Days in the life are so interesting to me. I love seeing how other families live out there day. I feel like I can learn something from everyone. The differences are incredible and it’s just proof how wonderful the flexibility of homeschool really is.
We do not schedule out our days, but we have a daily rhythm that we follow. Having little ones means it changes pretty often as we adjust to new nap schedules and such, so I thought I’d share what we are doing now, and as things change, I can share again.
I currently have a second grader, kindergartener, an almost-three-year-old, and a one year old. The following is what we’ve been doing since August. We’ve made minor changes here and there, but the routine has stayed same.
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Wake-up between 6-7
This is still very inconsistent for us. We all wake up at a different time each day, but it is usually between 6 and 7. With four kids in the house, things move quickly right from the get-go. So, it’s important to me that I make the right choices to start the day on the right foot.
My best days are when I keep the TV off in the morning. Attitudes from my kiddos are just better all around. There are days when I cave and turn it on, especially if one child gets up VERY early. Sometimes it helps if I immediately turn worship music on. It always makes me feel good and the desire to have the TV on usually goes away.
Mom’s Quiet Time
By 7:00 the whole house is up, and the very first thing I do is have a few minutes of quiet time and prayer. My husband is home, so he will stay with the kids while I step away for just a bit. I’ve read a few different devotions, but my favorite so far is “Unhurried Grace for a Mom’s Heart…” by Durenda Wilson. I mention it because it is written specifically for homeschool moms, and it really changed my prayer life when it comes to our homeschool.
I usually spend about 5 minutes reading the bible and a devotional (It’s not a lot, but it’s been such a blessing in this phase of our life). Then, I quickly get dressed for the day, making it about 10-15 minutes total.
Breakfast
Once I’m dressed, I make breakfast. It could be something delicious like eggs and sausage OR something as simple as frozen waffles. I usually plan out our meals for the week so there’s no guessing or planning during the day. I know what to expect for meals, and it takes a burden off of me not to have to come up with anything in the moment.
I’ll be honest, I used to despise meal planning. Well, I still do (ha!) but I’m ALWAYS happier when I do. There’s just something about not having to come up with a meal that just takes a weight off of your day.
Morning Chores
After breakfast, we all work together to start the day with a picked up house. It sets the tone and really helps us function better. My oldest two play a big part in this. I have a designated living room helper and kitchen helper. We rotate the job each week. Their job is pretty self-explanatory – one picks up the living room and the other helps me with the kitchen.
My almost three year old isn’t quite ready for a big job, so I give her the same job every day. She picks up the couch pillows. It’s super simple, but it’s teaching her that she plays a part in keeping our home together. The baby is probably climbing furniture or toddling around back and forth with us. One day he will play his part too 🙂
I wish I could say that we all happily do this every morning, but it wouldn’t be true. Each day has its challenges. Some days I have to do a LOT of redirecting. Other days go pretty smooth. Either way, our day is always better with a picked up house to start, and my children are learning how we all work together to maintain our home.
Get Dressed
I’m already dressed at this point, so I help my little two get dressed. At the beginning of the school year or after taking a long break, my two oldest girls follow a checklist to get dressed in the morning. This checklist helps me not have to ask 100 questions each morning: have you brushed your hair? Did you brush your teeth? And so on…
Once they get the hang of it, I don’t make them check anything off. It all becomes habit and my expectations are set.
Morning Time/Morning Basket (This is usually around 8:00am)
We don’t have a basket, but we pretty much follow the concept of what a morning basket does. I love this time together, but if I’m being completely honest, it is also one of the things that stresses me out the most during the day. I mostly get worked up because my younger two have trouble being still and quiet.
It takes an incredible amount of patience. It’s something we will continue to work on, because the things we go over are very important to me. Plus, the discussions we have bring me so much joy.
One day, I hope we can spend much more quality time together reading and discussing different things in the morning. Right now we read the bible, discuss our bible curriculum (More Than Words), read a poem from our Nature Book (my kids LOVE this!) and review our Classical Conversations memory work for the week. Total time is about 20 minutes (on a good day!) It’s short and sweet in this phase of our life, but it’s beautiful.
