Homeschooling Day in the Life: Ashley, Veteran Homeschooling Mom Living in North Texas

A homeschool day in the life looks different almost every day, right? Over on our Instagram page, we love to give you a peek into lots of homeschool days regardless of how they change day to day.

Today, we’re going to give you a peek into the homeschool day in the life of Ashley, veteran homeschooling mom of 20 years living in North Texas.

We can all learn and be inspired by one another, regardless of our homeschool approach. It’s not about looking good for social media, it’s about the connection going on inside our homeschool walls and sharing with others what works for us.

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We might all homeschool a little differently, but we can always look for ideas from each other that inspire, encourage and equip us in our own homeschool days. So each week we create blog posts for you to access later of each of those “days in the life”. We hope you keep coming back for more inspiration. Keep going, mama! These days at home are so worth it!

Meet Ashley

Ashley is the mother behind @thewaysofherhome. In her little space here, Ashley likes to share things that celebrate home educating, homemaking, family life, and seasonal traditions, which are all rooted in her faith.

She loves sharing recipes and sourdough creations as well. Ashley’s aim is to bring her readers a warm and authentic glimpse into her daily life, while encouraging them in their own journey.

Morning Time

Our morning time has become a staple to our homeschool days. It’s the pillar that supports our rhythms and it has been a blessing for many many years.

We don’t do all of these every morning. Some of these are rotated, such as artist, poet, and composer, on a weekly basis. I strive to start our day with the true, good, and beautiful, and these topics are the perfect way to set our minds on those very things. We read through the scriptures every day and on Fridays we work through a study. Right now we are working through God’s Promise by Sally Michael.

These mornings are a treasure for which I am immensely grateful. Our rhythm is established, making our days smoother and more pleasant. 💚

Daily Tasks

I am a firm believer in the importance of children helping with tasks around the home. Not only is it a blessing to all who live here to have a home running smoothly, but it gives them valuable life skills that they will carry with them in everything they do.

My oldest is 23 and my youngest just turned 7, so I have been training up children for quite some time. Yes, it’s easier/faster/simpler to just do it all myself, but at what cost to my children? Not only would they miss out on gaining an understanding of responsibility, they will also lack knowledge in these areas, missing out on the blessings of teamwork. They won’t fully understand what it means to die to self and do the work first so they can fully enjoy the rest.

Every home is different and every family is different, so what works for me may not work for you. But the principles work for everyone.

• Understanding what your child is truly capable of and expecting nothing but their excellence goes a long way.
• Modeling a work before play attitude is essential for keeping your child on task. There is always work to be done, but if you remain faithful in your tasks, you then get to truly enjoy the rest that comes. And always, always, always, be sure to rest. No one wants to work 24/7. We weren’t designed to. But we were designed to work.
• Daily tasks are also a great way to train your children in the habits of obedience and attention.
• You must be the one to train your child on how to properly do a task. This takes time in the beginning, but the sweet time spent together and relationship building this provides is unmatched!
• Always try to make your tasks a joyful endeavor. No one wants a begrudging task master, and no one wants to work if they think it’s a bore. But if you mama make the tasks fun, or pleasant, they will jump on board with happy hearts. Light a special candle, play some special music, use fun tools, etc. And remember, a smile on your face goes a long way.

Lunch

When I have a plan for lunches, our days go much smoother. No one is searching the cabinets, pantry, and fridge for something they may want to eat. The decision is made, and everyone knows the plan. It’s just another aspect of streamlining our routines for smooth and easy days.

Lunch is on a seasonal rotating matrix. When the weather is warmer, I change things out and add more smoothies. I also have easy to use kitchen tools so that my children can do a huge part of the prep, if not all. They know how to use our blender and the youngest takes great pride in using the air popper for popcorn. She also loves to put together the charcuterie boards.

If you find your days go off the rails around lunch time may I suggest you adopt a lunch matrix? Pick 3-5 lunches that are easy to maintain and ones the children can help with. I promise you will notice a huge difference in the productivity of your day.

Afternoon Occupations

Our afternoons are utilized for focused activities on rotation. One afternoon is poetry Tea Time and the next is spent working on handicrafts. Another afternoon might be spent on training a child how to properly complete a task in the home efficiently and well, while the next is spent reading through a chosen book. We then have nature Study the next afternoon.

We have been rotating these for many years and it works wonderfully. Both morning time and afternoon occupations ensure that these subjects don’t get forgotten about or pushed off. It’s easy to say, “next time”, or “tomorrow”. But if you have a place for them in your schedule you are far more likely to faithfully accomplish it!

The Importance of Planning

Once upon a time my days were filled with the chaos of an undisciplined home. There were so many things I just wasn’t planning or preparing and then I wondered why every day was such a struggle.

I have been home educating for over 20 years and no two years have ever looked the same. So when I felt I had it figured out, everything suddenly needed to change again which always threw me off. 

But then I realized I was only reacting to the situations and not preparing myself, focused on what it “should” be rather than what it was, and what it could be! I wasn’t actually working off of my principles.

Once I started planning our days and getting systems in place, I had the freedom to make our days fun for ME, which made me motivated to keep at this most wonderful job. It’s the most exhausting and rewarding job ever, so you have to do what you can to keep yourself motivated. You must find a way to enjoy your work. If you are always fighting against it, it will always be a struggle. Which is why my systems are my pillars to my day. 

Now, our days are calm, peaceful, beautiful, and full of life and learning! Of course my children are children–loud, crazy, wild, and I love it! However, they know the expectations. I am able to easily call them to what should be happening and they are able to engage immediately.

Evening Routines

Evening Routines are the star power to my days. If I don’t prep the night before I am playing from behind all the next day. There isn’t a ton I need to do the night before, but they are crucial.

• I always prep breakfast the night before. It makes my morning so easy when everyone is rushing the kitchen with grumbling tummies. Not every meal needs to be prepped. Sometimes it just means I am pulling a box of cream of wheat out of the pantry and leaving a pot on the stove ready to be filled. Every little bit helps.
• The kitchen must be put to sleep and the sink emptied and cleaned. I just function better when I can go straight to work on my tea or coffee and not have to work around a mess. I don’t want to start my day grumpy.
• I do a quick straightening of the living spaces. Anything that is out goes in the basket to be dealt with the next morning by a child.
• I always check the calendar and if we have somewhere to be then I pack up what is needed the night before. This way we aren’t scrambling the day of.
• Every night I have everyone pick out their outfits for the next day, myself included. We don’t need to waste time hemming and hawing in the morning.
• All school books are put back in their proper places at the end of the day, but I always double check before I go to bed. There is nothing like a missing math book or narration notebook to derail a morning.
• I always review my lessons for the next day, taking note of any special items we may need for projects, experiments, creations, cooking, etc. and gather them so they are ready to go. I keep a special basket just for those items so I don’t have to hunt them down.

Anything I can do to save time and distraction during our homeschool day is a blessing to my future self AND to my children. They should have a fully present mother who is not spending most of her time scrambling to get things together. If I don’t do this routine, I set myself up for a frustrating day that is definitely anything but smooth and easy.

If you don’t have an evening routine, consider the areas of your day that need to be smoothed out and see how you can prep for them the night before.

Thank you so much to Ashley for sharing your family’s day with us!