My life changed this week as my schedule went from a relatively relaxed pace, to a non-stop schedule.  Although I was a bit anxious for Monday morning to roll around, I knew my kids were at that point at the end of summer where they are walking around seeking some sort of direction and discipline.  They were tired of having too much freedom….although they may not have been able to pinpoint this as their frustration and boredom. Does that make sense? Well, it did to me.  ;) 

We’ve been gearing up for a new year of home schooling, and for me, a new year of added dedication now that my kids are getting older, and the work is getting harder.  Home schooling is a LOT of work, and requires more patience than I ever dreamed I could possibly possess. But on the flip side….I get to be with my kids, I get to be challenged, and I get to be a critical part of their growth. But with all the effort, I have to say, I get to have one of the most gratifying jobs possible! 

I’ve had people who have written me about the constant struggle with BALANCE in their lives, and since this is a topic on my mind for literally hours of my day every day, I have decided to make it a more prominent topic on my personal posts.  One question I am asked often is what a normal home school/work/family life day is like.  Below is a look at a “normal” weekday for us.  (Weekends are full of photo shoots, editing, sports, and breathing.) 

Of course, it hasn’t gone exactly like this, but close! Obviously, on certain nights we have shoots where we have to change it up a bit.  On occassion, we actually DO leave our house (ha!), but this is the general idea.  I am still working on the bedtime thing for me…but I have improved this week, so I have hope! 

7:00 – Up and making breakfast 

7:30 – Eat, clean up, kids do chores 

8:45 – School books out ready to go/ get a drink, use bathroom (excuses they always have to stop working) 

Practice memory work, then Math, Writing, Grammar, Science or History depending on day 

11:30 – If time we read together aloud 

12:00 – Lunch with Brett 

1:00 – Quiet time for everyone (I use this time to grade work, figure out lesson plans, catch up on emails, make phone calls) 

3:00 – Spelling and Vocab, then daily journaling 

4:00 – Review or catch up on something that needs to be completed 

4:30 – Begin thinking about dinner (I am really bad at this part!).  Kids put things away and have free time. 

5:00 – Brett reviews work and does math with kids

6:00 – Dinner 

6:45 – Family bible reading time 

7:00 – Gabe goes to bed 

7:45 – The rest of the kids go to room to read, and then sleep! 

7:45 – I GO TO WORK   :) 

10:15 – I go up for the night to read and preview the books the kids will be reading, and then SLEEP 

Weekends – Brett does school with kids (math, reading, language arts)

I had hoped to take some fun photos to show you some of the things we have done this week so far, but I guess grabbing and loading a camera in between teaching 3 kiddos, and distracting a 3 year old just wasn’t the easiest.  Maybe next week I’ll be more prepared.  :)  So here are a few shots we took playing around as a family: 

As of last week Priya is obsessed with making duct tape purses.  Here she is teaching her brother Adin, and her friend Josie. 

Brett is reading a little “Beowulf” to the boys. 

Adin doing some pipe jumping tricks.  Dad if you are seeing this, I will put a helmet on him next time!!  (My dad is a dentist, and my boys scare him to death.) 

Gabe’s version of the “pipe trick.” 

Riah decided to POGO it up! 

We took a family bike ride the other night up to a local elementary school to play…. 

Again, my boys are half daredevil monkey. 

Priya was with her Grandma, so I just had my crazy boys (including Brett)!! 

I love this picture, minus the fact I look like I’m 12.  ;) 

So now we are three days into on our school year and it has been going well for the most part!  A couple of nights ago at dinner Priya said, “I was really nervous that school was going to be really tough this year and I was not going to like it, but it hasn’t been that bad.  I actually had fun.”  I literally jumped to my feet from the dinner table screaming, “STOP THE PRESS!! STOP THE PRESS!!!!  Priya, could you please repeat that for the family to hear?”  It made this hard working Mama a teeny bit happy.  “She’s not hating it…I must be doing OK,” I thought.