A Day in the Life of a Home School Student

It has taken almost six years, but we have managed to do a few things that help with time. One thing my kids know is what is expected of them in the morning—get up, make bed, brush teeth, get dressed, etc. That helps me so I am not yelling for them to hurry up all morning. Also, every night we pick up all the toys and lock the playroom (and it does not get unlocked until after school). They also know when they may not turn on the TV.

The kids each have a list of what they are going to do for the day. There are things that they can do without me, and they have learned to get started. My oldest does work very independently, so that allows me more time to focus on little brother, who does not work so independently. I also take advantage of moments when they are working without my help—I will switch out laundry, etc.

I use nap time to do phonics and math with my first grader because that takes the most uninterrupted sit-down time. Both of my older kids use the same level of history, science, and art, so we do it all together. My toddler often likes to sit with us while we read and discuss the lessons. He also likes using the manipulatives in math, so that often keeps him busy. When not working independently, often one child will play with the toddler while I am working with the other child.

One thing I do is use the DVR to record educational programming. My kids do not like getting up early and diving into schoolwork, so I've found that I can ease them into their learning-oriented day by watching an episode of Liberty Kids, Magic School Bus, or Classroom that has already been recorded. They watch as I prepare breakfast; and by the time breakfast is eaten, they are more willing to get into schoolwork with a better attitude.

Reading schoolwork at bedtime saves a lot of time. For the little ones, you can save language arts exclusively for bedtime. For the older kids, it is helpful to do lots of reading in bed in preparation for the next day's lessons (so the older kids can go to bed as early as the younger ones, giving mom and dad more "own self time").

One thing that I have noticed over the years is that our learning schedule needs to be compatible with who we are as a family. At one point, I had all these grandiose ideas about how we were all going to get up really early, and all abide by a schedule to a tee. HA! The stress in our lives was ridiculous—I realized that for our family, it wasn’t practical. So we never start before 9:00. We don’t have schedules—we have goals. It’s a goal to have three lessons fully completed before lunch, and then we do the remaining ones after lunch. I let them pick which they want to do first, and they are more interested that way. It just seems to work for us. They are getting their work done, and I’m happier. There’s a lot less stress for all of us. I really admire the families that are all on a schedule and run like clockwork—I’d love for that to work for us and it’s great to try to achieve new goals, but keep it fun and keep it simple!

I try to set a realistic schedule, with an end to the day and definite breaks. So at lunch, we put everything away, clean up, and eat together. Sometimes we talk about what the boys have left in their schedules and maybe strategize on some things they are struggling with. Before we sit back down to work, we all know what the rest of the afternoon looks like.