DAY IN THE LIFE: OUR PURPOSE-DRIVEN HOMESCHOOL
4:45am
i’ve been working toward becoming more of a “good” morning person for the last few months and it’s finally a “thing”now. no later than 4:45am i am actually awake and ready to enjoy a few quiet hours at the beginning of my day. workout, reading, studying, tea, audiobook, planning and full on dressed for the day by the time the kids wake up in between 7:45-8:00am.
as somewhat of a reward for working my way through my morning routine, i , typically, step outside to check on our garden, breath in the crisp morning air, listen to the sound of the birds and the feel the warmth of the morning sun before i head back in to check my family goal board for the day.
8:00am
there is usually at least one of my babies waiting to greet me, help me finish up watering all of our indoor plants and check on our seedlings. i love this part of the day. they wake up with eyes of wonder. they soak in all of the little things, the things that most people will easily pass by. they notice any growth, any changes, they observe the breeze and consider the possibilities of the day. it is something that i’ve given them space to do in the morning, a rush that we have intentionally rejected for years. and I am seeing more and more of the fruit that results from that sacrifice. the sacrifice in choosing rest over race… rest over the rush to move along in the day. it may seem small to most but is BIG in our home.
they talk.
they hug.
they make their own breakfast.
8:45am
a few more moments before we head out on our morning walk. space to THINK is so important around here. somedays they will grab stories they began writing from the days before, often they will gather scissors, duct tape, paper, cardboard… containers of legos, their iPad or the laptop to keep working on the games they have been coding together.
savannah often journals in the early morning, while her brothers tend to wait until i prompt them to do so. she collects her pictures from days before and compares them to the current days. she charts progress and expresses her thoughts and feelings much easier than the boys (which is something I find very interesting and have been taking note of.
9:00am
after we head back in from our morning walk, they fill out their morning binders. just a simple collection of printables that they can use to accomplish any of the goals or projects that they have set or started for themselves. it also holds their planner pages and their calendar for charting the weather. this leads us right into the “working” part of their day. while there is no rigid schedule each day, in our lives lately, holds a theme, or a focus so to speak. mondays are our journalist days where language arts lay the background for all we will explore today. a day where we shift our focus to sharpening the skills that make us better journalist, better observers, better storytellers of the world around us. i share more about this in ORGANIZING OUR UNSCHOOL: LANGUAGE ARTS…
our reading time is a HUGE part of our mondays. reading is a HUGE part of our EVERYDAY but on this day things become a bit more intense. we focus on highlighting challenge words, identifying parts of speech, determining tone and shades of meaning, dictating sentences and finding the figurative language.
kendall, most recently, set A HUNDRED BOOK CHALLENGE/goal for himself after they all stacked up the books they’ve read so far this year. he counted 41 and decided he might as well go for a “few” more and make it a round 100!
cameron, on the other hand, has been less concerned with the amount of books he has been reading but rather the complexity and depth of the stories he’s been reading. “no less than 300pgs”, he says. he loves both male and female protagonist and enjoys visualizing/imagining plot/setting etc. no mommy’s thoughts and opinions necessary, lol. he won’t even let me read the dust jacket as he explained that it ruins the element of surprise!! i did that!!! well, with the help of my lord and savior jesus christ but…. I DID THAT!!! i am raising readers!!! like… hardcore, legit, READERS!!!!
9:30am
tiny journalist call for tons of observation and documentation so i allow them to do just that! i must admit that this part can be a bit challenging at times. the space is followed by “WHAT NEXT?” to which i painfully reply, “i’m not exactly sure, but our hearts & minds will lead the way!” it feels a little ridiculous to type and a bit more ridiculous to say but it hasn’t failed me, yet.
10:00am
we head outside! i suggest grabbing journals, markers and/or watercolor pens…. maybe a camera or two. I learned everything i know about photography and video by picking up a camera and taking time to look for something beautiful so i encourage them to do the same.
push the buttons and see what they do. make a few mistakes and then a few more. all I “teach” are basic handling practices and i give them the freedom to “PLAY”!!!!
fun fact: I love looking into our school room from the outside. from the seedings to the bookcase, the chalk wall and the writing on the sliding glass doors, I am always reminded that #weliveandwelearn🌱 here.
11:00am
i thought about taking a break from the garden and tidying up the backyard to “get back to homeschool”, but i felt so much peace here. then i glanced over and saw them diligently engaged in reading and building (with legos) together so I decided to let it be. i asked for a tiny helper and we started to learn together. she asked questions, some of which i had answers to and many of which I did not. i’d call over to the boys and they would check wikipedia, ask siri or even hurry in to grab a book off of our shelves that they knew might hold the answer to a question that we posed. a seed needs what three things? how many varieties of tomato are there? how much space do we need to give a red cabbage plant? do they always produce their own seeds? so THAT’s why we need to save the bees!!!
11:15am
they took lots of pictures and savannah and i tested out our new polaroid printer (which has changed my whole entire polaroid printing life, lol) then she headed back out to finish up her quiet reading time. vowing never to be more than a few steps away from her mama, she chose to read standing up while staring at me through the blind glass door.
12:00pm
i take a “break” to start lunches and begin working on our chalk wall. i haven’t done a great job sharing our chalk walls as they’ve often taken me longer than anticipated and have become my way to unwind. i, normally, work on it in random parts of my day and often with a cold cup of coffee (bc motherhood, lol) my blue robe/slippers, and soft movie scores in the background. this time around, i thought i would try and grab my go pro as it is the easiest way to attempt to document my process. it wasn’t the most successful. but, ill keep trying to do better.
1:00pm
it’s lunchtime and the most “structured” part of our learning is said and done. if i am being completely honest, this is the time of day where they’re is the most untapped potential. i’m typically TIRED of being “on” and answering ALL THE QUESTIONS as gracefully as possible. so, i tend to default to allowing shows and tablet time when i know continuing to observe and offer up guidance during such a time could produce so much good fruit! buttttt…. i’m not there yet, and mama needs a break! every now and then i’ve got a little extra homeschool mom juice in me and we press on. they often surprise me with new stories, poems, revising their writing and so much more.
1:30pm
this time is considered “play/maker time” and is often filled with cardboard creations, legos, gymnastics routines, bike rides and tree climbing. on this day it started with repotting cameron’s golden pothos and chatting about propagation before he grabbed another book and rode his bike over to his favorite tree to sit in it and read!!!!
3:00pm
the rest of the day is filled with home projects, more reading, dinner prep, chores, work, editing and more. all of which we spend our days doing to and more of these things TOGETHER in hopes of satisfying their curious hearts and minds and exercising our patience and hearts of gratitude.
everyday is a new opportunity to grow and learn together and we welcome them with open arms! not without challenge, struggle, frustration, disappointment, long suffering and a decent amount of growing pains. but, this is a little bit of a day in our purpose-driven homeschool life.
one day i will accept the challenge of thoroughly documenting the day from morning to evening routine. until then, i hope this helps…
with all the love,
syreena