A Day in the Life of an [almost] Unschooling Mom

Today we’ve got Wendy sharing about her day as an [almost] Unschooling Mom! If you’ve missed any of our ongoing series “A Day in the Life of Another Mom” take a peak and read back. Isn’t it great to be a fly on the wall of someone else’s kitchen wall and see that we ALL have days like that!

Our routine can be very different each day, depending on the kinds of activities and appointments my children and I have scheduled. Below you will find a run- down of what we did today.

6:30am

I awoke early with my youngest daughter around 6:30 a.m. Once she is awake there is no going back to sleep so we headed downstairs, along with her 4 year old sister, to eat breakfast. While I prepared cereal and bananas the girls played with their barbies and dollhouse, one of their latest favorite pass-times. I soon called them to the table to eat, and prepared my own cereal and some coffee to help me wake up. By this time, my oldest son had made his way into the kitchen, and the rest of the kids (I have a total of 5) began to trickle in, along with their father. Morning

Typically our morning meal is a make-your-own affair, so I will check my email or possibly begin a blog post as I eat and sip my coffee, grabbing anything else the girls need as they ask for it. This morning I began by deleting unneeded emails and by evening I had dwindled the list down from over 1000 (tons of unread 'junk' emails) to 0. Talk about happy! After breakfast my girls played some more while my older children worked on their chores. We have a large markerboard placed directly above my desk that lists all of the chores, by child, as well as assignments for the day and our menu for the week. My oldest helps my 4 year old complete her chores, which only consists of two at her age: refill the hand-towel basket in our main floor half-bath and replenish the toilet paper baskets in all 3 bathrooms. She loves having these responsibilities so I allow her to do them 'her way' so as not to dampen her joy! While chores are being completed I will sometimes spend more time writing or scheduling posts for social media. Or I may head up to throw in a load of laundry. This morning I did both as it was my day to do mine and hubby's laundry. Once the children have completed their chores they settle in to do some math, science reading, and writing. This may include the use of apps on our iPad, textbooks, or computer programs and web sites, depending on the subject, child, and day. We are more relaxed in our schooling than some, so you will find us appschooling or simply reading on other days. It all includes learning!

Today my daughter had a piano lesson at 10:45 a.m., so I loaded up all 3 girls and headed over to drop her off. My boys stayed home to complete some written work. We came right back and the little girls settled in to enjoy a snack while watching a favorite Arthur movie. I took advantage of this time to vacuum our upstairs hallway and the little girls' bedroom, as well as to transfer my load of laundry to the dryer. I was also able to squeeze in sweeping the stairs before leaving again to pick up my oldest daughter from her lesson. Upon arriving home, I proceeded to heat up our lunch in the oven while my oldest son played with his two littlest sisters. My oldest daughter played with her 9 year old brother during this time. I was able to delete a few more of those emails and send out an email to a client while waiting on our food.

Afternoon

After lunch my two littlest girls usually have story time and then naps. However, today my youngest daughter and I had an appointment, so they got to play a bit more before our visitors arrived. While we visited, my older children took my 4 year old upstairs to play so that we could chat with out interruptions. Typically when I need them to babysit for me, they will take turns for a pre-determined amount of time, which is how they handled it today. It works out well most of the time. :) Once our visitors left, it was time for the little girls to take their naps. A little later than usual but necessary. I just made sure I woke them up before it go to late to ensure that they would still sleep tonight. Most days while my girls are napping, I will do some writing. That is what I did today. My older children finished up their book work and then followed their own pursuits during this quiet time. Their interests consist of photography, art, writing, building with legos, playing with Webkinz, and spending time outside playing volleybal, soccer, or tag.

Dinner

Around 4 p.m. or so I will begin dinner preparations. I try to always have a menu on hand. It helps me with grocery shopping and budgeting, as well as with knowing what I will be serving for dinner each day! Today I did not need to begin preparations so early, as we were having leftover black beans and rice. I did end up preparing more brown rice, as I was not sure we had enough leftover to feed our family of 7. Dinner is at 6 p.m. each day. We try to make a point of enjoying our meals together as a family, even though several nights each week we are running our children to and fro to Life Groups, Worship Team practice, etc. It helps us to recap the day before heading our separate ways.

Kids Bedtime

Our little girls go to bed at 8 p.m. so immediately after dinner we headed up to give them a bath. Since they are just 19 months apart we have always bathed them together. At this point this is still manageable. Eventually we will need to separate them simply due to the growth of their bodies! :) They play with their bath toys and pretend to wash the tub, and I simply enjoy having two little ones again, wishing the time was not moving so quickly. It melts my heart to have them wrap their arms around me and say, "You're my best friend ever", which is exactly what I got to hear tonight! The older children head to bed between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. each night, and then it is time for my husband and I.

Parent Free Time

Currently, my husband is finishing our basement. Many evenings he will spend time sanding or hammering away down there, while I do more writing, complete work for a client, or read a book. We always reconnect before bed though, either by watching a show together (Revolution, American Idol, & Smash are some of our favorites right now) or simply by talking about our day. Sometimes I will stay up late to do more writing or read, but I am working to get to bed earlier these days. As I get older, I find that I don't 'bounce back' as easily the next day. I hope you've enjoyed reading about our day. I would love to hear how your typical day looks!

Wendy is a homeschooling mama to five who loves to encourage others along the homeschooling journey. She also considers herself a ‘foodie’ and is always ready to try a new recipe in the kitchen. You will find Wendy writing about homeschooling, food, and other life events on her blog, Following in His Footsteps. She has also recently begun a new venture with Southern Test Kitchen. Wendy is a brand new allergy-friendly recipes contributor over at Managing Your Blessings, so be sure to look for her recipes in the coming months! Be sure to visit and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter, too!

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What is your day like?

Would you like to contribute to A Day in the Life of Another Mom? We’d love to read about your day! This series will be ongoing as long as there are people willing to give us all a glimpse into their lives. If you would like to share A Day in Your Life please email me your day to l123homeschool4me (at) gmail.com. Feel free to include picture (s). I will let you know promptly when it will be posted. (If you have a blog please let me know as I will include a link to your blog in the post.)

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