Homeschool Day in the Life: Min, homeschool mom to four of her own and two more!

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 Min, homeschooling mama to four of her own children, as well as two of her friend’s kids!

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 Min

There are three things you’ll notice when you meet Min: she loves Jesus, is always creating something, and is passionate about supporting moms in their motherhood journey. Min pours herself into helping mothers cultivate life-giving habits and spiritual disciplines FIRST, so they can experience a deeper, powerful life in Christ which will overflow into their homes, and beyond. 

Min also believes dearly in providing as many children as possible with a life-giving Charlotte Mason education. While homeschooling her own foursome, Min brought the philosophy into her church’s Childrens Ministry, and has also begun homeschooling two more children. 

If you enjoy ginger tea, planning, handicrafts, and have a secret wish to start a flower farm, you’ll become fast friends. You can find Min sharing at MinJungHwang.com, in the new Life-Giving Motherhood membership, on Instagram @min.j.hwang , and on the “Charlotte Mason For All” podcast. Finally, in order to provide free, convenient access to Miss Mason’s volumes for families around the world, Min is reading them aloud on the new “Charlotte Mason’s Volumes” podcast.

Every Day is a Gift From God

Good morning, friend! Min from @min.j.hwang here. Every morning, I can’t help but wake with a sense of excitement for what God will do today. One of the first things I do is to speak truth to myself as soon as I open my eyes: “Today is a gift from God. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”⠀
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Very early on, I saw the power of speaking God’s Word to myself first thing in the morning and throughout the day. His Word never returns to Him empty. But I need help: my flesh is weak though my spirit is willing. So, over the years I’ve worked at figuring out what my obstacles are, and then changing my environment to help me develop life-giving habits.⠀
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For example, I don’t like being cold. To keep myself from being too cold and uncomfortable to get out of my warm bed, I keep warm clothes right next to my bedside table. I can then quickly grab them and change before heading out to the kitchen. Small steps.⠀
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In the kitchen, where my date spot with Jesus is, I have a mug waiting, along with a blanket on my chair, and a candle in the diffuser.⠀
Two carts await me there as well which I call my “mother culture” carts: one with my Bible study books and journals (plus a secret stash of chocolates?), and another with my paints and calligraphy supplies.⠀
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While my children are slowly waking up and spending time with the Lord in their rooms, I’m enjoying the Word of God, time in intense study of a book of the Bible (1 Corinthians right now), prayer, silence and solitude. I also try to practice writing. Writing is very hard for me, but I desire to hone this craft to advance the Kingdom of God, and one day write a book, Lord willing.⠀
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One by one, my children will emerge from their rooms, and shower me with hugs and kisses. The older two get some chores done. The younger two ask me to tie their hair while waiting for their two friends to arrive – daughters of a friend whom I homeschool too. Our mornings are peaceful, slow, and rich with God’s Presence. I wouldn’t want them any other way.♥️ I pray you’re having a joy-filled, peace-filled morning too, friend.

Breakfast + Bible Lesson

While the children play and get their excited jitters out (they’ve not seen each other since yesterday afternoon?), and while my teen gets breakfast ready, I prepare the table. A couple of years ago I discovered this idea of using menus from @meaningfulmenus. I loved this idea so much that I’ve begun to use them in our church’s children’s Sunday school as well. I fill them with hymns and Scripture recitations we’re working on together. ⠀
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After breakfast and our Bible Lesson, we’ll sing the doxology while cleaning up the table and getting our lesson books out. Each child has their own shelf with this term’s books. I have one for myself as well, although I also have stacks on the kitchen island.⠀
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I use a large visual timer to keep our lessons short, as per Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and methods, to develop the habit of attention. The one I have is great because it doesn’t make a ticking sound, and my youngest who cannot tell time yet is able to “read it” nevertheless.

