A "Typical" Homeschool Day

In my last post I addressed some of the three most common homeschooling fears. The next thing that usually comes up in the conversation is, "So, what does it actually look like?" 

It's a simple question, really, but it can get sticky. There are all kinds of educational philosophies and opinions out there. Every family is different and that's the beauty of homeschooling. You can do it however you want! 

I'm a little hesitant to share about our days, but I always love when other moms share about theirs because it's so helpful. So maybe you can find something helpful and if nothing else it will give you a glimpse into a real homeschool if you don't know anyone who does it (just like we didn't know a soul when we first decided to homeschool!). 

Please remember, we are still new at this. Even though I spent my whole life in the public school world, homeschooling is completely different and every time I think we have found a groove something changes. 

Here's what a "typical" (although there really is no such thing around here!) day looks like right now:

7:00am-ish - Connor's Math Lesson

I sit at the breakfast table to eat my breakfast and drink my coffee while I do a math lesson with Connor. We try to get most of it finished before the younger two come barreling down and make chaos, but it rarely happens. So it usually turns into me trying to keep Connor focused, keep Colton out of my coffee and math blocks and other random toys get thrown all over the place. 

Why first thing in the morning? Connor is an early bird like me and wakes up ready to go. We do this first because he likes it, he's good at it, and he can check something off of his list first thing. 

Which reminds me, we use a simple checklist for the major components of our "school" day, which has been very helpful. 

I eat my breakfast first so I don't have to eat while they eat (you'll see why in the next section) and I can actually finish my coffee while it's still hot. 

7:30-ish or whenever Jeff leaves for work- Morning Time 

Jeff leaving for work is kind of the unofficial start of our day. We clean up the table from whatever giant mess was created during the math lesson and the boys do their breakfast chores (which is just them setting the table and getting their cereal stuff out). 

We light a candle and I go through our morning basket while they eat. I have their attention because they have mouths full of cereal and it's harder for them to interrupt. Which, they still do, don't get me wrong, but at least I have their attention! 

I can do a separate post about what all goes into our morning basket if anyone is interested because otherwise this post will be way too long! But to get a general idea, this is the time that I review a variety of things we have learned from all subject areas. We read poetry, I share about whatever national day it is, we read our devotional, review math and science terms, go over some of our memory work for our co-op... it's just a hodge-podge of whatever I feel like we need that day. 

This morning time lasts as long as I have their attention and food isn't being thrown on the floor by the toddler. Which, these days is becoming shorter and shorter. 

Cleanup and Free Time 

After our morning time, we clean the table and the boys have a little bit of free play time while I get the toddler cleaned up, do whatever housework I can do quickly, and get materials ready for our table time, which comes next. 

8:30ish Table Time 

Once I feel like we have all had an ample time to reset after morning time, we start table time. 

I put Colton in his playpen, one boy comes to the table with me, and the other boy goes upstairs to a room out of sight. 

When Connor is at the table with me, we do our phonics lessons and handwriting. This is super short, less than 20 minutes and usually only around ten if I'm being honest. We do things in short bursts around here!

I use a variety of curriculum and resources for reading, writing, and math, so I won't get into all of that in this post! 

One of the items on Connor's checklist is to read to a brother, so at some point during the day he has to do additional reading practice, it's just not at the table with me. 

When he's done, he goes upstairs and Cooper comes to the table for his "work." I really don't expect Cooper to be doing table time at this age, but because Connor does table time with me he wanted his own table time, too. We do some alphabet practice, letter sounds, puzzles, coloring, basically whatever I feel like having him do. He loves it, so it's a win-win. 

Colton (the toddler) plays pretty well in his playpen as long as he can't see anyone else, which is why whatever boy is not at the table with me has to go upstairs. Otherwise we press on with table time amidst his screams and the sound of toys flying out of his playpen. 

Did I mention that homeschooling with a toddler is difficult??? 

9:15/30ish Outside Time/ Walk 

Most mornings we go on a walk around the neighborhood or the boys have time to play outside. Sometimes I need to run errands, so if we have somewhere to go this is usually when we go (grocery store, haircuts, friend meetups). 

