Autumn Homeschool Rhythm
Recently I asked my IG stories what people wanted to hear more about and there were lots of requests for a breakdown of what our day is looking like now that I have two middle schoolers and a kindergartener in the mix. Honestly, it really doesn’t look that much different than what our “default routine” has been these last few years. But, I’ll break down our day in a little more detail and also include what we’re working on and when.
If you’re looking for an easy way to help organize your day I have an editable template you can snag right here: Daily Rhythm Template. I always keep our routine posted in our school room so the kids know what to expect.
7-9 AM: MORNING ROUTINE
Our morning routine is pretty relaxed. All of us wake up at different times sometime between about 7:30-8:30. I usually try to get a little exercise in the morning, but it just depends on the day. Then I will make a quick breakfast or sometimes the kids on their own or the girls will make breakfast especially when I have a busy day ahead of me. We all get ready and do our morning jobs. The kids have a simple chore chart they follow that has reminders for things like getting dressed, brushing teeth, and making their beds. We always try to tidy up the house the night before, but if we don’t we’ll usually spend like 10 minutes and everyone works do a quick tidy. We also unload dishes and try to start a load of laundry in the mornings.
9-12: DAILY STUDIES 9-12
It’s usually sometime between 8:30-9:30 that we’re starting our morning devotional. This is one of my most favorite parts of our days. Sometimes our devotionals are a quick 15 minute hymn, spiritual thought/scripture, pledge, and prayer. This just really helps the kids transition into school work and sets the tone for our day to invite the spirit in. I also love to grab a picture book or two and read during this time.
This routine is something we’ve had for nearly five years now though and there are so many days we have ended up talking and learning about the gospel for nearly an hour. Usually we’re tying in other studies or exploring other parts of the scriptures. I try really hard to protect this time because it’s become such a sacred part of our day. This is also the time we read from scripture and do our Come, Follow Me study. To aid in this study we use Red Headed Hostess almost daily and absolutely love it.
By 10:00 we’re usually moving into our other core work - math and language arts. My older girls split off and do their independent work which right now is reading, handwriting/typing, spelling, writing, and grammar practice, piano, and math. (All of our 6th Grade Curriculum Picks). My 2nd grader starts his independent work which is his math review, Explode the Code, reading, spelling, and handwriting if it hasn’t already been done. (All of our 2nd Grade Curriculum Picks) While he is doing that, I work with my kindergartner and complete math, language arts, handwriting, Explode the Code, and a one page spread out of My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things (All of our Kindergarten Curriculum Picks).
My 2nd grader usually finishes his independent work about 10-15 minutes and he either usually plays, listens to his Yoto, or does a learning game on the iPad while I finish up with my kindergartner. Then we switch and my kindergartner does one of those activities while I work with my 2nd grader with the rest of his work and review anything he needed help with.
Most days we’re easily done by about 11:30-12:00 and the girls are usually done (or pretty close) with their independent work by this time as well. Next, sometimes we break and have lunch or sometimes I meet with my girls and help them finish up math or anything else they needed help with.
12-2: LUNCH + FAMILY STUDIES
After we eat, like I mentioned, I either finish up working with my girls on math or anything they need help with and then we come together for our family study. Originally, I wasn’t really planning on having a dedicated family study this year - I had planned on my girls having a lot more independent work for science and history, but as we dove into our year I definitely felt like we still needed this time and I am so glad I moved our history/science back to family style. This time right after lunch has always worked really well for us to have our family studies because sometimes it’s a short lesson and we will be done with the day sometimes even as early as 12:30. Other times, we can take our time and just have fun and work on longer projects or have longer discussions and it’s just been another really precious time for us. Right now we’re looping between 4 things for this time: Science in the Beginning, Harry Potter studies, Belle Ame at Home’s The Majesty of Math, and Art Makes Me Smart: Around the World. This has been a good mix for a little bit of everything for everyone.
2-5: AFTERNOON ACTIVITIES
Once we wrap up our school day the kids usually play and/or are at extra curriculars. This is also the time I work on my blog/IG or other house projects. In this season of life and as our kids are getting older, I feel like our days after 2:00 are getting increasingly more busy and it’s something I have been learning to try to balance this year.
5-8: EVENING ROUTINE
5:00 is usually the signal time for me to get dinner going and we usually eat between 5:30-6:00. Once we eat and clean up dinner the kids usually play while I work on house chores. When the weather is good we like to do family bike rides in the evening and then I usually find myself balancing time between working, house chores, or other obligations. Recently it feels like this part of our day as been really busy. Naturally, the winter season and the shorter daylight will bring slower evenings for us though which I am really looking forward to.
8-9: BEDTIME ROUTINE
Around 8:00 we start night chores and help tidy up the house so it’s ready for the next day if it isn’t already. Then the kids get all ready for bed and we do our family read aloud at about 8:30. We just finished reading The Princess and the Goblin and now we’re listening to A Place to Hang the Moon and we’re all loving it. Here are 20+ Family Read Aloud Recommendations if you’re looking for a list of some more family read alouds.
Then the kids head right to bed. My twins almost always read for about another hour or so and my oldest son loves to draw right before falling asleep. My youngest son (5) is usually so worn out by this time of day that he falls right to sleep, but I always lay with him until he does. I know it’s not going to be that much longer until he grows out of that so I am soaking it up while I can.
That pretty much wraps up our day! Of course, not every day looks like this, but, like I mentioned, it’s our default routine. Let me know if you have any questions.
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