Since becoming a stay-at-home mom, and then homeschooling a few years later, I’ve ebbed and flowed in my efforts to keep up with the never-ending work of cleaning the house (by this I mean regular maintenance like vacuuming, wiping down flat surfaces, and mopping the floors). But along the way, I’ve learned to balance the need for cleanliness with the reality of having five kids at home for many hours of the day.

About a month ago, as we started our homeschool year and settled back into our school-year rhythms, I decided to try a team approach to cleaning. Especially now that a few of my kids are older and much more capable of helping out and carrying bigger responsibilities.

I laid out the rules, set a timer, played some fun music, and a new Friday afternoon habit was born– Power Hour Team Cleaning. Honestly, it’s been one of those game-changing habits that keeps surprising me with how well it works!

The little note I posted on Substack after our first week got hundreds of likes and dozens of comments like…

“This is brilliant!”

“I’ll be stealing this for future reference!”

“Fantastic! Rhythms like this are game changers.”

“Love this idea of getting it done before the weekend begins!”

So in this post, I’m sharing all the details of our Friday afternoon cleaning routine. If you struggle to keep any kind of regular cleaning rhythm and have kids old enough to help, give this a try. It might just change the way your weekend feels, like it did for mine!

How Friday Power Hour Works

Every Friday at 3 p.m., right after afternoon quiet time ends, we kick off Power Hour Team Cleaning. For one hour, my 4 older kids and I work together to clean and reset our home before the weekend begins.

Now this isn’t deep cleaning so we’re not over here scrubbing walls or washing curtains— it’s the regular weekly maintenance that keeps our home at a reasonably clean level, so our weekend can actually feel restful instead of scattered.

Here’s a few key elements to how we make it work…

1. The Power of a Checklist

The key to a successful of Power Hour is a simple laminated checklist and a whiteboard marker— this allows my kids to see everything that we need to get done instead of vaguely dishing out jobs to them.

I made a list of all the weekly tasks that deserve our attention, and as each job gets done, we check it off. My kids love the good old “checking things off a list” routine, so it’s motivating and keeps us moving.

I made sure the list has something they all can contribute to. There are bigger tasks for my 9 and 11-year-olds, and others that are simple enough for my 4 and 6-year-olds to help with too. I assign each child a job based on their age and ability, and as soon as they finish, they come back to me for the next one.

Sticky notes also work great too— simply write each task on a separate note, stick them to the fridge or a space where everyone can see, and have each child tackle the task on that sticky note.

The goal is to make it visible so kids can see the progress and have clarity with what needs to be done.

2. Keep Moving!

Once the timer starts, we keep moving! No breaks to play or rest until our hour is up. It might sound a little strict, but this is truly what makes it work. One focused hour gets so much more done than a whole afternoon of stopping and starting. The kids keep each other accountable and this “gamified” habit quickly becomes more motivating.

3. Set the Timer and Turn Up the Music

We set a timer for one hour and turn on some fun, upbeat music (Forrest Frank is a favorite in our house!). The music keeps us moving, the timer gives everyone a clear finish line, and our checklist visually shows us all what’s left.

4. The Reward That Keeps Everyone Motivated

Here’s the secret behind what makes this rhythm so successful— when our hour is finished and everything on the list is checked off, the kids get a movie.

Screen time isn’t a regular part of our daily rhythm, so this is a big deal. They look forward to it all week long, and they know a good effort is what earns it! And honestly, it’s the perfect way for me to have a little quiet time myself now that the house is clean and the weekend is right around the corner.

5. What’s On Our Power Hour List

When I created my list, I walked through each room and wrote down what jobs deserved to have a place on our regular weekly cleaning rhythm. I don’t worry about really big tasks, like organizing closets or cleaning behind and underneath all furniture, just the main parts that need attention once a week. Here’s a look at what I came up with room-by-room (including our vehicle)…

Give It a Try!

You don’t need a perfect system to start, all you need is a list, a timer, some good music, and a little something to look forward to at the end for a job well done. Our list will look different from yours, and that’s okay! Start with the tasks that matter most in your home, consider the ages and abilities of your kids, and adjust as you go.

What I love most is that our Power Hour Team Cleaning isn’t just about a cleaner house, it’s teaching my kids that we all share in caring for our home and that hard work done together can actually be kind of fun. Plus, being able to sit down Friday evening knowing that I don’t need to spend Saturday morning cleaning by myself is a reward in itself!

If you try it, I’d love to hear how it goes. Let me know in the comments!

