Today we’ve got Tauna sharing about her busy day as a Mom with 4 kiddos 6 and under! 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!
6:30 AM: Nursing
5 month old wakes for nursing and then goes back to bed.
Sweet time with the baby
6:45 AM: Quiet Time with God (and my iPhone)
I lay in bed reading my Bible (YouVersion app), praying (PrayerNotebook app), doing my scripture memory (ScriptureTyper app), and planning (iPhone Notes app).
I do all of this in bed. I used to try to go downstairs for this time, but we have creaky floors. Even when I move like the sand people in Dune, with no discernible pattern (yes, I've tried that), the children can sense me stirring. I don't risk it anymore!
7:30 AM: Out of Bed
The kids come get me when their clock turns green.
If I’m on my A-game, we get dressed and make the beds right away.
Today, however, we stumble down to breakfast in our PJs. I read our devotions while we eat. We're currently working through Hero Tales: A Family Treasury of True Stories From the Lives of Christian Heroes.
8:30 AM: Start the Day
If I’m on my A-Game, we do bible time and acts of service (chores) right away.
Today, however, we do those things after watching a cartoon so I can take a little more time to prepare for the day. (Coffeeeeeee!)
9:30: Lessons
We start with calendar time, scripture memory, and catechism review. All that takes about 10 minutes. Then we work on our units and the pre-k or k work I planned. That is, of course, assuming we do any work at all. The weather is nice right now! I won’t stress school work much until the hotter weeks of Summer.
On various days of the week we also do BSF, piano and art lessons (swapping with another hs mom) and a preschool co-op/play date.
School time
Noon-ish: Lunch
The kids eat and listen to me read stories. Right now we're going through the stories and poems from What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know. Somehow I find time to eat as well.
12:30 PM: Nap Time
While the kids sleep, I do whatever needs to be done. That may be sleeping myself, blogging, gardening, cleaning, dinner prep, or reading while doing nap-time police.
Post-nap hair and a messy kitchen. :)
3:00 PM: Free Time / Outings
The kids wake from naps and we play outside. Some days we use this time for school catch-up if the morning blew up, or for errands and fun outings.
5:00 PM Quiet Time
This is something I’m recently working on again after having lost sight of it for a while. The kids have quiet time, playing in separate areas of the house. The toddler does a short blanket time here as well. I work on getting dinner ready and check my email.
Blanket time with busy bags
6:00 PM: Dinner
We have dinner and chat. At some point we do family devotions and read scripture. Again, we used to be consistent with this but have fallen off the wagon. But we're climbing back on! Right now we use Leading Little Ones to God . On Sundays we also like to do songs during devotions and bake chocolate chip cookies as a special treat.
6:45 PM:: Wind Down
We play, read books together, take walks, have baths, etc.
7:30-ish: Bed Time
The baby is already in bed. The girls (2 and 3) go down around 7:00/7:30. My oldest son (5) goes to bed at 8:00/8:30depending on whether he napped.
8:30 PM: Mom and Dad Time
I catch up on cleaning and gardening, hopefully get ready for the next day, and relax to read a book or watch a movie. Our weekly rhythm sets aside certain nights of the week for dates, dad’s budgeting time, mom’s time out with friends, planning, etc.
10:00 PM: Mom to Bed
If I’m on my A-game, I’m in bed and reading fiction for a half hour.
Tonight, however, I stay up doing random things until after 11 and finally crawl into bed!
Tauna loves her family and loves God. She has been married for 7 years and has 4 young children. She writes at ProverbialHomemaker.com, so named because, as she says, "me becoming a wife, mom, and homemaker proves that anything is possible with God. 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.)
