Homeschool Routines
Grow Just Like Our Kids Do
Have you ever placed items in a time capsule? For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, a time capsule is a container that is used for storing a selection of objects chosen as being typical of the present time period, then it is buried for discovery in the future. When you open that time capsule many many many years later, you can sometimes be surprised by how so much has changed.
I have this feeling all the time when I look back at pictures or videos of my children (especially from our Disney trips).
Emotions flood my being as I gush over how little my four children were. Then I look at them now and my proud mama heart bursts with joy over how much they have matured.
At this point in my homeschool journey, I would definitely consider myself a veteran homeschooler. I’ve been homeschooling for EIGHT years and have now entered my NINTH year of homeschooling. During this time I have taught elementary to high school. And the craziest thing is, I am TWO YEARS AWAY from graduating my first homeschool child! Be still my heart!
Emotions aside, one thing I’ve learned through all these years of homeschool is some things can stay the same and some things must change as your children grow. Our homeschool routines have evolved over the years. Some of the systems that worked when all four of my children were under the age of seven no longer work today, however there are a few things that have stayed the same. Nevertheless, as our children grow and mature, new practices must be put in place to allow them to thrive.
So friends, let’s open a time capsule! Let me take you back through the routines I’ve used over the past eight years and highlight some of the differences and similarities. I’ve broken up my homeschooling years into groups of three. For each time period, I’ve included relevant videos showcasing my homeschool routines with a few DITL’s that highlight our routines in those seasons of life. I’ve also included a small chart of the school years and the corresponding grade levels of my kids. Now friends, come along with me as we go back in time.
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”
The Younger Years
| School Year | Kids' Grade Level |
| 2014-2015 | 2nd, 1st, Pre-K, toddler |
| 2015-2016 | 3rd, 2nd, K, Preschool |
| 2016-2017 | 4th, 3rd, 1st, Pre-K |
Guys! Wait till you see how little my kids are in these videos! I mean come on…so precious! When I was only two years into my homeschool journey, I used block scheduling to help break up our homeschool day into chunks.
My kids would wake around 6:30 AM however we didn’t start school until sometime in the mid-morning/mid-afternoon. This was because I was still a physical trainer and had clients I met with in the mornings. Chunking our day allowed flexibility but provided a framework. We didn’t have set subjects at set times, but typically the subjects we had planned for a certain time of day happened within that time frame.
On a normal day we would finish school in about 2 hours. We began with our family subjects (we used Sonlight back then), then moved onto calendar time and independent journal time. We would finish with independent work. I structured my “teaching” time with my kids from youngest to oldest. I would start with my youngest daughter first and end just in time to work with my youngest son. Each child would finish his or her independent work at different times so that allowed me to work individually with each child. I ended with my older two, making sure to give one on one attention if needed. Check out the videos below for a more in depth look at the routines I had in place during those early years.
2014-2015
Sorry friends…I didn’t have a YouTube channel for these years.
2015-2016
Homeschool Schedule (6 years ago)
Day In The Life: Homeschooling Mom to 4
2016-2017
The Middle Years
| School Year | Kids' Grade Level |
| 2017-2018 | 5th, 4th, 2nd, K |
| 2018-2019 | 6th, 5th, 3rd, 1st |
| 2019-2020 | 7th, 6th, 4th, 2nd |
During this time period in our homeschool journey, my kids were all in their elementary years until the very last year when Kylee, my oldest daughter, entered her first year of middle school. I was still working as a personal trainer but my schedule was different day to day.
This was also a season when evenings were a bit busier because my children were now participating in sports. During these years, we switched from a typical traditional school year of about 9 months to year round schooling. We did six to eight weeks of school at a time before taking a week off. This gave us the flexibility to take breaks when we wanted to. Where we live it gets extremely hot in the summer months and so we typically wouldn’t go and do outdoor things except for swimming.
You’ll notice that not much changed other than what my children were able to do independently, especially my younger two. By the end of this time frame, I had four kiddos who could work independently on handwriting, phonics, etc. while I spent time with each individually on math and language arts. We continued to do morning baskets together, hitting family subjects like bible study, science, history, and read aloud. Check out the routines I had in place during these years below.