Outside Time
In my experience, a day that starts outside brings better attitudes and happier learners. This is all free play. I will usually work on setting up our school table and looking over the workbooks for the day. If I want to prep an activity, I can do it at this time. This is also a time I can connect with my little two by reading books or sitting on the floor with them. At around 9:00, my youngest child takes a nap.
Time for School! (9:15ish)
It doesn’t matter to me what order my kids do their work. I usually let them choose. They have a goal to accomplish a certain amount of work each day. My second grader completes a math page (Horizons), Language Arts lesson (Christian Light Education), and a handwriting lesson (A Reason For).
My kindergartener completes a math lesson (Horizons K) and a handwriting lesson (A Reason For). She also practices reading with me some days. We are not rushing this, so it looks different each time. Right now we are working through Bob Books to accomplish this.
My almost-three-year-old does a variety of things while we work. She has a notebook she likes to do with super simple prompts from me. I hope to do a blog post about this one day, but for now, follow me on Instagram and check out my Toddler NB highlight for tons of ideas for this notebook. It’s one of her favorite things.
I sometimes set out a blanket for her to play independently with toys or blocks. We call it her “spot” and my goal is for her to stay and play on it so that we can work on something. It’s a work in progress.
If the notebook or “spot” activity do not work, a snack is always a go-to while we work through our books.
All of book work takes anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours. My baby USUALLY sleeps through it all and whatever doesn’t get finished, we catch up in the afternoon.
Outside
This is another outside break while I get lunch ready. If I have not made it outside yet during the day, I really try to get out in the sun at this point, even if just for a few minutes. Outside time is so important for mom too. If you aren’t getting some sunshine, I highly recommend finding a way to get outside during your day.
Lunch (11:30ish)
Some people like to read at lunch or maybe even do a simple activity. I can’t. I’ve tried. I like to just sit and eat with the kids. We chit chat a bit and just relax.
Catch-up/Free Play
Between the end of lunch and our quiet time, a variety of things could get done. We catch-up with any school work as needed. If all of that is finished, we go outside and play.
The baby and my youngest daughter nap at 1:00. So, if I want to do anything that would be best without little ones running around (baking/craft/experiment), I will do it between 1 and 2.
2:00 Quiet Time
My oldest two go to separate rooms and have about an hour of quiet time. They can choose what they want to do or play with during that time.
My husband works from home, so this is when I go for a run. I enjoy running, but I mostly love the fresh air and quiet. I like to listen to homeschooling podcasts, and I get a little energy boost for the remainder of the afternoon.
3:00 Pick Up and FREE
At this point in our day, we are done. I really try to make sure afternoon chores get finished before I send them off to play. Afternoon chores include cleaning up bedrooms and the school room. It’s easier than having to call them in later to do it.
This is also a great time for me to do my reverse planning. As we clean-up our school room I look over work, correct or discuss anything that needs attention, and then I’ll write down all that we accomplished for the day in the planner. This is my first year reverse planning and I love it so much!
During any free play period, I am always encouraging my kids to go outside. The more time outdoors for us, the better.
We eat dinner around 5:30 and between dinner and bed time at 7:30 we might spend time outside, play a game, or watch a show together.
I’ve moved our read aloud time to before bed.
This has been so much easier because my baby is already asleep. Everyone is settling down, and it gives us all something to look forward to before bed.
Keep in mind this schedule is on a day where we are home most of the day and have no extra-curriculars. Right now, that’s only two-three days out of the week. So, although this is our routine, each day might look a bit different. What a blessing to be able to be so flexible with our time!
Soon, my youngest will drop a nap and everything will adjust again, but that’s all a part of parenting in general. When the time comes, I’ll probably play with a few different routines to see what works best with those changes. I look forward to sharing that with you soon.
I’m curious, does your day look anything like this? I’ve seen such a variety of homeschool schedules and I love learning from all of them!
