Our Homeschool Day in the Life - 2013

Yeah! It's that time again where I record a random day of our life for posterities sake and to link up to Simple Homeschool as others do the same. It would be interesting to be a little "fly on the wall" in different homes to observe this crazy lifestyle we call homeschool. This is the next best thing! 
My children are 6 and 12 - grades 1 and 7 respectively. This is our 8th year of educating at home and it's been working for us. On this Friday, the first of February, our day begins:

Will is up at 6:30am to spend his first half hour of the day lounging in bed and listening to "the Sword in the Stone" on CD. Hey, whatever works! I'm up at 7 to wear a head weight on my head (ask my chiropractor) for 20minutes before I jump in the shower and get ready.  Zanna comes down shortly after and gets herself some breakfast.

Will finishes his breakfast and gets to his assigned reading. He's currently reading a biography on Louise Braille. After he finishes, he watches his Saxon math lesson on my computer. It's an Investigation (if you're familiar with Saxon) so it goes fairly quickly.

He's on a serious roll this morning and keeps going on his own with his confirmation homework and his Bible History lesson. This book used to be mine in grade 7! 

Meanwhile, Zanna has a Saxon 1 math assessment I've put out for her and she works on that. 
8:45 Math meeting with Zanna (calendar, skip counting, etc)

9am - Devotion together and memory work - we're working on the Sermon on the Mount

9:15 - Will is way ahead of schedule and works on my computer to rewrite his writing lesson from the day before. He got a little lost in the creative process and strayed a bit from the assignment so unfortunately he's got some touching up to do. (Institute for Excellence in Writing) Meanwhile, I work with Zanna on her handwriting. 
9:30 - Since Will's already sitting in front of the computer he does his Eastern Hemisphere Explorer worksheet using World Book Encyclopedia. We're finishing up Core F in Sonlight and studying Africa. Meanwhile, I teach Zanna her Bible lesson using NPH materials. 
10 - Zanna "Explode the Code" and Will "All about Spelling". You can see the enthusiasm for spelling Will has in his face. Despite the good start to our day, his attitude sours a bit here and the whining starts. Oh, well. We had a good run!

After Zanna finishes her phonics work, she moves over to the rocking chair to work on her new book "Oliver". It's an easy read version. We had seen the musical last December and visited London later that month so she LOVES this story! 

10:30 - Time to get our groove on. We review our Africa songs - the countries set to music. 
10:45 - watch an African Ancient Civilizations video borrowed from the library. Meanwhile, I get supper in the crockpot.
11:30 - Will runs to the nearby grocery store for me to get a few items I forgot when shopping the other day. I work on getting lunch ready and Zanna practices her violin. 
12 - eat and clean up
12:30 - Will studies for Science test. I tidy up and set the table for dinner. I leave a note with last minute instructions for dear husband to finish up dinner. 

Why he's hanging upside down to study in beyond me but hey - whatever floats your boat.
1-2pm- Quiet time. Yeah! Will studies a little more and then plays in his room. Zanna plays in her room. I have my Bible time and then work on a presentation I'm giving in April at the local homeschool conference on organizing. Better get my act together!!

2:15 we have to leave for soccer. Also picking up a friend on the way. Soccer goes until 4:30 and we're home by 5:15. 

Walk in the door and dinner is ready! I made Crockpot Chicken tacos and Wayne's got everything ready to go. 

5:45 - Wayne takes Will and they're off to church for Confirmation class. 
Zanna's in bed by 7:30 and Will is 8:30. I don't do much of anything the rest of the day. I'm tired, man! You can find me on the couch watching Duck Dynasty and playing Boggle on my iPhone. 
Each day's a bit different depending on the activities we have  scheduled for the day but there's a daily rhythm that allows everyone to know what is expected of them. I try to leave the school/play room tidy before I turn in for the day and set out stuff the kids can start working on when they're ready. We school from Tuesday - Saturday because Wayne's day off is Monday and we want to enjoy that together so it's not our "weekend" yet. But we're getting there! 
That Crockpot Chicken Taco recipe? Works great in a pinch - 
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/4 oz package of taco seasoning mix
1 cup salsa
1/4 cup sour cream
tortillas, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese to serve with

Place chicken in slow cooker and sprinkle seasoning mix over. Top with salsa and cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours. Remove chicken to plate and shred  - set aside. Add sour cream to salsa mixture and stir in chicken. Serve with tortillas and sides. Serves 4.