A Typical Day in Our Homeschool: Homeschooling Multiple Grades
As we head into our 11th year of home education, I am in absolute awe of what the Lord has done! I have 3 children going into 10th, 7th, and 4th grade this school year. We have been homeschooling since my oldest daughter started kindergarten. When I first began, I never knew I would collect so many special homeschool days in our family.
I create content for family-friendly brands remotely and assist my husband with our freelance videography business. While the years of homeschooling helped to see the fruit of the labor, I wanted to break down the simplicity of what a typical day of homeschooling looks like.
In no way do I think this is the way to homeschool, but in every season, we reassess and make adjustments. It is a major perk of homeschooling. Remaining flexible, and teaching our kids to consider the family as a purposeful unit, rather than just thinking about what is best for the individual.
Homeschool Day: Morning Meetings
As long as I can remember, we have implemented family studies. These are subjects we study together. When you have multiple children, family-style learning is highly effective, while also making it more fun. Over the years, this has included Bible study, nutrition, habit training, nature, hymns, poetry, composers, artists, history, science, current events, missionaries, and read-alouds. As you can imagine, it has been rich!
The formation of habits is education, and education is the formation of habits. The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days; while she who lets their habits take care of themselves has a weary life of endless friction with the children. – Charlotte Mason
Now that my high schooler has a few online live classes, I aim to keep our morning meetings to an hour or less. I also purposely scheduled her classes to start at 9 am or later. This is so we can fit in our morning meetings before she has to log in.
This year, our morning meetings will look like:
- Individual Bible study (while eating breakfast)
- Corporate Bible study in the book of Proverbs (2-3 times a week)
- Current events video (10 minutes daily)
- Character study (10 minutes daily)
- Music Appreciation study (1-2 times a week)
- Read aloud (3-4 times a week)
If you are interested in the full details of our 2024-2025 morning meeting, watch this video.
Homeschool Day: Before Lunch Rhythm
At this time, my high schooler will log in to her online classes 3 times a week. My 4th and 7th grader jump into their individual subjects like math, language arts, and science. I alternate working with each child and spending time getting my work done as needed.
This is the first year my younger kids will work through different science courses. I’m excited for both of them! My middle schooler will work through the self-paced course of Exploring Creation with General Science. My 4th grader and I will work through Exploring Creation with Earth Science. There is a hands-on globe project that I already know she will love!
Homeschool Day: After Lunch Rhythm
Once online classes and individual core subjects are complete, we move into some lighter tasks. Between the three kids, we complete daily chores, dinner prep, and independent reading.
At this time, my two younger kids and I will regroup for history 2-3 times a week. We are going through a government and civics curriculum for middle school, which is perfect timing in an election year. It is mostly literature-based so it feels calm with a read-aloud and a related activity.
Most days, we have some type of after-school activity. Whether it is dance, music, or serving with our church, we usually have something to do in the evening hours. On the rare free nights, my kids have been working on learning worship songs on their instruments, puzzles, crafting, or playing board games.
Many Moving Parts
Yes, our typical homeschool day contains many moving parts. If I’m not careful, this can seem like crazy people bulldozing through their checklists. With that in mind, I aim to keep us in a healthy rhythm by staggering our hard. For example, writing can be a tough subject with one of my kids, so I will follow that with something that typically moves smoothly such as science. Another example is if they have a lot of independent work, I will break it up with a group history time.
The flexibility of homeschooling is a big benefit, but I need to remember that so I do not get stuck in my pretty-on-paper plans when real persons have other pressing needs.
Meeting Kids Where They Are
At the end of any homeschool day, my goal is to have each child have a positive relationship with their education. I want their curiosity elevated, their minds expanded, their voices to be heard, and their hearts to be cared for. It doesn’t happen every day. However, keeping that goal in mind provides a reset for when the going gets tough.
A practice that I implement when each child enters middle school is to spend one-on-one time with them. I have been dedicating 2-3 days a week to reading with my oldest daughter. We choose books together based on topics relevant to her season of life. We have read books on strategies for screen usage, relationship guidance, study habits, goal setting, etc. My husband does the same with our middle school son. It is something I highly recommend due to the organic connection and discussion that unfolds in the process.
Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. – Corrie Ten Boom
Homeschooling requires a lot of sacrifice. Your time, energy, and resources are limited, and home education takes a lot of it. However, there is no endeavor I’d rather make that daily commitment to in these precious days. Investing in the responsibilities the Lord has placed in our care is never wasted. So while a typical homeschool day may feel ordinary, monotonous, or even small, trust that a decade later, you will have thousands of days collected training up and nurturing relationships with God and your children, without regret.
Full details of our 2024-2025 school year plans are described in this blog post. I’d love to stay in touch and encourage each other in our homeschool era. Say hello on Instagram or YouTube!