Our ideal homeschool day begins the night before.

God said it best: A new day begins in the evening.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And the evening and the morning were the third day. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. ~Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31

If I want to have a successful morning, I need to plan for it the evening before.

I need to love on my babes by praying with them, singing lullabies, snuggling, and discussing the highs and lows of the day past.

I need to be intentional.

When I’d rather just be done for the day and send them up to bed alone and have me time ASAP, I know in my heart that I should remain the discipling mommy a few moments more.

I struggle with this. And I’m not always successful.

It’s often hard being a mom to small kids with so many needs.

I have to be flexible and let go of some of my expectations.

My house isn’t as clean as I want. My hair is doing that thing again. The van needs an oil change.  The cat just puked under the table. The grass needs cut and edged before the HOA sends another notice.

It’s tough being a homeschooling mom with four kids 24/7 – with no breaks ever.

I take little breathers when and where I can.

I pray for my kids while scrambling eggs and folding clothes.

I hum-sing to my toddler while changing his diaper.

I do not roll my eyes while explaining fractions to my daughter. Again.

I actually look at the ordinary rock my preschooler is dying to show me at the park.

How to Have a More Successful Day

Plan Meals Ahead

Planning for the next morning means I need a clean kitchen and at least an idea of breakfast. Having a good meal in the morning helps the kids learn better.

Prepping the coffee is a good idea too. Programming or at least setting it to the point I just have to touch the start button makes my morning go smoother.

My eldest daughter, Elizabeth, usually cleans the kitchen after dinner. Bless her!

Planning dinner ahead helps too. I’ve really slacked on my meal planning this summer. I need to thaw out meat the night before so we have dinner ready to grill or make a casserole or slow cooker meal.

When the weather gets cooler, I use the oven and slow cooker more. Especially on sports practice nights.

Daily Schedule

So, the schedule? That’s what you came for, right?

I’m trying to get up earlier {that’d be 0700 for me} to get my morning VA work finished, breakfast ready, kitchen cleaned up again, so we can begin our homeschool by about 8 AM.

Liz often gets up at 0630 and is ever so much more cheerful to have a few minutes of alone time to start her Bible or drink some tea before Alex and I come downstairs.

My youngest, Alex, demands the iPad immediately and often has cereal on the sofa if I need the time to work or make breakfast for everyone.

My middles, Tori and Kate, come down usually last to eat. Alex often joins them for second breakfast.

I am so not a morning person.

Some of our favorite breakfasts:

• soaked steel-cut oatmeal with bacon and sausage links
• egg scramble with cheese and ham or bacon chunks
• these muffins that Liz loves to make (in four flavors)
• this breakfast casserole, with variations
• leftover pancakes or waffles when Dad makes a big weekend batch (love him!)

During breakfast, I read the day’s lesson aloud from The Dig for Kids and we pray together, and pray for our Seed Company tribe.

After breakfast, I send Alex, Tori, and Kate upstairs to dress, brush their teeth, and clean up their rooms. They often play for about an hour. And that’s fine.

I use that time to help Elizabeth get motivated on her school work. She’s got a heavy load this year as a tween. See our curriculum here. She still needs a bit of hand-holding and if I get her to finish the bulk of her work before lunch, it’s a good day.

After Liz completed Bible and math…I leave her to complete Latin, science, and history on her own.

I work with Tori and Kate on their workbooks. We do science and history read alouds on the sofa.

Somehow, in between all that, Alex gets some preschool work done. Most days. He plays a lot and interrupts and wants snacks.

I try to complete as much as possible before lunchtime. Because after that, no one really wants to do much of anything productive. Including me.

Somewhere in all this, we try to accomplish chores. I do laundry almost every day and we have 4 color-coded baskets for the kids that tend to sit until I have a tantrum about putting it away. I’m a big believer in chores. Many hands make light work.

I do have a chore schedule:

• Monday: empty all trash cans and put big can at the curb
• Tuesday: dust all the furniture
• Wednesday: clean all the bathrooms
• Thursday: sweep and mop or vacuum the floors (we alternate the 3 levels each week)
• Friday: scrub down the kitchen and put all laundry away
• Weekends: whatever needs to be done or was forgotten

Some afternoons, we run errands. The girls are all too big for the library story time now and Alex just isn’t that interested. But it doesn’t start up again until September, so we’ll see. Sometimes, I just send the kids to play outside or with their toys in the basement so I can work.

Staying Healthy

We like to be proactive with our health. We eat well, drink lots of water, and prevent most illnesses with essential oils and supplements. We get plenty of fresh air and exercise.

We take cod liver oil (we like the Cinnamon Tingle!) and liquid kids multivitamin for the littles. We anoint with essential oils to help us balance mood and attitude. Liz and I also take supplements.

We start our days with a hearty breakfast and plenty of water, juice, and tea.

We eat lunch together – usually leftovers or something that will mostly hold us over until dinner. Water, and sometimes lemonade to drink.

I make dinner for our family every evening – meat and veggies, sometimes fruit, often salad. Water to drink.

We seldom do snacks. Sometimes, I will cut up fruits and veggies. I’ll provide granola or nuts. A couple kids like yogurt sometimes. I prefer my kids to eat their meals and we seldom have sugary snacks or junk food in the house.

Evening Routine

Our school area needs to be ready for the morning too. Often, after school and play time in the evening, I have the kids do a quick cleanup so it makes for a smoother beginning to our school day.

We often go on a walk around the block to wind down.

We don’t do baths every day. It dries the skin and strips away natural oils. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers certainly don’t need full baths every day. They get a bath every few days unless they get very messy or dirty somehow. We wash hands frequently with gentle soap. We wash faces and brush teeth twice a day or more.

We have evening read alouds, snuggling on the sofa.

We sing and say prayers as a family.

I tuck the little ones into their beds and sing a lullaby, and oftentimes, I sit beside them until their eyes finally close and their breathing evens out.

With four children, sometimes bedtime takes a little longer than I would wish. I often long for alone time or a bubble bath to read my own books.

Being organized and proactive helps us be efficient and happier during the day.