Every homeschooling family does school differently. It is one of the glories of homeschooling. We can find what fits best for our family and each student, and plan accordingly. Luckily, there is no right or wrong way. No one way fits everyone and we are free to adjust as needed.
If you know me, you know I like calendars. And schedules. And clocks. OK, love those things. I am a routine type of gal.
Therefore my homeschool is a routine type of homeschool. As long as nothing weird comes up (that does happen occasionally) we pretty much do the same thing day in and day out. Boring maybe, predictable for sure, but it works for us.
So what does a normal day look like around here?
9:00 – School starts! Gonna be honest here – if my kids attended public school, they would probably never be on time. We are NOT morning people. I am not a night person either, but that is another story!
My youngest son (age 8) and I start with folder work and he does independent work. At the same time, my 14 year old starts his school as well. Now that we have a dedicated school area, he joins us for a few hours. Prior to this new set up, he did school in his room, so I am glad to have him back in my area. He is still trying to decide if he likes it! 😉
After independent work, we move to the computer for history and math, then back to the table for the rest of our morning work. As I recently talked about, schooling boys looks different for us than when we schooled our girls, so our computers get a lot of use.
We continue work until noon when we take an hour break for lunch.
12:00-1:00 – Lunch and free time.
1:00-3:00 -The 8 year old and I finish our day with Science, Spanish, and Spelling. Our older son, who is an 8th grader, retires to his room, where he does several subjects on his computer.
3:00-4:00 – Quiet time. The theory is that everyone is in their own space reading, listening to audio dramas, or playing quietly. Mom included – for reading, that is. The reality is I always seem to have something else that demands my time, but I am working on it.
4:00-5:00 – Clean up time around the house, dinner prep, errands, and such.
6:00 – Dinner
7:15 – Family devotions
8:30 – Youngest goes to bed
The fun of having older kids is that you get to spend time with them apart from the littles in your life. The disadvantage to having older kids is that they are often on their way out the door for one reason or another just when you are ready to spend time with them! Lessons, friends, and jobs take up their evenings occasionally, but we try to sneak in time together as often as possible. With one entering the work force and one in her senior year of school, we know these days are fleeting.
Our one day that is different now is Wednesday, when we have co-op from 12-4. We do a half day of school in the morning and collapse in the afternoon! 😉
While we may seem a little boring to some, my kids have learned to thrive in a more structured day. I find when we deviate from it too often, we end up a train wreck, and terribly behind. We have also maintained our Sabbath Week schooling, with the exception of when Dad returned home after a year deployed. By giving ourselves a week break every six weeks, we have time to regroup, relax, and get extra projects done around the house.
So how about you? What does your day look like? Regardless of your schedule or style, remember that you are investing well into the lives of your children!
