A Day in the Life of My Homeschool

Come on in! I'm glad you're here. Pull up a chair and join us for a look at one random day in our homeschool. 

Before you hunker down and get too comfy, let me just fill you in on a couple of details which might make the controlled chaos of this particular day make a little more sense. 

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You should know...

1. This was a Monday. And to be quite honest, on Mondays, even my coffee needs coffee. 
2. Our furnace broke the previous Wednesday and we were waiting for the new one to arrive. So, if it looks like I was wearing all-the-clothes-I've-ever-owned in the photos, it's because I practically was. My boys, on the other hand, were in short sleeves and no socks. (They're like penguins or something!) 
3. You'll notice several interruptions to the day due to the heating issue. But, that's the nature of combining home and school. A "typical" day is only typical if it is imperfect.
4. Although I never want to throw my kids under the bus, I have chosen to make this an un-edited look at the day...bad behavior, messy house, and all. I want you to see what homeschooling looks like "off the record"...the real deal...the good and the bad. All the pictures are up-to-the-minute but the names have been changed to protect the innocent. (wink!)
5. In general, I prefer to plan a rhythm to the day not a time-ordered schedule. I took note of specific times for the sake of this little show-n-tell. 
6. Remember, there is no ONE WAY to homeschool. Some of you might see our day and say, "not enough" while others might think, "way too much!" For us, it is just right. But, that's the beauty of homeschooling, it's always tailor-made. 

As you know, I'm all about efficiency. So, let's streamline this little daybook to make it more readable, shall we? 

Use the following key:

1. Sweetie Pea- 7th grade, just turned 12  
2. Super Boy- 4th grade, 10 years-old 
3. Blonde Warrior- 3rd grade, 7 years-old
4. Greased Lightning- 1st grade, 6 years-old
5. The Dude- 3 years-old

The Morning 

9:02- I start the day with our call to worship song. (I like to start the day around 8:30, so already the day is proving to be a typical never-goes-as-planned Monday.)

9:08- Morning time begins with our hymn of the month.

9:19- Begins to wrestle with the dog and to look through the library basket. I tell him to leave the dog alone.

9:21- We finish morning time. I push the "start" button on the coffee pot and announce silent reading time. (This is when we all read a book silently to ourselves...even me.) Looks at picture books.

9:22- The power goes off due to all the space heaters we have plugged in around the house. Runs to the basement to reset the breaker. I restart the coffee pot and we continue reading.

9:29- Starts to wrestle with the dog again. I encourage him to find a new book and to come sit by me.

9:33- Tells #5 to leave the dog alone. They begin to argue.

9:37- After reading for 15 minutes, we put our books away and head off to start the first trio of the day. 

9:38- I go to pour myself coffee and notice that the pot has overflowed all over the counter and the floor. (I'm a notoriously BAD coffee maker. I somehow mess it up nearly every day. My coffee pot and I have bad blood. If you ever come over for a coffee date, bring your own. Most of my other friends do. Trust me.) I clean up the mess and try again.

9:40- I send #2 down to the basement to grab a bin of toys for #5 to play with in the living room during our first trio.

9:42- During my "clean-up on aisle 8," #4 starts to pretend to play imaginary drums on the dining room table REALLY LOUDLY. (sigh)

9:43- I give the first assignments of the day. Starts his math on the computer. 

9:44- The power goes off again. Goes to the basement to reset the breaker. I realize that it is the coffee pot that continues to upset the fuse. (Oh well, keep calm and coffee on!)

9:45- Starts playing G.I. Joes in the living room. Starts copywork at the dining room table. Reviews last week's writing and language assignments. 

9:49- Sits on my bed to read his life skills book out loud to me while I put on my make-up and do my hair. (He reads one chapter out of this book once a week in place of his regular reader. This replacement reading usually falls on Mondays.) Starts reading her world view book quietly to herself in the living room. (She's reading this one.)

9:50- I tell him to stop reading for a second so that I can take a bathroom break and re-pour my coffee.

