Kris’s homeschool day in the life (with a 16-, 18- and 22-year-old )

Written by Kris Bales of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

I am a creature of habit who thrives on routine so, unless there is something special going on, most of my days start out the same. (And, I use the term “special” loosely. It could mean anything from breakfast with one of my kids {truly special} to a doctor’s appointment {not so special}.)

I’m so predictable that even the dogs and cats know the routine. I get up by 8:00 a.m. First up is feeding the creatures, letting them out, and giving them treats. They never let me forget the treats. Then, and only then, do I get myself ready for the day.  That means teeth, shower, and hair. Those are the things that wake me up and make me feel human.

I put on my homeschool mom uniform (yoga pants and a tank top), and I’m ready to go out – unless it’s one of those special days. Then it’s jeans and a tank top with a long-sleeved t-shirt to dress things up.

It’s a glamorous life, y’all.

Mornings

If I’m lucky, I get to see Josh (18) as he’s coming in from his 3rd shift job or Brianna (22) before she leaves for work. My babies have grown up. {sigh}

Those of you who’ve been reading my day in the life posts over the years will be as shocked to read the following statement as I am to type it: I’m currently planning Josh’s graduation and Brianna’s wedding.

The wedding is in April, and the graduation is in May. I plan on taking out stock in the tissue industry any day now. I’ll be purchasing a pallet or so from Costco. I think that might be enough to get me through those two events.

I work from home, so morning is when I tackle most of the days’ work. Brianna is at work and Josh and Megan are sleeping. (Unless Josh hasn’t wound down from work yet. If not, he’s usually very talkative in the mornings, which I love.)

My biggest distraction in the mornings is our dog, Belle. She was supposed to be Brianna’s dog, but we’ve all acknowledged that she will not be happy in Brianna’s fiance’s small apartment, so now she’s my dog.

The two older dogs are content to sleep all morning, but not Belle. She wants me to throw her ball down the stairs so she can chase it. All. Morning. Long.

Afternoons

Around noon, I stop for lunch and start trying to wake Megan up. She’s in 10th grade this year. She does not like mornings. It’s not uncommon for her to mumble, “I already did everything but math.”

A night owl like I used to be, Megan usually prefers to do the majority of her schoolwork at night when the house is quiet. Then, she sleeps until mid-afternoon, grabbing a bite to eat and finishing whatever schoolwork is left when she gets up.

She’s working, too, at a clothing store in the mall, which she absolutely loves. She only works a few days a week, sometimes the day shift, other times closing. There was even one super late-night inventory shift.

Thankfully, homeschooling allows us to be flexible with her schedule. I don’t care what time of the day or night she gets her work done as long as she completes and understands it.

Megan is currently using Khan Academy for science, history, and math; WriteShop for writing; and the Ultimate Series from Easy Grammar for grammar. We add in a variety of books and she follows her interests for electives.

Whenever

I’m also incredibly thankful that Josh is such a motivated self-starter. He sometimes does his schoolwork after work in the mornings. Other times, he’ll get up in the afternoon to get it done. Just the other day he told me that he was behind in his coding course, so he’s planning a coding cram day to catch up soon.

{Note: Behind was his word, not mine. He’s set a schedule for himself.}

Josh also requested a couple of books on real estate and property management. He’s considering saving to purchase some rental property.

He’s my non-fiction guy who, after years of struggling with dyslexia, always seems to be reading up on the topics that interest him – everything from dealing with dyslexia to financial management to property management. Don’t ever believe that kids with dyslexia don’t like to read. Many of them do; it’s just more challenging for them than it is for other kids.

Josh is taking some courses on Udemy (afflink), with which we’ve been very impressed, and he’s using Teaching Textbooks for math and the Ultimate Series for grammar. He’s also still playing guitar and is pursuing interest-led topics for electives.

Preschool Time

Twice a week, I pick my four-year-old niece up from preschool and keep her for a few hours. My sister gets stuff done without carting a preschooler around and I get the opportunity to relive those fleeting preschool days.

That kid is a mess, I’m telling you. She’s got about a million words and she does her very best to use them all in as short an amount of time as possible. She loves – loves – playing in the rice bucket and listening to me read some of my kids’ favorite books that I saved for the grandkids. {sniff}

With my two remaining homeschoolers being in 10th and 12th grades, I don’t have a very active homeschool mom role anymore. Mostly, I just purchase the books they request, make sure they get up and get their schoolwork done, and record their grades for transcripts.

It’s bittersweet. I remember the mom-intensive elementary years and I wouldn’t necessarily want to go back (maybe for just a day or so – and on a good day), but it’s weird having such a hands-off role now. I miss the projects and everyone sitting at the table together for a few hours every day.

It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that it will just be Megan and me next year, and the year after that she’ll be graduating. I wonder what a day in the life will be like then.

For now, I’ll just enjoy the days I have left with all three of my kids at home. They are slipping through my fingers quickly.

What stage of homeschooling are you currently in?

Kris’s previous day in the life posts:

• 2017: Kris’s homeschool day in the life (with a 15-, 17-, and 21-year-old)
• 2016: Kris’s homeschool day in the life (with a 14-, 16- and 20-year-old)
• 2015: Kris’s homeschool day in the life (with a 13, 15, & 19-year-old)
• 2014: Kris’s homeschool day in the life (with a 12-, 14-, and 18-year old)
• 2013: Kris’s homeschool day in the life (with an 11-, 13-, & 17-year-old)
• 2012: Kris’s Homeschool Day in the Life (with a 16-, 12-, and 10-year-old)