Blessings, Grace and a Glass of Wine

Wierd, Unsocialized Homeschoolers!

Yup - that's us! How did I even get here? I have 3 children that I homeschool! Who does that!? Well, I do. And, guess what? My kids are normal (well, as normal as they can possibly be with a wacky momma like me!) They are social, silly, athletic (well, at times - then my genes kick in and then they are "graceful") kind, compassionate children.

Today's post is about our schedule - our normal daily routine that encompasses school, chores and life. But, as I began this I realized there is a whole back story to our journey down this homeschool road. Another blog for another time. I know many of you have your doubts and many of you are intrigued - while others of you are considering homeschooling your own littles.

Just know this, and then I will get on with the schedule. I am, and always have been, the most unorganized, undisciplined, impatient, "not homeschooling material" kind of mom ever. Yep. Seriously. I can't keep my bills in a neat pile, forget school work, books and papers! I am not disciplined enough to walk a dog every day or participate in any kind of exercise program - let alone run a classroom from my home! And for the record, patience is not one of my strengths - I really really need grace everyday and strength from above to accomplish the job of the patient homeschooling momma.
That being said, I homeschool. I love it. I have my doubts, failures, successes, sob fits, tranquil moments and immeasurable joy as I teach my children about life and God's incredible world. So - trust me. No one is "cut out" to homeschool. But, we are given grace, strength and patience to try again every morning!

All righty - here is a sample schedule (**disclaimer, schedule changes at a moments notice, no two days are the same and everything rests on the shoulders of a certain toddler, her mood and nap time!!!**)

5:30/6:00 am - I usually wake up with a start. No alarm needed. Maybe someone tiptoed into my room and stared at me creepily (wth?! why do kids do that!?) willing me to wake up. Or baby wanted an early morning snack. Or I dreamt my husband slept through his alarm. Either way, I am up. I grab a cup of coffee, flip open the laptop and peruse Facebook to wake up. Then I check out a Crosswalk devotion for the day (very helpful when you realize the kind of day I will have! wink wink) I may check out my plan book for each kiddo and then look up some activities that may coincide with a certain lesson.

6:30/7:00 - someone is up. Sometimes all three, sometimes one, two.. . who knows. I do make my littles stay in their rooms until 7 (7:30 on weekends) but somehow someone ends up on the couch looking over my shoulder! Lately tv has been going on just to give me a couple more minutes to look over a certain blog before I quickly publish it!

7:00/7:30 - Breakfast time. Kiddos have cereal on weekdays (more fun on weekends) to keep things simple. If the baby is still asleep (depending on whether there was an early morning snack!) I will sit with kids at table and do Bible. We use a great little curriculum that I found online for free. Its perfect for teaching them the great stories of the Bible and the faith lessons behind each story. Click here to check it out, it is by Sheila Scroggins at calverymv.com.

8:00-9:30'ish - at this time we do any number of different things. Kids are getting dressed, washed, making beds and doing chores. In order to have a functioning household everyone participates in the management of our home. My kids start at a very young age doing chores, usually around 2. By the time they are 5 and 7 they can clean bathrooms, empty dishwashers, fold some laundry, sweep, vacuum, etc. This is another blog for another time, but is a critical aspect in raising littles to be functioning, responsible members of society. It is also critical to my sanity and well being. Enough said. I will try to get some dinner in the slow cooker at this point as well. The baby is up, eating and now creating chaos in her wake.

9:30/10'ish - My 7 year old will start some of his independent work. As a second grader he is able to now do some things independently (whoo hoo!!) I will put everything together in his folder and write it all down on the white board. It usually includes his reading, cursive, phonics practice papers and math on the computer (he uses Teaching Textbooks a computer program math that he loves!). My 5 year old will at this time usually play with the baby, do puzzles, color, play doh, or if baby is cooperating she and I will read together or go over her phonograms. For her reading program we use The Writing Road to Reading - a bit complicated but an incredible foundation and tool to have for reading and writing.
Kids will have a snack around 10:30 and I will usually be down in school room with the baby and 5 yo at this time. There is more playing (sand table, art projects, audio books, etc) My 7yo has a quiet place in his room where he can go to do his work and the girls don't bother him.

11:30/12 - Depending on when my littlest little woke up, she goes down for a nap around now. If we were a normal family she would wait till maybe 12:30/1 but I need my teaching time with the kids! So, during nap time the kids and I work very hard to do teacher led school work (usually we bring lunch downstairs with us!) Of course, never fear, there are many breaks during the day! Lots of Lego playing and general fun ~ its homeschool!
I do spelling and grammar with biggest little and spelling and reading with middle little. You will notice most of our time and energy is spent on Reading, Writing and 'Rithmatic. The foundation of a good education is being able to read, write and do math. Science and History are fantastic - but only if you can comprehend what you read and can compute your findings!
(**side note**
I will be schooling year round. We will do mainly the core subjects during the "school year" and will continue on with science, history, geography and reading during the summer months. We still do a lot of that stuff now, but the pressure is not as great to "cram it all in" and gives me more flexibility to focus on the core subjects. Being as this is my first year homeschooling it is one of learning for me as well. I am learning where I need to stress, and where I don't! What I need to "make" my kids do, and what I don't.)

1:30/2:00- around this time baby is up and we are usually off to do either Lego Lab, or gym or baseball or gymnastics, playing in the snow, errands or a play date! Phew! You mean, they aren't locked up in an attic? You mean they are happy, well-adjusted, fun loving, good kiddos?!
Get out of here!

4:00'ish - Back home from our activities and I start to feel a little panic about dinner and the end of the day. My 5yo will usually sit at the kitchen table and play on the computer at this point, math games or phonics games. We love this site for fun, online learning activites. My 7yo will finish up any work he has, review for any tests or finish up any chores. Then he will play on his tablet or occasionally I will put on a show like the Magic Schoolbus or Wild Kratts.

**disclaimer*** though this all sounds lovely, chaos begins....now. This is our witching hour, where my world get nutso and kids run wild. It happens. To the best of us. I find a nice glass of wine (or two!) helps immensely.

5:00/5:30 - Daddy comes home! YIPPPPEEEEE! Best. Part. Of. My. Day. Hands downs!
5:30-7:30 - family dinner, clean up, baths, stories, (occasionally we will all watch Cutthroat Kitchen, a family favorite!) and bed!

Then I collapse in a heap on the couch in the arms of my best friend. We catch up on a few shows and I stumble to bed around 9:30-10.

I try to do a lot of my lesson planning on the weekends, and Saturdays are a big"clean the house" day.

So, there you have it. A "kind of schedule"! It really does change from day to day but this is roughly how I fit it all in. I am sure I forgot something, probably something that's actually very important. But, we probably do it during the day without even thinking about it!

Homeschooling is the hardest, and most amazing thing I have ever done. I could never do it on my own. I have the love and support of my husband, and an Almighty God who is with me every step of the way. I adore having my children home with me, I love watching them learn, grow and enjoy life. I love being able to help them choose the activities they want to participate in. Homeschooling has brought my children closer (they are best friends), my family closer and me closer to God (seriously, you just can't do this alone!).

So, I will have more on homschooling in the future; the why and the how! But, for now, hope you have enjoyed a glimpse into a flexible day in the life of a weird, unsocialized homeschooling family!