{photos by Jessica Pahl}
How about another Day in the Life post? We love these, and are excited to bring you the latest installment today. This time we are hearing from the Pahl family: Jessica and Garet Pahl, with 4 kids on Track A. They have a unique circumstance that makes this Day in the Life different and fun, but I’ll let Jessica introduce their family and explain…
Hey there! We're the Pahl family. We moved from North Carolina almost two years ago making this our second year at SLOCA. We have two boys in primary and kinder, then twin girls in preschool. We moved out of our house in San Luis this past November and moved into a 400 square foot RV at Camp San Luis. After two months there we have since moved onto our property in Atascadero but will continue living in the RV for all of 2017. While I wouldn't say this change has been incredibly hard, I would say it definitely has some inconveniences. Space inside the RV obviously being one of them, but when when you live in a place with weather as gorgeous as here consistently, the outside space becomes an extension of the inside. So we take advantage of doing schoolwork out in the sun as often as possible. Here’s a day from our life when we were living at the campground:
7:15 am
My alarm goes off – or rather, as it happens today, one of my three year olds, Gracie, appears at my bedside and proclaims “Mommy, the sun is waking up!” This type of wake up call is rare, normally it’s a demand for food.
7:20 am
Two of my four are awake and at the table eating greek yogurt and granola with fruit. I’m not a morning person so I tend to go with quick food items first thing after waking up.
7:30 am
All kids are now awake and at the table eating. Because our living room is also the kids’ bedroom and our kitchen, the kids all wake up around the same time.
7:45 am
Kids get dressed and finish their morning chores (that consists of making beds, putting pjs away, and pushing the trundle under the bunk bed.)
8:15 am
We are ready to start our devotion. Some days it goes so beautifully; today it does not. Attitudes aren’t great and I decide everyone needs a little separation. I declare a quiet time for 20 minutes. Everyone picks a spot in the camper and looks at books while I turn on classical music and make my first cup of coffee.
8:45 am
We try devotion again and it’s great. When we finish, kids have a snack of bananas.
9:30 am
My twin three year old girls and my kindergartner look at books, while my 8 year old practices sight words while having his tea. As he is reading words to me, I cook a breakfast of eggs and hashbrowns.
10:00 am
I sit down to have breakfast along with Garet and most of the kids join us.
10:30 am
My three younger ones sit at the table to draw in their nature journals and look at field guides while I work on reading with my oldest. When we finish we go on to grammar.
11:00 am
The boys switch places and I work with my kindergartner on his handwriting.
11:15 am
The girls are pretending to have school with their animals and the boys are at the table with me working on their math.
12:00 pm
My 8 year old helps me cook lunch. Chili is on the menu which is one of his favorites.
1:00 pm
We all have lunch together before daddy goes to work at 2pm.
2:00 pm
We head to the laundromat to wash clothes. All the kids pitch in to help. This is actually one of their favorite parts of living at a campground. And to be honest, I don’t mind it either. With all the machines, I can do five loads at once.
2:20-4 pm
While we wait for clothes to wash and dry, we explore outside. Camp San Luis is pretty large and has plenty of places to walk.
4:15 pm
Back at the camper, the kids (the girls as much as they can) listen as I read about Thomas Jefferson. My oldest then completes his copy work and narration.
5:00 pm
Kids play outside while I make dinner.
5:45 pm
Everyone has dinner then starts getting ready for bed.
7:00 pm
All the kids are in bed and I read for about an hour from Anne of Green Gables.
8:00 pm
I clean up the kitchen from dinner, fold and put away all the clothes from the laundromat, and get myself ready for bed.
10:00 pm
I’m in bed checking emails, writing or reading for about an hour before I finally fall asleep.
Thank you for sharing this, Jessica! We love hearing how all kinds of families make SLOCA work in all kinds of situations. If you can home school in an RV, we can all make our home days work too… such fun to share a day with you and your family!
SLOCA parents, if you'd like to contribute a Day in the Life blog post this year, please email Down Home and let us know!