The Older Years
| School Year | Kids' Grade Level |
| 2020-2021 | 8th, 7th, 4th, 3rd |
| 2021-2022 | 9th, 8th, 5th, 4th |
| 2022-2023 | 10th, 9th, 6th, 5th |
Boy oh boy! When I look back at these years I have so many mixed emotions. For those of you reading this in the distant future, these were the years of quarantine…well at least for 2020.
My husband and I made sure to go about life like we normally did, putting the fear of God over the fear of man. Even with events happening around us in the world, we continued to homeschool and had our similar routines in place. We may have not been visiting the library as often or taking as many field trips, but our homeschool flows never failed.
Not only did we have certain worldly circumstances to deal with, but this was the first time I began teaching High School! I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW QUICKLY IT CAME! I look at my oldest daughter and struggle to keep it together at times. I am excited for her new and nearing adventure into adulthood but if I’m completely honest, I would keep her home forever if I could. Alas, that is very unrealistic…although a mama can dream right?!
You’ll notice that these years have more videos. I have my reasons. First, this is a time period of my life where I am homeschooling high school, middle school, and elementary school. That provides a lot of opportunities for me to share some nuggets of wisdom, tips, and advice. Second, my kids have matured and with that we’ve had to make many changes to our flows, including some that have affected our family subjects. So take a look at the videos below to learn more about those changes we’ve made, but know that the same framework that was there since the beginning is hidden within the fabric of our day to day schooling.
2020-2021
OUR *NEW* HOMESCHOOL SCHEDULE||ROUTINES||KIDS UPDATED CHORES
DAY IN THE LIFE||HOMESCHOOLING MOM||NORMAL DAY DOING NORMAL THINGS
*LIVE*HOMESCHOOL WITH ME||3RD GRADER FULL ROUTINE
*LIVE*HOMESCHOOL WITH ME||7TH GRADE
HOMESCHOOLING HIGHSCHOOL||SIMPLE PLAN WITH ME||PART 1
2021-2022
OUR HOMESCHOOL SCHEDULES||YEARLY+MONTHLY+DAILY+TAKING BREAKS +NEW CHORES!!
HOW I HOMESCHOOL MULTIPLE GRADES|| HIGH SCHOOL- ELEMENTARY||MY BIGGEST PIECE OF ADVICE
6TH GRADE HOMESCHOOL ROUTINE||ENTIRE DAY OF MIDDLE SCHOOL AT HOME
EFFICIENT✨DAILY HOMESCHOOL ROUTINE||EXPERIENCED HOMESCHOOL MOM X4
2022-2023
*new* HOMESCHOOL SCHEDULE||HOW I SCHEDULE OUR ENTIRE YEAR
DAILY HOMESCHOOL RHYTHMS||MULTIPLE KIDS||NEW YEAR BINDER PREP
Then and Now
As I’m sure you saw from the videos shared for each time period, some things changed while some things stayed the same but were updated over the years. So let's do a little compare and contrast exercise.
I listed three differences and three similarities from over the almost nine years of homeschool experience. However, I’m sure I could list many more.
Similarities
My kids have always had a flow checklist. This was and is something that has helped my kids to know what is expected and to help keep them on task during our school day.
We start our homeschool day with family subjects and end with independent work.
I structured my kids homeschool flows so that I worked independently with my younger two children first while my older two completed independent work. Then I moved to working with my older two while my younger two completed their independent work.
Differences
The amount of time spent on school has increased as my children have gotten older.
When my kids were younger, we read aloud at night before bed to help calm them down for a good night’s rest. Today, we read aloud during our morning basket time.
Although we have the same structure/flow throughout the day, there are subjects I used to do as a whole family that I can no longer do because of the ages of my children (i.e. science). My highschoolers have science curriculums they work through independently while my younger two children still do science with me.
I’ve learned so much over the almost nine years of homeschooling. At times we’ve had some bumps in the road while other times have been years of plenty and blessings. Ultimately, God is in control. He has entrusted me with my four children and with his strength and guidance I will continue to homeschool them as they grow into adults and leave my home. Bye Friends!
Love,
Ashlee
Homeschool Resources
Be sure to check out my YouTube playlists for Homeschool below to learn more about how I homeschool, curriculums we’ve used, and more. I also have items for sale in my store that we use in our homeschool like reading logs, book report sheets and more.
