Homeschooling at Our House: a snapshot

Below you see me with my student, one who's being "formally" taught, and the other who's along for the ride until his day comes.

You may wonder how we spend our time. If you do, read on. If you don't, maybe look at the pictures and then scoot along to a more interesting blog. I won't be offended. Come to think of it, I won't even know. It's a win-win for you!

So here you go:

Each week I fill in a sheet that looks like this. The basics (reading, writing, math, bible reading) are filled in each day. Other subject matter may or may not have an activity for a given day. These little lesson plans keep me on track teaching Elizabeth what she should be learning throughout the year. I rely heavily on the book Home Learning Year By Year by Rebecca Rupp and picture books from the library. I did buy a math curriculum this year, Miquon Math; both E and I LOVE it! Other than that, it's kinda "fly by the seat of my pants" around here.

I also have a loose structure for our days that looks like this. The times I wrote in before we began in September, just to think through the whole day. We rarely start our day at 8; looking at that made me chuckle. We're usually going somewhere between 8:30 and 9am. This time outline primarily serves to remind me to spend time reading scripture to my kids, teach them hymns, and maintain some free time in our days; all of which I know are good for my kids' little souls, but don't need to be included in school lessons, as such. This approach is heavily influenced by Sally Clarkson and Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, and I stole the poetry idea from Kristen. I'm thankful for these women! (The hymns thing is me; hymns have always ministered to me and I want my children to move forward in life with deep, theological lyrics embedded in their memories. It's much easier to recall a song, sometimes, than a Bible verse or passage, isn't it?)

The only other thing we do that I haven't mentioned is a weekly nature walk - getting out to a park in the woods, walking around and soaking up nature. I hope we can maintain this through the winter, with the proper gear and a thermos of hot chocolate, of course.

We read a lot. And, my kids watch some tv every. single. day.

Because I get overwhelmed by (and pretty jealous of!) other homeschooling moms who are awesome and seem to really have it all together, I'm hesitant to share about what we do. But at the same time, I'm so glad when I come across a good idea that I wouldn't have known if someone didn't share. Catch-22, I guess. And I know, I know, no mom has it all together, no matter the appearance!

It's not on the schedule, but I do routinely lose my patience with my kids and boss them around using a voice with which I'd never address anyone else.

There you have it. A day in the life.