A Day in the Life Of... 2016 Edition

It's hard to describe what a typical day in the life of our homeschool looks like, because it changes every. single. day.

One thing is consistent though, our 3 R's time.

9:00 -


I usually try to roll out of bed around 9:00.  I get home from work at 3 AM, so waking up before 9:00 isn't an option.  Sometimes I sleep later.  When I wake up, the girls have already eaten their breakfast.


I don't need an alarm.  Instead, I wake up to the sound of Millie playing her scales and warm up's on the piano.  Elise makes me a pot of coffee, and I sit down at the piano with my cuppa, and help Millie with her piano practice.  Does this happen every morning?  No way!  If you follow me on Instagram, you know that even a dusting of snow can throw off our whole routine.

When she's done with piano, Millie starts in on her Teaching Textbooks, Xtra Math, and Typingweb.com.  I sit with Elise as she practices her pieces.  (Millie does language arts and writing at co-op on Mondays, the one day of the week that we don't even attempt to do our 3 R's).

By the time Elise finishes piano, I usually have to help Millie with her math.  Today was a test day, so I didn't need to help. Instead I tended to our somewhat neglected kitchen.

I sneak in a quick breakfast before helping Elise with her language arts, spelling, and math.



When we're all done, we all sit down and read for 30-45 minutes.  Millie is busy learning everything she can about rabbits, Elise can't get enough Magic Treehouse books, and I am reading Pioneer Girl.

12:00 - 

Lunch time!  I make a lunch menu at the beginning of the week.  If I don't have a plan, I end up making 3 different lunches.  Today we had "fancy curly noodles," or to common folk, Ramen noodles :)  This is my kids favorite lunch, but I almost never buy it.  This is the first time in over a year they've had this treat.


I usually let the kids watch a show while we eat lunch.  Millie gets to pick the show on odd days, and Elise gets to pick on even days.  Today, Millie chose to watch Odd Squad.  I love that show.

Afternoon - 

This is where the concept of "A Day in the Life Of" gets complicated.  Our afternoons are very different, every single day.

If we stay home, we work on history, earth science, or architecture.  The lessons don't take too long.  Just long enough.  If the lessons are particularly interesting, the girls will keep exploring when I'm done.

If we leave the house, we do things like:

Learn all about rabbits with STEM Bunnies,

Go sledding with friends,

Attend a Meet the Masters art class

Glide across the ice on a kick sled, or 

Take a pottery class.

3:00 - 

Before the girls can go out to play the afternoon away, we all do our daily chores.  Many hands makes light work (is that how the saying goes?).

We're house sitting in the suburbs for the winter, so the girls are in neighborhood kid heaven.  If it's over 0 degrees out, I'll find them playing outside with their friends for a couple hours before dinner.

When they're outside playing, I hit the treadmill, take a shower, and read until they come home.

6:00 -

Dinner time!

7:30 -  

Read aloud time!  Right now I'm reading Ralph S. Mouse.

8:00 - 

The girls go to bed.  Bud and I spend the rest of the evening together, usually watching shows that aren't appropriate for kids :)  Some of our favorites right now are The Big Bang Theory, X Files, and Last Man On Earth.  I also tend to my other duties; household financials, menu planning, SciGirls planning, or Field Trip Friday planning.

10:00 - 

I leave for work.  I work for 4 hours in exchange for free health insurance and a small paycheck.  It's worth if for us!  I'm happy to work weird hours if it means I can stay home and homeschool my girls!