I'm dedicating this post to my dear friend A, who told me that, after having read my last post, she'd decided she couldn't possibly homeschool because she could never be organised enough in her daily routine. Now, A is one of the most organised people I know, so if SHE thinks that then clearly I haven't been honest enough! The last thing I want to do is to put people off homeschooling, so I decided to write an honest account of what we actually did today. Here goes......
6.40am Hubby gets up to have his shower. I roll over, hoping for a few more minutes in bed...but...no, that's the baby crying. I fetch baby Joy (10 months) from her room and take her to the kitchen and feed her some baby porridge. I immediately start multi-tasking and check facebook and some homeschooling websites in a sorry attempt to feel somehow connected to the outside world.
7.30am Wow, where did the time go? Hubby comes in to take over and set up breakfast while I go and have my shower. I get dressed and then, feeling guilty that I should really be having a quiet time, I bow to my perfectionistic, task-orientated self and go to the office to print off the next 30 pages of maths sheets for Sophie (10).
8.15am I decide I probably ought to grab some breakfast before family Bible time.
8.30am We all congregate in the living room, and I suddenly realise that I completely forgot to breastfeed Joy when I got her up this morning! I try to make up for it while Hubby is reading the story of Jonah, but Joy is already too distracted and really isn't interested in what I have to offer. I spend the rest of family Bible time trying to stop her chewing the school books on the table.
9.00am Hubby puts Joy down for a sleep, while the rest of us get going with our morning school routine. Charis (7) speeds ahead with her check list of various maths and English assignments. Sophie ploughs on through her newly-printed-off maths sheet. Nathaniel(5) has a brief burst of enthusiasm in his reading practice and then declares that that's enough. We try some maths, but again he decides two pages is quite sufficient. He opts to colour in his Valentine's Day card for baby Joy instead. Sophie is getting frustrated with her maths. I go over to help her and decide that my brain doesn't really want to put in the effort involved either. I tell her that, since I can't think of a reason why she would have to change centilitres into mililitres in real life, she doesn't have to do that particular problem! Feel some remorse. I am a trained maths teacher after all!
10.15am I let the kids have some biscuits in the kitchen while I get Joy up from her nap. We need to go into town to pick up Sophie's new glasses. Charis tells me she doesn't want to come, and I don't force her because, quite honestly, it'll be quicker without her. She's not much of a walker. I set her up on a typing programme on the computer, while the rest of us get our coats and shoes on.
10.50am I find a parking space near the shops, strap Joy into the sling, and Sophie, Nathaniel and I set off for the opticians. The lady who sees us is incredibly slow this morning, and it takes us a full hour to collect two pairs of glasses! Fortunately Nathaniel and Joy have been very patient.
12.00pm We arrive home. It's time to feed Joy her lunch, and get our lunch ready.
12.30pm I call everyone to the table, but reluctantly decide that this is really the best time I have to go for my run today. I'm on a strict training schedule for my half-marathon coming up in April. Today I'm supposed to do 3 miles, including some short bursts of sprinting. Fortunately I know I can leave Hubby in charge for half an hour or so. I go upstairs to get changed.
1.15pm I return exhausted, and a little disappointed that my time wasn't any faster, despite the short bursts. I find Sophie, Charis and Nathaniel in the middle of a very exciting game where Nathaniel is dressed up as a knight / king, and Sophie and Charis are his servants. "Oo, can I have a servant?" Apparently not, since I'm not royalty and haven't been knighted. I take a shower and, since they're enjoying themselves so much, linger a bit too long over my lunch. Sophie and Charis are also doing some art work, which I decide counts for school work, so I leave them to it.
2.30pm I suddenly remember that Charis is being collected for gymnastics at 3.30pm, I quickly put together a tray of afternoon tea and call everyone into the living room. I briefly consider putting something healthy on the plate, but then opt for biscuits because, well, it's just quicker. Note to self: I must buy a proper teapot for when we have adult guests over.
While Nathaniel makes a mess dunking his biscuit into his tea (thank you Grandpa for teaching him that trick), I read some poetry, a chapter of "Paddle to the Sea" and a bit of our Astronomy book. We take a brief break while Charis changes into her gym stuff and I quickly sign a form for her gym teacher and put some money in an envelope. We have just enough time to read 3 or 4 pages of "Children of the New Forest" before she needs to go.
3.30pm I leave Sophie with a list of assignments she has still to do, and disappear off to work on an annual report required by our organisation that Hubby really wants me to finish today so he can send it off.
4.30pm I start making dinner. It's a new recipe - some sort of vegetable pie, which I just know everyone is going to hate. I decide to whizz the chickpeas up in the blender so they won't be recognisable. In true multi-tasking form, I simultaneously feed Joy her dinner and listen to a couple of podcasts. Sophie turns up for a quick times tables test before she's allowed to watch TV.
