Michelle wrote a post a few days ago, outlining her day as a homeschooling mom. I found it interesting to see how her day went, and what challenges she faces, and how she triumphs over them.
So, like it or not, here was my day yesterday.
Since I didn't set the alarm the night before...
8:30 -get out of bed
:)
Take DD#3 out of her crib, get her a bottle, instruct the boys' in their job of getting themselves breakfast while snugging on the couch with DD#3.
9:00 -finish breakfast for everyone, including me, and help the little girls get dressed.
9:30 -start school by turning on the math dvd, get dressed while it's playing.
9:35-10:30 -assist 3 older kids with math, facts, and religion, rotating from one to the other. (in the meantime, field a phone call from a friend and return to find the school table empty and the children running around like banshees...)
10:30-11:00 -break time. check weather, news, blogs. get snacks for little ones.
11:00-12:00 -help 3 older kids with religion, Latin, geography, and spelling (again with the rotating) put on some soup for lunch. (the younger girls, this whole time, are either playing nicely or fighting or begging me to read/play with them... I try to include them in the "work" around the table as much as I can)
12:00-1:30 -make, eat and clean up lunch (and breakfast dishes), unload and load dishwasher, put DD#3 down for a nap, help DD#1 finish her religion. (did you know that angels are magic because they can see in the dark, just like chinchillas? -compliments of DD#2)
1:30-2:30 -put in laundry, supervise clean up, (aka stretch my lung capacity)make banana muffins (and get a huge kick out of DD#3's rendition of the banana knock-knock joke) and get changed into running clothes. pull meat from freezer for dinner.
2:30-3:30 -plug in kids, treadmill and CD player, and run/walk/jog/drag through 2miles. (FYI:The Backyardigan's "Astronauts Never Give Up" song has a perfect beat for stomach crunches)
3:30-4:30 -get DD#3 up from her nap, let her watch Signing Time while I shower. and realizing that meatloaf will not work for tonight, panic.
4:30-5:30 -decide to make leftover ham with a salad, some rolls and rice.
6:15 -dinner is ready, DH is home, and Mama is growling.
7:00 -bath time for girls, I clean the girls while DH cleans the kitchen. (all I can say is that dishes don't scream and cry and yell) boys have dessert.
8:00 -bath time for boys (self-sufficient...praise the Lord!) girls have dessert.
8:30 -put girls to bed: make bottle, fill water bottles, cover DD#3 approximately 322 times.
9:00 -threaten lives if we see faces appear in the livingroom, or hear names called from the bedrooms. cover children again.
9:30 -sipping hot cups of tea, relax on the couch with DH, ignoring huge pile of laundry that needs folding and school work that needs to be prepped for the morning.
11:00 -after watching half of Superman Returns, go to bed.
And then start it all over in the morning! Although this morning, I got up early and feel a bit more prepared for the day...
Here's hoping anyway. (and praying...how could we do this without prayer?? )
Have a Blessed Day All!
8 comments:
Love your background music for exercising ... how fun!
I enjoyed reading your very honest sounding day. I am not a fully homeschooling mom of all my girls (YET ... next fall), but I would imagine that my days would sound very much the same as yours ... days of all sorts!
Thanks for sharing what sounds like a very realistic and normal day. I am in awe of those who homeschool, and often beat up on myself for not doing it myself (no kids in school yet anyway). Knowing that people have days similar to mine and still do homeschool gives me encouragement should I ever feel the need to homeschool any or all of my kids.
Good for you for getting on the treadmill too! I barely managed my time today, but somehow eked it out. Delirious is a Christian rock band and they have a live DVD that is really working for me right now. I get some worship in with my exercise, it moves me, and should my kids care to join me in my room they are hearing a message too.
Do you like Superman Returns? We watched it and didn't really care for it. Perhaps we are movie snobs.
Thank goodness someone else besides me is getting up at 8:30!!! :) I always feel like such a slacker getting up that late, when all the other HSing moms I know are up at dawn or something crazy. I'm just not a morning peron, and I need my rest, so 8:30 it is! Glad I'm not alone! Your day sounds similar to mine, and you've got 2 more kids than I do!! Thanks for sharing; I always wonder what other HSing days are like.
This is wonderful!
My life was like that till my children were old enough to fix their own breakfasts. I'm not a morning person either! :)
Mto5, my background music for running is BNL.... I was laughing to myself as I did those crunches on the floor of the livingroom while my kids were watching tv, realizing I was doing them to the beat of that song! :)
4andc, we finished Superman Returns last night. I didn't really like it, but DH did. As far as superhero movies, I prefer the spiderman ones...
Believe it or not, even I have my girls watch Signing Time in exchange for a solid 30 minutes of sanity - or showering!
Rachel,
thanks for visiting!
We absolutely love Signing Time, and I admire you and your family so much.
Thank you for your hard work and dedication to this cause!
Wow! I'm impressed that you can start school a mere one hour after you get out of bed!
I am so glad that my kids aren't the only ones that make a break for it the moment I turn my back...and I love the image of you hopping from kid to kid to kid. I try to space them out at the dinign room table so I can go around and around and around.
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