“It’s morning, Mommy!”
As usual, I start the day with my 4-year-old daughter’s cheerful greeting. After a hug and a kiss, she runs off to get ready for the day and “make her bed,” and I hop in the shower. Since my homeschool day with almost 9-year-old, 4-year-old, and almost 1-year-old kids (Raisin, Strawberry, and Kitty) is about to begin, it’s best I squeeze in time to get myself ready before I face the day running. My homeschool mom schedule is not for wimps.
If there is one thing my preschooler does not like, it is being alone: playing alone, resting alone, eating alone. You name it, she always wants someone right by her side to talk with her, to listen to her, and to be with her. She is an exuberant personality that loves company. Always.
I am, however, more of an introvert. Her constant company is exhausting. I love it, but it is exhausting. I’ve been working for years to try to get my no-longer-napping youngster to take an independent quiet time break each afternoon. In the past month, I’ve finally found a way to encourage independent quiet time for my preschooler: audiobooks, especially Playaways. 
One of my favorite blogs, Simple Homeschool, has been running a Day in the Life of… series. I decided it was time I highlighted a day in my homeschool! Today was not a “normal” homeschool day since we had our co-op’s Valentine’s Day bowling party.
But I’m starting to realize that no day is ever “normal” when I am homeschooling a first grader and a toddler!
When I decided to homeschool this year, it was about this time last year. My baby was newborn and my son was in a local private preschool. He loved it! But every time I picked him up from his 2 1/2 hour class, he’d be tired. He wanted to learn more and I wanted to encourage his interest, but preschool took him away from me at his peak hours. I knew I could do a better job of taping in to his interests if I had him home for those morning hours.
We informally did school on demand during the summer, and then in September we started more formally with kindergarten. Here’s what we’ve been doing. My daily homeschool schedule and our curriculum choices for my gifted 5 year old (plus infant) are pretty enjoyable.
