Day in the Life Post with Three Boys ages 12, 11, and 9
I enjoy writing these posts each year and seeing how our schedule and daily life changes from one year to the next.
As my boys are getting older I notice that we are doing a lot more traditional schoolwork (per their request) and that lends itself pretty nicely to a more set schedule.
Even on days we have a scheduled class or field trip planned we still tend to find a bit of time to sit down before leaving the house and getting some spelling, math and reading work accomplished.
Today we were home the whole day and it went something like this:
6:15 my husband awakes and in the process wakes me up; it's unusual for him to be up first and we joke that his alarm clock was broken today.
I creep into the hallway and shut all the boys' doors so they aren't woken up by the sound of my husband downstairs; Evan, however, is already up and heads downstairs for his hour of screen time.
On a typical day I'd get dressed and ready before heading downstairs but I started a really great book last night and I really want to try and squeeze some reading in!
7:15 I set aside my book and turn to blogging/ emails/ and social media. Luckily I have been scheduling posts so my computer time is a bit shorter in the morning. By now all three boys are up. Alec is watching Evan play Xbox, waiting for his turn, and I can hear Ian up in his room laughing over something he's watching on TV. Evan's hour is up and he turns the remote over to Alec. Evan comes to have breakfast and look through the schoolwork we have set out for today.
8:15 Everyone sits at the table. The older boys eat breakfast with me while I read aloud from The Candymakers. As soon as I'm done reading and they're done eating they all dive into their work.
They spend the next two hours moving about the house working on spelling, math, reading, language arts, and two pages about hemispheres from their geography books.
I help as needed; listening to Evan read aloud, talking Alec and Ian through the steps needed on their first few math problems of the day, correcting work as it's handed to me, etc.
10:15 I finally make it upstairs to brush my teeth; I had made it upstairs at some point before breakfast to change and make the bed. It's an unusual day in which there is no dishes or laundry waiting to be done so I head back downstairs and scrounge up an art project for us all.
11:00 I ask the boys to look over some possible painting ideas I have found and Ian tells me he'd rather skip art today to work on his model cars instead. So the younger two boys and I decide to paint a cute little panda bear.
We paint our canvases white, wait for them to dry and then draw in where we want the black. We get most of it painted and then clean up for lunch.
12:00 The boys make their own lunches and we set down at the table together. I finish reading our book A King's Ransom and then we read Africa is Not a Country together.
12:40 When lunch is done and all cleaned up we bring out painting supplies back to the table and finish up our pandas.
Alec pulls out his Kindle and starts playing Words with Friends and Trivia Crack; he's got a lot of games going against various family members and is amazing me with the words he's finding to play!
I settle on the couch next to him determined to finish my book. Evan sits next to me looking up pictures of animal babies on my phone and sharing what he has found. Ian is upstairs building with Legos.
1:20 Ian calls down that it's almost 40 degrees and sunny outside and asks if we can play a game of wiffle ball. I agree that we should spend some time outside so I set aside my book and we gear up.
Once outside the younger boys want to show me that he brook has frozen solid and we end up spending more than 20 minutes exploring the frozen water, the patters of the ice, and trying to break through the ice with rocks and sticks.
We finally head back to the yard and play wiffle ball for another half hour or so taking turns at batting, throwing, catching, and pitching.
3:00 We head inside once Alec's hives show up (he's allergic to the cold) and look forward to warming up and resting. I pull out my book and again declare that I AM going to finish this book by dinner. I tell the boys they are free to do whatever they'd like. Ian finishes watching U-571; a movie about world war II. The other two boys play video games together on the X box.
3:30 Evan and I stop what we're doing and I get his medicine prepared. He asks for a snack and the next thing I know we're all eating snack.
4:20 I finish up my book! (It's so good that I'm alternately smiling and crying!). It's called Learning to Stay and it's a fictional book about a war veteran, PTSD, brain injury and the problems he and his wife face when he tries to assimilate back into society. It was so moving!
4:30 I sit down to blog, check e-mails, and before I know it it's 5:00 and I have to start dinner.
Tonight it's homemade mini pizzas and salad; it's pretty quick and easy.
5:00 I call Evan in the set the table and Ian to empty the dishwasher that we had started after lunch. I start making pizzas only to realize I never remembered to take the cheese out of the freezer; so I consult our two week menu and see if there is another meal idea that I can quickly substitute out for the pizzas. Thankfully hamburgers and hot dogs were on the list and I know I have salad and chips to go with them.
5:30 We sit down to eat.
After dinner the boys clear the table, wash the counters and table, and sweep the floor.
6:00 It's Monday so we exercise together; lifting weights, doing push- ups, sit- ups, and jumping jacks, etc.
by 7:00 everyone is done working out and the boys get their snacks. They watch TV play video games until bed. I set out their work for the next day and we get ready to start it all over again.
