I tend to be a planner. However, with five little ones, you can’t really expect anything to go exactly as planned! I would often get frustrated trying to teach the older three in our playroom/schoolroom because the little boys would into everything. Then, if I strapped them into their seats and did school at the kitchen table, their attention spans would not last long. I would find myself shoveling toy after toy/activity after activity in front of them to keep them occupied so that I could work with the big three. Afterwards, I would find myself dishearted, frustrated and just plain tired. It was really like a circus act.
Well, after reading a story that I talk about in this post, my whole attitude and mindset changed. If you, too, are struggling with teaching older kids with toddlers at your feet, I would HIGHLY recommend you reading it!!! It is so powerful!!! Anyhow, after reading it, I made some changes to our schedule and things have gone much, much better and we have been at it for about two weeks now! So, here is…..a day in my life, homeschooling five kids ranging from ages two to five.
7:00 get up and have quiet time (Bible reading & prayer)…which sometimes isn’t so quiet with the kids anxiously waiting for me
7:30 school w/big three in the playroom/schoolroom…BEFORE getting the little boys up (During this time I try work on whatever is most important for the day…like reading, writing or math. I used to attempt to do all of our school after everyone was up and had breakfast, which did NOT work well at all.)
8:00 I shower, get dressed, and get the little boys up and dressed while the big three get dressed and do their morning chores
8:30 breakfast
9:00 school at kitchen table (I start out by finishing up any important stuff we didn’t get to that morning. During this time I have planned activities for the little boys to do in their seats.)
10:00 snack
10:15 more school (By this time we are usually doing stuff that the little boys can participate in. These are usually crafts or active projects and activities that, may times we can do outside.)
11:30 clean-up and lunch prep
12:00 lunch
12:30 free play (inside or outside) while I clean up kitchen and do other chores
1:00 naptime/quiet time (The big three play in their rooms and the little boys nap. I used to reserve this 2 hour block for myself to do whatever I wanted/needed to do, but now I tend to use a little bit of the time a few days a week to do sometime special with the older kids. A few days a week when I get the babies up from their nap, I try to spend some quality time with just them…didn’t do that before.)
3:00 snack
3:15 free play (inside and outside…this can include anything from watching TV to going on nature walks to dramatic play to playing with our toys to playing at the park to just plain old fun in our backyard…)
5:30 start dinner
6:00 dinner
7:30 start bedtime routine (this includes praying together, reading Bible stories and other books)
8:00 all kids in bed
At this point, I clean the kitchen, do whatever other chores that need to be done and the rest of the time is free for me til going off to bed.
As for our actual school time, when I start in the morning with the older three, we have a routine that we go through before starting our work. We go over our Bible verse, update our calendar with the current date, discuss the weather, and do our 100 chart. At this moment, I am thinking that I will probably start opening in prayer as well. I also want to incorporate more read alouds. I am thinking that perhaps the best time for this would be during the little boy’s naptime. Hmmm, things to think about and fit into the schedule! {smile}
Well, like I said earlier, this may look like a nice organized, well-planned day, but it rarely goes as planned. But, I am learning to be more flexible and to go with the flow! {smile}
To read more about the daily lives of other homeschoolers, be sure to check out the Not Back-to-School Blog Hop by clicking the button above. I meant to participate in the curriculum week, but forgot. If you would like to see what we are using, you can click here.
