Tomorrow night at our monthly support group meeting, we'll be talking about "A Typical Day in the Life of a Homeschool Mom (or Dad)".   This is a frequently asked question from new homeschoolers.  However, my first reaction is "there is no such thing!!".  I have the plan that I make on paper each summer, of how our days MIGHT look, how they COULD look if all went as planned, how I'd LIKE them to look.  But I don't know if one of those days ever actually materializes.  Hmmmm   

This isn't exactly encouraging for other moms to hear. Or is it?  Maybe if they hear that even the "old pros" are not just clipping along with everything falling happily into place, they'll realize that they are doing okay!  I mean, who says that those plans I wrote on paper are the way God wants our day to look?!  We make adjustments daily to the situations we face as a family, and we try to deliberately be available for what I like to call "God appointments". One of the kids isn't feeling great?  I let them sleep in a bit, maybe cut back on their schoolwork so they can take a nap or snuggle up on the couch and listen to an "Adventures in Odyssey" CD.   The house is a wreck?  We spend extra time on "Home Blessings"   ( chores).     Grammy & Grandpa come to visit? We put away the books and play board games, work on projects like sewing and building, go visit local attractions.  A friend has an emergency and needs someone to babysit?  We do a quick clean up and get out the toys and videos and make cookies for our visitors.  All this is part of the lifestyle we call homeschooling. 

Okay, so how about the days when we DO get to the academic work!?  What does that day look like?   Well, that has changed over the years, but nowadays, I get up between 7:00 and 7:30 AM, shower & dress, do a quick swish & swipe of my bathroom, make my bed, start a load of laundry, and go check my e-mail.  Then I usually have my daily time with the Lord, reading my Bible and journaling, maybe reading a devotional, memorizing scripture. But I have to confess that lately I have been lax in this area, and desperately need to reestablish that Quiet Time.   I usually wake the kids between 8:00 -9:00, but it isn't uncommon for them to still be dragging themselves out of bed at 10:00 AM.  We all tend to stay up late at night, so none of the kids gets up early unless they have some kind of appointment. They do their morning routines and we all eat breakfast, and then we either jump into schoolwork or work on chores for a while.  We generally do schoolwork from 11:00 AM  until 4:00 PM or so.  Of course, depending on the day, there are classes, co-ops, choir practices, volleyball practices /games, volunteer work, trips to the library, errands, and other things. Lunch is normally 12:30 or 1:00, dinner is 6:30or 7:00.  During lunch break I usually try to declutter a bit, and get on the computer for  few minutes. Evening activities might include Scouts, Youth Group, soccer  or basketball practice, support group meetings. My husband often has to do overseas conference calls as part of his job in the late evenings. On most nights I sit down on the living room couch with my younger two children around 9:30 or so for bedtime reading. I am currently reading "Indian in the Cupboard" by Lynn Reid Banks. This takes an hour at least.  Then I tuck them in (even the 13 year old still wants to be tucked in!), go clean up the kitchen, maybe fold some laundry. I normally spend 1-2 hours on the computer before I go to bed in the wee hours of the morning ( my hubby has been in bed for hours by now)

Well, that's it in a nutshell.  Typical?  Depends..... But for us it works pretty well. 

<><