Homeschooling Day in the Life: Leah, Military Wife and Homeschooling Mom to Four Children

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 Leah, military wife and homeschooling mom to four children!

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.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!

Learning Well LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate links from Amazon or other programs are used on this website. For more info, please refer to our disclosure statement.

Meet Leah

Leah @sprinkle_and_sow_homeschool is a long time military wife and mother of four children, ages 8-16. She is a Texan transplanted to the east coast, and Leah loves all things HOME, homeschooling being at the top of that list!

To Leah, homeschooling is about togetherness. It’s about guarding the good deposit that has been entrusted to her {2 Timothy 1:4}. She values the freedom homeschool provides, and works to incorporate that freedom in everyday life.

Leah loves to encourage others, especially in the area of making homeschool do-able & affordable in a one income family.

Good Morning!

Good morning Learningwell community! I’m Leah @sprinkle_and_sow_homeschool , and I’m honored to share a homeschool day with each of you.

I’m a military wife, with four lively children, who are 16, 13, and twins who are 8. Having kiddos in all different stages of learning keeps me pretty busy as mama/teacher. I truly feel called to this life though, and wouldn’t trade it for anything, even on the hard days.

Come along with us today, as we journey through a normal Wednesday. Thankfully Wednesdays are days we take it slow, because we don’t have extra-curricular activities in the evening. So you can expect to see what a full homeschool day looks like in our home.

Our learning style is a little bit eclectic, as we pull from many different curriculum companies. A little bit Charlotte Mason, as we enjoy learning in nature, growing together during morning basket, and reading aloud. And since we thrive in a structured environment, a little bit school-at-home. Today, we’re excited to show what this combination looks like for us!

Morning Basket

The kids start trickling downstairs between 7:30-8. While I prepare breakfast, they get dressed for the day and do their morning chores. By 9, we gather around the table to eat and do morning basket.

This consists of Bible, apologetics/catechism/scripture memorization (depending on the day), Christian history, listening to the daily Worldview in 5 minutes newscast, and our read-aloud.

Here’s a breakdown of what we’re currently using:

• Bible: Using, Draw the Psalms, by Notgrass. We started this recently and are already enjoying diving into Psalms in this creative way. I’ve heard the more senses you use while studying something the easier it is to put to memory.
• Apologetics: Using, Answers books, by Answers in Genesis.
• Catechism: Using, New City Catechism.
• Christian history: Using, The One Year Christian History, by Tyndale.
• Read-aloud: Little Town on the Prairie. We’re gearing up for a trip to the Dakotas this summer and plan to visit as many of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museums as we can. So we’re preparing for this fun adventure by reading the series.

Morning basket usually takes 1 hour, and then we move on to independent studies. Here are a few other morning basket resources we’ve used and loved:

• Leading Little ones to God, by Schoolland
• Answers Magazines, by Answers in Genesis
• 101 Favorite Stories from the Bible, by Masterbooks
• The Book of Virtues, by William J. Bennett

Our School Rhythm

Before lunch I devote time with my 2nd graders to do what is on the schedule for that day. While we do this, my older two work independently. Then we’re all hungry for lunch. Usually we do something simple, like sandwiches & fruit. I normally read aloud while we eat.

After lunch I will devote time separately with the older two to complete their dependent subjects. I developed a daily schedule at the beginning of the school year that we follow. Today will be dictation with the 7th grader, and literature reading with the 10th grader.

Developing this schedule came by much trial and error. Over time we’ve worked out the kinks and it’s working for the time being. My advice is to not be afraid to make changes if needed. Always be willing to bend and change for the season you’re in.

Curriculum

It’s important to us to use primarily biblical worldview curriculum. This year my children are in 10th, 7th, & 2nd grade. Yep, I have a high schooler, a middle schooler, and two in elementary. Quite the span! Due to the age gap, curriculum looks different amongst the levels.

Here’s the breakdown of what we’re using, according to grade.

