Written by Jamie Martin of Simple Homeschool
Our 7th homeschool day in the life series has come to an end, but we still want to hear from you! So today is your chance to share with our community.
Do you have tips or tricks that really work for you? What are your favorite things about homeschooling? What makes YOUR homeschool unique?
We hope you’ll link up below and tell us all about your days, because every homeschool is different, and we all have so much to learn from one another!
Please link to your own day in the life post using the linky below. (If you don’t have a blog, feel free to share the details of your day in the comments section.)
In the “name” section, write your title like this “Jamie’s day w/ a 11, 12, & 13-year-old” – that will help readers find posts that interest them most.
Thank you so much for being a part of this series, and for sharing with us. I look forward to grabbing a cup of tea and “visiting” many of you!
“Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.” – Brené Brown
If you’re reading this post in an email or reader and want to check out everyone’s links, just click here to go to the blog — enjoy!
Weekend homeschool links
Mistie’s homeschool week with a 8 and 10 year old.
We do things a little differently here at our house. Our homeschool week starts on Friday and ends on Monday. Usually on a Friday we have some type of enrichment, this Friday is a play at our theatre. My oldest loves it, my youngest not so much. After the class we meet with our charter teacher to turn in work. It ends up being a really long day. We left at 7:15 and return home at 4:00. We are all done.
Saturday – Monday I wake up at 6:30 kiss my hubby goodbye and make some coffee. During this time I update our to do and our school lists on google keep. I look through emails and social media. The boys usually wake up at 8:00 but do not come downstairs until 9:00 when they eat breakfast. We don’t start school until 11:00. It gives them free time to play, do their music or their chores. At 11:00 we settle in the school room and get started. We usually do one subject per day and art everyday because they love art. It is their passion. Today is Math.
The boys love Khan Academy, they settle in to do the mastery section. They work on that for about 45 min. Then we take a break. They start their art. Trey is really into watching a few artists on YouTube and recreating. Camden usually likes to start from scratch. After about an hour of art we stop and have lunch. When we return, they both feel like reading, they choose Life of Fred and settle with a blanket and pillow. They are both laughing out loud. They love to read these math books. After reading, I spend time with one to tackle improper fractions. While I am doing this, the other is playing math games. About 10 min in, we switch. When we are finished we do some math mammoth to get us away from the computer. My youngest complains he that he knows enough math, wants to do some science. It is almost 2:00. Sure! From 2:00-3:00 they free learn. Whatever they want. 3:00 we are done with school. They have a couple free hours to play, Dad gets home at 6:00 and we eat dinner, settle in to a board game or tv show.
Each day is really similar just switching up the main subject. Monday- Thursday they have swim team in the evening. Tuesday, Thursday they attend Spanish and class and Wednesday a writing class( writing is not my strength.
We homeschool Year around so if we have a swim meet or birthday party on the weekend, we skip school. So far it has been working well for us.
Wow! This was so refreshing to read!! I think a Wednesday – Sunday homeschool week would suit us better than our current Mon-Fri as we never seem to be home earlier on in the week. I don’t know why it never occurred to me before reading your post. Thank you so much!! I am going to give it some serious thought.
Aida’s homeschool with a 7 and 13 yr old.