9:52- Reading out loud, take 2. 

9:54- Finishes his copywork and comes into my room to ask me some questions. Has to stop his reading again. I remind #4 not to interrupt someone else's reading time and send him off to have a break. Goes and plays with #5 in the living room. Reading out loud, take 3. 

9:57- I hear #4 and #5 arguing in the living room. I ignore it and they quickly resolve the problem themselves. 

10:01- The arguing resumes and I eventually have to call to them to be quiet for the sake of others who are working. The argument ends and they continue playing. 

10:03- Continues to read out loud while I go to the living room to check on the others. I find #3 playing with the dog instead of doing his math and I remind him to leave the dog alone and to finish his assignment. (Can you tell our dog is a bit of a school day distraction?)

#1 reading her world view book, #3 doing his math, #4 & #5 playing G.I. Joes.

10:06- Continues to read. I finally get to do my hair and make-up.

10:09- Sits on the floor to read so that I can make my bed.

10:10- Starts reading her independent history reader in the living room. (We all read living literature books together for history, but because she is in middle school, she has some more in-depth reading to do on her own.)

10:12- I begin to fold clothes on my bed while #2 continues to read out loud to me. I hear #4 and #5 playing G.I. Joe "wars" really loudly.

10:15- I ask #4 and #5 to play "war" more quietly or go downstairs and play.

10:18- Begins to cry in frustration because he can't fit his G.I. Joe into one of his army cars.

10:26- Done with math and gives me his scores. We discuss it briefly and quietly and he goes off to play in the living room with #4 and #5. Done with history reading and takes a break to bounce a basketball in the entryway. (It's freezing and frozen on this particular Monday, so outdoor play has to be done inside.) 

10:29- I pause laundry folding to check over #3s completed math assignment.

10:30- The dog starts barking wildly at the neighbor who's walking down the street. (Can someone please come get this dog?!)

10:32- Time for another momma bathroom break. (I've had five kids. My bladder's like a sieve, people!)

10:37- Starts reviewing for a math test. I resume folding.

10:42- Done reading and goes to play with the other boys. (In hindsight, this was a really long reading session. With all the interruptions and random power outages, it took him about an hour to read one chapter of a book. Poor guy. I should have cut the chapter in half. Coulda, shoulda, woulda...I'll remember that for next time.)

10:45- I leave the laundry pile on the bed in hopes that either the Laundry Fairy will wave her wand and magically finish it all up for me OR I'll have time to finish it later in the afternoon. (Alas, neither one actually happens. Sigh!) I take out a large slice of ham from the freezer to be used for lunch and then gather the ingredients for homemade maple popcorn for a snack. Begins taking a math test. (I'm not a huge fan of tests as I think they are an unnecessary piece to an education, but she is currently working through a Dave Ramsey's Foundations in Personal Finance course and THAT requires unit tests.)

The laundry pile on my bed.

10:49- A couple of the boys begin to sing a song in the living room, but end up singing the wrong lyrics. Stops her test to sing the right ones to them. Then gets back to her test.

10:51- Finds a nickel under a chair and brings it to me so that I can put it in his piggy bank for him. Asks me to define an unfamiliar word to her.

10:54- I check #4s copywork. I notice uncharacteristically sloppy work and have him do the entire portion again. 

Re-doing sloppy copywork.

10:56- The furnace company calls.

10: 57- I begin to pop the popcorn and put a few clean dishes away that had been drying on the counter. Finishes his copywork do-over and goes to play again. Asks me to spell a word for her. 

11:02- The boys help me clear the table off for snack time. Finishes her math test and sets it in my "needs to be graded/checked over" spot. 

11:05- Everyone sits down for a snack while I read out loud from our current medieval (living) history book. 

History read aloud during snack time.

11:12- The history reading gets interrupted by a call from the furnace repairman. 

11:15- Is done with his snack. Puts his plate away, washes his hands, and goes off to play. 