As always, thank you so much for being here and following along! If this post was helpful to you, I’d love to hear and if you know a friend who might also enjoy it, send it along to them! Grateful for you being here.

With Love,

Mollie

Keep Reading for More Intentional Ideas…

If getting your kids to actually help around the house is the hard part, start here…

If you’re wondering how to keep kids motivated without always bribing them, this one’s for you…

If your afternoon feels like they unravel before Power Hour Team Cleaning even begins, read this one next…

Teaching a child to read is no small feat. So much of life rests on this one foundational skill. But there’s something about watching a child learn to manipulate letters and sounds, piece single letters into a word, then string those words into a sentence. And sentences become pages, and pages become chapters.

Letter by letter, word by word, reading happens. It’s amazing to see!

As I’ve added more of my children to our learning time over the years, I’ve realized how much of our day is devoted to reading — whether it’s direct phonics instruction, a math story problem, a history read-aloud, a recipe, or a classic chapter book we’re sharing.

Reading is taking place.

I’m a former first grade teacher, who’s main role was to teach my students how to read, and now a homeschooling mom of five. I’m no expert, but I have found ways to weave both the love of reading and the practice of it into our everyday life.

On any given school day, my kids and I read in three different ways. These three ways have built the groundwork for our learning and shaped how we feel about literature. Whether you homeschool or just read with your kids in the hours they’re home, I hope this post is helpful!

1. Listen to Reading

This is the first and most influential way to introduce young kids to reading. As soon as possible, start reading books aloud. In our home, we do this in a few different ways, from birth onward.

We always have a chapter book that I read aloud throughout the day. Right now it’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory — just a chapter or two at a time, tucked between the other parts of our day.

We also have a Morning Basket. Every day around 10am we take a break from math and reading lessons and meet at the kitchen table. The kids eat a snack while I read from our Bible time choices plus a handful of other good resources. At the moment it’s Favorite Nursery Rhymes From Mother Goose (one of our most-read books of the last decade), The Children’s Book of Virtues, our current chapter book, some recitation (we’re memorizing The Lord’s Prayer), and whatever other children’s book fits the season.

Other times of day, I pull books from the baskets and shelves around the house and sit on the couch with a child or two. I read, they listen. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a chapter book with words they can’t read yet or a simple picture book they’ve heard for years — the meaning behind it stays the same.

When kids listen to good literature, they get a meaningful experience of making connections, drawing conclusions, and hearing someone else’s perspective. If you want your children to enjoy reading later in life, start here!

2. Read Together

All three of my elementary-aged kids would tell you their favorite part of the school day is when I sit on the couch and read with them. It’s one of mine, too!

Each of my kids has a book they’re working through as part of their language arts curriculum, which means it’s at their instructional level— they can read it with about 90% accuracy, comprehend at least 60%, and still meet vocabulary words they haven’t learned yet.

At this level, kids benefit enormously from having you sit and read alongside them. Here’s what that looks like in our home…

They bring their book to the couch. We sit close, usually snuggled with a blanket, and take turns. I read a page, they read a page, and so on. We talk as we go. I ask them about challenging vocabulary and help them sound out tricky words. They summarize and practice written and oral narration, many times answering a question in their notebook afterwards.

Most importantly, they get to read something harder than they could manage alone — without doing all the work themselves and feeling overwhelmed. It’s such a positive way to encourage kids toward great literature.

Some of our favorites from last year were Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, White Fang, The Chocolate Touch, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

You don’t need a certain curriculum for this, just choose a good book at your child’s instructional level and take turns reading!

3. Read Independently

Teaching kids at a young age to build reading stamina by quietly looking at picture books is one of the best ways to grow a love of reading later. For my oldest kids, reading for 30 minutes is no problem — it’s something they look forward to. For the younger ones, keeping their own bin of books gives them a chance to read the pictures, even if they can’t read the words yet.

During our school morning, each of my kids reads independently for at least 30 minutes. They can take their book bin anywhere in the house and find a quiet spot. Then in the afternoon, we meet back in the school room for another 30 minutes during quiet time.

I don’t have strict rules about what they read (except no graphic novels, they can read those any other time). Just that they read the whole time, and that they find something enjoyable, even if it’s something they’ve read before.

This time lets them practice all the skills we work so hard to build during instruction. We make sure the books are a good fit– not too easy, but not so hard that reading and comprehending takes more effort than it’s worth.

The goal of independent reading isn’t to learn new skills or decode unknown words, it’s to enjoy the story. Finding books my kids are actually interested in is the best way to make them want to read on their own, so I’ll point them toward books I loved as a child or find interesting now, but the final choice is theirs.

