This is how I do it

As most everyone I know has been busily preparing for school these last couple weeks, I have been preparing for another year of homeschooling my children. Oh my gosh! This is our fourth year! How on earth do I do it? Many people ask me that all the time, but especially this time of year. 

The answer is "I just do"...or sometimes it's "I don't know." Isn't that true for every parent and the things they do for their children? We all have different routines, have our kids enrolled in different activities, feed our children different food, but then different things, give them different experiences. But in the end we are doing what's right for our family. 

I could say I don't understand how you get your kids fed and dressed in time for the bus or how you have enough time to make dinner and make enough time for home work and then run off to soccer practice. Then someone may feel that I sound lazy saying that. And there comes the judgement. Aren't there enough blog posts on parents judging other parents? Yes, yes there is. So here's how I do this homeschooling thing. 

This morning I woke up around 6:30. I do my rounds on Facebook, Instagram and email. Take a shower. A little housework. My two younger kids wake up around 8 and the older two will be around 8:30. We do breakfast. We will read library books. We will do a couple other activities based on their interest. They will play. We will eat lunch. They will go outside. Little ones nap. Big ones do something quiet. (Sometimes it's minecraft, sometimes they read, sometimes they do coding, sometimes they do math apps). Dad is home from work. (He is a teacher so he's home early). We play outside. I make dinner. We spend MORE time together. We go to karate or swim or soccer or socialize! our kids with the neighbors. We hang out then go to bed. 

Yes, we have a routine just like all your public school kids need and thrive on. (Sorry, that's a little sarcastic) Everyone is always telling me that their kids need to go back to school because they need their schedule. That's nice. My kids need one too. It's just different. 

So while we try to get back into the swing of things I will also be over here managing some behavior problems, making sure my kids are being respectful and coming up with some fun things to explore.