This is a guest post from DJ! I love her perspective of making things work well for her family. Find her details at the bottom of the post.

Hey y’all! I’m DJ from thebookishden.com, and I’m so excited to have the opportunity to share what a typical homeschool day looks like for our family. I’m sort of fan-girling over here, as Erin’s blog is one I’ve followed for ages!

We’re a family hanging out in a small town right outside of Charlotte, NC. We have 5 kiddos ages 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. I wish I could say that those stair-step ages were our plan, but that was all Jesus!

Our family started this wonderful world of homeschooling about five years ago, and man… there’s been a serious learning curve! We’ve been experimenting with how we “do school” since the beginning, and with each child coming to school age, each year looks a little different.

Most of our choices are heavily influenced by the Charlotte Mason method, although we’ve mixed in a bit of classical, Montessori, and even Waldorf! Did I mention I have shiny ball syndrome? It’s a real thing, my friend. Writing a homeschool blog means I get to discover some really cool tools and curricula—and I love trying new things with my kids!

This year, we are schooling all of our kids except the 2-year-old, which brings an entirely new dynamic into this crazy mix!

One thing that has stayed the same is that we school year-round. It gives us so much more grace. We tried sticking with a traditional school schedule, and for a multitude of reasons, it just didn’t work for our family. My husband works a 12-hour swing shift, so when he’s off, we like to have the option to take off too! Isn’t it wonderful, the freedom homeschooling gives us? We can make it look however we need it to for our families!

Homeschool Wake-Up Time

What time should a homeschooler wake up? This can be a controversial topic!

For us, we aren’t really morning people. I think this stems from the fact that this mama has been nursing babies for the past six years, and I do most of my work late at night. Sleep hasn’t been my closest friend until recently. Because of that, we’ve gotten into a routine of slow mornings—and it just works for us.

My early riser (8) gets up, eats breakfast, does his chores, and either plays or reads until the rest of the family wakes up. We’re usually all up around 9. The older kids eat breakfast and do their morning chores, and this gives me time to have my quiet time and knock out a bit more work. Once everyone is settled in, it’s time to start school.

Morning Basket

We LOVE the concept of a morning basket, and I’ve been doing it for the past couple of years. All the kids—even the baby—will sit on the floor and participate. The content changes regularly, but a few things that are always included are:

A devotional
Memory work
Our history reading
A biography
A fairy tale or nursery rhyme book

I add anything else the kids might be interested in and just loop those topics throughout the week. I love finding books on subjects my kids are really into and adding them in here. This is also our “core” for busy or stressful days—if we can at least get through this part, I feel good about the day.

I highly recommend new homeschool families check this tool out. It’s been one of the few constants from year to year, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Time to Split

Now is the time the bigs and littles split off. The older kids start with their independent work—maybe math on the computer while another works through their Bible study. They each have a few subjects they can tackle on their own, which is a lifesaver for moms with littles!

Once they’re settled and independent, I can sit down with whichever younger child needs more attention.

I use Erin’s The Gentle + Classical Primer for them. It takes about 30–45 minutes, longer if we dive into some hands-on art. I won’t lie—the messy art stuff is out of my comfort zone, so we don’t do it as much as I’d like. I’m working on this, though, because they LOVE it—and honestly, I love seeing them enjoy it too.

After that, we do a short reading lesson. My youngest two have been begging me all year to learn how to read, so we’re easing in gently. Once we wrap this up, the 4-year-old is done for the day and heads off to play.

History & Science

Where these subjects fall in our day really varies. If the morning has been productive and distraction-free (is this even possible?), we might knock them out before lunch. But more often than not, we finish up in the afternoon or do them in the evening.

We use living books for both subjects, which makes them super flexible. These often become our bedtime reads. The three older kids join in, with the older two doing narration or writing assignments alongside the reading. They all love these subjects, so it never feels like “school” to them!

We’re currently studying birds, so the older two have started creating their own “Bird Books.” They write and illustrate what they’ve learned about each species—like their own versions of the Audubon Field Guide. We also make time for nature walks to spot birds in real life and connect the dots.

Wrapping Up the Homeschool Day

That’s a typical day at home for us! Once schoolwork is done, we’re free to do whatever we want. That might include lounging around, playing board games, going out with Daddy, visiting friends and family, or taking a fun field trip.

Sometimes, we decide to do school somewhere else entirely. We might listen to our history book as an audiobook while driving to get groceries, or take our books and head to the park or nearby mountains.

After a few years of homeschooling, I’ve learned that making our homeschool fit around our life—and not the other way around—has worked best for us.

I hope that, whatever your homeschool preferences are, you won’t be a slave to them. Experiment. Step out of your comfort zone. Find what works for your family. This is such a beautiful journey—don’t lose the wonder to guidelines and others’ opinions. Only you and your kids can create the perfect homeschool!

I'm DJ, folks! I'm a wife, homeschooling mama of 5, author, blogger, artist, and life-long literary enthusiast. (That’s just fancy talk for, “I spend all my extra money on books to the point that I may have to build a house out of them.”) I would like to believe that I'm what would happen if Kevin Smith & Joanna Gaines had a baby-whole lotta geek wrapped up in some Jesus loving shiplap. Find me over at The Bookish Den and on Instagram.