A Day in the Life: The Neuschwander Family

Welcome back! We hope your long weekend was refreshing and has you ready to keep pressing onward through trimester 2. We have a treat for you today: another A Day in the Life post. Juggling different grids, sibling interactions, extracurricular activities, household responsibilities and more make each home day unique and full of its own highs and lows. Seeing how other SLOCA families approach their home days can be both fun and reassuring. (“I’m not the only one who…”) Settle in and read on as Track A mom, Valerie Neuschwander shares with us a “typical” home day with her three kids.

Wednesday Night: I set out all the books and materials we will need for the school day the night before. This helps not only prepare me (reading through the grid, prepping for math lessons) but also allows my kids to work on certain things independently. I make a daily checklist for Rachel and add things to each of their grids that are individual to each kid, such as piano practice, writing a thank you card, etc.

Thursday, 5:55 a.m. – Alarm sounds. I get dressed in the dark and drive to the Y for a spin class. Meeting one of my best friends there makes it much easier to get up and go! 

6:55 a.m. – Come home to kids that are already dressed and hopping up and down for breakfast! We all give goodbye hugs to my husband, Seth, as he leaves for the start of his shift (he is a fire captain in Pismo). 

7:00 a.m. – I put away a few dishes as the kids are starting up a game inspired by Ava’s literature book this week (The Big Green Pocketbook). The girls each have a pocketbook, Scott is the bus driver (the bus is a blanket), and they are making stops all over the house. This is definitely one of those moments that I’m so glad we get to do life this way. 

7:30 a.m. – Post shower, the joyful play is turning into hangry bickering. Ava is crying, Scott is claiming innocence and Rachel avoids the situation entirely by starting her piano practice. I make fried eggs with toast for the kids, and a smoothie for myself. 

8:15 a.m. – We’re done eating and it’s time to get a move on. We generally start school around 8:00/8:30. Our homeschool days follow a general schedule but it’s flexible. I tried implementing timed breaks and a more set schedule, but it just didn’t work well for us. 

8:20 a.m. — I help Rachel a bit with piano. When she finishes, the girls both try to tell me their recitations at the same time. There is definitely a competitive aspect to our homeschool days; sometimes this works in my favor, sometimes not. After the girls each get their individual time reciting, Scott and I sit down for math. Ava and Rachel play nicely, for the most part, during Scott’s math lesson.  

8:50 a.m. – Scott is enjoying the decimals unit, so it has been a good time to throw in 3 or so review problems each day. It takes more time, both during my prep and on the actual school day, to create reviews (whether this is for math or grammar), but they really make a big difference in retention. Scott and I finish up with his math. At this point, I would typically give him a break and start Rachel’s math lesson. Today, however, Scott has rock climbing in about an hour so I want to try to get a little further along with his schoolwork.  

8:55 a.m. – I get Scott going on drawing a map related to our history reading in his BWJ. Anything creative is his favorite part of the school day and I don’t have much part in it. I take a few moments to finish up the breakfast dishes. 

9:00 a.m. – My girls are already asking for a snack. I’m a soft target for snacks on homeschool days. Scott and I start his grammar lesson. These lessons can be kind of dry – so I try to keep it light and funny by randomly replacing words when diagramming sentences. Yep – this usually involves the word “poop,” “tooted,” and the like. How’s that for some classical education inspiration? 

9:20 a.m. – Done with grammar. Ava spontaneously recites for us. We sit together on the couch to read SOTW. I typically read this the night before our homeschool day, along with some or all of the literature reading, but wasn’t able to last evening. Ava interrupts with whining a number of times – I can tell she is really in need of some one-on-one attention. This is one reason I usually read SOTW and lit the night before when Ava is in bed. 

9:36 a.m. – We all enjoy (except Ava) learning about the Moghul Dynasty, and Scott is super inspired to do his creative narrative on the subject. I help Rachel with the related narration in her history journal. We head out to pick up friends for rock-climbing. 

10:20 a.m. – After dropping the boys off with Coach Mark at The Pad and stopping at the gas station to fill up, we’re back home. Rachel starts reading to Ava, and tells me she is “pretending to be a librarian during story hour.” 

