Monday, June 1, 2015

A Day in the Life of this Homeschooling Family

I wrote in our Christmas letter that we felt we were well-suited to the homeschooling lifestyle. The idea of homeschooling being a lifestyle was first introduced to me by a friend a year or so ago. I liked the way it sounded, and have now fully embraced what she was talking about. Homeschooling completely changes the dynamics of your home. I am finding it very freeing not being confined to the schedule of a school outside our home or having to do the homework or projects assigned by another teacher, and being able to follow the natural pace of our family. So, here is a look at what life is like for us as a homeschooling family.

I only set my alarm if we have something outside the house going on that day such as Friday school, a field trip or an appointment. Otherwise, I get woken up by my hubby when he comes in to say good bye before leaving for school himself. The kids begin stirring and we get out of bed between 7:00 and 7:30. (Although I have been known to stay in bed until 8:00 if I've had too many late nights.)

Most mornings I exercise with Wii Fit Plus for 20-30 minutes while the kids eat breakfast. While I eat, then shower and dress, they watch Netflix - they've been watching "Liberty's Kids" which goes perfectly with Ellie's history this year.

School usually begins by 9:00. We always begin with prayer and Bible. When we first began, I would direct the order of subjects. Over the past couple of months, I started letting the kids decide the order of their work. I write all the assignments on our white board. They erase them as they go. I take turns reading with each of the kids on the couch in the other room - very cozy! I give individual instruction for each subject as they come up.

We work for about an hour and then take a break. We take a walk with the dog up and down our street which takes about 15 minutes. The kids usually ride their scooters a bit longer in the backyard, play in their "house" in the garage or some other activity together. Sometimes they're in need of a snack. During this time I do a quick chore or check email.

We come back together to finish up our school day. Josh usually finishes first - much to Ellie's dislike. But they are both done by noon on most days. Then it's lunch time.

If we have an errand to run, I like to do it right after lunch. If we don't have anywhere to go, the kids like to watch something on Netflix or play on the Wii or computer; or when the weather is nice they will play outside. I will dive into the chore for the day. I do have a housekeeping schedule; I divide up chores so I only do one thing per day. This only takes me about an hour (except for laundry day which is an all day thing). Sometimes I have the kids help me with some part, but honestly, I usually prefer to work alone. They do have regular chores, however, so they do contribute to the family in some way everyday.

Right now we are participating in soccer. One has practice on Tuesday afternoon, the other on Thursday. There are two park days a month with our homeschool group that fall on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday. Friday school is every-other-Friday from 9-12. We do a field trip at least once a month with our homeschool group. Other days we might venture off somewhere on our own - to my parent's house, Disneyland or a get together with a friend. Dennis has had a doctor appointment almost monthly, so we have a short school day and then head to Disneyland as a family. Some days we might bake together or do a craft project.

I haven't been consistent with our designated "quiet time", mostly due to the soccer schedule, but around 3:00, I like for everyone to go up to their own room to do something on their own. The kids can rest, read or play quietly. This is when I will work on my Bible study, read or even take a short nap.

Dennis gets home between 5:00 and 5:30. We eat between 6:00 and 6:30. We head upstairs for the bedtime routine between 7:00 and 7:30. The kids are in bed most nights around 8:30. We still try to stick to this bedtime because it allows Dennis and I to have time alone to relax together. We aren't able to get out for date nights, so this is how we stay connected.

This is what homeschooling looks like for our family in general. Overall, we are homebodies who prefer to be together inside the four walls of our house. This preference has made schooling at home a great choice for us.

But no two homeschool households will look the same as they are each set up according to the individual family's personality, activities and preferences. That is the beauty of this lifestyle - you can make it your own!

No comments:

Post a Comment