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I almost forgot to do a “homeschool day in the life” post this year! Late January or early February is when I usually document a day, but here it is early March. I’ve been struggling with a huge lack of motivation lately, so I’m really pushing myself to do this.
So here goes. Today is a typical homeschool day in the life for us. No big outings, homeschool groups or trips to the grocery store.
7:15 Wake up
Today I take a short walk around the neighborhood with the kids while my husband takes our dog for a walk in the woods. It’s in the twenties, but warm enough. My son complains of being hungry, so we don’t stay out for long. It’s nice to get a bit of fresh air first thing in the morning.
Exercise
I made exercise a habit a few years ago. Every night I put my exercise clothes on the floor next to my bed. When I get up in the morning I put them on and get right to work. This is a strategy James Clear writes about in Atomic Habits.
Although exercise has been an easy habit for me to establish, I need to try some of his strategies for other things in my life. I recommend this book to anyone looking to make small changes.
As I take a shower and have breakfast, my son plays in his room, and my daughter starts her schoolwork.
10:00 Morning Work
Math
We start a new chapter in our Dimensions Math program. Miles is already very confident at telling time, so this lesson is a breeze. He worked on using different ways to say the time, like “2:15,” “quarter past ten,” and “seven minutes to eight.” I don’t remember teaching time beyond five-minute intervals last year, but he was able to tell time to the minute, like “6:32.”
My daughter followed the Singapore Math program and now takes online classes at High School Math Live. Her Pre-Calculus class meets twice a week. She’s doing exceptionally well and is already signed up for AP Calculus next year. I never took Calculus, so she’s beyond me!
Reading
Our reading time consists of us reading to each other. First, I read aloud. We’ve read a lot of picture books this year, but I like to read chapter books consistently. This week we started Sideways Stories From Wayside School by Louis Sacher. All that happens in the classroom on the thirtieth floor makes you shake your head. It’s a silly book. Mrs. Jewls, the teacher, has some strange ideas.
Next, Miles finishes reading Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe. I’d forgotten how much I loved this book as a child. You can’t help but laugh at the animals in this story.
Chester the cat is convinced the new bunny is a vampire and tries to convince his family. But when that doesn’t work Chester consults a vampire book and gets into all kinds of mischief. Miles is looking forward to reading more books in this series.
Word Study
I agree to join Miles in his living room fort to do word study. (He wanted to spend the entire morning in there, but my body doesn’t appreciate being curled up for too long).
Instead of a typical spelling program that gives kids a weekly word lists to memorize, we use Words Their Way, a program that gives word lists for the purpose of investigating and discovering spelling patterns and word meanings. This hands-on method fits my son’s learning style perfectly. It’s simple but effective.
12:00 Lunch
During lunch break my kids like to play Wordle. I’m not one to follow fads, but this daily word puzzle from the New York Times is short and sweet. Once you solve it you have to wait until the following day for the next puzzle. That keeps you from wasting away hours on an app.
Today my son solved it in four tries, all on his own!
1:00 Early Afternoon
While Julia has online Latin class we take the dog out and plan to spend some time in the yard. However, it’s mud season, and we have a white dog. I urge Miles to come in rather quickly, so the dog doesn’t have time to get too dirty.
Remember I mentioned that I have low motivation these days? I’ve gotten into a habit (that I want to break) of watching a show on HGT, with Miles, while having my coffee and chocolate break. I used to use this time to be productive. My son would watch something on PBS and I’d get work done, like check email or working on my blog. I attribute it to pandemic blues and mid-life “crisis.”
Library
Our small town library is amazing. For starters, we don’t have late fees! It makes life so less stressful! If we need a few extra days with a book, no harm done. (We can contribute to the “guilt jar” instead).
We also have librarians who pay attention to what patrons want. Today I mentioned how much we enjoyed Bunnicula. Miles told our librarian about a part he especially liked. Because she knew Miles wanted to read the next book, she decided to purchase the whole series!
When we get home Miles asks me to read a picture book about a jellyfish who is tired of being called a fish. Then, I take some time to practice my flute while he plays with Legos, and my daughter reads.
Make dinner
Tonight I’m making vegetarian chili and cornbread. I realize I don’t have enough black beans in the freezer, but I don’t feel like running to the store. I substitute some Maine soldier beans which does the trick. While the cornbread is baking, I grab a few minutes to play with Miles.
After dinner I’ll be working on party preparations. Miles’s eighth birthday is coming up, and we’re having a Lego party for him and a few friends.
His last birthday party was a few days before everything shut down in 2020 due to the pandemic. I’m so glad we’re getting back to life as normal, and we can finally host a party again!
We didn’t do a ton of school work today, but we got the most important subjects covered, math and reading. I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse of our homeschool day in the life.
