I often get asked what the schedule of a working homeschool mom looks like.
I don’t think there’s a typical schedule. I’m sure it looks different for each family, and trying to take another’s schedule and make it work for your family is a recipe for disaster. Take tips from others, look at different options, but most importantly do what works for you.
Just as an example, here is a look at how our days usually run. I say usually because we all know life happens and the longer we homeschool, the more flexible I become.
Ready, Set, Go..
7:00 a.m. (7:30 if I worked the night before) My alarm goes off. I lay there for a few minutes. Begin my day with a prayer, and drag myself out of bed. I am not a morning person, but I have found many benefits in starting my day before my children are awake. There’s just something about waking up to a million and one needs and demands that puts the day off on the wrong foot.
7:15-9:00 Mommy’s time! This is my time to spend with God. I can tell a huge difference in my stress level during the day if I don’t get my quiet time with God. This is also my time to check email, play on Facebook and put up a new blog post. The girls are usually awake by 8:30 and they get begin their morning chores (make bed, get dressed, brush hair, brush teeth, eat breakfast, feed pets).
9:00-9:30 Begin getting the girls settled down and ready for school to start. I am more flexible on our start time if I don’t have to work that evening.
9:30-12:00 School! I usually follow the schedule in the My Father’s World teacher’s manual (Bible, Spelling, Language Arts, History, Science, Math, Reading, Art). It really seems to flow well for us. We take breaks as needed. They aren’t scheduled. It’s not hard to tell when the girls (or their Mommy!) needs a break. Many days we are finished with school by 11:30. It just depends on how focused the girls are and how many breaks/distractions we have. I’ve learned to be flexible, it saves sanity and tears.
12:00-1:00 Lunch. My husband usually begins fixing lunch while we are finishing school. If I have to work that evening, lunch is our big meal where we all sit down and eat together. Eating at least one meal together each day is super important to me.
1:00- 2:00 Girls have quiet time. They are way past the point of taking naps, but they have to take an hour each day to go to their own rooms and read or play. During this time I check email/Facebook and get ready for work.
2:30 I leave for work. The girls and Daddy are on their own at this point.
11:30 p.m. I try to steal in a few minutes of talking with my husband before drifting off to sleep. Often times though, I fall asleep mid-conversation.
I work 3:00 p.m.- 11:00 p.m. three nights a week and pull a 48 hour c-section call shift every weekend.
Sometimes the days are very long. I won’t lie, on days like today when I’ve worked six of the last seven days, I’m dragging. My alarm went off at 7:30 and I turned it off and fell back asleep until 8:00.
These are the days I’m in constant prayer. Asking for strength, energy, an an abundance of patience, and somehow He pulls me through.
This is the season God has given to me right now. I could whine, moan and complain my way through, or I could embrace the challenges and know that God is working a great work in our household. I choose to trust the faithful plan of my Lord. He never fails.
What do the crazy days inside your house look like?
Though we aren’t homeschooling officially yet (my daughter is only 3), I’ve been trying to add more activity to her schedule so that she can get out of the house and socialize more. We are currently working playdates and library storytimes into our schedule. I also have a 3 month old, boy. So a crazy day would like like Monday when our son woke up at 11:30 p.m., around the time I was going to bed, then woke at 1:30 and then again at 4:30 when I just nestled him next to me in bed. Then at 5:30 my daughter wet the bed and at that point no more sleeping occurred. We spent the first few hours of morning trying to wake up and dealing with the mess. An hour after my husband left for work, my daughter peed on the couch and I didn’t notice. She walked around with wet pants for an hour before I noticed and realized that the couch was soaked. Let’s just say that the rest of my day was shot, given that I still had to do laundry, dishes and make dinner. Add to it all a fussy baby and whiny toddler and I was ready to run away from home. Not every day is like that or I would probably go crazy. I don’t usually work outside of the home, but I do know what crazy feels like.
