Throughout the month of August, our authors will be sharing ‘A Day in the Life’ – each from their unique perspective. Our posts will join with others in iHomeschool Network’s Not Back-to-School Blog Hop.
I’m hoping this post will eliminate some of the “wow, you really have it all together” comments that I occasionally hear.
Here is a typical Monday at our house:
6:00 – Husband wakes up and gets ready for work.
6:20 – I stumble out of bed and get his breakfast ready (nothing spectacular, usually a couple pieces of toast or some grits in the microwave) and then see him off to work.
6:30 – I start the coffee and unload the dishwasher and then sit in my favorite chair for some quiet time.
7:00 – 5 year old creeps down the stairs and starts asking questions. I tell him to work on some puzzles while I try to finish my quiet time.
7:30 – I hear the 9 and 11 year olds thumping around upstairs, half playing and half doing chores.
8:00 – 5 year old and 9 year old start making breakfast (usually Pop Tarts, cereal, waffles, or toast). I get the little guy (almost 2) out of bed, change diaper, then into his chair for breakfast, then I head to the shower while the guys eat.
8:15-8:30 – 11 year old is finally finished with chores and ready for breakfast.
8:45 – I’m out of the shower and dressed. I make my bed, start the laundry. The guys are either arguing, rowdying, or cleaning up something that was spilled while they were rowdying). I send them off to brush their teeth while I make more coffee and start the bread in the bread machine. Almost 2 year old is somewhere getting into something.
9:00-10:00 – 9 and 11 year olds start the school subjects they can do on their own – Handwriting, Reading, English and Math. I tell them to sit down and be quiet probably about 42 times in that first hour. 5 year old and almost 2 year old are chasing each other around the house, squealing and making car noises. I work on the laundry, check email, etc… Then the ready-to-check schoolwork starts to pile up on my desk.
“Guys please sit still long enough for me to take one picture!”
10:00-11:30 – 5 year old starts some school. We do some letter sounds, beginning reading and writing. We work in some of his workbooks and read some books and play some games. 2 year old is crying because he wants my attention. He’s up and down from my lap about 25 times in 10 minutes. 9 and 11 year olds are still working, schoolwork is still piling up on my desk. Bread dough is overflowing the bread machine because it beeped an hour ago.
Sigh.
11:30 Everybody is asking about lunch. I say, “as soon as I finish checking all this work.” Then I start checking the work. Almost 2 year old is somewhere getting into something.
“Who made this mess?”
12:00 or so – I give up on checking work and we have lunch. I send everyone outside with their sandwiches because the table is stacked with books and really, I need some peace and quiet. They chase each other around the yard and catch a toad or two. I enjoy the quiet and finish checking everything.
“Mom, this one is missing a foot!”
1:00 – I call everyone back in. Little one goes down for his nap. 5 year old has some quiet time on the couch. Big guys start correcting the work I checked. They get started with History and Science (getting out books and notebooks, writing words). I do some more laundry and clean up lunch.
1:30-3:00 – We listen to our History lesson while the guys read along in the book. They write definitions, answer questions, etc.. Then we start Science. I planned to do some fun activity, but by this point I’m too tired for anything fun and we just read the lesson and answer questions. I check the rest of the day’s work and send the guys back outside or to their rooms for quiet time depending on the weather.
3:00 – More coffee. Check some e-mail, Facebook, browse through a bunch of yummy stuff on Pinterest & plan next week’s menu.
4:00 – The guys start asking about playing Wii. Ok, anything for a little more peace and quiet. I finish up the laundry, work some more on the menu. Little guy wakes up from his nap.
5:00 – Chores time for the guys. I start dinner. Little guy is tugging on my pants asking for milk. I’m counting the minutes ’til Daddy gets home. I’m asked at least 6 times, “what is for dinner?” Which is always interesting to me because I only have 4 kids. I might just start answering, “something from Pinterest,” because that is almost always true.
5:30 – Garage door opener announces that Daddy is home. Cheers all around. Everybody thunders down the stairs. Let the rough-housing begin. I think the house might come apart at the seams, but I remind myself that these guys need that time with their daddy and try to hold the bear cub image in my mind.
6:00 – Dinner. 9 year old scarfs it down. 11 year old studies it and asks questions about it, but eats it anyway. 5 year old picks at it. Almost 2 year old throws it on the floor.
6:30 – 11 year old cleans the kitchen. 9 and 5 year olds brush teeth and get ready for bed. Mom and Dad referee. Almost 2 year old is somewhere getting into something.
7:00 – Everybody heads downstairs for a movie.
8:00 – Bedtime. Sweet, precious bedtime. Dad tucks in the big guys while I tuck in the littles. Somebody needs to go to the bathroom one more time. One more is thirsty. Then Dad goes for a run while I sit on the porch and watch.
9:00 – 11:00 – We enjoy the quiet, watch some TV, and get ready to start all over again tomorrow.
~ By Kendra, Frogs, Snails and Puppy Dog Tales
