Homeschooling Day in the Life: Kristie, Homeschooling Mom of Three in the Midwest, Who Enjoys Relaxed Homeschooling

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 Kristie, homeschooling mom of three in the Midwest, who enjoys relaxed homeschooling.

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 Kristie

Kristie @theselittlesprouts lives in the Midwest with her husband and three kids and has been homeschooling going on 6 years. She is teaching kindergarten, second grade, and 7th grade.

Homeschooling wasn’t really something she thought she would do, however when circumstances arose, she jumped in with both feet and never looked back. Kristie began sharing homeschool content on Instagram as well as YouTube to help show what homeschool can really be like, as well as find some community with others who are also passionate about homeschooling and all the things.

In her spare time, Kristie loves being outside having adventures, drawing and painting, and gardening.

Relaxed Homeschooling

I want to talk about homeschooling when you tend to be more of a “Type B” kind of person. Some people don’t like that label, but it’s the easiest way I can describe it. I have a really relaxed, love all the fun, kind of personality, but I am not the most organized person, and I tend to have trouble with forgetfulness and preparedness. When I began homeschooling going on 6 years ago, I realized that doesn’t usually work out so well. I realized I was going to have to work hard and make some changes to help my homeschool thrive and ultimately, be successful. Here are some tips I have for the “disorganized, spacey” homeschool mom, that will help your homeschool days go more smoothly, while also not overwhelming you.

1. Create consistency in your routine. When you are this type of person, schedules and deadlines can overwhelm you. It is very helpful to have a consistent “flow” to your school days. This does not need to be a strict schedule. Do the same things in roughly the same order, start school at a relatively consistent time, and keep your expectations for your kids consistent. Have a rough plan for the week of what subjects you are wanting to cover on each day.

2. Look at your lessons for the day, before you sit down with your children. Some people are really great planners and will have a day on the weekend for example, to look ahead for the whole week or couple of weeks. I am not often that person, although I wish I was. So for me, the simple habits of choosing relatively open and go types of curriculum, as well as taking some moments in the morning while my kids are having breakfast to look over the lessons for the day really helps. It’s simple to do, and it helps me to have supplies prepared, books pulled, or printouts we may need ready to go.

3. Premade Science kits. So worth it. You won’t ever forget a supply needed for an experiment again.

4. Do not be afraid to lean into the strengths you do have with being this type of person. You have such a natural ability to keep things relaxed, non stressful, slow, and so much fun for your kids, which is important too! Homeschool needs some fun and even spontaneity sometimes!

Homeschooling Teens

Homeschooling my teenager has been something more beautiful and wonderful than I ever imagined it would be.

Something pretty unique is that because we chose to homeschool, she has had her own space and time to figure out who she is, what she likes, who she will be, without so much pressure from outside. She gets to navigate those “awkward” teen years in the comfort of home, with people who love and build her up. She has the time to discover new things both in the world, as well as within herself, without the pressure to fit inside a box.

I have always established a “team” mentality from the very beginning in our homeschool. We are a team truly. Learning and re-learning together. We have built such a close relationship. She is so fun to be around, and I value all the time I got back with her and all the memories we have made through choosing to homeschool. In a time where teenagers often get a “bad rap” and it is deemed “normal” for them to drift away from their parents, I value this closeness and being with her everyday more than ever.

Hands-On Homeschooling

Something I have always naturally done is be really hands on in homeschooling my kids. I love getting in there and getting involved in the messy science experiments and art projects. Reading the literature with my teenager for language arts and doing the history lessons is such a joy. I have had to re-learn some things over the years that I hadn’t learned well, or forgot from my own education (hello Algebra Land 👋🏻). It has been important to me to make sure that my kids know we are a “team” working together to learn and grow.

I often see claims and grievances/complaints about middle school+ kids not doing their school work all independently. I get the appeal of them teaching themselves. It definitely would take a ton of work and time off my plate. However, although it may be an unpopular opinion, I still think it is important to read and present the new information and lecture to them rather than them doing it for themselves. Even a child in a school has a teacher who presents the information to them. I think it’s a little unfair to expect a child to read the lesson or lecture on new information or concepts, understand and comprehend it completely, and apply it, all on their own. There are most definitely exceptions to this. Some kids may just naturally have that drive and ability, but if they do not that’s okay too.

I read the lessons with them, then I talk them through it and discuss it with them. I answer their questions if they have them, and then help guide them into finding the answer (teach them to seek out information) and go through examples if applicable. Then and only then, do I have them do the independent work and practice. I want to be the teacher always for them and actually teach the information to them no matter their age. It’s my responsibility, kind of my “job” in a sense, and I hope to always do my best at it.

Cooking With Kids

Cooking with my kids is messy, and often takes more time than it would to just do it myself. However, I have found taking the time to slow down and help them to learn kitchen skills, recipes, and the act of making a homemade meal to care for their family is so worth it. They love helping me in the kitchen and they are so proud of the meal when they are finished.

While sometimes all of them help all at once and I give each a task to do, I have found that it works much better to choose one child to help with dinner each night. This helps me focus better at what is going on. It also helps limit arguing and fighting. Today my 2nd grader and I are making a homemade chicken pot pie from scratch.

Reading Together

We love reading together and we have many books going at the same time. Because of the age difference with my kids as well as various interests, I do individual read alouds with each of them. We do these read alouds at bedtime, which allows me to spend time with each child individually cuddled in their bed reading to them each night. My kids love that one on one time reading with me as I do with them. For my oldest, it is nice to read a more complex novel than I am able to with the younger two. For my only son, it is nice to be able to cater to his boy like interests (knights, dinosaurs, Harry Potter). I just started reading some shorter chapter books with my littlest girl and she adores all the cutesy, girly, animal stories. (Sophie mouse, Heartwood Hotel)

We also sometimes have a family read aloud we are working through as well which we do at various times during the day or evening. Usually this book is somewhere around my middle son’s level or slightly above so that it works pretty well for all three of them.

My tip for read alouds is if you have trouble fitting them into your day, try doing them at bedtime. That was a game changer for us.

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