Homeschool Day in the Life: Nicki, Second-Generation Homeschooling Mom in 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 Nicki, second-generation homeschooling mom in Texas, and huge homeschooling advocate!
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 Nicki
Nicki @nickitruesdell is a second generation homeschooling mom for 25 years. She has five children, 3 grown, and lives in Texas where she was born and raised.
She loves teaching her kids history, iced coffee and sweet tea, and is a morning riser.
Nicki is a fierce advocate for homeschooling and loves to share with people the many ways homeschooling can be possible.
Good Morning!
Good morning, and welcome to our homeschool day! I’m Nicki Truesdell— mom to five kids (3 of them are grown), 2nd generation homeschooler, and grandmother to the two cutest little kids ever! If you saw my intro, you know I’m a morning person. However, my husband and kids (19, 16, and 14) are night owls. 😅 So our mornings look a lot different than they did when all of my children were young.
7:30 I was up with hubby (who’s getting ready for work), talked a bit, and got my coffee (iced, with real cream and maple syrup).
8:00 Hubby is out the door. First thing, I open up all of the curtains. I love the sunlight, and I can’t wait to let it in. The I start oatmeal for the kids, and set some aside for our chickens. It’s freezing in Texas this morning, and warm oatmeal makes them happy. (We live in town and have four chickens in our little backyard.)
Then I sit quietly with my coffee, reading, and posting to my social media sites. The house is quiet as the teens sleep late.
I really had to adjust to this kind of morning over the past year. I love getting up and around and BEING PRODUCTIVE, and I want everyone else to join me. But then one day I realized I used to long for this: early morning quiet time, peaceful and alone. So now I rejoice in the late-sleeping teens! (The cats appreciate it, too.)
So, prepare yourself for an outside-the-box homeschool day!
Teens + Working
9:00 Nathan (16) gets up for a meeting at his job. I start housework, laundry, and taking down Christmas decorations. 😅 Nathan works about 15-20 hours a week, and his schoolwork is scheduled around that.
10:00 After Nathan leaves for his work meeting and an errand (he has his driver’s license), Catie (14) wakes up, has breakfast, and does her morning chores, while I continue housework. (Nathan will have to catch up on his chores when he gets back in a little while.)
Morning chores include sweeping the hard floors, vacuuming the carpeted floors, cleaning the hall bathroom, feeding cats, and collecting eggs. My chores are “whatever needs doing.”
My mom (Granny to the kids) lives in an attached apartment here, and she enjoys caring for the chickens, so she feeds them each morning.
A Later Start to School
11:00 I sit down to do my Bible reading. I’m following a chronological plan, and that puts me in the book of Job right now. Along with that, I’m reading a Henry Morris commentary on Job.
My 19 year-old son, Nicholas wakes up, and I visit with him for a bit. He works a second-shift job, so his nights are late. (He graduated at 16 and has been working since then.) Granny also stops in for a chat.
12:00 Nathan takes his computer to the repair shop, eats lunch, and takes granny to the grocery store. (He loves running errands, and I am happy to have his help!) I boil a pot of eggs for deviled eggs, move laundry, make my grocery order, and eat leftovers for lunch.
We’re getting ready to start school work, I promise!
Independent School Work
My teens do their school work for 3-4 hours each day, in the dining room, or the kitchen, or their bedrooms.
The last thing we do in the afternoon/evening is history with Dad. We made this change last fall. So at some point after hubby comes home, we do history as a group.
Ending the Day
Our family time with history, free time, and devotions is up next, and then I’m off to bed. Thank you for joining us today!
Thank you so much to Nicki 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.