How I Plan My Homeschool Part 5: Our Daily Routine

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure statement for more information.

Welcome to the final post in our “back to homeschool” planning series! In case you’re jumping in at the very end, here are the links to the previous posts:

• How I Plan My Homeschool, Part 1: The Big Picture
• How I Plan My Homeschool, Part 2: “Do the Next Thing” Subjects
• How I Plan My Homeschool, Part 3: Unit-Based Subjects
• How I Plan My Homeschool, Part 4: Establishing Our Weekly Rhythm

This is Part 5: Our Daily Routine. Like our weekly rhythm, our daily routine is far from rigid and tends to ebb and flow with the seasons. However, we do find that having a regular routine is really helpful for us–it gives the day just enough structure to support all of the subjects we love to cover without feeling restricting.

We do not plan our day in terms of time slots. In fact, the only time I consult the clock at all is when we have gymnastics classes, Blake’s Monday enrichment program, or a show we’re going to see. I let the girls sleep in when they need to, and we go with the rhythm of the day without feeling the need to stop and move on to something else because “it’s time.”

Here is our daily routine for late summer / early fall 2018:

Morning Basket

We start our day with a morning basket. Our basket changes from time to time, but in general it includes the following: Brice’s book of the week from Blossom and Root Early Years Vol. 2, our Brave Writer Quiver of Arrows book, nature lore books, our current picture studies, and books for French. To our morning basket time, we also add songs, verses, finger plays, and recitation work. We don’t do everything every day, and the whole thing takes about half an hour. We finish with some kind of movement, like going for a walk or doing a Cosmic Kids yoga routine. (Read more about our morning basket here.)

Individual Work

The next part of our day is individual work. Sometimes we do this at the kitchen table, sometimes on the living room floor, and sometimes we pack it up and take it outside. For Brice, individual work lasts about twenty minutes and includes a lesson or two from Blossom and Root Early Years Vol. 2. For Blake, it lasts about forty-five minutes, and includes reading, math, and writing.

“Together” Lesson

I usually let the girls play for awhile before we do our “together” lesson for the day. This gives me a little time to set up, and gives them a little break. We do one subject per day for this lesson: science, history, or social studies. In general, this lesson takes around an hour.

Outside Play

Our morning ends with outside play as often as possible. Often, we’re already outside for homeschool anyway, so I just let the girls loose to play. This is often when I get some work done.

Lunch

We often eat outside for lunch before heading in for a little quiet time.

Rest / Free Play

After lunch, Brice usually takes a short nap and Blake plays quietly in my room or watches a movie while I work at the kitchen table.

“Heart Loop”

Our “heart loop” happens after rest time, and it’s one of our favorite times of the day. This is when we do things like nature study, poetry tea time, gameschooling, seasonal crafts, baking, handicrafts, art, music, STEAM activities from Blossom and Root Book Seeds, etc.

Outside Free Play

We try to get outside again in the late afternoon. I’ve noticed over the years that getting some fresh air at the end of the day is really good for all of us. It clears our minds, gives the girls a chance to run off steam, and I really think it helps us all sleep better. We usually just go down to the creek, or to a park nearby.

Dinner

We almost always eat dinner together as a family, at the kitchen table. This is an important time for “big, juicy conversations” as Julie Bogart (of Brave Writer) likes to call them. 🙂

Bedtime Basket

The last part of our day is a second basket called the bedtime basket, or evening basket. Like our morning basket, it changes often. In general, it will include a few nature or math stories, library books that the girls have chosen, Blake’s stories of the week from Blossom and Root First Grade, and a book that Blake is reading (currently Little Bear.) We end with songs every night. (Read more about our bedtime basket here.)

That’s what a typical daily routine looks like for us right now. Sometimes, these things happen at home, sometimes outside, and sometimes we skip them in favor of a field trip or a hike. But the routine is always there for us when we need it.

Thank you for joining me for the planning series. <3 Feel free to email me with any questions you may have–I’m always happy to help!