As my boys are getting older I notice that we are doing a lot more traditional schoolwork (per their request) and that lends itself pretty nicely to a more set schedule.
Even on days we have a scheduled class or field trip planned we still tend to find a bit of time to sit down before leaving the house and getting some spelling, math and reading work accomplished.
Today we were home the whole day and it went something like this:
6:15 my husband awakes and in the process wakes me up; it's unusual for him to be up first and we joke that his alarm clock was broken today.
I creep into the hallway and shut all the boys' doors so they aren't woken up by the sound of my husband downstairs; Evan, however, is already up and heads downstairs for his hour of screen time.
On a typical day I'd get dressed and ready before heading downstairs but I started a really great book last night and I really want to try and squeeze some reading in!
7:15 I set aside my book and turn to blogging/ emails/ and social media. Luckily I have been scheduling posts so my computer time is a bit shorter in the morning. By now all three boys are up. Alec is watching Evan play Xbox, waiting for his turn, and I can hear Ian up in his room laughing over something he's watching on TV. Evan's hour is up and he turns the remote over to Alec. Evan comes to have breakfast and look through the schoolwork we have set out for today.
8:15 Everyone sits at the table. The older boys eat breakfast with me while I read aloud from The Candymakers. As soon as I'm done reading and they're done eating they all dive into their work.
They spend the next two hours moving about the house working on spelling, math, reading, language arts, and two pages about hemispheres from their geography books.
I help as needed; listening to Evan read aloud, talking Alec and Ian through the steps needed on their first few math problems of the day, correcting work as it's handed to me, etc.
10:15 I finally make it upstairs to brush my teeth; I had made it upstairs at some point before breakfast to change and make the bed. It's an unusual day in which there is no dishes or laundry waiting to be done so I head back downstairs and scrounge up an art project for us all.
11:00 I ask the boys to look over some possible painting ideas I have found and Ian tells me he'd rather skip art today to work on his model cars instead. So the younger two boys and I decide to paint a cute little panda bear.
 |
| Ian finished up one model; his Peterbilt Truck |
We paint our canvases white, wait for them to dry and then draw in where we want the black. We get most of it painted and then clean up for lunch.
12:00 The boys make their own lunches and we set down at the table together. I finish reading our book A King's Ransom and then we read Africa is Not a Country together.
12:40 When lunch is done and all cleaned up we bring out painting supplies back to the table and finish up our pandas.
Alec pulls out his Kindle and starts playing Words with Friends and Trivia Crack; he's got a lot of games going against various family members and is amazing me with the words he's finding to play!
I settle on the couch next to him determined to finish my book. Evan sits next to me looking up pictures of animal babies on my phone and sharing what he has found. Ian is upstairs building with Legos.
1:20 Ian calls down that it's almost 40 degrees and sunny outside and asks if we can play a game of wiffle ball. I agree that we should spend some time outside so I set aside my book and we gear up.
Once outside the younger boys want to show me that he brook has frozen solid and we end up spending more than 20 minutes exploring the frozen water, the patters of the ice, and trying to break through the ice with rocks and sticks.
We finally head back to the yard and play wiffle ball for another half hour or so taking turns at batting, throwing, catching, and pitching.
3:00 We head inside once Alec's hives show up (he's allergic to the cold) and look forward to warming up and resting. I pull out my book and again declare that I AM going to finish this book by dinner. I tell the boys they are free to do whatever they'd like. Ian finishes watching U-571; a movie about world war II. The other two boys play video games together on the X box.
3:30 Evan and I stop what we're doing and I get his medicine prepared. He asks for a snack and the next thing I know we're all eating snack.
4:20 I finish up my book! (It's so good that I'm alternately smiling and crying!). It's called Learning to Stay and it's a fictional book about a war veteran, PTSD, brain injury and the problems he and his wife face when he tries to assimilate back into society. It was so moving!
4:30 I sit down to blog, check e-mails, and before I know it it's 5:00 and I have to start dinner.
Tonight it's homemade mini pizzas and salad; it's pretty quick and easy.
5:00 I call Evan in the set the table and Ian to empty the dishwasher that we had started after lunch. I start making pizzas only to realize I never remembered to take the cheese out of the freezer; so I consult our two week menu and see if there is another meal idea that I can quickly substitute out for the pizzas. Thankfully hamburgers and hot dogs were on the list and I know I have salad and chips to go with them.
5:30 We sit down to eat.
After dinner the boys clear the table, wash the counters and table, and sweep the floor.
6:00 It's Monday so we exercise together; lifting weights, doing push- ups, sit- ups, and jumping jacks, etc.
by 7:00 everyone is done working out and the boys get their snacks. They watch TV play video games until bed. I set out their work for the next day and we get ready to start it all over again.
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