Out typical day starts a little later as I am bedbound with a range of health issues so I like the flexibility of homeschool as we can do things how we want and when we want. As a retired teacher I initially went into homeschooling in the traditional school format but over the years I have changed things. I take alot of my lead from what the girls enjoy doing and their strengths. I still follow the National Curriculum as taught here in the UK but I incorporate alot of reading, research , boardgames and other opportunities to learn. We do homeschool Monday to Friday with reading groups and discussions, audio books, notebooking as well as following a Science, Maths and English curriculum. We love doing lots of projects which are linked with English, History, Geography, Art and so on. The girls love doing their work while listening to an audio book and snacking on fruits or dried fruits and having the opportunity to discuss things. Just last week my 13yr old said ‘ I like being able to talk while I do my work.’ Who said that children learn better whilst working in total silence? They should be able to talk, share their views, ideas and opinions and I believe homeschooled children are able to express themselves confidently as they have lots of opportunities to talk. We usually finish homeschool by 3 in the afternoon but that doesn’t mean their learning stops there. They continue to learn when they are playing together, or watching art and craft videos on YouTube or reading etc etc. My 7 yr old loves Art and craft and spends the afternoon making things she has watched or read about. My 13yr old is an avid writer so spends time updating her books on Wattpad. They do endless projects. I spent 17 years as a teacher in Primary and Secondary school but these last 8 years doing homeschool have been a completely refreshing time for me. I’ve had days when it’s all gone wrong and I feel like nothing I planned actually happened but then there are the days when the girls are starting their day off with their reading books and eating and look happy and I feel like it’s all going to be fine. I want to give my girls the gift of learning – I’m not able to go out and do ‘fun’ things with the kids due to my disabilities but we have so much fun at home – apart from homeschool we do lots of activities together and plan fun days as well movie days and spas and craft sessions and boardgames. The girls love performing dances for me which they have choreographed together. So while I cannot do things other mums can do when out and about I spend alot of time and thought into what we can do together and the girls love it. Having quality time with my girls is the best feeling – my older 2 who are now 21 and 24 yrs old both attended school – but I’m so thankful that we decided to homeschool the younger ones as it was the best decision for our family. As a parent we are constantly teaching our kids and it makes sense to continue with that natural process. This time together means the world. The best comment I got was from my 7 yr old who said ‘ the best teacher is my mama.’ It was a lovely moment which made it all so worthwhile. Simple Homeschool has been a wonderful addition to my daily reading as I feel connected to all the other mums out there who are doing this too. Also it’s the best read while enjoying a quiet moment with a cup of tea. I just wanted to say a big thankyou for supporting all the homeschool mums because we can all learn alot from each other. Congratulations for a successful 7th year! Jamie I’m sure you have helped and inspired alot of mums.
Thank you for sharing your day with the rest of us. My favorite part was this, “I’m not able to go out and do ‘fun’ things with the kids due to my disabilities but we have so much fun at home “. And isn’t that just the best ever!! Great job on finding things you can do and have fun 🙂 Also your 7yo calling you the best teacher <3 awwwwww cute!
Jen|Practical by default’s latest post: How to Navigate the Homeschooling Highway
I would love to hear from homeschooling parents of only children! 🙂
I’m adding mine to the list right now! 🙂 My daughter is 8 and this is our first year of homeschooling.
I don’t do the link-up widgets (I’ve read too many places that those can hurt search engine rankings for the sites that link up, sorry!), but my post was here:
http://carriewillard.com/the-truth-about-homeschooling-a-large-family/
It’s a peek behind the curtain into homeschooling a large family. We have 7 kids (one graduate so far). The TL;DR is that we use curricula that allows the children to learn independently, and we keep homeschooling very, very simple for the little ones.
The kids have lots and lots of free time for outdoor play, which we consider to be crucial to their wellbeing and development, as well as free time to pursue their own interests. Many of those interests end up becoming a part of how they earn money. My 16 year old has had a thriving eBay business for several years. My 14 year old is serious about dance and wants to be a freelance choreographer , the 11 year old is making various items to sell, etc.
Carrie Willard’s latest post: Best mom sayings that will simplify disciplining kids
Thanks so much for this! it’s always so fun to peek into other homeschooler’s days.
Mother of 3’s latest post: Day in the Life Post with Three Boys ages 12, 11, and 9
Lori’s homeschool day with a 6-year old, 5-year old, 3-year old, and newborn (with mommy recovering from an emergency c-section/hysterectomy):
Mommy’s up from 1-2:30 a.m. and 5-6:30 a.m. with baby
At 7 a.m., I get up and get ready. My mom arrives at 7:30 to stay with the children so I can have a rare treat (and a first since my surgery) – breakfast with my best homeschooling mama friend who is moving away in just a couple of weeks 🙁
9:30 – I get home and get the low-down from Mom. My 6-year old wrote a letter to her American Heritage Girls penpal that is absolutely precious. Mom also tells me that while she was tending to the baby, my older 3 were quiet for a very long time and she was wondering what they were getting into. She found them all lined up on the couch, with my oldest reading aloud to her sisters. Be.still.my.heart. My 6-year old has really taken off with her reading in the last month, which is such a buoy to my spirits as I have not been able to do any formal “school” with her for a month due to my surgery and recovery. <3
We clean up for breakfast and the younger girls get ready to go to story time at the library with my mom. My oldest and my youngest stay home with me.
