So, we have been back to our schedule for almost 2 weeks now & all is going quite well. I decided to give a look at our day…just because. It is interesting to me to know what other home school families are doing.
6:30am- I wake up because I have usually already been awake for an hour & can’t go to sleep (I’m no saint here; I hate it that I can’t sleep in but I can’t; I am a semi insomniac), make coffee, set up my chair & laptop on the back deck, get my coffee, check emails, look at my home school group’s website, check out blogs, visit with Craig, &, if I don’t allow for any other distractions, spend time in my bible & prayer. (God has really been working on me about not allowing for distractions that keep me from being with Him)
7:30am- Get the kids up & wish Craig a farewell as he heads off to work.
8:00am- Start my day with my kids school. Michael really requires the most time. He & I do History, Math, & Language together. I am so impressed this year with how much he did retain from last year! Last year was a struggle. Kate may require a little time with Physical Science (she hates it & so do I!). Whitney is almost completely independent except that I check over her work (yeah, when I am good!) to see if she has actually done it & has done well enough that I can feel she learned something. Things come easiest to her. I am a bit jealous. She makes learning look so very easy.
11:30am- Prepare lunch. The kids like to get in there with me & we all work to get this together. We have our routine of food: canned soup & grilled sandwiches, frozen meals like Healthy Choice, left-overs, chicken nuggest with mac-n-cheese & fruit or veg., Hot Pockets, & etc. We do keep it simple most of the time but do like to experiment using whatever is on hand in the fridge & pantry.
12:30pm- Back to school
1:30pm- Load up the dishwasher, straighten up the kitchen, & straighten up the living room. (Or the kids may do this. We try to keep it straightened as we go.) Whitney, my 16yr. old, cleaned up the kitchen today without me even asking her!!!
2:00pm- Take a shower; that is right, I am still in my pajamas!!! I tell myself everyday (before I go to bed) to get up & get ready right away but I just seem to allow too many things to distract me from accomplishing this. I would ask for advice but the answer is way too simple.
3:00pm- On several days I have a piano student or two in the afternoon. Otherwise we may be doing little odd jobs around the house or running errands. I also like to watch Rachel Ray every now & then, if I think about it. I really don’t like the t.v. to go on until after all school is done.
4:30pm- Craig comes home!!! Yeah!!! …that is, if he isn’t tutoring. If all goes well, I am starting supper about this time. Lately that has involved figuring out how to use produce such as: fresh tomatoes (variety out there), squash, eggplant, green beans, cucumbers, bell peppers, & several varieties of herbs. That may not sound bad except that all these things seem to need to be used all at the same time. Michael is so tired of roasted or stir-fried mixed vegetables. There is a certain look that comes over his face when I put it on the table but, hey, he eats everything on his plate!
5:30pm- We eat & straighten up. I go out & look at Craig’s garden with him. This garden is the source of my supper dilemma but I’m not complaining because it is so nice having these fresh vegetables in the warmer months! Another thing he has put in our back yard is a butterfly garden. It is so nice to see all the beautiful flowers &, yes, butterflies. Have you ever seen a Hummingbird Moth? They are awesome. They kind of look like a Hummingbird & Bumble Bee combined!
7pm-Bedtime- Who knows??? It varies from night to night but we manage to find plenty to do. We have Netflix, 3 movies at a time, so these days someone has something they wish to watch.
9pm- Bedtime. Or at least I hope! I have this habit of watching TV in bed. My little pug (dog), Mei Ling, looks forward to this time as much as I do because she starts watching me closely at around 8:30pm & as soon as I make a move for the stairs she races me to the bed. She is allowed a little time in bed but goes to her kennel to sleep for the night. I can hardly sleep with my husband in bed (any movement wakes me up) forget having a dog in bed who snores (nope, my husband doesn’t)!
Now this is not really what happens every day but rather an average day. One thing I see lacking here, & have for a while is our role in our community. It is my desire to add to our schedule, at least once a month, something the kids & I do to serve a community & maybe Craig too, on the weekends. With the help of our church, God has allowed me to see all the possibilities there. Thanks CATR for helping us to see the needs in our own back yard!
WOW Lauren,
Bedtime is early at your house. Our schedule is all back to front sometimes I think I am still living in Australian time. And dinner at 5.30 I usually haven’t even thought about cooking dinner by that time. Now I know how you can be organised and fed for book club meetings at 7pm when I haven’t even usually had dinner by then. I think though that if I ate that early I would be looking for snacks later in the evening. See you tomorrow night.