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February 16, 2011

A Homeschooling Day

I've had several people ask what my days are usually like, and so since today was a fairly "'normal" day, I thought I'd share. Today has seemed to be a rather long day. We successfully finished school, but this semester, I have felt like I have dragged every ounce of work out of my kiddos. It has been much more time consuming than I had planned. Basically, I spend the first three and a half hours of my day sitting at the table helping them - which is fine except that I have two other kiddos who get tired of spending the morning in their rooms. I've tried having quiet activities for them in the living room so that they aren't so set apart from us, but it has been too distracting for the two who are working on school. I think this area probably needs some "child training," but right now, I think there are more important areas to train in. So, we'll settle for the bedroom thing for now.
The older two kiddos are usually done with most of their school by noon. Then, we get to take a lunch break with Daddy! By 1:00, we are ready to sit and read before going to quiet time. During this reading time, I usually read younger books for the younger two kiddos. From 1:30 until 3:00, we have quiet time. The younger ones sometimes take a nap. If they do not fall asleep but are being quiet, I will let them look at books for the last 30 minutes. The older two can read quietly on their beds or finish up any school papers they have left.
After quiet time, we have history or science and finish up any miscellaneous school work. Then, we move on to the best part of the day - snack time and play time! (You can see my play time calendar under family fun.) After all that, I may squeeze in some time to exercise, clean, blog or-on a very good day-read! By 5:00, it's time to begin supper. (I have to admit-this is the part of the day I dread the most.) 6:00 is supper. Then, on to baths, brushing teeth, a little downtime for everyone, reading (I always read a chapter book followed by a Bible devotional of some kind), then bed time at 8:00 (well, more often closer to 8:30)!
And that would be a fairly normal day - a good day, that is! After the kiddos are in bed, I usually check facebook and blogs, fold some laundry, chat with the mister and crash into bed! My mister always laughs because I need at least 30 minutes after the kiddos are in bed just to unwind. I tell him I can't go straight to bed because I'm not sleepy yet, but he says I always fall asleep within 10 minutes of crawling in bed! :)
I'd love to hear of other mom's days and how you balance house, school, kids and the mister. I really enjoy homeschooling, but one of my biggest challenges has been BALANCE! Let me know if you've found something that works great for you! I might give it a try! :)

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