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Sunday, August 26, 2012

A Day in the Life of Our Kindergarten - Part 1

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Do you ever wonder what those of us who decide to homeschool do with our day?  I can tell you it's not all soap opera's and bon-bon's.  In fact, I didn't sit down for more than 20 minutes of "me time" all last week.  It's actually a lot of work, but the rewards of watching your kids learn make it more than worth it.  While I may not have much time to myself, we do have much more time as a family which I feel is one of the biggest perks!

Here's a schedule of what our typical day in Kindergarten looks like...

6:00am - Daddy is the morning person in our family, so he gets up with the girls and makes them breakfast. Sad for me (I'm SO not a morning person) they have always been up at 6am on the dot raring and ready to go. They spend a little daddy time helping him, reading with him, or just hanging out in the morning. 
8:00am - Daddy leaves for work and I get up and start my day.  The girls are allowed to play or watch some TV during this time while I shower, dress, and do my Bible study.
9:00am - The girls have to pickup the downstairs and then get dressed while I make myself breakfast and get everything together that we need for school.  The rule is, if it's not picked up and put away by school time, it gets taken away to the time out toy bin for a week.  Surprisingly they always get this done! :-)
10:00am - Pledge, Prayer, Calendar Time, Song & Movement, Bible, Handwriting, and Activity
11:00am - Snack
11:15am - Math, Language, Art, Phonics, Science, Reading
12:30pm - Lunch
1:00pm - After lunch the girls are free to play while I use this time to check email, blog, and do any lesson planning I need to for the next day.  I prep any crafts we have and figure out my schedule for the rest of the day. I then use this time to get some of the housework done, work on any of the photo sessions I have for clients, take the girls out to play, run errands, go to the farmers market, or get things together for us to leave if we have plans for the afternoon or evening. 
4:30pm - Our days where we don't have to be somewhere I usually get started with any pre-dinner prep I have to get done and then make dinner.
6:00pm - Daddy's home and it's dinner time!
7:00pm - The girls get to spend some time with daddy and then at 7:30 it's showers and getting ready for bed.
8:00pm - We try to get the girls in bed by 8:00 and then the evening is our down time to relax, watch TV, read and just spend time as a couple.  I often do my photography work during this time while we hang out together in the family room.
11:00pm - This is my goal bedtime, but it doesn't always happen.  I try to be good about it though becuase it definitely catches up to me if I don't.

Our afternoons and weeknights are pretty busy as well.
Monday - Library
Tuesday -  Bible Study, Family Dinner
Wednesday - Gymnastics, Farmers Market, AWANA
Thursday - Crafts and dinner with Nana - Date night for mommy and daddy every other week
Friday -  Family Movie Night

I firmly believe that our schooling takes place just as much out of the schoolroom as it does in it.  For this reason, we do lots of hands on learning as we go about our week.  We learn about science as we explore at the park, cook together, or just talk through things the girls are interested in.  We learn daily Bible lessons as I regularly bring up Bible stories and verses that support the behavior the girls should have.  We learn to read as we're out places and I ask girls to sound out words they see, and we learn math as the girls help me decide what the best deals are when we're grocery shopping or at the farmers market. Overall though, they learn how to behave and act respectful when out in public, and how we need to treat others with love.  I value our time in the schoolroom, but I value teaching them life lessons they wouldn't get anywhere else if they weren't with my husband and I learning them on a daily basis.

Check back tomorrow for the details and breakdown of our typical school day. A Day in the Life of Our Kindergarten - Part 2.

I love seeing what everyone else considers a day of homeschool, and this week is "Day in the Life" Week at the Not Back to School Blog Hop over at iHomeschool Network.

Not Back to School Blog Hop
 

5 comments:

  1. I like your approach to it all, and especially that you get them outside to learn too!

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    1. Thanks! Learning life together is one of the main reasons we chose to homeschool and it's exciting to watch it unfold and see our girls develop the Godly characteristics!

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  2. Oh my word! Our days are so similar! I, too, have always had EARLY risers! I used to be a night owl and would sleep in (until 8-9 am)...but 5 years ago I had my first early riser, and we're up at around 6:00! My hubby usually gets them breakfast and they get some quality daddy time, while mommy gets some relaxing in the empty bed time until he leaves at 7:30 :) Then I do my breakfast/quiet time/bible/blog/internet thing for about an hour while the boys get to have TV time or play.

    Love the time out toy bin idea for toys not picked up.

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    1. Uggg, mornings are my nemesis! I'm SO thankful for an amazing hubby who's willing and excited to spend time with his girls and give me that time I need in the morning to start it off on the right foot! :-)

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  3. Me Time!!!! ??? LOL what is that? ~> I so agree, I do not get much of that either, but I feel like what I do get, is very much worth the sacerfice :)

    Love your Blog and I enjoyed reading this post.

    Keri ~ A homeschooling mom of 2, loving that curriculum isn't just black and white!

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