11:26- I finish reading and help #5 in the bathroom while the other kids clear the table. Then, the three oldest kids gather their history notebooks and pencils. (#4 does not do any history notebooking yet, but he does do science and creative writing notebooking. He will add history notebooking next year.)

11:30- I brainstorm some history notebooking ideas with the oldest three and write some key terms down for them to help them with spelling as they complete a page in their notebook. #4 and #5 play in the living room.

11:33- The oldest three begin notebooking about a medieval siege. Comes to the table for phonics.

The three oldest working on a history notebook while #4 plays a review game for phonics.

11:37- Just stares at his notebook and can't seem to figure out how to start. I give him a suggestion for a starter sentence. Asks me to spell a word for her.

11:42- Gets done with her notebook page, takes the computer into my bedroom and begins her typing lesson. (My kids use this program.) Follows her to watch her type. 

11:49- Begins to get too silly and distracted during phonics and I remind him to focus and stay on task. 

11:53- I finish teaching the phonics lesson and explain #4s phonics worksheet directions to him.

11:55- Begins his phonics worksheet. I put the phonics review game and other materials away and look over #2s completed notebooking page.

11:56- Finishes his notebooking page and I look over it. 

11:58- Heads downstairs to the boys' room to play. I continue to put the phonics materials away. Makes a few spelling corrections on his notebooking page.

12:00- Since he is the last one done with his notebooking page, he begins putting all the supplies away (colored pencils, erasers, history read aloud, etc.) I start to make lunch.  

12:03- I look over to find that #3 did not put the notebooking things back the way he was suppose to and have to remind him that since he was the last one finished, he has to clean up the remaining supplies. 

12:04- The power goes off AGAIN! (This is getting really old!) Heads to the basement to reset the breaker. I call #3 into the kitchen so that he can read out loud to me while I make lunch.

Making lunch while #3 reads out loud to me. 

12:08- Begins to get distracted and I remind him to finish up his work before lunch. Finishes up her typing exercise. Goes to the living room to play. 

12:12- Goes to her room to read a book in bed. Follows her upstairs to her room to show her a toy he built. 

12:17- Finishes his phonics pages and goes to play in the living room. 

12:19- I ask #2, #4, and #5 to start picking up the toys in the living room before lunch.

12:20- Finishes his reading and goes to help the other boys clean up the living room.

12:25- The boys finish cleaning and go downstairs to play.

12:26- The dog knocks over two of my folded laundry piles on my bed and I have to go in and refold/stack them. I, then, go back to cooking lunch. 

12:31- Feeds the dog and then volunteers to help me finish lunch. (Since it's Monday, I don't have any assigned meal helpers, so I gladly take her up on the offer.)

12:34- With lunch simmering, she goes off to do her vocab lesson. #5 and I sit down to glue a few pictures into his alphabet picture book. 

#5 gluing magazine cut-outs into his alphabet book.)

12:36- Finishes vocab and takes a break to play with the dog and help the younger boys set up an army camp in the living room. 

12:43- Finishes his alphabet book and helps to clean up the supplies and mess. 

12:45- Goes back to her room to read. 

12:46- Reads to me while I put last night's dishes away that were sitting on the counter in a drying wrack. 

12:50- I take another momma bathroom break. Knocks on the bathroom door and asks me to help him carry up a bucket of blocks from the basement. I tell him that he'll have to ask his older brother to help him. Continues to read out loud through it all. 

12:54- I begin to dish up lunch onto plates and call #5 to set the table with forks and napkins.

12:56- The Hubs comes home for lunch. Finishes his reading. 

The Afternoon

1:00- We all sit down for lunch. 

1:11- The boys finish lunch and begin scrounging in the refrigerator for leftovers or what I like to call their "second lunch." (If you have boys, you understand!)

1:14- I finish eating and start cleaning up the kitchen. Takes the dirty laundry basket downstairs to the laundry room for the younger boys to sort later. He starts a load of laundry in the washing machine. Practices piano. #3 and #5 continue to slowly eat their second lunch. 

