Homeschooling Day in the Life: Rachel, homeschooling mom to four children, living in Northwest Indiana
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 Rachel, homeschooling mom to four children, living in Northwest Indiana.
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!
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Meet Rachel
Rachel from @shema_academy is a homeschooling mama to four awesome kiddos ages 5, 8, 11 and 12. She began homeschooling her oldest for preschool to “try homeschooling” and has never looked back.
Over the years her homeschool “why” has evolved greatly with the primary reasons being time with her children and the desire to be the primary teacher in their lives – for educational purposes but even more so for spiritual purposes. “Teach them diligently” from Deuteronomy 6:4-8 is her motto.
Their homeschool is a blend of traditional (math and language arts) and Charlotte Mason (give them all the living books for history and science). Morning time is their favorite part of the school day and any subject that can be done as a family is their preferred method. Time outdoors in nature is also a top priority in their home.
Rachel loves Jesus, being a mama, organizing, and books. She has a passion to help others and encourage and inspire them in their homeschooling journey.
Good Morning!
Good morning! I’m Rachel from @shemaacademy and I am thrilled to be sharing a day in our life with you today. My children are in pre-k, 3rd, 5th and 7th grade and we’ve been homeschooling since the beginning.
Fun fact: I never thought I would homeschool. My husband and I planned to put our children in private school, but God had other plans. And I’m so glad He did because homeschooling has become one of my greatest joys and passions.
I’ll be hanging out in stories all day, sharing with you what our real homeschool day looks like. In my posts, I’m planning to share the anchors throughout our day that guide us. Come along for a day in our life!
Morning Time
One thing we have always done in our homeschool is morning time. It’s looked different over the years, with various stages of newborns and toddlers, but it’s always been an important part of our day.
Starting our day together with a morning time feast has connected us in ways I never would have imagined. We always include Bible reading, picture books, Scripture and poetry recitation, poetry reading, and our read aloud. The rest of our morning time feast we do on a loop schedule – history, manners, composers, catechism, missionary stories, etc.
I love starting our day together around the table. No matter where the day takes us from here, I know we’ve spent quality time together, filled with truth, beauty and goodness.
Table Time
This part of our day is where we settle in at our school table and work on math and language arts. Although we start at the table, various kids will end up on the floor, on the couch, at the picnic table or swing right outside the door.
A few years ago I started what we call the snack tray that I prepare for lesson time. Oddly enough, my kids get really excited about the snack tray and it really helps cut down on the moaning and groaning when it’s time to start and it keeps their bellies satisfied until lunchtime.
Another life saver for this part of our day is our independent bins. I rotate working one on one with each of my children, starting with my youngest. My girls all have bins filled with all the work they can do independently. They can get right to work while I work with their younger sibling. I’ll take breaks throughout to answer any questions, but any new concepts they wait for their turn with me and we do together.
Lunch + Read Aloud
Lunch time is the signal that our “school day” is complete. I put that in quotes because we are learning all day, even after the book work is done.
While my kids eat, I will read a couple picture books and a fun read aloud. This read aloud is different than the one we read at morning time (which is typically related to our history).
I like to eliminate as many decisions as possible for myself, so I have a set menu for Monday-Friday for breakfast and lunch every week. This makes my life so much easier and prevents my kids from asking me a dozen times what we’re having.
Afternoon Free Time
Once lunch is over, our official “school day” is done. My children love this part of the day where they are free to do whatever they want. Sometimes they play together, sometimes alone. They will read, play outside, play with toys, craft, crochet…the possibilities are endless.
Many times what they end up doing could very well count as “school” – but don’t tell them.
This is one of my favorite perks of homeschooling – giving them the time and space to be kids and to chase their passions.
Dinner + Bed Time
Tonight is a little bit different because we are heading to church for Awana, youth group, and Bible study. This means we eat dinner early and get to bed late. On a normal night, we gather for dinner around 5:30. My dad, who lives next door, joins us almost every night.
Around 7:30-8:00, we gather in my sons room for devotions. We always review Awana verses and read a devotional. After that, everyone shares something they’re thankful for and picks a hymn to sing. Next, I put my son to bed (after reading a few more books to him!) while my girls head to their room to read a while before falling asleep.
Phew!!! Our days are full and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Thank you so much for coming along with us today.
One thing I always try to emphasize on my account is that the beauty of homeschooling is there isn’t one right way to do it. Each family gets to choose what’s best for them. The @learningwell community is a great example of this and I’m so thankful for all the work they do here so we can be inspired and encouraged by other homeschooling mamas in various seasons and stages of life. Happy homeschooling!
Thank you Rachel for sharing your Day in the Life 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.