2nd grade:

• Language Arts: The Good and the Beautiful, Level 1
• Language Arts: Generations Curriculum, God’s Big Story
• Math: The Good and the Beautiful, level 2
• Science: Generations Curriculum, God Made Everything
• History: Generations Curriculum, Taking the Middle East for Jesus
• Handwriting: A Reason for Handwriting

7th grade:

• Language Arts: The Good and the Beautiful, Level 6
• Literature: Generations Curriculum, Great Christian Adventures
• Math: Thinkwell Homeschool Online, Pre-Algebra
• Science: Generations Curriculum, God Made the World
• History: Generations Curriculum, Experiencing Christian History through the Ages
• Civics: Generations Curriculum, What Does the Bible Say About That?
• Handwriting: The Good and the Beautiful, Level 7

10th grade:

• Language Arts: The Good and the Beautiful, High School 1
• Literature: Generations Curriculum, Great Christian Classics Vol. 1
• Foreign Language: Compass Classroom, Latin 2
• Math: Thinkwell Homeschool Online, Algebra 2 w/Honors
• Science: Masterbooks, Chemistry with Lab
• History: Generations Curriculum, America, In God’s Providence
• Economics: Generations Curriculum, How the World Runs
• Apologetics: Masterbooks, The New Answers Books 1 & 2

Sprinkling + Sowing Knowledge and Truth

Doing this takeover is so exciting! I love connecting with other mamas on this app. We can be a wonderful source of encouragement to each other. I’d love for you to come and join me @sprinkle_and_sow_homeschool . Let me share why I named my account this, and my passion behind it.

First, Sprinkle is our last name. So fun, right? Side note, when I first met my husband and learned his last name it made me smile. How can you not hear that and be cheerful?!

Secondly, I strive to pour goodness into my children. To sprinkle and to sow knowledge & truth! This reminds me of a sunflower. Sunflowers turn toward the sun, they grow in stature and strength, and when they’re fully grown they drop and sow their seeds. Time passes, the next season comes, and those seeds that were sown grow into their purpose.

This is how I view my role as a homeschool parent, by the sprinkling and sowing of knowledge and truth. What a blessing this role is!

Homeschooling Can Be Affordable!

It’s a passion of mine to show how affordable homeschooling can be. It DOESN’T have to be a burden on your pocketbook!

We’re a one income family. My husband has served in the military for 22 years, and counting. This lifestyle can be tough, but I’m very thankful for a supportive husband, who diligently provides a means for us to homeschool. That said, I like finding ways to save yearly on curriculum. Here are the ways I like to save:

• Purchase curriculum in PDF form, often at a big discount, in some cases even free.
• Print with an Epson Ecotank printer. This helps with ink costs.
• Bind curriculum myself.
• Purchase secondhand at used bookstores, local homeschool shops, thrift stores, and FB Marketplace.
• Take advantage of sales offered by curriculum companies through the year.
• Sell gently used curriculum we no longer need.

Another fun thing we do as a family each summer is to prepare for, and have a yard sale. The profit we make goes towards curriculum for the next school year. The kids love participating and knowing they have a hand in it, too.

What I Love About Homeschooling

What do I love about homeschool? Here are a few of the numerous things.

• The togetherness! These years are precious and we won’t get them back.
• The freedom! We aren’t bound by a schedule. If we need to alter something, it’s do-able. If we need a change of scenery, we do that. One of our favorite things to do is pack up our books, head to a local restaurant, and do school there.
• Pairing science & nature! There’s much to learn in nature. God’s created world was made to explore! It’s fun and exciting to collect nature finds, and bring them inside to display on our ever growing nature shelf.
• History, science, and apologetics are my favorite things to teach. With history, it’s about knowing where we came from in order to know where we’re going. With science, it’s about exploring God’s created world and his fascinating genius. And apologetics is about having the biblical answers we need in order to prepare us to stand.

Wrapping Up the Day

What a fun day! It’s truly been a blast. I’ve enjoyed sharing how we move through our homeschool days with you. Thank you for engaging with me, and all the great questions. Now it’s time for me to make tacos for dinner, and start to wind down this awesome day. If you’ve enjoyed following along with us, I’d love for you to come over and join me on my personal page @sprinkle_and_sow_homeschool. Hope to see you there soon!

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO LEAH FOR SHARING YOUR FAMILY’S DAY WITH US!

If you want to see more Day in the Life photos and videos, be sure to check out our Instagram profile. There are highlights of each takeover at the top.