a home school routine

i will begin with saying that this is a routine i like to follow, not one i always follow. sometimes we have doctors appointments to work around or other life happenings that may interfere.

our day to day looks a bit like this:

7:30AM to 7:45AM - rise and shine! daddy leaves for work and we have our breakfast. this consists of a bowl of granola with milk, a glass of OJ and a multivitamin.

7:45AM to about 8:30AM - Eleanor and Wolfgang play with toys on the living room floor while watching PBS. this time is for me to sip on hot coffee and complete my mornings chores. my chores include sweeping the kitchen and dining room, wash breakfast dishes and any left over from the night before, wipe down the counters and water plants that need watering.

8:30AM  to about 10:00AM - we head up to the school room for math. during this time, Wolfgang plays with toys on the floor and while Eleanor does her workbook problems, i take that time to work a little with him. i will blog soon about some of the games and activities i use to teach him.

10:00AM  to 10:30AM - i nurse Wolfgang down for a nap and Eleanor has some free time to complete a puzzle or color. she is not excused from school and any activity she chooses to do must be in the school room. sometimes if we are hungry, i will bring up a snack, but usually we are okay and can hold off until lunch.

10:30AM to 12:00PM - reading and language arts. we use this time to practice reading, she writes in her journal and completes workbook pages.

12:00PM to 1:00PM- daddy is home and we eat lunch, all together, at the dining room table. by this time Wolfgang has awoken from his morning nap and i allow Eleanor to play anywhere she pleases. after lunch, i clean up the kitchen and then we head back to the school room.

1:00PM to 2:00PM - during this last hour of school we study science or social studies or health. these subjects alternate.

2:00PM to 2:15PM - wrap up. once Eleanor has cleaned up the school room, we hug and she is excused. she usually yells, "bye, teacher!" as she bounces down the stairs and it is the highlight of my day.

2:15PM to about 5:30PM - during this time Eleanor is usually rummaging the kitchen cabinets for snack food. i take this time to do some laundry and cleaning or just relax for a bit. Wolfgang explores the house eating crumbs and pulling board games out of the wardrobe. around 3:30PM Wolfgang goes down for his second nap.

5:30PM to 7:00PM - dinner! this is when it begins to get a little hectic and i am sure most moms would agree! my husband turns on some music, i cook dinner, we eat dinner, we play go fish or whatever game Eleanor wants to play, i do the dishes and clean up the kitchen.

7:00PM to 8:30PM - baths, books and bed! Eleanor and i usually take a shower together and daddy entertains Wolfgang. after our shower i get Wolfgang in the tub. we floss, brush our teeth and brush Eleanor's hair. that last thing is our biggest challenge every night. Eleanor has so much hair and she screams through every tangle i comb through. i will be so glad when she can brush her own hair! i have yet to find a detangling spray that works. finally, we hop on mama's bed and read a book. immediately after that i tuck Eleanor in her bed and rock Wolfgang to sleep.

8:30PM to 11:00PM - my husband and i watch netflix or i sit in bed and blog. lately we have been hooked on Peaky Blinders. OMG it is so good. i also enjoy laying in my bed and falling asleep to The Office.

so, that is our day in a nutshell. on Tuesdays we do not have school at home because Eleanor attends art school from 11:30AM to 1:30PM and then has ballet/tap from 4:30PM  to 5:30PM. yes, Tuesdays are crazy. speaking of art ... we do not schedule art into our home school routine because art is something i encourage her to do whenever she likes. Eleanor spends a lot of her free time painting, coloring, drawing and creating. this is something you will find her doing more often than playing with barbies. also, living walking distance to the art institute has been great!

i always enjoy reading how other home schoolers or stay at home moms spend their day, so i hope you guys like this post!

it has been raining everyday for like two weeks and today was beautiful, so we decided to spend the day in the woods. we always enjoy that so much. when i asked Eleanor her favorite part of the hike she said, "pretending to be a fox, singing with mama, catching falling leaves on my tongue like snowflakes and listening to all the beautiful sounds." here are some photos from our day.