Our Homeschool Studies

Today I was working on my plans for Morning Time and preparing a post about it.  Well, that post was getting so cluttered up with my explanations that I have decided to do a small series of posts in an attempt to give you a picture of what homeschool looks like for our family.

We have seven children, five still living at home, and three still homeschooling: a 14yo son, a 12yo son, and a 10yo daughter.  My brother-in-law also lives with us.  My husband works from home, and I work part-time outside of home.  We also participate in a homeschool enrichment program, History Quest, where I teach 3rd & 4th graders.  My 18yo daughter, 16yo daughter, and brother-in-law all have jobs but not driver's licenses, so I am in and out a lot, giving them rides.  This means that our routine must be fairly flexible.


Here, then, is the basic structure of my week:

• Monday~ The younger 3 and I are at History Quest all day.
• Tuesday~ I am home in the morning, and I work in the afternoons.
• Wednesday~ I am home in the morning, and I work in the afternoons. 
• Thursday~ I work in the morning, and I get home a little after 2.
• Friday~ I am home.

And here are the components that make up our days:
Morning Time & Read Alouds: These are the pillars of our studies, built up of good books; beautiful art, music, and poetry; and thoughtful discussion.  They are what I have always done and will always do.  They are the reasons I homeschool and the reasons I love it. 
Independent Work assigned by me: I try to keep this fairly minimal: copywork, spelling, and grammar for the younger ones; logic and rhetoric for the older ones; and math.
History Quest Assignments: These cover history and geography, literature and writing, science, and cultural arts.
Personal Pursuits:  I try to create time and space for these, and I want to encourage my children in them.

I hope to do a post about each of these, beginning with Morning Time.