A Day in Our Life

I sat here thinking just what could I write about our lives that might interest everyone, what's different about us, what don't I post about each week? Then it occurred to me, y'all haven't worn my shoes and each family dynamic is a little different. So, I decided to break our dynamic down a little bit and pop in some reality to this real life post.

Only three of our campers live at home, two live with their mother (from Daddy's first marriage) and they go to public school only coming here every other weekend. We soak up as much as we can with them before they head back home. There's also another camper who's all grown up and lives across the country with our little bitty baby grand-camper.

ECJ

ECJ is the eldest that lives with us full time, he's 14, and in the ninth grade this year. I keep posting about how he's been adjusting to the K12 curriculum that he wanted to try this year and what we've been doing while we try to decide if we're going to stick with the program for awhile and see if we can all adjust or if we're going to go back to doing our own thing. Anyway, we're going to start our day with ECJ and Mommy (that's me).

Moragon

I wake up at 7:15 AM Monday - Friday and wake ECJ up after turning on the coffee pot as I pass it. Then, as I go back to my room to change for the day and brush my hair, ECJ takes Moragon (Daddy's five year old medical assistant dog) out for her morning ritual. Followed by hand washing and breakfast and finally him getting ready for the day. By 8:00 ECJ is sitting on the floor in front of the couch with his laptop ready for his lessons to begin. His first class connect session begins promptly at eight each morning. While he's listening to the teacher's lecture and responding as necessary, I'm sipping my first cup of coffee and sitting down to my own computer. This is one of my productive times during the day, where I check correspondence and social media ... not to mention when I begin jotting down notes for new blog posts.

YCJ and Lily Cat

Peanut with her security blanket

Sometime around 8:30 AM ECJ (fifth grade) wakes up. She's our little bundle of sunshine each morning, while the rest of the family isn't at our best before noon she always wakes up with a smile on her face and a song in her heart. Just because she's awake doesn't mean that she always comes out of her room right away however. Most mornings she's snuggled in her bed getting her brain in gear by playing her Nintendo DS3, happily in her own little world while Peanut (second grade) sleeps in the bottom bunk. Normally Peanut wakes up around 9 AM and both girls stream down the hallway to quietly get their breakfast and by 9:30 I am joining them at our little table to do our book lessons. YCJ takes just a little longer to do her lessons than Peanut does and the three of us are at the table for at least an hour each morning before Peanut is ready to move on to her computer lessons.

Shadow dog

Around 10:30 AM Shadow (our 15 year old buddy dog) wakes up and tells ECJ that he needs to go outside, giving ECJ a few minutes break away from the computer. By the time ECJ is back at the lap top Peanut is in front of my desk top working on her online lessons through Easy Peasy and Discovery K-12, which are both free and we all enjoy them. The campers find them fun and informative while I like knowing that I'm covered if I forget something every once in awhile. And we're all pretty quiet until around 11 when we know for sure Daddy will be awake, he doesn't sleep well most nights and so doesn't get to bed until almost when I'm waking up!

At 11:30 we have our first read out loud on the couch while ECJ moves to the table to plug in the lap top and keep working. The girls and I sit on the couch and read our science book for the day (gotta love the local library). After I'm done reading to them it's time for the girls to watch whatever DVD we're watching about science that week (usually one of the Magic School Bus episodes that coresponds with what we're learning, a non fiction DVD about our topic for the week from the kids section, or even an educational non fiction DVD from the adult section depending on topic). While they watch that and ECJ finishes up with his morning classes I go sit with Daddy for another cup of coffee and chat. 

Around noon ECJ makes himself a quick lunch, typically a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or left overs from the fridge, knowing he only has about an hour and a half before his next class and he likes to do his course work. If he's caught up with his regular course work he hops on Easy Peasy Highschool or Discovery K12 and does that day's assignments. And around 12:30 Peanut goes and has some individual play time either on her tablet or off in by herself in the bedroom while YCJ jumps on the desk top to do her Easy Peasy and Discovery K12 assignments. (Honestly most days doing both of the web sites assignments take each child no more than 45 minutes which is why I don't have them doing them to the exclusion of other work.)

By 1:30 PM ECJ is back to his main assignments on the lap top and both girls are done with their lessons for the day. YCJ typically makes noodles or sandwiches for herself and Peanut while I hop online really quickly to check my email and other correspondence. After the girls have started eating I make lunch for Daddy and myself. Everyone is usually done eating by 2 PM and both girls trot off to their bedroom to straighten it up and then play together for awhile while ECJ finishes up with his lessons for the day. Sometimes he's still at his lessons until 4 PM because he's also working through an Intermediate Algebra college level text book on top of everything else he's chosen to take on this year. But, by 4, everyone is outside enjoying the weather and fresh air.

Currently dinner is around 5:30 PM followed by more time outside, Peanut's evening medicine, and some evening hugs. Around 7:30 it's independent reading time after showers or baths and at 8 I read the girls their Bible study stories before tucking them into bed. Daddy and I go to bed around 10:30 every evening and ECJ soon follows us now that he must get up each morning. He no longer has a set bedtime so if he's tired in the morning it's a natural consequence of him staying up too late the night before. 

Our evenings will change beginning this week because Tuesday nights we have catechism and RCIA classes through our local parish. Second semester will bring more changes as we'll be adding ballet classes for the girls and martial arts for ECJ. 

* This is a typical day in our house now. It by no means shows what happens every day in our house, there's appointments and other things that tend to happen right in the middle of lessons. We tend to go with the flow. Since we homeschool year round which means if we don't get everything done during the typical school year that's OK we'll get around to it eventually. *