Homeschooling in the moment

WELCOME to a day in the life of our homeschool! Today was a busy day, as most homeschool days are. Today is also unique. Each day of our homeschool is. We have a general outline for our day, but it is also filled with spontaneity, and adventure! So, while this was today, not all days look just like it. Thankfully. How boring would that be?! This is a photo heavy post...so get a cup of tea and enjoy!

This is how my day starts, I wake up usually around 7ish...lay in bed, praise and thank God for giving me another day to walk with Him. Then I usually check the cyberworld while my eyeballs pry themselves open and I wake up enough to get moving. Then it's time for tea. This is my current favorite tea; oolong pomegranate. YUM Hot water, 3 minutes steeping.....loveliness. It brings me joy.



                                               
                                               
Around 7:30-7:45 I begin the job of waking up the kids. Sometimes this is easy and other mornings not so much. As their publicly educated counterparts are standing out in the rain waiting for a schoolbus, they are whining and squawking that I want them to get up and join me in the living room....in their jammies.....with blankies....and pets. Sheesh. They have it rough. My heart breaks. So much so that some mornings instead of gentle back rubs and calls of good morning, I have been known to break out the shofar for a clarion call to utter and complete consciousness. It's pretty fantastic being a mom. :) After they have wandered around and found their place in the living room, we open our bibles and begin to study the word of God. I figure if nothing else gets done academically that day, we have always done what is most important "train them in the way they should go" and "teach them diligently". I always love this time of our homeschool day, my kids are pretty amazing and insightful human beings!

                                     

Shaggy of course, always gets in the middle of things. He LOVES to come and cuddle during our school time. Whenever a book is open there he is pushing his nose under it to get cozy. Pretty cool way to get educated. And if you will notice, our list of school supplies is not exactly run of the mill. While we use paper, books, pencils, pens etc, we have additional items that make our homeschool complete. Top of the list is our cozy couch, our pets, especially Gunner who Jordan uses as a pillow while reading. Blankets are a necessity for the first couple of hours of our day. How cool is that?
                             
                                                 
                            
FOOD. Always food. They are hungry all the time. Except the very moment they wake up. Right after bible comes food, and usually within an hour they are hungry again. Our kitchen is a a VERY busy place, all. day. long. 
 
                                                 

                                      

Then begins the fun!  The kids read. They read A LOT. They love it. They love it A LOT. :) You will find this exact scene often in my home, kids on a couch with blankies, books and pets. Happy place!

                                               





                                            
               

 This is the other place we use all the time. Our dining room table. It is generally covered in books, dishes and supplies. We are often found frantically clearing a space to sit and eat dinner. There are many nights we put on a fun show and sit in the living room when the table is just too far gone. It's a good thing.

                       

Why is my washer in here? Because it is a vital part of my day, which all takes place in my homeschool. Many mornings, after my quiet time and tea I am up and moving! I am starting a load of laundry soon after getting the kids up, cleaning up the kitchen if it was not cleaned up the night before *gasp!*, figuring out what's for dinner and what I need to do to make that happen. Writing up grocery lists, thinking about lunch and of course breakfast, checking the calendar to see whats on the agenda for the day. Texting hubby reminders or just to say I love you. Army, we've done more before 9AM than most people do all day, oh pshaw! We homeschool moms have planned out lifetimes before our pretty little eyes have even fluttered open in the morning!


                                            
                                        
        
I workout. Nearly every day of the week. I have been doing it since Atira was born nearly 13 years ago. I feel great when I workout, it lowers my stress, it helps me with some anxiety issues I deal with as well. It also gives me a break just when I need it to take good care of me. Most mornings this occurs in the later part of the morning, after bible, after food, and once I have them started on their days agenda. For the most part, Jordan really is in charge of his own days. I may have something in particular I want him to complete that day...but usually, he's now on his own. And starting in the fall, well, we will see how that changes things!


                                   

This is usually when I get to see the shower. That's my bathroom clock, this is always about the time I have completed my workout and am ready to get fixed up for the day!

 Cuddles. An essential part of homeschool. I get to hug my kids ALL THE TIME! :)

                                   
Food - they are ALWAYS HUNGRY! Leftovers are a life saver for me. They make quick and easy lunches...they don't always want them, which I am OK with most of the time. But I am not a short order cook, so if you do not like what I am offering, you are free to make something else and clean up after yourself.  I am having leftovers.
                                            
                                           

This is another REALLY COOL thing about homeschool! Siblings teaching one another! What a great way to solidify information in the mind, SHARE IT! Here Atira had a lesson on reducing fractions and I asked her to go out and share with her brother some of the neat tricks she had learned, instead of doing a worksheet! She loved it and Jordan was reminded of some neat tricks he had learned years ago! Not only that, but they are working together! ♥



                                           

Off we go! Our homeschool day often leads us, WARNING! My children get outside on a regular basis and you are about to see homeschool children (wait for it) SOCIALIZING! This may be shocking to some of my viewers, so please feel free to scroll down if this is overwhelming to your senses. hee hee. As I was saying, our homeschool day often leads us out on adventures! That is another amazing aspect of homeschooling! So, here we are on a dreary day headed out to the pool to meet up with friends. Here is another REALLY REALLY cool benefit of homeschool. When public school is in session, nobody is at the pool and other fun places. So you get to enjoy these experiences in peace! I feel spoiled. Then summer comes....

                                     

                                      

These photos are unedited proof of homeschool children socializing with other children, what I failed to capture was their incredible ability to also socialize with adults of all ages. Something you don't often see in many public school kids. Oh, the sarcasm.

And here is a happy mama socializing with one of her dearest friends! What a blessing I have to be able to take a couple of hours in the afternoon to catch up with this amazing woman! I am so thankful Scott makes it possible for me to be home and enjoy this kind of lifestyle. Amazing.


                                             
We return home for a bit more school, and of course Kayli must be close by her kids. Finishing up our day of academics.

                                            

Atira has been studying about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower. She learned about hardtack and how they would eat it in the dark so they would not have to look at the maggots. Here she is mixing up her own batch, maggot free of course.

Here is the completed version. She thought they were quite tasty and they are VERY HARD! She is to leave them out for a few days and try them again. They should be much harder, perhaps she will try soaking them like they did on the Mayflower.

So, that is a typical homeschool day. After all of that, dad showed up, which I have to say no matter where we are in our day as soon as he is home, everything goes out the window. I always try to get things finished up before he arrives. Occasionally the kids do some of their reading or bible memorization in bed before they go off to sleep. Some days we blow every thing off and we head to snohomish for a walk along the water and cupcakes. Some days we head out to help a friend in need, or volunteer. Some days we talk to people who have lived history, or listen to a holocaust survivor tell their story.  It is all apart of education, we are not locked into books and papers. I am so thankful for that.