Day in the Life 2020 (with a 14, 12, 9, 7, and 4-year-old)

Homeschool Day in the Life
Homeschool Day in the Life

Well, this homeschool day did not start as planned. I woke up before 5 am to the accompaniment of a dreadful migraine. Getting back to sleep was not an option, I quickly realized. I crept downstairs and took Aleve, accompanied by a Diet Coke from my emergency stash in the top of the pantry. I tried to take a walk, but it turned into a slow stumble. Home again, I did some gentle stretching before lying down on the couch with an ice pack.

By around 6:30 the pain has somewhat receded, at least enough to take a shower and get dressed. I make myself a cup of coffee, and hope the message on my coffee mug will be a helpful reminder for the morning. Time for a little work before the kids wake up!

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8:00 is our normal time to begin Circle Time, what I’m calling the Morning Basket type work I do with the younger 3 children. But, in another odd development in this not-very-normal day, my 7-year-old and 4-year-old are still asleep! This almost never happens!

So instead of Circle Time, I get my 9-year-old started on some of her other subjects, and take the opportunity to quickly process some online clothing returns (I love the free shipping and returns that allow me to shop for clothes from the comfort of my own home).

A precalculus question comes up with my 14-year-old, but thankfully is easily resolved today. Sometimes as my son asks a question, he figures out the answer himself!

The younger kids finally wake up and get breakfast, and by 9 am all 6 of us are gathered in the living room for Morning Time. This is one of our favorite parts of the day! Today’s loop includes Bible memory, The Ology, a silly poem, an excerpt from JFK’s inaugural address, Plutarch, and prayer.

After Morning Time, Joshua and Emma (9th and 7th grades) are excused, and I read aloud to Sophia and Grace from our World War 1 history book (part of the Landmark series) and Ginger Pye.

Then it’s time to head upstairs for my special time with Isaac. He likes to call this his school time, and it’s the best kind of preschool there is: cuddles and picture books.

Midway through, there is a sibling kerfluffle downstairs that is escalating in volume. Sibling conflict can be a real challenge as a homeschool family because you’re always together. There are just so many opportunities for sanctification.🙄 Most days I remember that’s a good thing. We work out the logistics of the feud and attempt to discuss the heart issues as well.

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The rest of the morning goes more smoothly with children in various rooms working on Latin, writing, humanities, and reading journal pages. I assist as needed, rotating around where I’m called.

At 11 am I have a game appointment with my 9-year-old. She asked me to play a game before bed last night and I was just too exhausted. Instead, I pulled out my phone and created an appointment on the calendar so she knew it would really happen today.

She’s chosen Uno, so Sophia, Isaac, and I play a few rounds before I head downstairs to get the lunch cooking (frozen pizza today, just being real). There’s also time for a bit more online work before we eat.

Today, the kids ask if they can watch a National Geographic documentary while we eat so I say yes. They choose an episode relating to WW2 underwater wrecks, so I’m counting this as bonus history for the day.

After lunch the older kids resume their independent work, the younger kids play outside a bit, and I get some random chores done. I still am not feeling well, so after a bit of cleaning I sit down with a book to breathe.

And then it all gets crazy! We leave the house and drop Sophia and Grace off at their piano teacher’s home, then head to the local high school for Joshua’s driver’s ed. By the time we get out of the crazy traffic of the pick-up line we just head right back to the piano teacher to pick up the girls. Then it’s off to the orthodontist where my daughter gets braces before we trek back to pick up Joshua from class.

By the time we arrive home, it’s 6:00. There’s time to prep and eat dinner, have family devotions, and go to bed.

As I look back over past Day in the Life posts (2019 and 2018), none of them have looked perfect. But I’m amazed by how much has remained consistent: Morning Time, faithful perseverance through our Big-Picture goals, and family worship. And, um, lots of coffee.

God’s grace has been, and continues to be, sufficient.

What does a Day in Your Life look like these days?

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4 thoughts on “Day in the Life 2020 (with a 14, 12, 9, 7, and 4-year-old)”

  1. Game appointment . . . I think my kids would love if I would start making those 🙂 We’ll have to give it a try. What landmark are you using for wwI? We will be studying that time period next year so I’m curious. Thanks for sharing your day!

    1. I never thought I’d be the mom making appointments with my kids, but it really works well in a large, busy family! 🙂

      We read America’s First World War by Henry Castor. I love it because it tells the story through the biography of General Pershing. I’m a big fan of studying history biographically. Plus, I already owned it. 😉

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