I always love reading “homeschool day in the life” posts by other people to see how they do things so I thought it was my turn to share. 

Since the birth of our littlest one a couple weeks ago our household rhythms have been thrown off balance. We also had a stomach bug come through the house (I walked over to my mom’s across the yard at 2 days post partum so the baby and I would escape it) and the boys took a while to get their energy back. But I feel like we are slowly easing back into our relaxed homeschool schedule. 

6am WakeUp

7am Coffee & Journal

8am Social Media or Emails

9am High 5s

9:30am Morning Time

10am Learning Cards

Noon Lunch

1pm Quiet time

2pm Catch Up

3pm Snack time

4pm Chores

We have a phone alarm that tells the 11yo to go to the barn for chores. He pushes feed up for the dairy cows, sometimes he scrapes manure out of stalls or helps find cows who have been lazy and haven’t gone to the milk robot for a while. Sometimes my husband texts me and asks for the 8yo to come assist with chores too. They love working with their Dad on the farm sporadically but having regular barn chores on the sticker chart is a privilege that they have to earn. This takes anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour.

The other kids keep playing.

You can read more about how we use chores to teach responsibility in work in my post about Raising Men, Not Boys: Chores.

5pm Tidy Time

Tidy time is another regular anchor in our day. We use it to bring peace back to our home, not that getting them to actually tidy is always peaceful process! My checklist and schedule loving 11yo is very consistent with this though. Not because he necessarily sees the value of a tidy home (though the more he trips on dump trucks or steps on Lego the more he understands) but because the reward is some screen time.

I tell the boys what I need tidied, the messiest room or two plus the living room where Adam and I sit in the evening. I don’t keep a clean house all day but I do like a peaceful room after the kids are in bed. Plus the bathroom is down the stairs and on the far end of the house, through nearly all the downstairs rooms, so we need to make sure the path is straightened up so no one breaks a foot on the way there in the middle of the night… again.

While they tidy, I get supper on the go. Sometimes the middle 3 tidy while I teach my eldest how to cook a meal. Sometimes my 8yo comes to help me because he is so eager to learn everything about being a grownup (including a strong desire to drink coffee).

6pm Supper

We eat when my husband comes in from the farm. Usually at 6 but sometimes he is later. If he is going to be after 7 then the kids and I will eat without him and he just reheats his food.

7:30pm Bedtime

We start bedtime routines, which is really just potty, brush teeth, fill water bottles then upstairs for story and prayer with Daddy. The 5yo has lights out at 8pm, 8 & 11yo have a reading lamps beside their bed and turn them off at 8:15 & 8:30.

Our 2yo will sometimes join his brothers for stories, otherwise he hangs out downstairs with me, and folds his hands when he hears the boys praying upstairs through the monitor. (Sidenote: best idea ever to have a baby monitor for the boys’ shared room so they know we can hear them whisper and giggle if they don’t go to sleep but we can also hear if they are scared or sick or need something.) Toddler is usually asleep by 9ish and so far just falls asleep beside his sister as I rock them both or cuddled under a blanket on the couch beside his daddy.

10pm My Bedtime

This is HUGE! I can’t emphasize enough the value in setting a consistent bedtime. I also have no issues going to bed earlier if I haven’t napped or if the baby has been awake more at night.Adequate sleep is a gamechanger! Our 2yo, who still occasionally wakes in the night, currently sleeps in the side-carred crib so Adam tends to him through the night and I get to cuddle and nurse my newest bundle all night.

You May Also Like:

Spiritual Self Care

Raising Men, Not Boys: Chores

Homeschool Curriculum Choices: Grade 6, Grade 4, Grade 1

That looks like a very intense relaxed homeschool schedule so I’d like to remind you that this is NOT something that I decided one day and implemented. This is just the natural flow that our days have developed over the years. I don’t hold anything to their set time except our main anchors (high 5s, lunch, snack time, and tidy time).

I believe that God blesses a household with more peace in relationships when we order our days, or at least attempt to keep a measure of order within our days and in our families. If you’re looking for a rhythm for your own family, start by just looking at the flow that your day already has and write it out. You’ll find that your family already has a rhythm and, if you don’t like the rhythm, feel free to begin slowly tweaking so it works better for you. Maybe just start with a High 5 routine.