Tuesday, October 6, 2009

A Day in the Life of Us

Sometimes people wonder what a homeschool day looks like, and I can tell you that I seriously doubt any two homeschool families have similar days. I definitely think ours isn't typical but I thought I'd keep track of our basic day so I could share.

6:59am -- My alarm was due to go off in 1 minute so I turned it off and promptly fell back to sleep.

7:57am -- I finally dragged myself out of bed, checked my email, gave Madelynn her morning medicine, got dressed (no shower), got Joshua dressed and nursed Madelynn. The big kids did their chores which consist of getting themselves dressed, brushing their hair and teeth, making their beds, feeding the animals, and putting away the dishes from the night before. They also get their own breakfast and help Josh get his. As I got the diaper bag ready to leave, Sam changed Madelynn's diaper and got her dressed.

9:05am -- We all got into the car and left for MOPS. On the way, we listened to our current Harry Potter book on CD.

12:30pm -- We arrived home from MOPS. After walking into the house, I promptly clean up three spots of cat puke we found, made lunch (tuna sandwiches and Doritos), ate lunch, and checked my email and Facebook. Madelynn napped in her swing.

1:05pm -- Finishing lunch, I had the kids start their Bible lesson for the day. While they did that, I recorded Mika's spelling words into SpellQuizzer and helped Sam with a question on his study. Josh was on the computer. Madelynn was still napping in the swing.

1:25pm -- The kids and I gathered in the school room and completed a literary analysis lesson, using A Bargain for Frances. Josh was now playing on the Wii.

2:02pm -- We finished out literary analysis lesson (though I realize now that I made a mistake on part of it). Mika laid down with Josh to help him fall asleep for his nap while I did math with Sam. Madelynn slept on.

2:30pm -- Mika came down from getting Josh asleep. I let her do some independent reading. I helped Sam complete a key word outline for this week's writing assignment. (Mika did hers independently yesterday.) Madelynn slept on.

3:00pm -- Mika, Sam, and I read our next chapter in Story of the World about Australia and New Zealand.

3:20pm -- We finished formal school for the day. Mika and Sam each got on their computers for their free time. Madelynn woke up, and I began to nurse her while on my laptop.

3:30pm -- Sam got dressed for and left to taekwondo. Mika continued her computer free time. I continued nursing Madelynn while on my laptop. Josh woke up and played on the Wii for a while.

4:00pm -- Mika has been having trouble with this week's math lesson so I oversaw math practice. Mika then completed her spelling for the day, and we discussed gerunds for her grammar lesson.

5:00pm -- With school work done, Mika returned to her free time on the computer. I played with Madelynn. She giggled and then Mika got her camcorder to record it.

5:20pm -- Sam and Scott arrived home. I talked with Scott about an article I was reading about math, showed him the video of Madelynn giggling, and showed Sam some math on the white board that I had read about.

5:45pm -- Scott and I talked while he cleaned and cut cauliflower and I washed dishes. Mika and Josh played on the computer. Sam played with Madelynn.

6:15pm -- I prepared dinner with Josh's help. (He handed me potatoes to peel. He put cut pieces of potato into the pot. He stirred seasonings into flour and helped me dredge meat in the flour. Scott held and played with Madelynn until I needed to nurse and then took over preparation of dinner.

7:00pm -- Dinner was done. While we eat, I continue to nurse Madelynn.

7:15pm -- We decided to listen Harry Potter on CD until 8pm.

8:00pm -- Scott and I watch Hell's Kitchen while the kids play or watch it with us. Madelynn cries, gets a diaper change, and finally falls asleep.

9:00pm -- We wanted to listen to more Harry Potter.

9:40pm -- The CD ended so we decide to wait until tomorrow to continue with the next, and last, CD for the book. The kids retreated to their bedrooms to read their books (Mika is reading the Redwall and Warriors series. Sam is reading the Warriors series.) Josh and Madelynn are passed out on Scott and me. I'm writing this post.

10:30pm -- Lights out for the kids. Scott will probably go to sleep then too. I often stay up a bit later, reading, but probably won't stay up very late tonight because I'm really tired.

So, that's what happened today. Each day if pretty different. The thing that is similar from day to day is the fact that we don't really have a routine. I choose what subjects we'll work on based on a variety of factors, but that is another post.

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3 Comments:

Suswan said...

REDWALL!!! Redwall rocks!!! Mika and I are going to have to discuss mousies! ;-)
Pretty cool the way everyone pitches in. Even Madelynn pitched in today. ;-)

Mommy to One said...

I like these "day in the life" posts. I'll have to do one too...one of these days.

The Four Week Vegan said...

Yep, everyday is different and every homeschool household is different. Sounded like a good day.