Day in the Life of a Homeschooled Teen

As a homeschooling mom of a decade, I have seen the fruits of a dependable, predictable, reliable, and consistent rhythm and flow in our days. It goes without saying that sometimes teenage emotions can be high and low, and so can their motivations. I have found extreme importance in not allowing my teenagers to dictate the temperature of my home or my homeschool. Instead, my job is to exercise discernment and wisdom. I also do not believe in sleeping until noon because we can type of homeschool. (I know I’m stepping on toes here.) I don’t think that models the self-discipline and self-control we are called to as believers. I also do not think that sets our teens up to succeed in the world. Whether it be a career, military service, or tending to their future homes and children, life has time constraints, times for arrivals and departures, and we are called by God to be good stewards of that time. I believe the rhythm and order of your teens' day-to-day activities set them up to succeed in this important area of life. Of course, not all days are the same. We still make time for adventure, outings, and, dare I say, FUN in our homeschool all the way up to graduation (which I will be doing for the first time this spring), but our home has rhythms, routine, and order. What a blessing it’s been to cultivate that type of home learning environment for them to thrive.

In general, our homeschool days look something like this. All of these time references are “ish”… flexible within certain parameters.

7:00-7:15 ~ Wake-up time (some need alarms, some are up before, and some like a gentle mom touch to wake them)

7:15-8:30 ~ each of my children are responsible to get dressed for the day (no pj homeschoolers here, and my kids hate being asked this question by their public schooled peers), make their beds, morning hygiene (emphasis on the deodorant), cook themselves breakfast, and complete their morning chore. These chores vary from child to child, and they do the same ones each weekday for an entire school year. A Monday morning chore may look like unloading dishwashers, starting laundry, dog yard cleanup, wiping out bathtubs, disinfectant wipe cleaning bathroom counters and toilets.

8:30-8:45 ~ Sit down for morning time as a family. This includes watching a World Watch News segment, daily gratitude journal, personal bible study, and then a group family style devotion or book together. My two older teens also complete their daily history lessons while I work with the younger two teens. A few times a week, we include a Christian Apologetics reading, which always leads to fruitful discussions with my teens.

9:45-10:00 ~ Somewhere in this timeframe, the above things wrap up, and it's time for a snack break. Teens and food. Critical to keeping their brains going. I keep healthy options on hand that they can choose from. At this point, they are free to begin their individual grade-level subjects. They work at their own pace and in the order they prefer. At this stage of homeschooling, allowing some autonomy is a good thing. Some of my children work faster than others. Some of my children have more challenging coursework than their siblings. They know that their diligence and completion are what allow them their somewhat elusive free time, so they are motivated. (Usually).

10:00-12:00 ~ Begin individual coursework. 

• Grade-level math 

• Grade-level science

• Grade-level English

• Grade-level electives (foreign language, ASL, forensic studies, biblical archaeology)

12:00-12:30/12:40ish ~ Lunch break. My teens rotate preparing lunch for one another. This has been a great way to learn to serve and prepare meals for more than just themselves. They are responsible for cleaning the kitchen and doing any dishes.

• Monday: Mom’s Day

• Tues: Oldest daughter

• Wed: Oldest son

• Thurs: Youngest son

• Fri: Youngest daughter

12:40- at the latest 2:00  ~ Finish up schoolwork for the day. As siblings finish and others continue to work, I ask them not to interrupt the others. This is “Family free time”. Mom included.  Some do crafts, some go outside, some head off to their CrossFit gym for their daily workout, some read, and some call friends.

This is also the timeframe in which my teens who have part-time jobs will prepare for work and head off to work for their shifts.

4:00 ~ Mom starts to prepare dinner and get the teens to practice at the right times, etc.

5:00-7:30 ~ is the general time in which extracurricular activities are going on and family dinner is had. With teens who work, we do not have dinner all 6 of us every night anymore. But I still hold to the standard of more nights than not. Ie: 4 dinners together/3 missing someone or at different times.

7:30-8:15 ~ Showers and dinner clean up

8:15- 9:00 ~ Relax/wind down with a show or movie on TV. Everyone gets a night to choose now since interests are so varied, and I was tired of listening to complaints about Princess and the Frog and Star Wars.

9:00 ~ into bed, hug/pray with each of them. 

9:15 ~ Lights out unless at work, in which case I always wait up to ensure they get home safe and still give them a hug and kiss goodnight.

This post was created based on an article I wrote for the Learning Well Journals.