10:15 – Mom leaves with the younger two girls. I nurse the baby while my oldest and I practice telling time with a clock I found at the dollar store. She reads 2 stories to me from her Bible reader. We are wrapping up her final week of "My Father's World – Learning God's Story" 1st grade curriculum this week. So exciting!!!
11 – Finally get the baby to go down for a nap. I give my oldest her very first piano lesson. We go over proper posture, hand position, and fingering. She does several pages in her theory book while I fix lunch and assist her as needed.
11:30 – She draws a picture and writes a summary of one of the stories she read to me from her reader. I get lunch put on plates (tortilla chips, black beans, avocado, salsa, bell pepper, and cheese).
12 – younger girls arrive back home and eat. I go over AWANA verses with my oldest; she is finishing her book this week! I also color with her in our "mommy/daughter" coloring book while her sisters finish lunch.
12:30 – Divide library books; get the three girls settled in separate rooms for rest time (mandatory at our house every day. It is the best.thing.ever.) I lay down with a book, planning to sleep while baby goes down for a long nap. Sleep eludes me, but I do finish my book!
1:45 – My second oldest had a late night at ballet last night so she falls asleep during rest time and I let Child #1 and Child #3 watch one episode of Octonauts to keep them quiet (baby is still asleep as well, and the silence is golden). I use the time to do some planning, check email, etc.
2:30 – I wake up Child 2 and fix the girls a snack (rice cake with peanut butter and chocolate chips). I read from our science book about plants and we discuss as they eat. Child #1 goes outside to play with her good friend who goes to public school and has just gotten off the bus. I do My Father's World kindergarten with Child 2 while Child 3 colors and cuts/pastes.
3 – I feed baby and then we all go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. It was in the 70's here today. The girls stay happily occupied collecting dozens of pinecones. My second, who is very observant, makes a house for a tiny worm in the dirt and digs up tiny little shells. My 3-year old gleefully shows me the rocks she's collected. A sweet friend drops off a delicious casserole since I'm still weak from the surgery. I pop it in the oven at 4.
4:30 – I feed the baby (yes, again! ;)) and try to get the girls to clean up, but without me on my feet supervising nothing gets done
5 – my husband arrives home from work and the girls greet him with squeals. I heat up some green beans and cut some canteloupe to go with the delicious casserole. The girls clean up the table, which is still covered with school and art supplies.
5:15 – we eat dinner together (I'm holding baby, who was fussy)
5:30 – hubby heads to the park with the 3 girls while baby boy and I stay home. He takes a short nap in the swing, and I use that time to tidy up, switch the laundry, and post and article I'd written about my "birth story".
6:30 – Guess who's eating again? 😉 I relish one of my favorite podcasts, "What Should I Read Next?" while I nurse
6:45 – My crew arrives home; we clean up and the girls pick a few books for me to read aloud. Then the girls brush their teeth and get their pjs on.
7:15 – I rub my 3-year old's leg, which she complains of hurting (growing pains?) while I read them a devotional on the 10 commandments, a chapter from Charlotte's Web (we've taken a while to get through this one, but only one chapter to go!!!), "Don't Forget the Bacon" (a book I reserved from the library for the upcoming KONOS unit we're doing on "Attentiveness" because – let's just say – that's a character trait my kids really need to hone!!!), and "Mustache Baby" (a silly book on the March reading list of the most excellent and wonderful Sarah Mackenzie of the Read Aloud Revival podcast – another one of my faves!!!)
7:30 – Children 1 and 3 go to bed; since child 2 slept during the day I allow her to stay up so we can work together in her Rod & Staff workbook (Im not generally a workbook kinda gal, but I LOVE these little books, and so does she!!! We did page after page, with her begging to do more.) The baby is fussy but thankfully my husband hangs out with him.
8 – Child #2 goes to bed; I eat a snack before feeding the baby and he goes down easily after only one long nap and a few very short "cat naps" today.
9 – Check email, respond to messages, record recently finished books on goodreads (One I highly, HIGHLY recommend – "Mere Motherhood", by Cindy Rollins. I finished it in one sitting!! It's beautiful!!!)., check library holds, write this post 😉
This was truly a lovely day. I'm so thankful to be feeling a little better each day and I'm loving getting my homeschooling mama mojo back on. I have sooooo missed this!!!!!
Turner Tribe’s Day in the Life of Homeschooling a 16, 16, 14, 13, 12 & 3 year old.
the link would help 😉
https://tyingheartstrings.wordpress.com/