·

Homeschooling Day in the Life: Shell, new homeschooling mom of two

Day in the life Shell

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 Shell, new homeschooling mom to two 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.

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.

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 Shell

Meet Shell

Shell @homeschoolwell is first and foremost a (newish) follower of Jesus. She is also a wife of 13 years to her husband Brandon, a leather smith, and of course a mama.

Her daughter is 12 (7th grade) & her son is 11 (5th grade). They have only been homeschooling for two years and still feel quite new sometimes. Shell has been on quite a journey since she graduated from college – she has been a working mama at a law firm, a graduate student, then a chiropractor and now a stay at home, homeschooling mama.

Her kids grew up going to Montessori schools and then public school for many years. Shell believes that all of these experiences have led her to her most important journey, which is getting to educate and be home with her children.

Shell and her kids enjoy their time at home. If they aren’t there then you can find them at a barn, baseball field, or grandma’s house in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

Get the 6 Secrets to a Simpler Mom Life

Morning Routine

Morning routine Shell

Good Morning from Texas! We are in the thick of our morning routine at the moment – which is usually from 7:30-9:00. We take our time in the mornings! I really don’t miss those rushed days where we all had to be ready and out of the house by 7:15.

It’s really important to me to foster independence in my kiddos. As they’ve gotten older, I’ve handed off the breakfast making duties (for the most part). This leaves me time to get ready, take my supplements, and make some coffee & breakfast and empty the dishwasher.

Our first year of homeschooling at home I learned the hard way that if I didn’t have time to get ready and get some chores done around the house, I was distracted. Can anyone else relate? Homeschool has a way of teaching us these lessons.

Morning Group Subjects

Here’s a glimpse at our morning group subjects – sometimes called a morning basket. We start with Bible time which could be reading from Psalms and Proverbs, or doing a lesson from Our 24 Family Ways. However, most frequently we reach for the Truth book.

Next, I will read aloud – currently we are reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Have you read it? We’ve heard great things and are so excited to finish it this year!

Finally, we will do a quick lesson from Notgrass history to complete our morning group subjects.

I cherish this part of our homeschool day, it’s the part where I feel the most freedom and creativity. Sometimes I will add in little extras like wilderness/survival cards or vocabulary lessons too. It’s fun to be able to mix and match!

What’s your favorite part of your homeschool routine? I know some of y’all out there love math and science, maybe you could come over and help a mama out?!

Independent Work

Independent work Shell

Here is a glimpse of our independent work time. Usually by this time of the year my kids forget they have perfectly good desks to work at. I suppose that’s the beauty of homeschool —> Comfy couches, dogs to cuddle with, and siblings to be silly with!

Do your kids work at a desk most of the time, or do they find random cracks and crevices all around the house to do their work in?

Extracurricular Activities

Sometimes I feel like I need an app called 1,000 hours inside. Both of my kids have found sports they are extremely passionate about at a young age which happen to be outdoor activities. Between the pool, the barn, and the baseball field, we get our fill of outside time. We are thankful it’s not just for a few hours a week like it was when they were in public school. They have daily hobbies that are just as much a part of our lives as the schooling part. It keeps us busy and makes life a lot more fun!

The life lessons they learn from their hobbies are priceless to me. They get to learn about hard work, commitment, character, and so much more.

I know that when we all get older these are some of the moments we will look back on with the fondest of memories.

Our Homeschool Journey

Homeschool journey Shell

As my day here closes out I am spending some alone time in our school room just thinking about our homeschool journey over these past two years.

I am thinking about what I really want to share with y’all besides just our daily routine. I want to speak to the apprehensive mamas, the struggling mamas, the doubtful and tired mamas. That’s where my heart truly lies. I am far from perfect, and I do not consider myself a “typical” homeschool mom. Some days I truly wonder how I even got here, and I can feel that imposter syndrome creeping in.

Behind the pretty pictures of perfectly poised children and decorated classrooms lies so much that often doesn’t get discussed. Homeschooling is hard. It is. I think I’d be hard pressed to find someone that disagrees with that 3 word sentence. What I can tell you, as someone who is not naturally patient or organized, is that homeschool is a wonderful life teacher. It shows us our faults and failures, right in our face every single day. Being forced to face them and overcome them alongside our precious children is a good thing! Challenges we overcome together truly are blessings. Growing in grace and mercy is, in my opinion, meant to be done at home with the ones we love the most.

Home is a safe haven in this wild world we live in. I’m thankful for our days spent here–even the hard ones. There is much to learn and do and I can’t think of a better place for all of us to do that, than at home.

Thanks for Having Me!

Thank you Shell

Thank you guys so much for following along today. I feel honored to be able to share our life with y’all on one of the best homeschool pages on Instagram 👏🏻

This page has been so helpful to me as a new homeschooler. It is truly priceless to get a peek at all the different ways that home education can be done! If you’d like to follow along as we go into our 3rd year, you can find us at @homeschoolwell.

Day in the life Shell

Thank you so much to Shell 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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.