Happy Wednesday! Have you ever wondered what a day in the life of a SLOCA staff looks like? Well, today we have an extra special A Day in the Life post for you! SLO Classical Academy Admission Assistant and Track B mom, Cheryl McCabe, is here to give us a peek into not only a day but a WEEK of her family’s life. Settle in, maybe grab the kleenex box (just saying) and find out how the McCabe family embraces this wonderful adventure we call SLOCA.

---

As the saying goes, the days are long, but the years are short. The last time I recorded a day of our SLOCA life was back in 2014!! Six years later, and here we are. We are now in the 10th year of our SLOCA journey, and all the boys, except one, are officially taller than me. 

If we haven’t met, we are the McCabes – that’s me, Cheryl, my husband, Will, and our three boys, Aidan (9th grade at SLOCAHS), Owyn (7th in UMS), and Quinlan (3rd in Intermediate). And our beloved pup, Rhodey James McCabe. 

After reading my post back in 2014, I chuckle at how seemingly simple life was back then. Things have certainly changed quite a bit. Since then, I’ve taken on a few roles at SLOCA. I’ve worked in our Safety Team (one of the best and most fun positions to be in at SLOCA!!), helped with Student Records (yes, you may have gotten a stern email from me…I’m sorry about that!), took on the Down Home Blog (talk about letting your creative juices flow!), and now in my current position, I get to assist Mrs. Amy Calloway in the Admissions Department (such a rewarding experience to meet some of you before your SLOCA journey starts!). 

My days tend to blend right into the next one. I told Sharon that you’d have to peek into what a week generally looks like to encapsulate the “day” of a homeschooling SLOCA staff member. 🙂  Ready to jump in with me? Here we go…

Sunday

On some weekends, we end up doing at least one or two school things from the week before that I didn’t quite get to. This weekend we are finalizing the last additions to Quinlan’s diorama. Once the glue has hardened, he then hurries over to Will so they can finish reading the last chapters of Streams to the River, River to the Sea. 

Monday

5:00 a.m. – I try to be up by 4 every weekday morning but couldn’t get myself out of bed today. I get my to-do list ready.

7:00 a.m. – Boys are up, breakfast going; I wrangle Quinlan so we can go through his Math lesson before we leave.

8ish – Now at SLOCA. The highschooler heads to math class, and the younger boys and I head to the office. I get settled, and the boys get their schoolwork out. Amy’s working off-campus today so my kids take over the Admissions office.

8:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – I juggle my time between phone calls, emails, and check-in with each of my boys. Lots of inquiries are coming in about our school!

1:00 p.m. – Boys’ schoolwork is done, and they are now antsy. They switch from going out to the playground while Track A students are not out to back in the Admissions office, where they utilize the whiteboard to play math games.

2:30 p.m. – Younger boys head out to basketball practice while I continue to work. I talk to a family from Indiana, with four kids in 4 different grade levels, relocating to our area. They are so excited to find another classical, hybrid school!

4:00 p.m. – I grab the younger boys from practice, and we head home.

4:00-7:00 p.m. – We do our usual family stuff: unload the van from the day (please tell me my car isn’t the only mobile storage facility?!), prep/make dinner while we wait for highschooler & husband to get home, we eat together, clean-up, boys all shower. Some media time sneaks in there, of course.

7:30 p.m. – Bedtime for the younger two (husband usually does this) while I tackle laundry and ironing.

8:00 p.m. – Husband emerges from the bedroom and jumps on his work computer, highschooler is making music in his studio, and I am still ironing, which I always find strangely therapeutic.

9ish – Highschooler comes up and asks to watch MasterChef together, so we watch an episode. I try hard not to fall asleep on the couch. I fail completely.

Tuesday

4:00 a.m. – I’m actually up! Woot! That’s a good sign!

4:30 a.m. – I jump on the treadmill while listening to a podcast. I love listening to Craig Groeschel’s leadership podcasts. Today he’s talking about how effective leaders handle criticism. Good stuff.