Oh my word. What a crazy, crazy day. I pray that today is a much better day for you. Keep on going, you are making a difference in the lives of your sweet children.
(hugs) to you to momma…. But I am often reminded, dishes can wait but babies grow up way to quick. I know that sometimes for me when the laundry seems OVERWHELMING, I load us and it up into the car and go where I can get it all done at once, the laundramat! I have! I Swear. Perfectly good washer at home but becuase of life if you get two days behind on it, you are swiming in unwashed pants and shirts and towels thatl need folding.
The joy of homeschool is having the flexibilty you need as a family. (hugs) You do more in one day than many do in a week.
Oh I meant to add what our typical day is like.
We constantly work on manners and have talk about manners and then we occassionally on fridays have a tea party to further work on what we are learning.
Hubs is up at 6 am and two days a week I am as well, getting ready for my morning summer class. One day each week I am at school until 9:20 pm. It makes for a very long day. Days I don’t have an early class I try to be up by 7:30 am, and Bear is generally shortly after. Since we are only almost 5 our school work is a lot more laid back as far as structure, however we do anywhere from 2-3 outside activities with a homeschool group every week. Sometimes I have to take a break and refocus on the family. We sing and dance and since I also help my mom a lot we generally have a trip or two to doctor appointments somewhere in the week. Daily we have book time, color time, and in the afternoon or mid morning depending on the day we have what I call education from the counter time. Once a week every week of the year we have a mud day. Even in the winter and the rain we bundle up and go into the back yard and Bear gets muddy doing whatever she wishes and her imagination flows. I also have a “free art” time which is early in the morning and all afternoon. We do letters throughout the day (she doesn’t even know we are “schooling”), practicing sounds and recognizing their shapes. We also work on mazes a few times each week. While I am in school, Grandma is with Bear and they work on things as well, but mostly they play.
You are a busy lady too! I love the Friday tea party idea!!
What a blessing to stumble upon your blog. I don’t feel like the “typical” homeschooling family either. I can’t describe a typical day so I’ll briefly try to describe a typical week. I work days M, Tu, & W so we have to be up, ready, and out of the house by 7:30am. My almost 8 yr old & 4.5 yr old go to Granny’s where they play, the oldest has homework (augh, the dreaded math worksheets), and they do crafty things and read. Those evenings consist of rushing home by 6:30pm and trying to do supper, clean up, baths, oh yeah, and school lessons! by bedtime that seems to get pushed later and later. Th & F are a little more relaxed and we try to catch up on that weeks worth of work which isn’t always met with enthusiasm. Then throw in Girl Scout meetings twice a month and weekly dance classes and it’s just a mess. But, Lord-willing we will start 2nd grade and K-4 in just a few short weeks and maybe I won’t grow any more gray hairs or threaten to send them to public school. Again. This school year I hope to plan meals and cleaning a little better and hope that the schedule will fall into place better. I hope.!
Hi Kathy! Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Our schedule is kind of crazy too, but as long as it works for you, that’s what matters. Second grade is proving to be a fun year for us. Good luck to you guys!
Wow, we have a lot in common. I work evenings L and d (3-11:30) three weekdays and 24 hours every other weekend. Our hospital has a birthing center all the way through PICU. We are busy!!! My oldest is 8, third grade this year. It was funny to read your blog and see how much we have in common. Except dad helps here and there and works outside of the home. I need to incorporate more alone time devotional time into my day!
Wow!! We sure do!
I’m so glad you’ve commented. It somehow makes it easier knowing there is someone else out there who is doing the same thing!
Thanks for sharing your day. We’re unschoolers in Australia and love hearing about other homeschoolers’ lives and meeting them as we travel!
It’s true that the greatest thing about homeschooling is the option for being flexible. We should never sacrifice family harmony for the sake of a schedule.
Wow, you have a wonderful and full life! I bet you sleep like a rock when you finally get near a bed.