Continuing with answering some of the more commonly asked homeschool questions, I decided to use my white board to write down my entire day on Friday. I'm often asked what a typical day looks like...what we do, how and when I get household chores done, which subjects get covered, how I "do it all" (hint: I don't), when I work out, etc. The problem is that because I'm very relaxed in our homeschool approach and often practice student-led learning, we don't usually have a "typical" or "average" day. I often have goals for which subjects I'd like to do that day, but the children may have a totally different idea of what interests them instead.
The weather lately has been amazing! It is still hot, but definitely cooling down and starting to feel a bit like fall. This means that the kids have been playing outside a lot during the day, which they couldn't do previously since it was so hot (this is why I do some school in June...I love the option to play outside more in September!).
This is what my Friday two weeks ago looked like. As much as it appears I accomplished a lot on Friday, all moms know that there is always more to do! This is meant as a learning post, not a comparison post (again, my own personal day-to-day schedule is always changing!). My goal with this is to help those of you considering homeschool to see that you can fit little things in here or there throughout the day, and that you don't necessarily have to have a "school morning" or set hours for schooling. The words in bold are items I consider part of my kids' "homeschool."
5:00 Wake Up
5:30 Strength Workout with my friend, Erin
6:30 Breakfast, financial budgeting, & bills since it's payday
7:15 Shower, fold first laundry load, start another load
7:50 Kids clean their rooms & do chores
8:15 Kids outside to play while I clean the kitchen
8:35 Boys find a bird outside interesting so we pull out books and do science on the grass
8:50 Girls-history, Aaron-handwriting, Levi-playing
9:30 Snack, outside play, order teas online for our kombucha, pack lunches
10:00 Errands-bike shop and Target
11:15 Outside play, clean the house
12:00 Martial Arts class for myself; kids play with friends and eat lunch
1:10 Bring a coffee drink to Ben at work
1:40 Quiet time; kids read books
2:20 Outside Play; Backyard clean-up with kids, feed/water chickens, tend to garden, load dishwasher, laundry
3:00 Snack and get ready for evening classes
3:45 Take kids to martial arts classes (PE :))
4:00 Squeeze in a 20 minute mini workout on the TRX bands while kids are in class
4:45 Drive another kid to a separate class elsewhere
5:30 Sparring class-my favorite part of Fridays!
6:20 Pick up a child from a friend's house
6:40 Prep for my Saturday Kindermusik class, shower
7:00 Ben comes home with Costco pizza and we eat
8:00 Books & Bedtime & audio books as they fall asleep
By the end of Friday, my children had completed:
*chores
*history
*science
*reading
*handwriting
*PE
*Lots of outside play
*Played with friends
*Listened to audio books
I had personally:
*Worked out (strength workout, martial arts class, sparring class, and TRX workout...yes, it's a lot!)
*Done 3 full loads of laundry
*Cleaned up the backyard
*Cared for the animals
*Homeschooled
*Cleaned the house
*Prepped for teaching
*Showered...twice
*Budgeted
*Surprised my husband at work with a treat
*Gotten the kids' bikes fixed
*Shopped for necessities
I try as often as possible to do chores and take care of my responsibilities while the kids are playing or are occupied with self-directed schooling. Several times a week I do a short workout while my kids are in martial arts classes. When we are leaving the house or starting on school, I try to start a load of laundry. Kids help with chores, too. You can see that my boys' fascination with a bird in our backyard led them to hunt through books for specifics...this is child-led learning! We fit this type of learning in as often as a question or curiosity pops up. Homeschooling and getting all the other stuff done comes down to being creative and purposeful with your time. Homeschooling is doable...and your house can still be clean, your groceries bought, and your health and fitness prioritized too!
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