed.  I thank my lucky stars and start writing my blog post for the day.  I take some video – we are trying to do more videos these days, for ourselves and also the blog.  I am on cup of coffee number 2!

7amEveryone is still in bed, I think that perhaps my family has been teleported to another dimension, because they are never in bed this late.  I continue to go with it.  I look through my Erin Condren Teacher Planner which is where I write out my plans for each week.  I gather up the books that I am planning on using for the day and set them on my table for easy access.

I spend some time reading emails and answering some blog comments because I don’t know what else I should be doing. My kids never stay in bed late, and while I love it, and have been praying for them to sleep later, is is so outside of the norm I don’t know what to do with the extra time!

7:49am – Everyone is up now.  The breakfast time begins.  They start with apples, then
oatmeal with bananas, then they want toast with blueberry jam.  They are starving this morning, so I am assuming they are all going through a growth spurt.  While they play with Lucy, I jump in the shower and get ready for the day.

 

9am – We typically start school now, but with the kids waking up so late we don’t start on time. Instead, the kids have a little free time. We end up starting around 9:30.

The first thing on our list is Bible. Each of the kids reads in their Bible. Jack is reading The Beginner’s Bible, and Emma is reading the Discoverer’s Bible.

After Bible we move on to reading. Emma is reading Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew. She got a box set of these books for Christmas and has really been enjoying them! Jack is reading Frog and Toad All Year. Then we move onto writing. Both kids use Handwriting Without Tears, and both are almost done with their respective books. So, I know I need to make sure I order the next ones. Emma will be doing cursive next, I can’t believe it!

Then we move onto Math. Jack is just starting Singapore Primary US Edition 1A and is enjoying it so far. Emma has about 5-6 weeks left of 2B. Jack loves math. Emma does not. She doesn’t have any trouble doing it, but doesn’t want to sit down and actually get it done.

We use Sonlight for our main curriculum. Jack is starting core B and Emma is on core D. Jack is usually done with all of his school in about 30-45 minutes. He then goes to play with Lucy while I sit and work on anything Emma needs help with. Some days they will take a break between reading and math and do Cosmic Kids Yoga and have a snack. But, we didn’t take a break today because we were running behind.

During this morning time I try to get some chores done. Laundry, dishes, general picking up. Nothing too complicated so I can stop when the kids need help.

12:30pm – We are done with the bulk of our schooling now, and the kids are off playing. Now is when I would typically put Lucy down for a nap upstairs, but the neighbor is re-siding his house, and the bedroom is on that side of the house. So, instead I try to put her to sleep on the couch. Surprisingly, it works! Of course this means I have to keep an eye on her so that she doesn’t roll off…

 

The kids play on their kindles (minecraft) while Lucy sleeps. We started having “rest time” again while Lucy takes her afternoon nap. I take this time to work on my website, as well as take time for myself to read and/or knit. I realized taking this time was really good for me, and it helps to recharge me for the rest of the day. I am finishing up The Lifegiving Home by Sally Clarkson and Sarah Clarkson. I really enjoyed it!

2:30pm – Lucy is awake, so we have a late lunch and snack. We also decide to make peanut butter blossom cookies. The kids had a great time doing this. My plan had been to make bread in the morning, but with our late start we didn’t have time. So, cookies instead!

 

We sit down to do our read alouds at this point. I am currently reading The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I wanted to read it in the winter, because our Maine winters are usually long and cold. And I wanted to remember that they are never as long and cold as that winter was for Laura and her family! Surprisingly, this winter doesn’t seem like it has been long or cold. Perhaps the positive thinking has worked?! I am reading The House on Pooh Corner for Jack, and he is definitely enjoying it.

The rest of the afternoon we all play and hang out. It is a nice, relaxing afternoon. The kids have been really well behaved all day which is a bonus.

5:45pm – Matt gets home and the kids are very excited because he is going to let them play Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It is one of our favorite games and we downloaded it on our Wii. The kids don’t usually play video games at our house (that is saved for Nana’s house!). But, Matt and I really love some of the old Nintendo games…and the kids are getting a little older…so we may be incorporating them a bit more.

6:15pm – Usually we are done with dinner by this point, but I am so behind on the entire day that I am just figuring out that the chicken spaghetti I had planned to make was not going to be done. Instead, we opt for bean burritos and green smoothies. This is my fall back meal whenever I don’t get things together during the day. I’m kind of disappointed I used my fall back meal on Monday…

7:30pm – We put the kids to bed. Lucy takes a while to fall asleep tonight. It might have been the cup of coffee I had in the afternoon. Everyone is settled by 8pm though!