Lunch Time + Picky Eaters

Lunch time! Any picky-eaters? Meal times too are a part of education, for we are educating the whole child.
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“The best rule is not to allow oneself in daintiness about food, but to eat what is set before one; indeed, a wise person is rather glad when something is served which he does not exactly like, or when he has to take disagreeable medicine, because this gives him an opportunity to keep Taste in his proper place, that of a servant and not of a master.” ~Charlotte Mason, Vol.4, p.25⠀
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Taste must be kept in its place as a servant, not as a master. Brilliant! But how? Here’s a few things I try to keep in mind:⠀
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Don’t make a big deal, overemphasizing the importance of a particular food.⠀
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Don’t make it an emotional ordeal. The last thing I want is for the child to have a negative feeling toward food.⠀
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Don’t create a power struggle over food, making food a tool to use for power and leverage.⠀
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Do give something new to try (in small amounts) along with a comfort food.⠀
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Do create an emotionally positive and peaceful atmosphere; this might include diverting attention by having a read aloud book during the meal (audiobook or reading aloud myself).⠀
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Do give the new food, in small amounts, consistently for several meals to create familiarity.⠀
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Sometimes those ideas work with a new food, and sometimes they don’t, but it doesn’t hurt to try! At the least, we have pleasant meal-times with no power struggles. At best, my child discovers a new food, grows his/her palette, and builds lovely childhood memories of family meals.⠀
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So far, my children enjoy a large variety of ethnic foods. And we continue to try new foods together – seeing them as learning opportunities to grow in wisdom, in love of neighbor, and in strength of will.

“Mother Culture” Time

Normally at this time I spend it reading, painting, and learning a new skill (such as Adobe Illustrator). This is my second “mother culture” time in my day. It is a time to refresh and refuel so I can continue to be poured out – not from an empty cistern – but filled up with “life-giving water.” Just as Jesus came to serve, not to be served, that’s my goal too. Every day. And to do it well.
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However, today I’m needing to use this time to prepare for an IG Live + Zoom chat to introduce a new membership (for moms desiring to improve upon their life-giving habits) that I’m launching on Friday. Before I go I’d like to share just a few ways to include your children in your ministry and work, so they don’t feel like it’s taking you away from them, but rather, they are an integral part of your team.⠀
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1. Read the Vanderbeekers to the Rescue (book 3) together! Here’s a living idea right there and the power of story. The children try to help their mother save her baking business. It’s a sweet story of how the children, in my honest opinion, truly “see” their mother in a new light. As they realize their mother’s personhood, they do whatever they can to help their mother flourish in serving others with her talents. I simply have to say, ‘This is mommy’s “baking business”and I need your help.’ They know what that means!
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2. Share your weekly/monthly timetable with your children and inform them of your projects, events, etc. Put your calendar in a visible place so they feel included.⠀

It’s a FAMILY business or ministry. For an example, the above is a picture of the “Mother’s Timetable.”
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3. Ask them to pray together with you, for you, and for the families you are serving together through the work you’re striving to do exceptionally well – to display the glory of our Exceptional God, by loving others.⠀

Family Blessing Time

Our home is a gift from the Lord so we want to steward it well together. It’s a gift for our family to learn and grow in, as well as a gift to be used in service of others. We hope it will be a sanctuary for many and all whom the Lord brings into our lives.⠀
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Many years ago, I heard about this Family Blessing Time from another homeschool mom, and then I also saw something similar to this chart on Pinterest. I put the two together to create this “Family Blessing Time Chart,” and it has worked well for us over the years.⠀
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Each child has several clothespins with their initial on it.⠀
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I assign them chores by clipping their name the chore box.⠀
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Once completed, they move their pin to the “Done” box.⠀
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After time playing outdoors, we have Family Blessing Time! We like to turn on upbeat praise music as we do our Family Blessing Time together.⠀
As the children work on their chores, I’m working on dinner. We feel so good to have a clean and orderly home to enjoy in the evening. It also gives us great joy to present our hard-working daddy with a clean home when he returns after a long day. Some days we aren’t home at this time, so it doesn’t happen, however this is the norm we strive for.⠀
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If you’d like a copy of this chart as an editable PDF, hop on over to MinJungHwang.com/Freebies. You’ll receive access to this, as well as an ever-growing “vineyard” of resources.

Daily Work at Home Matters

Good-night friend! Thank you for letting me be a part of your day today. I’ve got my electric blanket on, and I’m snuggled in bed with my children around me, massaging my feet as they wait for me to read them our bedtime read-aloud. Afterwards, I’ll spend time catching up on some reading of my own before time in prayer.⠀
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If you’d like to stay in touch, I’d be honored to have you join me over @min.j.hwang and, better yet, have you join me over⠀
at Life-givingmotherhood.com and MinJungHwang.com.
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Dear friend, your daily work at home matters. It has eternal repercussions. We parents can do hard things. Let’s continue to do our most exceptional work as mothers and educators, to display the excellencies of our great God, for the good of others!

Thank you so much to Min 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.