A look into one of our days...

Being a veteran home schooler, I am often asked... so what does a day of school look like? Are you very strict and regimented? How do you motivate your children on a daily basis?

Well, here is a mini-peek into a day at our home on a typical winter day of home schooling. Mind you, the clock reads 7:00 am EST somewhere... because the early bird get's the worm... or in this case the nugget of knowledge that may propel them on to a successful career some day end of the box of "good" cereal and last of the milk!

The first thing you must know, is I firmly believe in having the children present themselves ready to learn. That means teeth and hair brushed, and clothes suitable to be worn to a traditional school they wake up sometime before 10. This is well demonstrated by our youngest, Savannah. She loves school- really! At 5, she already does mid 1st grade work. Certainly not a chip off the old blocks as it were! But you can see, she is diligent to her studies even if not the most presentable!



I am also a firm believer in the buddy system. Micah feels our dog Molly is a great study partner. I am fairly confident she won't give him any answers on tests, so I am all good with his choice. It is amazing though how much assistance distraction a little 7 pound dog can provide! Really though, he says she keeps him warm... which is the theme of the next two photos!

Our family is made up of overly warm blooded people who cannot stand temperatures below 70. This is a problem here, as the outside reaches a mere 19* some days, and we live in an old farm house that costs more to heat than the monthly rent if we put the heat above 62. So they, in their amazing creativity, have found ways to manage the cold. Here you see Josiah in a hoodie and hat that he also goes outside sledding in and is completely "fine-I'm not cold at all"-exact quote. He positions his chair directly over the heat run closest to the furnace, and makes a tent over his legs to trap ALL the warm air coming out. The heat run is also in the living room where the thermostat is and because he is preventing the room from getting warmed up properly, the heat is on significantly more than it should be. But he is warm! Oh, and I know the next question... he tells me he uses his cell phone as a calculator, which in 9th grade math he is allowed to do. Only trouble is... that is his English on his lap! He reached an all time high for our family last month in texting done on a single phone line. 14,000+. I have read many of them... if "Hey", and "What's up?" were not counted then he would have only 5 :)

Olivia is a little more conscious of stealing the heat from the rest of us. She props herself right in front of the kerosene heater and often Molly joins her there. It is in the laundry room right next to a wall of (sometimes!) sunny windows and french doors, so it almost feels like she is outside on our deck off our bedroom- which is where she goes the first day the temps are over 60*!

And yes, we supplement the heat in our house with kerosene heaters. It works in a dual way. Placed in the living room right by the thermostat, they prevent it from reaching low temperatures by over heating that small 10ft area. We save the money spent on RG&E by not using a whole lot of natural gas. Also, the kids rooms then receive little or no heat, which causes them to come into the main living areas of the house to get warm. This may sound cruel or unusual, but with 5 kids ages 17 to 5, their tastes run in completely opposing directions. this tactic provides opportunity to join as a family and engage in quality time together. Some favorite games during these times include farkle, yahtzee, uno, and dutch blitz- as seen in this photo.

I have included this picture of our kitchen blinds for no other reason than I think it is a really cool picture. Look how straight it is! And it is un retouched! I know- I am getting sick or something.

OK, last but not least I will give you a look at a gym class. Josiah is a great teacher, and Levi is a gifted athlete... this video displays holes in both of their attributes!