My Reality Show

Every homeschool family is unique. They all have different routines that are tailor fit to their family needs.  I thought that it would be amusing to give a little insight into a day in the life of my little homeschooling family. As homeschooling is on the rise around our country, if I'm the only person you do know that homeschools, you can say that you know how one family executes their crazy homeschool day!

Here’s a little look:
5:45 a.m. – the alarm goes off only to be snoozed 2-3 times until I finally muster up the energy to roll out of bed no later than 6:15-6:30 a.m.*

* - Note that since the Fall season has arrived, many days my workouts are delayed until Trey's nap time & school has officially let out around 230 p.m.'ish. Its a little more challenging to roll out of bed early when its cold outside and toasty warm in my bed!

6:30 a.m. – 7:15 a.m. – beat my body into a state of physical fitness by focusing on cardio or weight training

7:15 a.m. – 8 a.m. – shower, dress, pray & collect my sanity for the day ahead

7:30 a.m. – in the process of getting ready for the day, dash upstairs to wake my darling students

8 a.m. – 8:30 a.m – breakfast with the kiddos. I typically use this time to also wash up any dishes lurking in the sink.

8:30 a.m. – we all depart downstairs to the school room to start the school day.

8:30 – 9:30 a.m. – While the girls independently do their Bible, journaling, Bible study book reading, and scripture memorization with their AWANA material, I do my own morning devotional, Bible study, and journaling. Trey usually spends this time lurking in his play area with trucks, race cars, playing a pre-school game on the kindle, or watching some form of toddler entertainment while playing with his toys (i.e., Sid the Science Kid,  Leap Frog Letter Factory, Diego, etc.)

9:30 a.m – 10:30 a.m. – After bible time the girls move onto their math work which they also complete individually. At this point Trey has had enough of his own self-directed play time and usually calls for Mommy to “have school” with him. School for Trey at the age now of 3, takes on many forms. He either sits on my lap and traces his capital and lowercase letters on a wet erase board, completes an alphabet puzzle, sings the “Phonics Songs for Kindergarten” song with CD while pointing to the alphabet (love, love, this CD for teaching letters and sounds), plays alphabet hop scotch with Mom, or stacking alphabet-number blocks.

On my many errands up and down the stairs for a potty break, snack break, or drink break, I may throw a load of laundry into the wash or dryer.

10:30 – 11 a.m. – Once the girls have finished their math work, my oldest usually grabs her basketball and practices her dribbling and whatever other basketball skills her Father has assigned for her to do (she’s planning to play on a team for the first time this Fall). My youngest daughter usually heads to serve as Trey’s playmate and keeps him occupied while I correct and grade their math work. Once their math work has been checked, the girls come back to immediately correct their mistakes and then it’s off for lunch around 11:15-11:30!

11:15 a.m. – 12 p.m. – For lunch we all proceed to the kitchen and living room. Most days the girls make their own lunch and I prepare something for Trey to eat. While Trey is eating I usually play some sort of educational video for Trey and the girls usually read their own personal book or play on the kindle until lunch is done.

12 p.m. – Trey goes down for his nap

12 p.m. – 1 p.m. – The girls do their individual reading in the History books. While they do their individual reading I typically work on mine own teacher lesson for the Bible study, “Lord, I Want to Know You”, or I work on my teacher Sunday School lesson for the coming Sunday.

I also use this time period to fold clothes that have finished drying in the dryer.

1 p.m. – 2 p.m. – After the girls finish their history reading, we pause to discuss the chapters that have been read with Q&A that the Sonlight curriculum provides for me to gauge their understanding of the material.

2 p.m. – 3 p.m.- The girls finish their day with completing their Science work and with either a writing assignment or grammar assignments. While they finish up, I continue with my Bible study or Sunday School lesson.

My oldest finishes her school day with her “elective”; this half of the school year it’s keyboarding, so she’ll be spend time learning to type.

3 p.m. – 4 p.m. – By 3 p.m. that’s my cue to get started with dinner. Most of the cooksmarts meals that we prepare take about an hour to prepare and cook.

While I prepare dinner the girls usually transition into “practice mode” with their piano and violin.

 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. – By 4 p.m., my handsome hubby and fabulous father of my children arrives home from work. Some days he finds us still working away at dinner or its ready and hot on the table. My little man usually wakes up just before Daddy walks through the door. Dinner ends with conversation at the table about our day, the girls will fill Dad in on something unique that they learned from their school day or Daddy will entertain us with something humorous that happened at work.

It may not seem like there’s a lot of activity to be executed into a day of homeschooling, but there surely is and it doesn't all magically happen with joyful and compliant children. Most says are met with occasional whining when someone hasn't gotten their way, complaining here and there over how long its taking to finish Math, and unexpected cycles of runny noses and upset stomachs. As a Mom who used to work in the office, there are so many of the same physical and mental requirements that I have to execute in the homeschool environment as I did in the office. Being disciplined is one of the most prominent elements that I’ve realized I have to have. Daily staying on top of the kids schedule is key. Patience, persistence, dedication, organization, and even team work is a necessity within the homeschool environment.

While I never thought I’d see the day that I get to “run” a household, full time, I can look back and see how my Heavenly Father has been preparing me just for these moments, these days, these hours that I get to sow into the life of my children and serve my husband daily. While he’s a work in progress as am I and he doesn’t perfectly do everything always right, as my husband strives to love me as Christ loves the Church, I humbly and wholeheartedly submit to his authority. In serving and loving him, I see seek to ultimately make my Heavenly Father proud.