It’s Monday!

This is the first in a series of seven postings chronicling a week in the life of a homeschooling family.

Occasionally, people ask me what a “typical” day is like for a homeschooling family. I don’t know if any of us have a “typical” day, but I think maybe all of us have common experiences as homeschoolers: getting kids to stay on task, balancing academics with extracurricular activities, and finishing the housework that (some days) seems eternal. To answer this recurring question, I thought it might be interesting to chronicle a week in my life so my fellow homeschoolers could judge for themselves if my days are “typical.”

For a while now, various studies have told us that Monday is the most stressful day of the week for many people (see article from CNN.com). I can’t necessarily relate to this because I like Mondays. I think of them as the beginning of the week, much more so than Sunday. Sunday is the end of my week, a rest day after all the craziness of last week and before all the craziness of this week.

So, what did I accomplish on this particular Monday? Actually, quite a bit, which is tremendously out of character for me. The tasks are divided by my life roles.

TEACHER: Homeschool
Critical Thinking class @ CHOOSE CT Co-op
Genealogy research
Reading time: Blink by Ted Dekker
Music composition time

TEACHER: CHOOSE CT
Finalized field trip participant list for Henry Whitfield Museum
Ordered chess sets for Chess Club
Investigated Degrees of Latitude Electronic Field Trip
Forwarded membership dues to Membership Coordinator
Worked on Council meeting agenda
Baked one batch shortbread cookies for support meeting

HOME MANAGER
Changed cat litter
Removed bird droppings from floor under bird cage
Scrubbed floor under bird cage
Cleaned cabinet under kitchen sink
Disinfected & washed all household trash cans

FRIENDS/FAMILY
Spoke with my mother re: Henkel/Behrens genealogy
Took Koalagirl15 children to and from CHOOSE CT Co-op
Picked up JLZ from CHOOSE CT Co-op
Made dinner for friends, DC & JLZ
King Richard III helped JLZ with science experiment

CHURCH
E-mail discussion with Christian Education director

The only difficulty of the day occurred when the shortbread cookie dough refused to cooperate when my daughter and I attempted to “stamp” it with a cookie stamp. I think the dough was too warm, so put it in the refrigerator to chill and I rescheduled cookie baking for tomorrow evening.

Tasks Left Undone at End of Day
One load laundry (at least)
Reading time: The Seven Checkpoints by Andy Stanley
Reading time: Blink by Ted Dekker (Mom)
CHOOSE CT website work

See you tomorrow!