Here is what a typical day of homeschooling looks like over here. Every morning I get up and excersize on my elliptical for about 25 minutes. (Ok, every morning last week.) The kids usually are getting up so I let them watch Winnie the Pooh so I can finish and grab a shower. Then the T.V goes off. I wish I had the nerve to kill it like the bumper sticker says. We head downstairs for breakfast. I try to make juice with my juicer a few times a week. We eat and then clean up the mess. I like to read first to the youngest kids (ages 5,3,3) so that they will be less likely to want my attention while schooling my oldest (8). They sit with me on the couch and usually my youngest has bouncing issues while the others listen really well. Then I start school with my oldest. He is the easiest kid to homeschool ever. He wants to get his work done quickly and listens well and tries hard. We usually do our Galloping the Globe, writing and some science for the next 45 minutes to an hour while the other kids play in the next room. Then Jacob does his LA, handwriting, math and reading independantly. Then I will usually tend to the the younger ones who by now have something they want from me and then do some laundry or other housework. We usually have a short break and a snack and then I start school with my middle child. He was so reluctant at the beginning of the year to do school but now he does very well. We do his LA, phonics, math and thinking skills and we are done in about 20-30 minutes. His core work is what I read to him and the twins in the morning. If I am feeling really ambitious we will do a craft project too. Otherwise the kids color and paint or do playdoh. Then I finish any science or outstanding work. By now it's lunch time and I am thinking about what needs to get done the rest of the day. Quiet time is at 1:00 when the boys go in their rooms to play quietly and the twins nap. During this time I plan, read my bible, pray, make calls or whatever the case may be. Then 2:30 rolls around and the twins are getting up and the boys are coming downstairs. Now it's time to decide what needs to be cleaned and what chores need to be done. The neighborhood kids start knocking on the door at about 3:00 and sometimes the older boys go out to play. Some days there are errands to run and there are always little things that need to be done like budget, library searches, planning for the next week, curriculum research, meal planning, bible study etc, etc.  I start thinking about thawing something for dinner around 4:00, by 5 I am cooking and by 6 by hubby is home and we are eating. After the dishes are done it is usually close to 7 and the kids are allowed to pick a movie and then I am pretty much done for the day. That means it's time for me to read or study or plan some more. (I have a slight addiction).

We are on Spring Break for the next two weeks and my goal is to teach my kids to do really well with housework and step up their requirements more. So I guess it's really Spring Training. I am also focusing on discipline. They are doing pretty well over all but they need to be fine tuned--or maybe it's me that needs to be tuned.

The more I homeschool the more I love it. The closer I get to my kids and the better they get along with each other. I am interested to see where the next few years take us as I teach 3 how to read (the ps did that with my oldest) and I take on 4 full time schedules. It's pretty easy now with one 3rd grader, a kindergartener and two preschoolers. Honestly I am really looking forward to it because every year I homeschool I grow so much and so do my kids.