10:28 a.m. – I refuse Ava’s request for a Z-bar and she has a meltdown. Yes, more snacks! Her anger is further stoked upon my offer of apples and PB. Sometimes she just needs a couple of minutes to chill out in her room. I wish I had a picture from this part of the day – tantrum pictures are my favorite. 

10:31 a.m. – Rachel and I start her math lesson. She grasps the concept well but is complaining about the large quantity of problems today. I ask her to do half of what is assigned. She ends up doing it all when she realizes how quickly she can do the problems. Often a “start somewhere” tactic like this can weaken overwhelm. Ava has quietly emerged from her room and joined us at the table. She observes the math lesson, and once Rachel starts her textbook I start a coloring sheet with Ava (Q is for Queen!). Sitting with each of them, I can help Rachel as needed and Ava still feels she is getting positive attention and time with me. 

10:50 a.m. – I leave Rachel to finish up her workbook problems on her own, while Ava and I go to big brother’s room to do Ava’s math activity – create a LEGO pattern in an egg carton!

11:00 a.m. — Scott gets dropped off while Ava and I pattern. He excitedly tells me he and one of his friends would like to work on their creative narrative together later today. Scott is super motivated to get his schoolwork done to earn this; he goes to work on handwriting (cursive workbook) while I continue playing with Ava. Rachel comes in from finishing her math workbook outside in the sunshine. 

11:15 a.m. – I dictate spelling sentences to Scott while Ava begs me repeatedly to “do more school” with her. While I still use the AAS tiles for the lessons, I allow the kids to write on a dry erase board for the dictation. We quickly finish spelling and Rachel begins her copy work, which she does independently. 

11:40 a.m. – Everyone is occupied. Scott is practicing piano, Rachel is working on her history and copy work illustrations, and Ava is painting. 

12:00 p.m. – Grammar with Rachel on the sunny front patio. We bring a bag of chips…which draws the others out. We are all ready for some lunch! 

12:13 p.m. – After cleaning paint off of Ava, the girls go out front to ride their bikes. Scott is making a lot of explosion noises while playing with blocks. I make lunch for everyone today, but have Scott make his own lunch on most home days. 

1:05 p.m. – The kids are finished with their break and lunches. I dictate spelling phrases to Rachel while eating my own lunch. When we finish, Rachel and I take turns reading Charlotte’s Web out loud to each other. 

1:30 p.m. –Scott and Rachel get picked up by friends. Ava and I do a 10-minute tidy, then settle in on the couch with an awesome pile of books. 

2:30 p.m. – Reading to my kids is definitely one of my favorite things to do, but at this point, I’m getting drowsy and announce it’s time to get ready for ballet. Ava gets on her dance clothes, and we head over to pick up the big kids. 

2:55 p.m. – Pick up Scott and Rachel – quick outfit changes for swimming and ballet. We stop to pick up another friend that does ballet with Rachel. 

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.– A drop off/pick up-palooza for ballet and swimming. 

5:00 p.m. – Arrive home and start making tacos. While I cook, I allow Scott to watch a couple of the Henry VIII videos on the SLOCA blog; Ava is outside playing with a neighbor. I put on my headphones and listen to my favorite podcast. 

5:45 p.m. — Rachel is dropped off from ballet and we sit down to eat together. 

6:30 p.m. — After reading a few books with Ava and putting her to bed, I read The Shakespeare Stealer with the big kids. Everyone is in bed by 7:30 – with Scott reading in bed until 8:00 or so. After finishing up the dinner dishes, I do some work on the computer and then hit the sack with my current book. 

The best way I can end this somewhat rambling blog post is to quote another A Day in the Life by the lovely and hilarious Jeannett Gibson: 

Some days I yell, some days someone cries, some days it’s lovely and breezy and I kinda want to pinch myself not believing it’s true. All days it’s worth it though. Besides, those Mondays and Wednesdays when they’re at 165 Grand are a great recharge. I love my kids dearly, but some days I need to love them from afar, ya know?

Thank you, Valerie, for sharing your day with us!