A Day in the Life of a Home-Schooling Stay at Home Mom

6:45-8:00 Wake up and get coffee
If the Professor is still sleeping...enjoy the coffee while it is hot. Check online to see the school schedule for the day and then work on daily tweeting and other blog stuff.  Somewhere in here help 3 kids get breakfast, get my own breakfast...which will be shared with the Professor, pack my husbands lunch, get his water supply for the day packed up and start a load of laundry.

8:00-8:30 - Turn on Curious George for the Professor.  Have the girls practice their piano, use the bathroom and prep for their school day.

8:30 - turn off the TV and do morning devotions and prayers.  School starts for the girls and Operation Demolish the House and Jump on My Sisters is begun by the Professor.  In between keeping the Professor out of trouble and doing one-on-one lessons with the girls I (sometimes) attempt to clean, fold laundry and/or prep for dinner.

School continues non-stop until 11:00

At 11:00 we break for lunch, outdoor play (when weather allows).  I make lunches for 4, clean up the kitchen and eat.

At noon we resume school.  I try and have the girls do something hard since they are full and just back from being outdoors so it's a great time for Math or Science.  Around 1 the Professor goes down for his nap.  I finish any laundry that is not yet done and the girls and I continue school.  On a good day we can finish by 2:30 and I will get 30-60 minutes of good cleaning time in or time to work on blog stuff.

The rest of the afternoon is rather unscheduled.  The girls play and do arts and crafts.  The Professor likes to have some one-on-one time with Mommy.  Somewhere in here I will finish up dinner prep or start dinner depending on what we are having (my meals are planned by the week).

Around 5:30 my husband comes home and everyone bombards him with stuff about their day.  He takes a shower and we eat.  Then time to clean up the kitchen.  Around 7 p.m. we have all the kids clean their rooms and pick up toys in the living room.  Once that is done they brush their teeth and put on pjs.  Then we will typically play a family game or read a book or something.

8:00 - Kids go to bed.  

Then relaxation. Or laundry.  Catching up with my hubby and catching up on blog related work. 
Of course, not every day is the same.  Sometimes we have meetings at night or have someone over for dinner.  Sometimes someone gets sick or whatever.  But this is the basic flow to our days.  It may sound quaint but it takes a lot of work!  I am not a super mom.  Each day I choose tasks to be left undone.  At the end of the night my husband and family don't care if there are still fingerprints on the coffee table...they care if I am focused on them or if instead I am running around stressing about the house.  It can be a delicate balance to maintain. 

What do your days look like?  How do you keep the balance?