A typical/non typical day in the life of our home schooled family

I am often asked what we do all day? When you say that you 'home school/home educate' is is often assumed and expected that 'school' is somehow replicated in the home environment.
Q visions of children working away at the kitchen table with mum scribbling complex equations on a white board. 
Wrong!
This sounds very idealistic and perhaps what some folk out there dream of and aspire to but in our household, this is certainly many miles away from the truth of what actually goes on.
So how does a typical day flow?
Well firstly there is no such thing in our world as a 'typical' day. No two days are the same, even the best plans never come to fruition!

Let's take today for example:

7.20 am alarm goes off, snooze button is hit!

7.45 am peel back the bed covers and enthusiastically call to the sleeping beauties that are still drifting in the land of nod!

8 am The first child emerges in the kitchen ready for breakfast, ten minutes later a second child joins the party.

8.50 am the third child rushes to get out of bed and dressed as we are about to leave the house! There's always one!

9 am We're in the car about to embark on our hour long journey into Oxford for Miss P's Environmental Management lesson.

9.45 am We arrive at the lesson 15 minutes early!

10 am We drop Miss P off  and venture off into Cowley centre in search of Lidl. Lidl is nowhere to be found so find selves wandering aimlessly around the shops in search of birthday gifts for family members. Passing elderly folk comment/talk among themselves about the fact that it should be school today! Note that The Little Lady has come out in 'normal' attire (her onesie!) which we are so used to seeing but recall that others won't see it in the same way!

11 am Sit in shopping centre car park trying to pick up wifi signal on Kindle in an attempt to have both children engage in maths lessons. Wifi works on phone but will only allow us to watch the lessons and not carry out the exercises. Decide to have an early lunch and head back to pick up Miss P who doesn't finish for over and hour.

11.45 am Return at lesson site to await Miss P and sit in the car reading 'Sky Hawk' by Jill Lewis, whilst children make cards for grandfather's belated birthday. Story captivates children's attention well. It's not long before we embark upon a sad scene. I struggle to hold back the tears and end up a blubbering mess struggling to get the words out!

12.30 pm We venture into lesson venue early and pick up wifi in order to complete maths questions. I note how the Boy becomes a writhing fish when any mention of 'work' is assimilated. He works his way through an entire yoga workout within the ten minute maths question period!

1 pm Miss P finishes her class and we head off to visit grandparents.

1.30 pm Catch up with news from Grandparents, children stimulated with sugar ridden food and chemical filled drinks (there goes my good intentions...), fill bags with endless magazines and old drawer finds before heading off.

3 pm Arrive back to sanctuary relieved that the days rush is over.

Rest of the afternoon and evening is spent....Miss P working through physics homework next to me on sewing room floor, The Little Lady catching up with her friend on the phone and then creating the most delicious baked cheesecake for pud and Small Boy initially creating a 'beehive' which he hopes will attract resident bees (he's even filled lined egg boxes with cling film and filled them with sugared water) and then.......well as I put him to bed I realise that he's been working away creating a 'man trap!' I have a full demonstration of how it works and which string operates which part of the trap. Gee whizz! So glad not to have been captured buy that one!

So you see, no formal sitting down stuff at all. The beauty of our days are flexibility and freedom :-)

I wonder what joys and challenges tomorrow will bring?

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