As I have thought about writing this particular post, I have realized that we don't necessarily have an hour by hour schedule that we follow. We seem to have adopted more of an ordered flow to our days instead. Does that make sense? I find that when I lock myself into following a rigid schedule I am usually setting myself up for discouragement when (notice I said when not if) we are unable to keep up.
Keep in mind that we are definitely not locked into anything per say. Occasionally we drop what we are doing because I get called to a birth. Our schedule is easily adaptable and we do our best to remain flexible. I think this is one of the things that I love best about homeschooling. I have the ability to respond more freely to the needs of my family. We don't have to cram ourselves into someone else's time frames.
(mulligan doesn't really try to fit into anyone else's preferences either...he basically just sprawls out on our school table anytime he pleases.)
So, our week typically looks like this:
Monday: Schoolwork in the morning, play/chores in afternoon.
Tuesday: Errands and outings in the morning, schoolwork in the afternoon while Laurel naps.
Wednesday: Schoolwork in the morning, play/tea time in the afternoon.
Thursday: BSF for Laurel and me, extra curricular classes for the girls at a cooperative school in the morning, schoolwork in afternoon while Laurel naps.
Friday: Catch up, exams, review in morning. Nature study/park play in afternoon.
I have tried to vary the time when we do schoolwork simply for Laurel's benefit. Understandably, she enjoys getting outside to play and taking trips to the library more than she enjoys the times when we are doing lessons. She is 3! So, two days a week we go out in the mornings instead of doing schoolwork. In the afternoon when she sleeps we are able to catch up.
So a typical day (if we are doing schoolwork in the morning) progresses like this:
*I wake up early. Like 5:30am early. I spend some time reading my bible. I get some coffee, check email, maybe sneak in a blog post. I just committed to doing a mini-triathlon (more on that to come) so I am also getting out for some exercise.
*The kids usually roll out of bed between 7-8am. I don't usually wake them up, however, 8am is the cut-off and Hannah is usually on the later end of morning. She typically needs a little prodding :)
*The girls have a morning routine that we came up with together so they begin working through that.
*We eat breakfast and have a little devotional time.
*Next, we spend some time tidying up the house- maybe 30 minutes max (none of learn well when it is a mess)
*Around 9am schoolwork begins. We don't do our subjects in the same order every day. I usually go with what the girls want to do first. Their enthusiasm provokes diligent work. It all gets done, so I don't fuss over what we do first.
*We usually break for a snack at some point, and go back to work until about 11:30am.
*Before we eat lunch we head outside. Maybe a quick walk to the mailbox, a bike ride around the block, or some digging in the garden. It helps the girls to eat better and really "sit down" to lunch if they get some fresh air first.
*After lunch, I read to Laurel and then she takes a nap. The girls and I finish up school work for another hour or so.
(okay sometimes Laurel doesn't nap. a few days ago I convinced her to take a rest in the backpack)
*Around 2pm I institute 30-60 minutes of quiet time. Laurel is still sleeping and I ask the girls to find a place where they can quietly color or read or rest or just generally be on their own. During this time I find myself doing any number of things depending on the day. Reading, returning emails and phone calls, exercise, cleaning up around the house, or if I've been up all night at a birth- napping!
*We have another tidy-up session around 3pm. I get the chore jars out and let them pick from chores that I have pre-selected (based upon what needs to be done). We usually work for about 45min.
*At 4pm the sweet neighbor kids come home from school and my kids head outside to play with them. We have a fenced back-yard so they pretty much have free reign. I spend this time preparing dinner.
*At some point, usually around 6pm, my husband gets home and we have dinner. One night per week I head out to teach my classes, but other than that- we always sit down together.
*From there it is just hanging out together, reading the newspaper, more laundry, preparing for the next day's lessons, baths, teeth brushing- you know...normal stuff.
*My kids generally go to bed sometime between 8-9pm. Carl and I usually go to bed around 11pm.
That's it! A typical day. Not glamorous. I am pretty much a Haus Frau...but that is what I feel called to do at this point. More coming soon!
