Julie’s Day

Julie’s day with six children, five living at home and three at home during school hours…

Here’s a twist on the “homeschool day” postings. My husband works evenings and usually doesn’t come home until sometime after 2:00 in the morning. Therefore I have adjusted our family schedule so he might have some peaceful sleep in the mornings.

We have 6 children; 20 yo Tiffany in college out of state, 19 yo Emily in college but living at home, 17 yo Andrea in public high school (homeschooled until 9th grade now in ps for athletics), 10 yo Mathew 3rd/4th grade (depending on subject), 6 yo Amy in kindergarten, and 2 yo Adam in diapers. I homeschool year round.

10:30 am: I wake up and get my morning glass of chocolate milk – I don’t like coffee but chocolate always does the trick for me. I always worry about visitors this time of the day when I’m walking around still in my jammies so I hurriedly get dressed and brush my hair. Andrea left for school around 8:00 (she has her own alarm clock and fends for herself in the mornings) and Emily’s already left for work. School’s over for her for the summer. I wash a load of jeans and fold the towels. The cat’s wanting to be fed so I take care of her, too.

11:00 am: I go upstairs to get up Amy and Matthew. Amy pops right up but Matthew would rather sleep later so he pretends he didn’t hear me. I tell Matthew I know he can hear me and to get up or he won’t get breakfast. He gets up.

11:05 am: I remind the kids to make their beds and bring down their laundry. Adam wakes up happy and wet. I change his diaper and get his blankie. He wants to be held in the mornings for some cuddle time.

11:10 am: The kids want cereal for breakfast so I fix their bowls, all the while Adam is attached to my leg and crying to be picked up. I pick up Adam and his blankie and rock in our favorite chair. When the kids are done eating they do their morning chores.

11:30 am: Adam is content to start his day now so I let him down. I go over Matthew’s spelling with him orally before his test. He really struggles with spelling and is only 1/2 way through Spelling Workout B. I pray that it will soon all click with him. Amy likes to “spell” with Matthew and so I give them both some paper for the test. Amy’s page is full of assorted letters.

11:45 am: Adam is wanting his cereal now so I fix it and set him at the table away from the school papers. Matthew is doing his Abeka Penmanship Mastery II workbook. We just started this book 2 weeks ago so he’s only on p 13. Adam is playing with his milk now so I clean him and the mess up and take off his diaper. Adam has a serious aversion to training pants so I leave him with only his t-shirt to play in.

Noon : Amy is outside riding her bike. Matthew does 2 pages in his Easy Grammar workbook then takes a break to shoot some hoops outside. Adam is wanting his brio train set out so I sit on the floor with him and help set it up.

12:30 pm: Matthew has a 1/2 hour of silent reading to do. I put in another load of laundry and then Adam joins me while I go wake up hubby.

1:00 pm: Matthew plays trains with Adam while I read “The Spring Rabbit” for about the 100th time to Amy. She now has it memorized and “reads” it with me.

1:15 pm: Adam has an accident so I take him to the potty and clean up. Matthew takes out his Saxon 54 and I go over yesterday’s errors with him. He corrects his paper and we discuss the next lesson. I have him do the facts practice test for this lesson and his practice problems. I review his answers and he got them all correct. The problem set we leave for his evening “homework” so the book is put up. Hubby is up and about now.

1:30 pm: It’s daddy time now while I fix us a snack.

2:15 pm: We’re reading “Paddle to the Sea” by Holling C. Holling right now and studying the Great Lakes. Matthew wants to make his own miniature canoe this summer so we’re looking for resources, too. I’m hoping to find a kit at this year’s hs convention. Matthew colors Lake Huron in his map.

2:45 pm: I make soup and pb & j sandwiches for lunch. Adam shares his apple juice with the cat (oh noooo)

3:20 pm: Emily is home so hubby and I leave her with the younger ones while we pick up Andrea and take her to physical therapy (she severely sprained her ankle 2 weeks ago).

4:30 pm: Adam is taking his afternoon nap and Hubby has to leave for work. We take a break from school while the ps kids are home. This is also the time we usually have soccer or swim practice or something so school is best put on hold.

8:00 pm: We have dinner.

8:45 pm: It’s Andrea’s turn to load the dishwasher. Matthew does his math homework while I help Amy sound out her small vowels and find “W” words around the house. Adam is coloring with his washable markers and decides to decorate his face and arms – trust me, they are not totally washable.

9:45 pm: It’s time to pick up the toy mess from the day. Adam wants to watch his “Spot” video. Amy gets her bath.

10:00 pm: Matthew takes his shower. I get Adam in the tub. We both get wet.

10:30 pm: Quiet play time in their rooms. Adam has his diaper back on. I get my shower.

11:00 pm: I read some more of “Rabbit Hill” to the kids while they’re in bed.

11:30 pm: Lights off for Amy and Matthew. I get some more cuddle time with Adam before he falls asleep.

Midnight: Adam’s asleep but Amy and Matthew are still giggling. I threaten them with bodily harm if they don’t go to sleep. They quiet down. I do some more laundry and read the latest Mitford book.

1:00 am: Bed time for mommy. Yeah!!!

Go back to the Well Trained Mind Home page.

Go back to the Home School Days.