Kody Hanner
This post contains affiliate links.
Our Daily Rhythm
“Our Daily Rhythm”
… Sounds like such a beautiful illustration of a homeschool morning. I see a mom sipping coffee and doing her daily devotional. The well-behaved children come downstairs to eat breakfast completely dressed for the day and ready to learn. Or on the more casual side, everyone in perfect pajamas snuggling on the couch while mom reads from a classic novel.
Magical, right? But not realistic in the slightest!
Our morning Rhythm
Our morning usually starts with us yelling downstairs (the basement) to the kids reminding them that they’re supposed to be up at 7 o’clock to feed the animals.
This is followed by a round of sending kids back downstairs because they’re still in their pajamas, haven’t brushed their teeth or hair, or they’re just fighting so much they just need a minute to regroup.
While the older kids are trying to get their heads on strait, the toddlers are generally running amuck while my husband and I are just trying to get to the coffee!
Once the teenagers are back from the barn they eat breakfast, bicker, avoid starting school, and play with the toddlers. This is not my favorite time of the day.
Our school day (Are you feeling the love yet?)
Usually about an hour after the kids should start school, I finally get them to pull out their schoolwork. I guess I should mention at this point that are kids are generally well behaved but like to make me lose my mind EVERY SINGLE MORNING.
At this point things mellow out pretty good. Their day starts by taking their planner page and referring to their various textbooks to see what their weekly assignments should be, journal, or do devotions.
Next, they work through each of their independent subjects while I have my coffee and have a little of that beautiful snuggle and reading time with my preschooler. If they need help, this is an easy opportunity for me to assist with whatever they are working on. My husband will also help a lot during this time so that I can finish up school with the preschool kiddo.
Once the big kids have wrapped up, it is usually about lunch time. They make something for lunch for all the kids and then the toddler goes down for his nap. This gives me a chance to do any family curriculums that we are doing at the time. Currently we are working on The Good and the Beautiful Mammal Science.
Our afternoon Rhythm
This is the time of the day that I usually work on my blog or homestead business. If anyone has lessons or regular doctor appointments, we try for during this time as well. My husband will often take the boys to handle any outdoor projects like firewood.
Evening Time is the Best
In the evening, the kids will sometimes play board games together and hangout in the living room. My husband and I take turns cooking dinner so that I can work later in the evenings, or he can go to his fire department meetings.
One of the things that I love about our evenings is that the older kids usually go to bed around nine and our preschooler will stay up with my husband and I until about 10. This gives us plenty of one-on-one time with him that he doesn’t get a lot of during the day because of school and work.
Everyone is different
I really hope this post helps someone that is afraid to homeschool realize that not everyone has those beautiful “daily rhythms” that are talked about in the front pages of curriculums. That’s ok, because those are just suggestions or one person’s experience. Do what works for you and your family! However, if you are one of those family’s that has it all together, can e-mail your secret?
A few things that manage our chaos
Homestead Homeschool Curriculum
Build Your Own Homestead – Little Learners Edition is an interactive homeschool curriculum that will introduce your child to small scale farming. This one of a kind homestead curriculum is designed for pre-school through to 3rd or 4th grade depending on your child and whether this will be used as a full curriculum or supplemental to another curriculum.
Build Your Own Homestead is designed to give your child a better understanding of where their food comes from. This allows them to take ownership in providing food for the family whether that’s understanding what they are choosing at the grocery store, helping you tend to the garden, or gathering eggs from your chickens.
