What does a day teaching preschool to highschool look like?

Today our homeschool looks quite different than it did 5 years ago. Today while my oldest 3 are self-sufficient, I’m only working with one child. However, when asked “how do I do it with all these kids?”, I can clearly remember back to the days when I needed to keep the plates turning for 3 kids plus keep the toddler out of trouble.

Traveling back down memory lane, I’m reminded of the first day of our homeschool for my child who were in 8th/9th, 6th and 3rd grade plus an adorable, but busy, toddler.

Here’s a glimpse:
Mornings start a bit different for each child.  My oldest rises early to start his work. After his siblings wake up, he joins everyone for breakfast.  After devotions and clean up, it’s school time for all.

First things first. I personally spend about 1/2 hour with the toddler.  Today it was playing with Wiki-Sticks.  Throughout the day, each of the remaining three children has about 1/2 hour of toddler time in their schedule as well.  My 3rd grader reads to him or plays a variety of blocks, my 6th grader wrestles with him or plays trains/cars and my 8th/9th grader likes to do puzzles.

Next, while my oldest is entertaining the “baby”, I do Spelling with my middle children.

And now we have a sharp change of plans. We were supposed to start our Geography Task Cards, but, I did not have everything I needed to begin this week.  Fortunately, this is the perfect opportunity to finish one last book from the Holling C. Holling unit study, Seabird!

In addition to reading a few chapters, we do copywork with some definitions, a little mapping and drawing of a ‘bark’ (a whaling ship).

Afterward, my 3rd grader and I spend time doing a Mother/Daughter bible study.

At the end of the day, my 8th/9th grader completed: math, literature, history, writing, computer science, studied scripture (Teen Bible Quiz) and participated in Kempo class.

My 6th grader completed:  math, spelling, grammar, worked on the Seabird unit study, studied scripture (Teen Bible Quiz), finished his Kempo binder, went to a friends’ house and participated in Kempo class.

My 3rd grader completed:  math, spelling, handwriting, worked on the Seabird unit study, had a bible study with mom, read a book, phonics and participated in Kempo.

My toddler: played, exercised fine motor skills, interacted positively with parents and siblings and stayed safe while the rest of the siblings completed their work.

How do I make it all work? Well, the key is flexibility and having things prepared as best as possible. This year, my oldest is working independently.  His schedule is basically a copy of the weekly plans from My Father’s World.  I then write in his extras onto the family school schedule and include it in his binder.

Aside from math, I fill out everyone else’s portion of this schedule once a week. Math I do every day and is dependent upon on whether or not each child has achieved mastery of that particular concept. I don’t move on until they do. Thus, I can’t schedule this subject in advance.

I also lay out their books the night before so everything is ready to go the next day!

What’s a day in the life of your homeschool look like?

 

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