Our "Typical" Homeschool Day

How I described a typical homeschool day in August of 2006:

7:00 We get up & dress. The children take care of their animals and we start laundry, etc. before breakfast. The house is put in order before we begin school at 8:30 or 9:00. We gather all our books and sit in the living room. I start by reading a Bible story or devotional. Then we do history or science. I read from the "textbook", then ask the kids questions. We have a world map on the living room wall, so they often climb up on the chair during our reading to find some place that was mentioned. Then we read some living books on the topic or do a project. (We read a lot of books and do lots of projects!) This takes up the main part of our day. Sometimes while I am reading, one of the children decides they want to illustrate the story, so they color as I read. Sometimes after a reading, I will give them a related writing assignment. (My kids really hate writing, so we have been kind of lazy about language arts. But I plan to do more this year. ) Then they sit at the table and do their math and phonics/ grammar assignments. We are usually done 12:30 or 1:00. Then we do afternoon chores and have some free time.

I don't follow a strict schedule for school. We have a general plan of what we want to get done, but if we don't finish we do it another time. Sometimes we "vote" to ditch something because it just isn't working, no one's really interested, or we just don't have the energy to do another project. My philosophy is that education is not about how much you learn. The human mind can only hold a limited amount of information. But if can shape our childrens' character, we will have succeeded in their education. So, the facts and test scores and such are secondary. That doesn't mean I'm not trying to give them the best education I can, but I'm not going to worry if they never get through their algebra book.

How I would decribe a typical homeschool day now,  in August of 2012:
Sometime between 6:00 and 7:00 we get up and get dressed, have devotions, exercise, have breakfast, and do chores. We put the house in order and start school around 9:00. The children get out their books and begin working on their individual work. If anyone has a question, they come to me for help. After lunch, when the little ones are napping, I do group subjects with the younger children. In the evening, I grade papers and tests. Boring right?

This year I am hoping to get back to something a little closer to the way things used to be.