1:15- The Hubs hauls a few items down to the basement for me and puts them away.

1:20- Starts wiping down the bathroom for a daily cleaning. Finishes lunch and begins to sweep the kitchen and dining room floors. The Hubs and I look at our online bank account. 

1:25- I check social media for this-here-little-blog-thingy. #1, #3, and #5 break out into a worship song together while doing their afternoon chores. (Move over, Von Trapp family!)

1:28- I start the dishwasher. Finishes cleaning the bathroom. Finishes piano practice and begins bouncing a basketball in the entryway again. Plays in the living room. 

1:31- Finally finishes his lunch and cleans up his spot at the table. Finishes sweeping.

1:33- Begins dumping the trash from all the small trash cans into the larger kitchen trash can for #2 to take outside later. Goes to read on my bed. 

#5 emptying all the small trash cans into the larger kitchen can.

1:35- I call #3 back into the dining room to re-sweep a spot he missed. #3 and #4, then, go down to the basement to sort dirty laundry into color piles. 

1:36- Decides to go to the basement to help his older brothers sort laundry. 

1:40- I reheat my coffee. (Someday, I'll be able to drink the entire cup from start-to-finish while it is still hot. But for now...)

1:42- #3 and #4 bring up the empty laundry basket but forget to put it away. For the sake of time, I do it for them. 

1:43- I call everyone into the living room for story time and notice that the boys did not put the books back into the library bucket correctly when they were cleaning the living room before lunch. I ask them to fix the books.

1:44- I begin to read two picture books out loud. (This is mostly for #5, but I like us all to be together in order to make it special for him.)

1:45- The power goes off again. Resets the breaker.

Reading a picture book.

1:51- I go to put #5 in my bed for a nap and notice the forgotten laundry piles. I move a few piles to make room for him, sing him two songs (as is our routine), and kiss him goodnight. The older children play G.I. Joes in the living room.

1:54- I read one chapter to the oldest four kids from our current read aloud while they play quietly on the floor.

2:07- I finish the chapter and assign everyone to go gather one item from the supply list for our afternoon art project. (Mondays are not normally an "art day" for us, but we are right in the middle of a three-part project and are just itchin' to finish it.)

Reading a chapter from our current read aloud while the older kids play on the floor.

2:09- The power goes off again. Resets the breaker. The repair man comes to retrieve two of our four space heater and it instantly gets even.more.cold. (Is it possible to be more cold than freezing? And why are these boys in short sleeve shirts? Can someone please tell them it is f.r.e.e.z.i.n.g?)

2:12- #3 was assigned to gather paper towels for the project but gets distracted and doesn't obey. I remind him again.

2:15- We all sit down to paint a winter scene that we had sketched the previously Thursday.

Painting.

2:30- I finish my painting and begin cleaning up the art supplies that are not currently being used. 

2:34- Finishes his painting and goes to sit at the kitchen table to write the final draft of a story he has been writing. 

2:35- Finishes his painting and goes to play. Finishes her painting and goes to read in the living room. 

2:38 - I gather up the supplies I need to teach math to #4. 

2:41- #4 and I sit down to do math at one end of the dining room table while #2 sits at the other end and continues painting.

2:43- Finishes up his painting and goes to the living room to do his math on the computer. 

2:44- Takes the dog outside.

2:45- Asks me to type-in the computer password so that he can start his math.

2:46- I explain a grammar assignment to #1. 

2:47- Does her grammar assignment in the dining room. 

2:48- I continue the math lesson with #4. 

2:56- I finish the lesson and give the directions for the first section of his math worksheet. Works on the first section while I put the math supplies away. 

3:00- I give him the instructions for the rest of the page and he begins working. (This is when we are normally finishing our day, but since we got a late start and since we had many unplanned furnace interruptions, we will continue to trudge on for a bit longer.)

3:02- Has a grammar question and I help her.

3:06- Gets distracted while doing her grammar assignment because #4 begins chanting while working on his math page. She asks him to stop.

