What does a typical day in our household look like with homeschooling, one kid in school, and a mom working part-time outside the home?

Keep in mind, we are (mostly) unschoolers. We make a point to fill our lives with good literature and big ideas. We explore our world whenever possible, and we believe real-life is a great way to learn. But we don’t spend much time at a desk (or table) doing what most folks think of as school. Especially not in the younger years.

For an overall look at what we’re doing this year, check out our 2017/18 Homeschool Plans. But for a closer look at our day-to-day homeschool life, welcome to a random Monday.

6:30 AM: my alarm goes off

While Ken heads to the shower, I head to the kitchen to make tea and let Piper (a.k.a. BatDog) out to potty. Daisy (the other dog) stays in bed as usual until she hears anything promising in the kitchen. I get the kids’ breakfast started; it’s always something hot, even if that just means a cranberry bagel with almond butter and a side of banana. They make their beds while I’m putting breakfast on the table, then I eat my own breakfast (pre-made the night before) and head to my room with my tea to make my own bed and get myself ready for the day.

The kids have eaten, dressed, and brushed teeth by 7:15. Ken leaves with Scout to take her to school, and I do a bit of last minute prep for the two fitness classes I teach this morning. Before I leave, I start a load of laundry; having a designated laundry day doesn’t work for me so I do it throughout the week whenever there’s enough for a load. (But I never leave the dryer on when out of the house; too many fires start that way!)

8:00AM: first class of the day

Usually Jem would stay home with Kathryn, but since she’s on a visit back in Georgia this week, he comes with me to the gym. I teach a circuit-style boot camp(ish) class while he hangs out with Lindsey in the childcare room where she’s working a few hours each week.

I steal a few grandbaby smooches before I scoot to my next class at the Rec Center!

9:30AM: another class, then beach clean-up

Today, Jem hangs out in the lobby, but sometimes he joins in on days he comes with me. This class is low-impact aerobics with light strength training, designed for active senior adults. These ladies keep me laughing and I’m pretty sure I amuse them, too. I act as coach in my first class, but I do this one along with them.

After class, we stop by the beach to do a little clean-up for the annual Coastal Clean-Up. We gather trash and talk about biodegradable and non-biodegradable things and why it matters, about hurricanes, and the cute dogs playing on the beach. Conversation is one of our biggest ways to learn but I try to let it happen naturally, rather than making everything into a lesson.

We take our trash home because we’re suppose to count it and fill out a form itemizing what’s what (volunteers do this once a year) but due to a little miscommunication, Ken throws the bags away that afternoon before we get to count it all. Oops! At least the beach is a little cleaner now!

11:45(ish): back home for reading & lunch

I freshen up and change clothes, and he helps me swap out the laundry. I make tea (again!) and we sit down for a read-aloud. Today it’s a Nate the Great book. The dogs are happy to have us home. For Piper, that means squishing her face in my lap so it’s hard to turn a page in the book!

While I make lunch, Jem practices a bit of reading on his own. He’s finally enjoying reading and I’m so delighted; this will open up new worlds for him!

1:00PM(ish): math & games

After lunch, he does his daily math on the computer and I let him play math games after the lesson. Most days, this is the only structured schoolwork he does.

Meanwhile, I take care of a few little things around the house, tidying up, and so on. I also take the opportunity to do some stretching and foam rolling on sore muscles, because I seriously need it after an 8-hour kettlebell training workshop yesterday! Mondays are usually not a workout day for me, other than leading the seniors’ fitness class.

After computer time, he decides to build something with Legos. That’s an everyday occurrence, and the things he comes up with are crazy-awesome. Today it’s a semi truck that can carry his Lego box on it’s trailer. I catch up on email and break open the new curriculum I’ll be studying for my next certification. I’m big on “inspire not require,” and I’m always working on something new.

afternoon: school pick up (3:30ish)

Since Scout had fitness club after school, her pick-up time is an hour later than usual. We stop at the library on the way home, just to drop off the books due; we’ll go get more on our library day later this week.

When we get home, Jem stays out on the porch to watch the tractor that showed up across the street while we were gone. They’re building a new house, and he loves to watch that sort of thing and then build Lego versions of all the cool machines. Scout sits at the table to do her homework: a math worksheet and a few activities to practice spelling words.

Ken is home by now so we try to get in a few uninterrupted words to catch up on each other’s days while the kids are occupied. {#lifewithkids, y’all.}

evening: winding down the day

Ken makes supper while I finally connect with a friend who has been playing phone tag with me. It’s been months since we talked so I stay out on the porch chatting ’til almost dark. Ken plays guitar in the kids’ room while they play, then it’s time for the to get ready for bed. They go to bed early (8PM) but so do I! I’ve even been known to go to bed at 8:30PM — but usually it’s more like 9:00 or 9:30.

Tonight, I stay up late: 10:00PM! I blame it on the season premier of Dancing With the Stars, one of the few television shows I watch. {Sleep > TV. Usually}

. . . . . .

Wow: I just found my first day-in-the-life post from back in 2011; things sure have changed since then! Sometime soon, I’ll share a different day of the week since my schedule varies each day, and I’ll make sure it’s a day when Kathryn is here since that changes quite a few things.

Linking up with iHN’s 9th Annual Blog Hop; visit or join in!

Jamie

Wife, mom, J-ma. Introvert who enjoys good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand – unless it’s lost yet again in the microwave. Read more »