Homeschool Life Is More Than Just A Lesson Plan {week 26 recap}
Each week, I share our real life, interest-led homeschool lesson plans. Because nothing every really goes according to plan, I also include a recap of the week prior . This is week 26 of 2022 in which I also share what a typical day looks like, from start to finish.
A question that has frequently come up since I began sharing our weeks has nothing to do with our actual lesson plans, and more to do with our daily lives.
I love seeing your weekly recaps, but I find myself wondering that the rest of your days look like. How to do you handle all the other mom stuff that has nothing to do with homeschooling?
Sarah, mom of 3
It’s a great question and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that much of what I do throughout the day has nothing to do with homeschooling at all. What I am sharing with you each week is actually a small portion of our days.
Homeschool Life Is More Than Just A Lesson Plan
I used to share my “day in the life” each year on Simple Homeschool. A peek inside other moms’ days is one of my favorite things on the internet.
I thought I would take some time this week to give you a glimpse at a complete day for me. It includes our lesson plan learning, but also all the other things that go into caring for my family and myself.
A Sample Day In My Life As A Homeschooling Mom
Here is a step by step recap of last Tuesday:
5:30 AM – Alarm goes off
5:45 AM – Alarm goes off again and I actually get up this time. I let the dogs out, feed the cat, and brew a cup of tea. I read a book that brings me joy and journal for about 10-15 minutes.
6:15AM – 7:30AM – Work (I assist a few other homeschool bloggers with their sites and memberships).
7:30 AM – My husband comes downstairs and we have coffee together.
8:00 AM – My youngest comes downstairs. I begin to prep his medicines for the day (he takes meds every four hours) and cook his oatmeal. He has extreme food allergies so his eating habits are pretty basic and repetitive. I make and he eats oatmeal every single morning of his life. He also snacks on homemade oat bars and fresh fruit throughout the day. I prep these as well.
8:30AM – 9:00AM – More work time while my youngest and my husband watch YouTube together.
9:00 AM – My oldest is up and I head into his room to discuss our plans for the day. I then get ready. Nothing special – elastic waist pants and a ponytail. I also start a load of laundry.
10:00 AM – Time for a Zoom meeting for work. My oldest does his own thing for breakfast and my youngest is watching rock climbing videos on YouTube. My husband is working from home and up in his office.
11:30 AM – My meeting went a little long, so I hurry my son in for his online drivers training class and math. I also change over the laundry.
12:30 PM – My husband and oldest come down for lunch and they decide to grab a sandwich. I make homemade hummus and pita for my youngest (again food allergies). I eat a random assortment of snacks throughout the morning and afternoon.
1:15 PM – Ocean Study
2:00 PM – Voice Class online for my youngest. My oldest and I head out to Guitar Center. He wants to change the strings on one of his guitars and I want to get him out of the house for a bit.
3:30 PM – YouTube videos together with discussion.
4:30 PM – The boys continue watching and I get some more work in.
6:15 PM – We need to pick up meds from CVS. The boys and I make the trip through the pharmacy drive-thru and listen to an audiobook along the way.
6:45 PM – I cook a quick dinner for my husband and oldest. Then, I make a special chicken chili for my youngest and I. (Food allergies mean I am almost always making more than one meal at a time.)
8:00 PM – Time for nighttime meds for my youngest. He takes them and lies down on the couch. We turn on a show for all of us. When he gets tired, my husband and oldest head upstairs and watch Stranger Things together. My youngest and I turn on MythBusters. We both fall asleep on the couch.
10:00 PM – My husband comes down to put the dogs out. My youngest and I hear him and relocate to our beds upstairs.
This is a pretty boring day, but it’s also a really average day for us. It will look different when my oldest heads back up to college in the fall, but for now, the pace is just right for our summer together.
Now, here’s what happened throughout the rest of the week.
Last Week’s Homeschool Lesson Plans vs. Reality:
Monday
THE PLAN
- X-Rays and MRI – no telling how long
- Blood Plasma Infusion – 4 hours
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- X-rays and MRI – 4 hours
- Blood Plasma Infusion – 4 hours
Tuesday
THE PLAN
- YouTube Video – together
- Online Voice/Music Lesson – one hour
- Current Events Discussion – read and discuss various news reports
- Ocean Unit Study
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- See the above daily recap!
Wednesday
THE PLAN
- Physical Therapy (assuming he’s cleared for it) – 2 hours
- Drivers Ed
- Audiobook and Discussion
- YouTube Video – together
- Free trial of Vocabulary Quest
- Current Events Discussion – read and discuss various news reports
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- Physical Therapy – 2 hours (He has some tendon and cartilage issues in his knee, but no major injuries. He can move, but has to take it easy.)
- Because my son was in pain after the PT, we came home, got comfortable on the couch and watched an entire season of The Kings Of Pain. (It’s science adjacent so I don’t feel too guilty.)
Thursday
THE PLAN
- Audiobook and Discussion
- Social Time with friends at school – 1 hour
- Art class – 1 hour
- Rock Climbing class – 2 hours
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- Audiobook and Discussion
- Social Time with friends – 1 hour
- Art class – 1 hour
- My oldest and I went to lunch together while his brother was in class. We then visited an art supply store and spent too much money. (Again, it is working well to prioritize one on one time with him and get out of the house together.)
- Rock Climbing class – 2 hours (He couldn’t participate, but still wanted to go and interact with his friends.)
Friday
THE PLAN
- History – taught by brother
- YouTube Video – their choice and educational
- Audiobooks
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
- Drivers Ed (he is close to finishing the online class portion of his learning!)
- YouTube Video – Ocean Study
- Creative Writing – He types and then I edit with him for spelling, sentence structure and grammar.
- Audiobook and discussion
Our Homeschool Lesson Plans For This Week
Monday
- It’s my husband’s birthday and a holiday so I’m not planning anything other than my son’s infusion.
- Blood Plasma Infusion – 4 hours
Reference Notes: Every Monday, my son has subcutaneous immunoglobin infusions. This means we typically keep learning to a minimum.
Tuesday
- YouTube Video – together
- Math – Either Beyond Personal Finance or CTCMath
- Online Voice/Music Lesson – one hour
- Current Events Discussion – read and discuss various news reports
- Ocean Unit Study
Reference Notes: Tuesdays are our first full school day of the week. Because my son always feels better post-Monday’s infusion, we typically do a large percentage of our more traditional homeschool work on this day.
Wednesday
- Physical Therapy (assuming he’s cleared for it) – 2 hours
- Drivers Ed
- Audiobook and Discussion
- YouTube Video – together
- Free trial of Vocabulary Quest
- Current Events Discussion – read and discuss various news reports
Thursday
- Audiobook and Discussion
- Social Time with friends at school – 1 hour
- Art class – 1 hour
Reference Notes: We spend Thursdays in lessons mostly outside our home. My son attends a program on Thursday afternoons through a local private school.
Friday
- Driver’s Ed
- History – taught by brother
- YouTube Video – their choice and educational
- Audiobook and discussion
New Interest-Led Homeschool Lesson Plans And Updates, Every Week
Additional Resources For Strength-Based And Interest-Led Homeschooling
Take a look at all of our past lesson plans and recaps!
Research shows that a learner allowed to spend the most time studying in areas of strength, tends to perform exponentially better in all areas including the areas of weakness.
These resources are a great place to start!
Happy birthday!!
Thank you!!!
Thank you so much for sharing! And I feel your pain with the nonstop food prep due to allergies, we have 4 completely different sets of allergies in our family 🤦♀️ Most days I feel like I never leave the kitchen!
Right? I had to include it because it is sooooo much a part of my day.