Couch Time (Time of day varies) 

At some point in the morning before lunch, we have "couch time." On days when we have activities outside of the house in the morning (our co-op days) this happens in the afternoons after independent time. 

During couch time, we come together on the couch and I will read usually 2-3 books of my choice aloud. This is the time when I fit in picture books that cover whatever academic subject we are learning about that week and we usually have a chapter book going so depending on time, attention, and moods, we will read a chapter or two of that. 

The other day was Lima Bean Appreciation Day (I know, silly, but it's fun!) so this was the time when I read the three books that related to that. 

On really good days the boys will each pick a book that they want me to read aloud and I'll read those, too. Some days we can inch close to an hour on the couch. It's my favorite time of the day! 

For the longest time this was when Colton would be taking his morning nap. Now that he's not napping in the morning anymore, we still attempt to get one or two books read and he plays with toys quietly (usually) in the room. Or crawls all over us. Or creates chaos. In which we have to abandon couch time and try again later! 

Our entire homeschool runs on books and I spend lots of time looking for books to help me introduce and teach all kinds of topics from science and math to art and geography. There are wonderful books out there for almost everything. You can never have too many books!!! 

Playtime and Lunch 

Once we finish couch time the boys have free play time until lunch. 

Lunch is pretty relaxed but we usually listen to or watch something while we all eat. If we are learning about a composer, we will listen to their works. If we are learning something in science we will sometimes watch a science video online, but most of the time we will listen to whatever audiobook we have going. Right now we are listening to the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary and LOVING it! 

More playtime/ Field trips/ Errands 

After lunch the kids play outside or if we have more errands to run we do those. I typically try to schedule any appointments for this time of day because it's nice to get out of the house for a bit. Most of our field trips, park days, and friend meet ups happen in the afternoon so we can get our morning routine in as many days as possible. 

Independent Time 

The kids have some amount of independent time most days if we are home in the afternoons. They go to different rooms and listen to audiobooks on their Yoto players (which we love!). 

Random Stuff 

The afternoons vary, so sometimes we do art stuff, crafty stuff, a themed read-aloud and snack time, play-doh, drawing, you get the idea. Our afternoons vary so much throughout the week, so I never really know what the afternoon will hold! 

A few weeks ago we were all about cacti and then we were on snails for a few days, so we had some nice little afternoons with those topics! 

And that's it! 

The kids are little (almost 7, 4, and almost 2 at the time of this writing) and we have allllll the time to do more formal academic things later. We will slowly add on more to the routine as they get older, but for now, this is what works for us. 

We listen to our Classical Conversations memory work, listen to lots of audiobooks in the car, I use "strewing" to spark conversations about various things, we read about and explore lots of national days as they come up, we go on lots of field trips, and we read lots and lots and lots and lots of books. And they are learning and retaining way more than I would have ever expected. 

We do school year-round right now because it's just so much easier to keep the routine when we are home. I've decided that the days that Jeff goes to work and we are home are essentially "school" days. We do so many field trips, visits with friends and family, and little trips here and there that we only follow this particular schedule 2-3 days a week. 

Some days we only do morning time, some days we do morning time and table time just spread out throughout the day. Some days we only do couch time, it just varies, which is another wonderful thing about homeschooling. We can ebb and flow as needed. 

And of course I'm not mentioning all the noise, messes, spills, sibling fights, muddy floors, attitudes, endless laundry, dishes, exasperated prayers, and all the millions of other little things that happen daily, but why think of all of that when I can make it almost seem so nice and smooth?!  Ha! 

I've become so much more relaxed and confident over these last two years. I know that what we are doing right now is enough and we are aiming for a slow, nature-filled, curiosity-driven homeschool for as long as possible. It's so exciting to wake up each day and anticipate what the day will bring. It's so much fun! 

Well, I hope you found that helpful! 

It will be interesting to see how long this little routine lasts!

Thanks for reading! Let me know if there is anything else you're curious about and I'll see what I can do!