One question I often receive from non homeschoolers is, "What does a homeschooler's daily scedule look like?" This is almost impossible to answer because everyone does it a little differently. I have one friend who places each of her three children in a different room at 8a.m. each school day where they work until 3 or 4pm only breaking for an hour lunch. However, most moms I know aren't quite so highly structured.
Our daily routine has certainly evolved over time, but in the last couple of years it has settled into something that works well for us. We usually eat breakfast together at 7am, after which the kids check their daily chore charts to see what their jobs for the day are. Then they have until we begin school at 9am to shower, dress, clean rooms, do chores, etc. If they aren't finished (because they wasted time) they will get their bedtime pushed up by 15-30min. (Big motivation at Chez Agnew!)
We begin our school day with bible reading and prayer, then move on to any group activity. After that each child works on his/her individual work like math, spelling, etc. with help as needed from me. We usually finish up around 12pm when we break for lunch. Often I read aloud as the kids eat-something that keeps lunch time from getting too wild.
Our daily routine has certainly evolved over time, but in the last couple of years it has settled into something that works well for us. We usually eat breakfast together at 7am, after which the kids check their daily chore charts to see what their jobs for the day are. Then they have until we begin school at 9am to shower, dress, clean rooms, do chores, etc. If they aren't finished (because they wasted time) they will get their bedtime pushed up by 15-30min. (Big motivation at Chez Agnew!)
We begin our school day with bible reading and prayer, then move on to any group activity. After that each child works on his/her individual work like math, spelling, etc. with help as needed from me. We usually finish up around 12pm when we break for lunch. Often I read aloud as the kids eat-something that keeps lunch time from getting too wild.
After lunch my youngest, who is 5 goes to his room for an hour of nap or quiet time. The older kids spend this time doing their reading. Unless we are working on a longer project or going on a field trip, the rest of the day is free time. The kids aren't allowed to do anyything electronic until 2:30, so they often spend their time playing board games, doing arts and crafts or more reading.
In the late afternoon the older kids like to help me cook dinner, set the table, etc. and we eat at 5:30pm most days. Then we spend the evening together if we don't have activities or meetings. The kids go to bed between 8 and 8:30pm depending on their age.
Many of my homeschool friends have similar routines, but no two families will ever be exactly alike. In fact, when we get together we share helpful ideas with eachother. Some of my best ideas came from other moms.
I want to mention that under the PA homeschool law you can choose to either record your days of school (180) or hours of instruction (900 for elementary kids.)
There is a great book called Patchwork of Days that is a compilation of different moms who each wrote an essay on what her daily routine looks like. It shows the unique we really are when it comes to how we homeschool.