7:00am: Yes, I am a late riser. I wish I had it in me to get up earlier but I just don’t. I quietly sneak to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. I say sneak because Miss Stella is in my bed. On my way down the hall I pass Cash, who is pretty much sleepwalking, on his way to my bed. Warren leaves for work. I procure the precious coffee and kill an hour on the Internet. E-mail, blog reading, etc.
8:30am: I decide we need to get a start on this day. I am pretty lenient about letting the kids sleep as much as they need to. These two are in bed by 8:30 every night and asleep by 9:30. If their bodies are telling them to sleep I let them sleep. I get them up and throw cereal and milk their direction as I head outdoors to feed the goats and chickens and let the dogs run.
9:00am-10:30am: Time for school. Math is first for both kids. Cash wanders off to my desk to do Teaching Textbooks on my laptop. Stella and I set up shop at the table in the dining/school room for Saxon. Stella powers through with only one bathroom break and two dog snuggle breaks. Cash beckons me for help twice.
As Stella is drilling math facts and learning to tell time, I knit. I knit a lot during math, phonics, spelling, and when they read to me.
As I wander past Cash’s room, I glance in and comment on what a mess it is. He blames it on the dog.
10:30am- The kids take a break. Usually they are playing inside or outside. Today their break involves cleaning their rooms. For a twist they decide to clean each other’s rooms. Both rooms get picked up. I’m happy.
10:45am- Cash grabs a book and reads to me while I cook breakfast. This is the kids second meal of the day. They almost always have a small bowl of cereal when they wake, and then they eat again when I cook breakfast for Warren and I.
11:00am- Warren arrives home on a mid-day break. We eat and clean up our dishes.
11:30am- Stella needs to finish her grammar so we work on that. Cash grabs another easier book for independent reading and wanders off to find a cozy spot. Stella takes many bathroom breaks.
12:00pm: Free time. The kids bundle up and head outside. We don’t often eat lunch due to our habit of having a late breakfast so they spend nearly an hour playing before quiet time on this particular day. Stella heads to the chickens and goats. Cash grabs his bow and arrows and practices. I step out after a bit to check on them and have to admonish them not to throw the chickens. Just because they can fly doesn’t mean you should chunk them.
1:00pm: Quiet time. We take this very seriously. The kids go to their separate rooms for an hour. They can play, listen to audiobooks, draw or color. They usually take a snack and a drink and they are only allowed out of their room to use the bathroom. I use this time differently every day. Sometimes I do yoga, most of the time I catch up on chores, other times I just lay on my bed and read a book. Warren heads back to work.
2:00pm: Today is a History day as opposed to a Science day. We talk about Ancient Egypt some more. I read The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo and they do a narration on it. We go over the oceans for our memory work.
3:00pm: Art time and Warren comes home again. We make Artist Trading Cards to use as examples at our homeschool group gathering tomorrow. I pull up Pandora and play classical music while they work. Some days about this time, Warren and I go running. The kids go to his granny’s and mess around on the computer for 30-45 minutes while we are out pounding the pavement.
4:00pm: Back outside to play and complete any chores that need to be done. Checking for eggs, watering animals, bringing in firewood. Stella terrorizes the chickens some more.
5:00pm: I start preparing dinner. Warren is immersed in his Rosetta Stone Lesson. Cash is off playing Legos, Stella is coloring mandalas.
5:30pm: Dinner and dishes. We have steak bites, rice, and zoodles. The kids eat their dinner faster than usual. The promise of dessert helps. Stella is on table cleanup, Cash loads the dishwasher. The dogs are on floor duty. Warren leaves to go back to work.
6:30pm: Baths and warm pajamas! A few nights a week we have to go close one of our businesses, so we load up and drive to work.
8:00pm: Teeth brushing and final bed preparation. They sleep together by their own choice. I often wonder how long that will last. I read them a chapter out of whatever book we’re on. Right now its Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets. The kids listen to an audiobook to fall asleep. This evening it was Charlotte’s Web. They’ve heard it a hundred times, but still ask for it. I’ve noticed Stella walks around muttering words in sets of three like the geese from the story. Wilbur-ilbur-ilbur. T double E double R double R…….
8:30pm-who knows when: Warren and I hang out. Sometimes it’s a movie or series. Other times we both retire to our respective computers.
This was a day when we had no afternoon activities. No piano, no soccer practices, no homeschool group. Our days mostly follow this routine with a few different things thrown for variety. And dogs. Don’t forget the dogs, providing comedic relief from the rigors of homeschooling everyday.