3:07- Finishes her grammar. I take another bathroom break. (Are this many bathroom breaks normal? Maybe I should get that checked out?!) Begins taking out all the materials for spelling.

3:10- I notice that #3 is just daydreaming when he's suppose to be working on his final draft and I remind him to get busy. Finishes math and starts a drawing project by the dining room window. 

3:11- I do spelling with #1.

Working on spelling with #1.

3:12- #4's drawing project somehow gets really loud and I ask him to be quiet while #1 does her spelling. 

3:16- Has a grammar question about his writing project.

3:21- Finishes spelling with me and is assigned to copy two words that she misspelled a few times during spelling practice. She copies them each ten times onto a sheet of paper.

3:22- Begins spelling with me. 

3:24- Is finished with her school day and goes off to read a book. The Hubs comes home from work.

3:26- The Hubs wakes #5 up from his nap. 

3:29- Takes a break from his writing to eat some peanuts with the Hubs. 

3:30- Finishes spelling and has to copy his two misspelled words ten times. I begin to look over the day's completed assignments. Finishes math and reports his score to me and we discuss it. 

3:33- I do spelling with #2 and look over completed assignments at the same time. The Hubs, #4 and #5 eat peanuts in the kitchen.

3:41- Finishes spelling and goes to eat a snack but NOT peanuts. I finish looking over the day's finished assignments. #2, #4, and #5 go play together. 

3:48- I call #4 to the dining room table so that he can make corrections to some of his work from earlier in the day. 

3:52- I finish looking over the day's work and open the mail. 

3:53- The Hubs calls #2 and #5 to put away the toys that are scattered all over the living room.

3:54- Finishes his corrections and goes to help the other boys pick up toys. 

3:58- The boys finish cleaning the living room.

4:00- I yell, "Passion Hour!" and everyone scatters to start working on their own personal hobby or interest. (I'm not sure why I call it passion "hour" because it only lasts for 30 minutes, but whatever! This is an intentional space in the day for everyone to have time away from everyone else to be able to develop the skills and hobbies that they are most interested in pursuing. It makes for a nice end to the school day and allows me to mentally unpack the afternoon, visit with The Hubs, or work on my own passions.) Since it's Monday and I have no help in the kitchen, I begin to cook dinner a little early. Begins coloring in a book she got for her birthday and then works on her piano theory. Does some sketches for an art assignment that is due soon to his art teacher. (He takes art lessons twice a month from a retired art teacher.) Plays the piano. Begins a charcoal drawing of icicles. Looks at some of his favorite books and then begins playing in the living room. (I usually let #5 play or even watch one show on Netflix during passion hour because I want the older kids to have some much-needed alone time in the day and he, like all three-year-olds, has a tendency to want to "help" them.)

#2 draws some sketches during passion hour.

4:19- Finishes his piano practice and goes to the basement to build with Legos. Reads a book with The Hubs. 

4:30- Passion hour is done!

#3 plays piano and #5 looks at books during passion hour.

Pheww...that was a long day! I'm kind of tired just re-hashing it. In the end I forgot to read a simple chapter book to #4 and #5, I didn't have time to read any nursery rhymes to #5 (as is our Monday habit), #3 never got to spelling or handwriting, and #2 never did his grammar assignment. 

But, there's always tomorrow.

I'll not grow anxious in well-doing. I'll let tomorrow take care of itself. I'll never allow us to get behind because there's no such thing as "behind" in a life-long education.

Please remember that at the end of the journey, homeschooling is about producing PEOPLE, not a PRODUCT. The lesson plans that come with the pretty boxed set of books should be used as a guide, not a dogma. Homeschooling should focus on relationships and the best plan for your particular child at this particular moment. 

Don't allow my finish line or anyone else's finish line to determine YOUR race. Every family culture and rhythm is different. 

This was just one Monday. A Monday among many. Sure it had its ups and downs. Don't all days? But, we laughed, we learned, we loved. And that's the point!

It was a good day.