On a typical weekday morning, mom and dad wake up around 6:30 to prepare for the day. Dad walks and feeds the puppy, showers and has his devotional time. Mom checks emails and Facebook and knocks out a chore or two. Some mornings we have a few moments to talk, too. By 7:30, D wakes up the boys and they stumble down the stairs, one by one. We usually see C come first and B last. Our boys are not necessarily morning people! We make sure they have at least ten hours of sleep each night, and still they struggle to wake up! Most mornings, they eat cereal together. On occasion, bagels, pancakes or eggs may appear. If I feel that they are alert, I may start Bible during breakfast. If they seem a bit disconnected, I save it for afterwards. The boys clean up breakfast, brush their teeth and gather their "Trio" of folders (Bible, spelling, English roots). We gather around our kitchen bar, which allows us to have face to face contact for most of the morning. That bar has served us well and allowed us to have hours of daily contact!
We begin (or continue) with Bible, reading an assigned passage or one that I choose that is relevant to our family at that time. This year, we are praying for a specific group or person each day of the week. Monday we pray for my Great Aunt M and the mission she helped to found in Tanzania Africa. Tuesday we pray for a family who serves full time in Haiti. Wednesday, I volunteer at our local pregnancy center, so they are our focus for that day. Thursday we pray against human trafficking and for the groups who are working to stop this atrocity in our day. Friday we pray for my friend M who is a missionary in the Dominican Republic, also serving Haitian refugees. Saturday we pray for extended family members and Sunday we pray for youth ministries that we are involved in. We encourage each boy to pray a sentence or two each day, it blesses my heart to hear them speak to God so confidently and comfortably! After prayers, we review Bible verses from weeks before and work on our new verse. I am challenged to learn this with them and will sometimes ask them to quiz me. They write their new verse in their Bible binder and are expected to memorize at least one new verse each week.
After Bible, D may take the boys outside for PE or upstairs for a music lesson. This does not happen every day, but at least twice a week, they have PE and at least once a week, music. PE can include basketball, baseball, bike rides, target practice with their BB guns or a total war with their air soft guns. On rainy or cold days, an inside game on the Wii has to do. Music lessons include instruction on keyboards (we currently have three, so each boy can play one), guitars, bass or drums. D chooses songs from our worship repertoire and when they get a song "down," I join in and sing with them. These classes usually last an hour. While they are busy I try to get my workout in.
The guys regroup around the kitchen table, with D in charge of spelling and English from Latin/Greek roots. I am usually scurrying around, pulling together the books, papers and supplies for our unit studies. This year we are in My Father's World's "Rome to the Reformation" unit. We study the history, geography and do lots of reading for these studies. This portion of our morning can last about an hour. By then, D has to be excused to prepare for his day.
The final phase of our home school morning includes English (Language/Writing) and Math. I work with the boys on their English assignments individually. C and J need a bit more supervision, while B can do most of his work individually. We took a break from the rigors of A Beka Language this year and are using a more laid back curriculum that was recommended by My Father's World. Math is a computer program by Teaching Textbooks. Each day, the boys have a lesson and problems to work out, and the program keeps their grades. They actually enjoy Math!
We eat lunch, then have about an hour of free time. The boys get their chores done, play with the puppy or play during this time. From 2-4 each day, we have quiet time. (And all the mama's said, "YEA!") This has to be my favorite part of each day. Peace, calm and quiet fill the house! All minds are taught, all bellies are full, the house is tidy and everyone is quiet. B is taking an advanced Science course through Apologia, so he works on that. The twins know that they may read or rest during those two hours. That is ALL they are allowed to do. Period! Some days, they do drift off to sleep.
Following quiet time, the boys have free time while I work on dinner. We eat together, clean up and by six, I am ready to crash! The boys enjoy Legos, games, Wii or a scientific show on TV. Of course, most days they also watch a few not-so-educational shows as well. I won't lie! By 8, teeth are being brushed and little boys are waiting for dad to come home from work. We close out our day with a family meeting in the living room, snuggled on the couches together. We play "Blessing and Bummer," which allows each one to share a high and low from the day. Many days, we do not have a bummer, but every day we have more blessings than we can count.
We are blessed to be able to be together. I thank God every day for the opportunity to spend the best hours of the day with my family. He has given us almost four years of home schooling together and we look forward to seven more!
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