I thought it might be fun to share here what a normal school day at home looked like when I was growing up. Things changed over the years as we were able to do even more on our own as that was the structure of our curriculum. We also had younger siblings that we enjoyed caring for and teaching so our schedule shifted a bit. But this is the what a day looked like for the most part when I was between the ages of 6 and 10.

Homeschool Morning at Home

Normally, I was up around 6:30 on our homeschool mornings. I would get dressed and then meet my big brothers in the kitchen. There they helped me get my bowl of cereal and we sat down to eat together. When we were done, we headed downstairs to our schoolroom. Soon our big sister would join us and we would all be working at school. We each had our own desk set up with our schoolbooks and our school supplies.

Mama had assigned our school over the weekend on our assignment sheets. We had a little of every subject to do and exactly what pages we had to cover in our text books. I would get out my math lesson and work at what I knew how to do on my own. If I had questions I would ask my brothers for help or save it to do with Mama later. Then I wrote my spelling words, read my history and science pages, and worked on my grammar. I loved checking off my assignments as I finished them.

Creative Playtime

When we finished what we could we took a break and would spend some time with the baby. Then we would either go back down to work with Mama on our assignments until the bird clock chimed lunch or we went outside early! We played outside a lot- riding our bikes on the dirt path out back, running and playing pretend in the woods, swinging on the swing, or sliding down hills.

On rainy days, we would spend the time indoors working ahead in school or setting up blanket forts in the den. We played with Legos, Lincoln Logs, and Hot Wheels cars. We had many board games that we loved to play as well. Mama also had plenty of rainy day crafts we could do like painting or stamping. Or we would curl up with a chapter book and read all we wanted.

Afternoon Fun

Lunch was normally peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with our Mama’s homemade bread and sometimes we would eat on the deck that we helped our dad build. We loved on our cat Sunshine and would play with any kittens she had then. After that, we came in to do chores and get ready for our afternoon.

Most days, we would spend about an hour in the schoolroom finishing up our school with Mama. She had four of us to teach in all different levels, so we took turns. During this, our little brother would either be in his walker and when he was older he would sit at the table and do some preschool activities. I loved when I could go over and help him when my work was done. Watching him learn was so much fun!

We each had an assigned time to practice our piano and violin in the afternoon as well. We had a teacher come once a week and she taught each of us in turn. I loved learning to play these instruments! Music was very important to us and we all remember getting excited for the recitals we had.

Reading Time

When our day’s schoolwork was done, we would gather in the living room to have reading time. Normally the baby would be taking a nap or playing on the blanket on the floor. Each of us four older ones would get out our projects that we were working. We had crocheting, cross stitching, latch hooks, and more. At one point we all were each crocheting an afghan! We also had sketching and drawing to do in our sketchbooks. We would listen to Mama as she read from The Hobbit, Elsie Dinsmore, or the Love Comes Softly series. At times she would stop to explain something in the story or answer a question.

Evening Routine

When reading time was over, we shifted to preparing for supper. We would put our crafts away and help in the kitchen. Supper was served at the table so there were simple chores to do like washing the table, setting it, and putting the food on. We all pitched in and had it ready when our dad got home from work. We would eat together and talk about our day. Afterwards we worked together to clean up.

If it was a Friday night, all of us would be helping Mama make pizza and setting up our den. We were eager to gather and have our favorite homemade meal and watch a movie together. We used to have these old tv trays and we would sit up at those on the floor. Oh, I can just smell that delicious pizza now!

Soon it was bedtime and there were some days when our dad would read us a few stories as well or we would just have some fun in the living room. Occasionally we had a skit that we had prepared for the fun of it and that brought a bunch of laughs as we were dressed up as different characters from history! We would then play with the baby and the boys would wrestle for fun until it was time to be on our beds. There we would read ourselves to sleep! Mama would come up later from working in the schoolroom or doing a surprise sewing project to make sure our lights were out.

Special Days

That was a normal school day when we were growing up in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Looking back on it now, I realize how much fun and freedom we had. I love how we had a healthy balance of academics and creative playtime. Typically, we only had about 3 hours spent on school throughout the day and it was plenty of time to get done what we needed to. Reading was essential and our favorite pastime, so we were never bored. Hours we spent out in the sun were the best and some of our favorite memories are exploring together.

There were, of course, days that we had to go to town with Mama for appointments, shopping, and other errands. On these days we would bring some simple school with us or if we had worked ahead the day before we just brought our books to read. We would help with the shopping – each of us having to remember what was on the list we were given and one of us would have a calculator. We learned so much on these ‘field trips!’ These are my memories of these days and I love thinking back on the times we siblings had learning and exploring together.

Saturdays were so much fun because we had the entire day outside as soon as our weekend chores were done. We spent hours in the woods building wigwams, making teepees, swinging, climbing trees, riding on the zipline, and riding our bikes. A few times during the summer, our dad would be out there and we were able to fish with him in the lake out back, or go for a canoe ride. Some of the best memories are the ones we spent outside.

These are the days that shaped who I am today. I was excited to do school and loved watching my Mama teach. She also always had a sewing or stamping project that she let me help with – like making Christmas presents for family members or creating Christmas cards that she designed. These are the memories that instilled in me my love of teaching, crafting, being outdoors, and watching the little ones learn.

What does a normal day look like in your homeschool? How do you structure your day or week? What did you do growing up that you still love to do to this day? Feel free to comment down below and share what you do to make your day run smoothly!

Put your heart and soul into every activity you do,
as though you are doing it for the Lord himself and not merely for others.
For we know that we will receive a reward, an inheritance from the Lord,
as we serve the Lord Yahweh, the Anointed One!
Colossians 3:23-24 TPT