6.00pm Charis returns, we all sit down to dinner (a surprising hit with all but Nathaniel) and our evening bedtime routine sets in. However, it takes the kids so long to tidy up the 'throne room' in Nathaniel's bedroom that they have to forego bedtime stories. Joy gets her first bath in two weeks (don't tell Grandma). The other kids finally settle sometime after 8pm, and I come down to write this blog post.
So, A, if you're reading this, I hope this helps you feel that homeschooling is something you could do after all. Yes it is messy, and chaotic and tiring, but it's so worth it!
Abide in Him!
Are you new to Grace to Abide? Keep updated with each new post via email, facebook or twitter.
6.40am Hubby gets up to have his shower. I roll over, hoping for a few more minutes in bed...but...no, that's the baby crying. I fetch baby Joy (10 months) from her room and take her to the kitchen and feed her some baby porridge. I immediately start multi-tasking and check facebook and some homeschooling websites in a sorry attempt to feel somehow connected to the outside world.
7.30am Wow, where did the time go? Hubby comes in to take over and set up breakfast while I go and have my shower. I get dressed and then, feeling guilty that I should really be having a quiet time, I bow to my perfectionistic, task-orientated self and go to the office to print off the next 30 pages of maths sheets for Sophie (10).
8.15am I decide I probably ought to grab some breakfast before family Bible time.
8.30am We all congregate in the living room, and I suddenly realise that I completely forgot to breastfeed Joy when I got her up this morning! I try to make up for it while Hubby is reading the story of Jonah, but Joy is already too distracted and really isn't interested in what I have to offer. I spend the rest of family Bible time trying to stop her chewing the school books on the table.
10.15am I let the kids have some biscuits in the kitchen while I get Joy up from her nap. We need to go into town to pick up Sophie's new glasses. Charis tells me she doesn't want to come, and I don't force her because, quite honestly, it'll be quicker without her. She's not much of a walker. I set her up on a typing programme on the computer, while the rest of us get our coats and shoes on.
10.50am I find a parking space near the shops, strap Joy into the sling, and Sophie, Nathaniel and I set off for the opticians. The lady who sees us is incredibly slow this morning, and it takes us a full hour to collect two pairs of glasses! Fortunately Nathaniel and Joy have been very patient.
12.00pm We arrive home. It's time to feed Joy her lunch, and get our lunch ready.
12.30pm I call everyone to the table, but reluctantly decide that this is really the best time I have to go for my run today. I'm on a strict training schedule for my half-marathon coming up in April. Today I'm supposed to do 3 miles, including some short bursts of sprinting. Fortunately I know I can leave Hubby in charge for half an hour or so. I go upstairs to get changed.
1.15pm I return exhausted, and a little disappointed that my time wasn't any faster, despite the short bursts. I find Sophie, Charis and Nathaniel in the middle of a very exciting game where Nathaniel is dressed up as a knight / king, and Sophie and Charis are his servants. "Oo, can I have a servant?" Apparently not, since I'm not royalty and haven't been knighted. I take a shower and, since they're enjoying themselves so much, linger a bit too long over my lunch. Sophie and Charis are also doing some art work, which I decide counts for school work, so I leave them to it.
While Nathaniel makes a mess dunking his biscuit into his tea (thank you Grandpa for teaching him that trick), I read some poetry, a chapter of "Paddle to the Sea" and a bit of our Astronomy book. We take a brief break while Charis changes into her gym stuff and I quickly sign a form for her gym teacher and put some money in an envelope. We have just enough time to read 3 or 4 pages of "Children of the New Forest" before she needs to go.
3.30pm I leave Sophie with a list of assignments she has still to do, and disappear off to work on an annual report required by our organisation that Hubby really wants me to finish today so he can send it off.
4.30pm I start making dinner. It's a new recipe - some sort of vegetable pie, which I just know everyone is going to hate. I decide to whizz the chickpeas up in the blender so they won't be recognisable. In true multi-tasking form, I simultaneously feed Joy her dinner and listen to a couple of podcasts. Sophie turns up for a quick times tables test before she's allowed to watch TV.
6.00pm Charis returns, we all sit down to dinner (a surprising hit with all but Nathaniel) and our evening bedtime routine sets in. However, it takes the kids so long to tidy up the 'throne room' in Nathaniel's bedroom that they have to forego bedtime stories. Joy gets her first bath in two weeks (don't tell Grandma). The other kids finally settle sometime after 8pm, and I come down to write this blog post.
So, A, if you're reading this, I hope this helps you feel that homeschooling is something you could do after all. Yes it is messy, and chaotic and tiring, but it's so worth it!
Abide in Him!
Are you new to Grace to Abide? Keep updated with each new post via email, facebook or twitter.
I love your transparency, Catherine. This post gave me a smile, as many of my days are exactly like yours. But you are right - it is worth every moment and I wouldn't trade these years with my children for anything this world has to offer. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa! I agree :-)
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