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 Jessi, homeschooling mom to five children, living in Las Vegas!
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 Jessi
Jessi Bridges @jessibridges is a wife and homeschooling, homebirthing, homemaking mother of five kiddos ages 11, 9, 7, 5, and 3. Jessi is married to her high school sweetheart, Ben, and their family of 7 resides in Las Vegas, NV. They enjoy a myriad of hobbies and family activities including nature walks, board and card games, woodworking, gardening, cooking, and especially family read alouds.
Jessi follows Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education in her homeschool and has never met a living book she didn’t enjoy. Her ultimate purpose in educating her children is to daily point them to Christ in all things, that their entire lives would be lived to the glory of God.
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Simple Morning Routines
Good morning! I’m Jessi and I’ll be joining you for the day!
Our day has begun and while I make breakfast, this one is listening to Children of the New Forest (and following along on his kindle). No matter how many times we listen to or read this book, I always find myself stopping to listen and enjoy it.
Our day begins with some simple routines:
• before the kids are up I work out, read and study my Bible, read for 10 minutes, and get ready for the day
• the kiddos are free to sleep, read, play, get dressed, etc. in their rooms until 8am
• I begin breakfast while they begin to join me for the day
Currently I have one in the bath, two playing in their room, one listening to a book, and one helping with some morning chores.
We’ll get breakfast on the table, eat, clean up, brush teeth and hair, feed the chickens, and then we will gather back together for morning time sometime between 9 and 9:30!
Prayer and Morning Time
We begin our day with prayer and morning time. I have found this to be the best way to incorporate children of all ages at the same time. Everyday is similar, but not identical.
Today we began with bible. We’re reading through 2 Kings right now, and had a wonderful discussion this morning about Elisha and how several of his miracles were clearly foreshadowing Christ.
We also read about the Vikings and about Constantine. We enjoyed a beautiful poem about hard work by Longfellow (who has been my favorite poet thus far!), learned a new noun in Latin and translated 10 sentences into English together, and listened to the hymn we’ll be studying for the next 6 weeks. Each child worked on their own copywork and math.
Once this is finished, usually around 11, they head off for their own individual lessons. Some they will read on their own and narrate to me throughout the day. Others I’ll read to them.
We’ve got a fun morning of learning about Davy Crockett, Samuel Morse, Pompey, bats, hermit crabs, and water vapor ahead of us!
Our Actions Have Impact
“Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returneth,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.”
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This poem led to a wonderful conversation this morning with my children about the value of hard work, faithfulness, and the profit of plodding.
As a mom, as a homemaker, and as a human being, it can often be so much easier to give into the mindset that I just need more rest. I just need 10 more minutes of sleep. I just need to check my Instagram. And while rest is good in its proper place, faithful, continuous, devoted, dutiful work is of immeasurable benefit. Not just to me. Not just to my home and those within it. But to the world and to the kingdom of God.
I love how Longfellow writes about the encouragement we can glean from the lives of great men who acted. That our own labor today can be an encouragement for someone in the future. To cause them to take heart and act.
I hope this is encouraging to us as homeschool moms. Even in the baking of bread and wiping of butts and reading poems (all of which I’ve done today), our actions have impact. Act, work, take heart, and wait. God is always working. And He uses the lives of faithful mothers to do glorious things.
Oh, and be sure to enjoy it too.
Afternoon Activities
Afternoons in our home are for nature study, handicrafts, art, dancing, and other physical activities. Today we went for a walk, my seven year old worked on her embroidery, and the boys folded origami. Now the kids are dancing in the living room while I prep for dinner.
It’s also nap time for me 😆😁. I have always taken a 10 minute power nap each day. Best thing I ever learned from my mom! And often times several of the children will snuggle around me on the couch. Sometimes they’ll read to me. Other times they’ll pass out.
Always Clean Your Kitchen Before Bed!
One of the most important recommendations I can make is to always clean your kitchen before bed! Even after a long, tiring day, tomorrow you will be so grateful you started off your day with order.
One reason we can hit the ground running in the mornings is because I have prepped for the day by writing our schedule, planning breakfast, and cleaning and tidying the space we will use for school and for making our fuel for school.
It is so wonderful to wake up to a clean and tidy space. And it also helps to hit the pillow at night tired from doing good, meaningful work.
So tonight I made dinner for my family, went to dinner with my mom and then to bible study, came home and put the kiddos to bed, and then cleaned the kitchen. Now I can settle in next to my husband with a book and a cup of tea and get some much needed rest so that I can start over tomorrow.
Our Role is to be Faithful
I imagine that in many ways our homeschool looks like yours. Breakfast, morning time, lessons, lunch, afternoon activities. We go outside, play inside, read together, pray together, eat together, and play together some more.
There’s also the hiccups during the day: The battles of the will. The arguments between kids. The toddler meltdowns. The hungry bellies.
But what makes my homeschool unique, and yours too, are the little people God has gifted us with to teach and disciple and train.
I will never get over how different even my own kids are from one another (and their likenesses too). It is the pleasure of my life to get to spend my days with these individual, incredible people. And that I get to help shape who they are becoming. It’s an honor and a terrifying thing all at once. However I’m convinced that my role is to be faithful and consistent. To do everything with love and grace.
These people are persons. They have dignity and beauty and worth more than even I can recognize. And I want, more than anything, for them each to glean not just information, but knowledge every day through life and learning. I pray that they can keep that knowledge and go forth to glorify God with their lives.
I’m grateful to have been able to share our day with you. I hope it was a fun and encouraging peek into our life. May God bless you! ❤
Thank you so much to Jessi for sharing your family’s day with us!
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