A Homeschool Day in the Life with a 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, and 17 Year Old

It’s been awhile since I shared what a homeschool day in our lives looks like. To be honest, writing this type of post exhausts me. I don’t think I ever actually realize how hectic things are around here until I write everything down and reflect on it. All I can say is, yikes.

One of the things I try to be careful about is trying to keep this blog authentic. I spend an awful lot of time doling out advice and encouragement, but I really need to point out that my life is just as crazy as everyone else’s…possibly more so. 🙂

So, welcome to my life…enjoy the ride!

 

A Homeschool Day in the Life with 10 Kids

8am- I hear the kids moving around downstairs and get out of bed. After making the bed and wishing I could sleep until noon, I head to the first floor, where I find the kids at the dining room table making paper dolls.

So far, so good.

 

8:15- I start some blog work while the kids eat cereal and watch an episode of “Jessie” on Netflix.

 

8:30- There’s a pretty bad thunderstorm outside, but my 17 year old still has to leave and walk to work. One of the disadvantages of being a one-vehicle family. She doesn’t mind. She prefers this weather to any other kind.

 

9:30- I eat breakfast while the kids clean up their mess in the dining room. We usually straighten up the living room and dining room before starting school each day, but today the living room was able to stay in one piece. Nice.

 

9:45- I start a pot of coffee (finally) and do a load of laundry. I just love the smell of the fabric softener wafting through the house as we do school.

 

10am- We start our school day with a devotional. (All of the kids who are 12 and under. The 15 and 16 year olds are still asleep.) After the devotional, the 9, 11, and 12 year olds head off to play quietly or do crafts, while I read Papa Piccolo to the 3, 5, 7, and 8 year olds. After the story, we discuss the action words the author used, such as strutted, skidded, and feasted. The kids have fun acting them out until the older kids join in and everything starts to get a little out of hand.

Time to move on.

 

10:30- Time to work on phonics and math with the 5, 7, and 8 year olds. I’m not one who is keen on homeschooling preschoolers, but my 3 year old insists on being a part of our homeschool, so she works on her letter notebook.

 

11:15- We pull out the watercolor paints and discuss light and speed techniques. I ask the kids to paint a building with light coming through the windows and an animal or two outside the building running to give the illusion of speed. Anytime the paints come out, the older kids join in the fun. I’ve got some artsy kids. 🙂

 

Unfortunately, this happy scene was punctuated by me losing my cool over some behavior issues with the older kids, and all of the children getting a five minute lecture on obedience.

See? I told you.

 

12pm- Lunchtime- microwaveable ramen.

Hey, I’m not being lazy. My children specifically asked for this because we had to go a month without a microwave after ours broke, and we finally got a new one. Now they’re binging on all the microwave meals they missed out on. 😛

And to be honest, popping some chicken nuggets in the oven or making sandwiches is actually less time-consuming. Have you ever had to make nine cups of ramen when they take three minutes each? Ugh. Boring.

I choose to eat some leftover pizza. Unlike my kids, I’m not big on ramen.

 

12:30- I work some more on the blog while the kids make some more paper dolls and try out a homemade slime kit. Then they go back to watching “Jessie” for awhile.

The 15 and 16 year olds are awake by now and looking for their ramen.

 

1pm- Chore time! We do chores at this time each day so the house is nice and clean by the time my husband comes home from work. The kids play outside until he comes home, while I finally get dressed and start another load of laundry.

 

1:40- My husband gets home. (Thank God!)

 

1:45- A geography curriculum for my 15 year old to try out arrives in the mail. I sit and look through it and go over some things with her about how to use it. Don’t you just love new curriculum?!

 

2pm- The younger kids play with our Wednesday bin while I read aloud to the 9, 11, and 12 year olds. We just started reading The Titan’s Curse last week. We adore this series.

 

As we’re reading, the 15 and 16 year olds come to tell me they’re walking to Kmart (where my 17 year old works) to go shopping and then walk home with her when she gets off.

 

2:30- I start doing math with the 9, 11, and 12 year olds, individually. I love Life of Fred. It makes life so much easier.

 

3:20- After math, they start working in their animal notebooks. They have been having such a good time learning about the animals of their choice. These will make wonderful keepsakes.

 

3:45- By now, the littles and middles are all done with school for the day.

The kids all choose snacks- their choice of granola bars, ice cream, or apples and peanut butter.

 

4pm- My 17 year old calls home and asks for a ride. Apparently, we had like $150 worth of points from Kmart, so she used them to get towels, soil, seeds, and outside toys for the kids. She’s such a good kid. 🙂 (I’d like to add that today she got a $25 gift card for being a good employee.:D) Anyhoo…there’s no way she and her siblings can carry all that home, so I pick them up.

 

5pm- I start making dinner- sloppy joes and fries. I’m all about simplicity.

 

6pm- Chore time! Chores are done one more time for the day, after which all of the kids ages 12 and under take turns getting baths. They got pretty filthy outside.

My 15 and 17 year olds spend the next few hours upstairs painting their bedroom, earning them a break from chores and most of their school work. All my 15 year old has to do is a lesson in her new geography curriculum, while my 17 year old has to do a geometry lesson.

 

7pm- I remind my 16 year old about his school work. He sits at the table to do some notebooking and ends up spending an hour decorating his notebook, instead. Sigh.

The younger kids sit at the table with him and either work on their notebooks or make loom band bracelets.

 

8pm- My husband goes to bed for the night, so the kids all sit quietly in the living room to watch Netflix until their bedtime. Okay, they’re supposed to sit quietly, but, unlike theirs, my version of quiet doesn’t include running through the house screaming.

 

9pm- Time for my non-teens to go to bed. 🙂 I help the teens with any school work they need help with. I’m going to admit that I’m a bit irritated that they started their work so late. By this time, I’m pretty tired, so I may have been cranky with them, but it serves them right. Humph.

 

10:30pm- I’m finally done helping the kids and can start doing some more blog work. After doing some maintenance, I watch TV until I start dozing off.

 

11:30- I head up to bed for the night.

 

I hope you enjoyed a sneak peek into one of our homeschool days. And remember, this probably sounds much more calm than it actually was. Just try to picture it with constant running around and screaming in the background, then you’ll get the full effect.

Share a bit about your typical day in the comments! I love to hear your stories! Have a great night. I’m going to bed… 🙂