8pm – I come downstairs and start editing my DITL video. Matt is watching a new show on Hulu called 11/22/63 by Stephen King. He read the book a while ago, and was really excited that they made it into a show. We hang out a bit and chat and go over our days.

10pm – I am going to bed, although I am wired and not quite ready to sleep. So, I look for new books on Kindle Unlimited that I can read. Of course, as a mood reader, I don’t find one, and instead download a bunch of samples. But, it wears me out enough to fall asleep. My alarm is set for 5am, and I will start the day again!

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32 Comments

  1. Thank you! This is one of the best things I’ve read! It blessed and encouraged me so much. Thank you for sharing your day!!

  2. Loved your post! Sounds a lot like my days with my 4 … 7 year old, two almost 5 year olds and an almost 2 year old. Homeschooling is one of the best decisions we've made for our family! My 7 year old is strangely smart (she reads and comprehends on about a Jr high level). I love being able to give my identical twin girls the environment to develop their own identities but stay together. I love that they're all home to develop strong relationships with each other and their baby brother. Every day is busy and chaotic and loud and fun!! Keep it up! 🙂

  3. Thanks for sharing your day. I really enjoyed reading it. I live in Maine too and find the winters can be long and dark. This year has been so mild. Maybe last year would have been a good time to read "The Long Winter." =)

  4. Cookies, The Long Winter, such good stuff! I can't seem to find anything to read on Kindle Unlimited either (thankfully I'm just doing a free trial right now). Thanks for sharing your day!

  5. We love the Little House on the Prairie books! We recently finished On the Shores of Silver Lake and I'm tempted to wait until next winter to start The Long Winter.

  6. If my kids sleep past 6:30 I assume they are sick… my kids are just early risers! Your day reminds me a lot of our even though I have no babies. We are early to rise, get 99% of our schooling done by lunch and then have our afternoon to fill with "fun" things like building, baking, and playing.

  7. As a teacher, I've often been curious about homeschooling and what it entails. It looks like you have a great schedule in place! I'm not sure yet what schooling route we'll choose when we have kids of our own – it'll depend on what state we're living in. (We move a lot with the military and let's just say education is not the same in every state!)

  8. My little one is only six months old so we are far away from any thoughts of school, but I am so fascinated by the idea of homeschooling! Thank you for sharing a look at how you structure your days (you are superwoman! I'm tired just reading about it! 🙂

  9. wow! Kudos to you for home schooling! What a sweet gift to them. My kids are in elementary and middle school and are often up getting themselves ready before I come home. I work nights so my morning starts at 3pm…and of course always with a cup of coffee..my favorite part of the day.

  10. Sounds like our family, almost the same ages and everything, except no one wanted to before 7! We start around 9 worth school work too though, and my lessons are a lot less organized. Nice knowing others out there are doing things just like me!

    1. The cookies were delicious, thanks! Yes, full days seem to be the norm for me recently. I love them, and enjoy every part of the day (even the hard days) but it would be nice if we could slow down a bit once in a while 🙂

  11. My kids go to public school but our days are very very full.
    With piano and soccer lessons and Bible study some days it feels like just a race to bedtime.
    While the kids are at school I am busy trying to maintain the house and do all the chores. There isn't much time some days!

  12. I need to do one of these Day in the Life Of posts again! Thanks for sharing your day! I read that Stephen King book and didn't know they made it into a mini-series! I have that planner and I love it! I write in pencil in it tho, because I change things so much!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

  13. I loved reading your day in the life. It brought back some sweet memories. And it also reminded me how busy those days were! We have a lot in common, minus one kid and fast forward a few years. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was homeschooling my kiddos (and using Sonlight).
    I have two kids, who are five years apart in age. They're now 17 and 12 and they go to public school.

  14. Video games teach problem solving! And hand-eye coordination! And, if co-op, cooperation! xD
    I mean, uh, I didn't grow up playing video games at all, noooooo xD Though, I am not very coordinated, it works for some people (I blame my lack of good depth perception, ha).
    They can also teach you patience…or, how to use Google best so you can find a good walkthrough for when you are stuck 😉

    1. Oh yes, I wish they had google when I was growing up – that would have made life a lot easier! what did I do before google??? Oh yeah, I asked my little brother to help 🙂

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