5:00-8:00 a.m. – The alarms on my phone begin to go off. I’m kind of known for my endless alarms. I have an alarm for everything. From getting my boys up to doing our daily wellness checks to taking out the laundry. It’s a bit neurotic, but it’s this, or things will never happen. For instance, dioramas are due today, so naturally, I have an alarm to remind my 3rd grader not to forget to bring it. *sigh*

8:00 a.m. – Now at SLOCA. I get settled and then walk my 3rd grader to his classroom. Full day today. We have the Sneak Peek coming up, plus a list of to-dos to get ready for with re-enrollment. Emails and phone inquiries continue to come in. Outside of our school community, parents and students are chomping at the bit to be back in classrooms. It’s heartbreaking to hear some of their stories. 

3:15 p.m. – I pay a quick visit to my mom (we call her Lola), who lives close by. Her dementia continues to affect her ability to remember the boys. She struggles to remember my younger two today, so I show her recent photos of them. 

4:00 p.m. – Back at SLOCA to pick up the 3rd and 7th graders from basketball practice. 

4:30 p.m. – Home, and we proceed with our usual routine (see Monday’s), except I work a bit more instead of iron.

Wednesday

4:00 a.m. – Rise and shine. After some quiet time and a treadmill run, I jump on my computer to work. Lots of follow-up emails to write. We’re still getting plenty of mid-year enrollment inquiries, especially those asking about our 7th and 8th-grade levels.

6:45 a.m. – Time got away from me. I’m late in getting everyone up and moving. I run down to wake the boys up—the high schooler groans and hides under his comforter.

7:00 a.m. – Start breakfast. The youngest son discovers that the oldest brother ate the one remaining cinnamon raisin English muffin last night, so apparently, that’s worth a meltdown. I make bullseyes for the oldest two. The little one comes in and asks for pasta with butter and parmesan cheese. (I know, don’t ask!!) Naturally, this Mama chooses to be a short-order cook today because I need to be wise with my battles today. 

7:45 a.m. – Time to leave! Quinlan packs up his breakfast pasta, the rest of us run around and close all the doors inside the house, so Rhodey doesn’t get into trash cans while we’re gone.

8:15 a.m. – Safe and sound on SLOCA school grounds. We say goodbye to the oldest brother, and we say hello to our friend, Jett. (Jett is Mrs. Calloway’s grandson, and he is in the same Intermediate class as Quinlan. He joins us on our Wednesday homeschool days.) We load Jett’s backpack, and off to head home we go!

8:35 a.m. – We’re home, and the 3rd graders decide to break out their snap circuits while I get their school space ready. I told them they have 10 min.

8:45-11:45 a.m. – Homeschool’s in session. I had several teachable moments with my 7th-grader today, who is still learning how to balance time spent on the computer/screens and focusing on his schoolwork. We take one play break and one snack break in between. I send Lisa Wallace a note about the younger boys’ copy work assignment.

11:45 a.m. – Intermediate students are done! UMS student is still finishing his Art homework. Off to prep lunch!

12:00 p.m. – Lunch is served. The boys trade funny classroom stories while they eat. I peek at my work email to see if there’s anything urgent.

12:30 p.m. – Lunch clean-up, and the boys head outside to ride bikes and say hello to our neighbors. I sit down to read materials for Friday’s staff retreat and work a bit.

1:45 p.m. – We prepare to head back to school. The basketball players get their gear, and Jett packs up.

2:20 p.m. – Jett says hello to grandma, and they head to the basketball courts. I’m at my desk working. I’ve got an hour and a half until practice is over.

4:00 p.m. – Bball pick-up.

4:30-10:00 p.m. – Leftovers tonight! Woot! One less thing to think about. We go through our usual evening routine. I prep everything we need for the morning as we have an early stop.

Thursday

6:00 a.m. – I sleep waaay past my alarm, so we rush to get ready.

7:00 a.m. – We’re out the door!! We leave the 9th grader at home because he’s still sound asleep.

7:25 a.m. – We get to my dad’s to wish him a happy birthday and drop off his cake. He (we call him Lolo) loves chocolate cake. Lolo turns 98 today.

8:00 a.m. – We’re now at school. More inquiries to get to today. Lots of phone calls, emails, scheduling appointments for Amy, reviewing forms, and refining processes for the 2021/2022 school year. 

4:00 p.m. – How is it 4 already? Basketball practice is done, and the boys and I head over to Lolo’s for pizza and cake.

5:00 p.m. – We head home and prep for the 2nd dinner for the boys. Again, don’t ask. 

6:30 p.m. – After dinner clean-up, the 3rd grader and I work on Friday’s math. I’m attending a work retreat all day tomorrow and won’t be able to do much school.

7:00 p.m. – The 7th grader and I work on his states, capitals, and mapping, where we hear the occasional outbursts from the 3rd grader, who divulges answers. Also, I realize I still don’t know where all the East Coast states are!! Eeeek.

7:30 p.m. – Younger boys’ bedtime routine starts. I’m honestly fried at this point, and I’m so thankful my husband does it. I need to tell him that more. 

8:00 p.m. – It’s a late dinner for Will and me. 

8:30 p.m. – The oldest son joins us in the living room, and we watch Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. We enjoy food. And food shows. 

9:30-11:30 p.m. – My husband and I end up with some heart-to-heart talk with our 15-year old. We treasure these moments with him!!

11:45 p.m. – Will & I pray over our firstborn. I’m tired, but I’m going to bed with a full heart. Most especially in their teenage years, all of our kids need their parents, now more than ever! Never get tired of telling them how much you love them!!

Friday

4:00 a.m. – Challenge to wake up today but I did it. After some quiet and a quick run, I hop on to work a bit. Pup joins me. 

6:30 a.m. – I get the boys’ breakfast going, and I brief them on my expectations of them for the day. 

7:00 a.m. – I log on to my work email and squeeze out just a couple more to-dos before the staff retreat.

8:00-3:30 p.m. – On Being Human staff retreat

4:00 p.m. – We visit with Lola. She asked about Aidan, who didn’t make it to stay on Tuesday, so Aidan wanted to see her. She remembers well today, so we tell her some funny stories. My parents are 94 and 98 so not much time left. I take a deep breath of gratitude.

5:30 p.m. – We’re back home. It’s family movie night. Will makes the boys’ favorite homemade mac n’ cheese, and we get the living room ready for eatin’ and watchin’. 

Saturday

The weekend is here! Supposed to go on a long run today but I have some appointments, along with errands and chores, so don’t think that’ll happen. Will’s stepping in to help since Friday’s schoolwork didn’t quite get done. Will helps Quinlan finish his reading and writing assignments. Daddy also runs through Owyn’s grid to make sure he didn’t miss anything. The high schooler has been tasked with researching which online driver’s ed he’d like to take. 

We take deep breaths. We try and make room to play in between all of this. Some weekends are more challenging than others, as busyness and full schedules can take over if we’re not careful. 

We end the night with our sacred “Tacos de” date night. Yes, every Saturday evening. The boys know that once 8 pm is here, interruptions are punishable by law. Haha…I wish! In all seriousness, Will & I get in our pajamas; he picks up our usual order (chicken flautas for him and chile relleno for me :)), we watch a show (and try hard not to stuff our faces with the deliciousness), and we just sit and be with each other. We look forward to this all week—the simple joys of life.

Tomorrow’s goal? Rest and recharge. Then comes Monday. If we’re blessed with another day, we get the incredible opportunity to do it all over again. Hopefully, better and even more intentional than the week before. 

In it, together, with you,

The McCabes

---

Thank you, Cheryl and the McCabe family for giving us a glimpse into a week of your busy lives! It is always fun and encouraging to see how others in our community approach SLOCA life.