It’s never too late to start

Over the years, I’ve relied less and less on tedious language arts curriculum and workbooks, and more on reading good literature — whether to my kids, with my kids, or letting them read on their own. So much more of our learning happens over a good book than over a textbook or another worksheet!

There are so many ways to teach your children, and I certainly haven’t mastered it. But I do know that when we’re reading quality literature in our home, our time is far better spent.

So if you don’t already read these three ways, it’s never too late to begin. Which of these three ways of reading do you already practice in your home? Which seems the hardest? I’d love to hear!

As always, thank you so much for being here and following along! I’ve been getting so many thoughtful comments and messages (both from friends I know in real-life as well as virtually on Substack) and that makes writing so much more meaningful! If this post was helpful to you, I’d love to hear and if you know a friend who might also enjoy it, send it along to them! Grateful for you being here.

With Love,

Mollie

Keep Reading…

If having your kids read independently is the part you can never seem to fit in, this one’s for you…

If you’re just starting out in a new homeschool year, you might find this one helpful…

If you’re curious how my homeschooling day as a mama of 5 looks right now, check this one out…

This year, we’re keeping a few of the same choices but also changing some up as well. It’s our 7th year homeschooling and this year my kids will be in 5th grade, 3rd grade, 1st grade, plus I have a preschooler and baby who are just along for the ride.

I’ll break this post down by specific grade level because not all of my kids do the same curriculum, and then share our typical school schedule. I’ve learned to not hold too tightly to a curriculum if it’s no longer working and to pivot quickly onto something else— which has been freeing to realize this and always beneficial to our enjoyment of homeschooling.

1st Grade Curriculum Choices

Language Arts- Because we don’t use a curriculum that bundles all aspects of L.A. into one book, my first grade son will have different curriculums that cover phonics and fluency, spelling and handwriting, writing, and phonemic awareness.

• Phonics and Fluency- If you’ve read either of my How to Teach Your Child to Read posts, you might have seen that my absolute favorite curriculum to teach my children how to read is All About Reading. This year, we’ll begin finishing up Level 1, which lays a great foundation for early phonics skills and fluency through the readers it comes with and then beginning Level 2 around Christmas. (P.S. I found a way to save hundreds of dollars by saving the student workbook pages in plastic sleeves!).

• Spelling and Handwriting- Last year, we began using Spelling You See Level A so we’re just about done with that and then we’ll move onto Level B. Similar to teaching phonics skills, it provides a great practice with the letter patterns and formation at this stage and also works on handwriting.

• Writing- I didn’t do a whole lot of writing practice last year with my son so this year he’ll sit in the lessons with my older kids as we do Write Start Jr. Book D. It’s recommended for ages 8-11 so I’m planning on doing some the writing for him as he dictates his ideas. Writing at this age is really just for fun rather than learning the different styles and modes— so this year will be a gentle start and the following years I’ll teach more of the mechanics and formal parts of writing.

• Extra fluency/comprehension practice- I have my school-aged kids read for 60 minutes each day so my son will use many of the Easy Reader books from our collection or at the library (such as the I Can Read! or Step Into Reading books), BOB Books, You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You series.

• Phonemic Awareness- I bought these very affordable cards from A Teachable Teacher blog when my oldest child first began homeschooling and they’ve been extremely helpful in daily practice of phonemic awareness skills. I keep them on a binder ring in a handy spot to grab and spend a few minutes reviewing before doing the phonics lessons.

Math- We’re using Simply Good and Beautiful Math 1 this year. I’ve done this one with all of my kids in 1st grade and really like the format of it. My son also will do a stack of addition flash cards each day to practice his fact fluency.

History- We began using Beautiful Feet Books Early American History last year and really enjoyed it! It’s a K-3 curriculum so it’s appropriate for all three of my elementary aged kids. It takes about 2 years to complete so we’ll do the second half of it this year. I love how it incorporates great books as the base of learning, most of which we can find at our library.

Science- We’re involved in two homeschool co-ops so most of our science learning comes from classes my kids take there. This year, we’re doing a Geology study so my kids will be learning about types of rocks and rock cycles, minerals, earth layers, and earthquakes/volcanoes and doing a written research report too. He’ll also take Anatomy STEM with our other co-op this year which will be a really fun and hands-on way of learning about the body. Science is always more fun doing it with more kids which is why we prioritize these co-ops as part of our homeschool year!

3rd Grade Curriculum Choices

Language Arts- I’ve always done All About Reading with my kids in the primary grades to establish a solid phonics foundation, but my son flew through Level 2 last year and even tested out of Level 3 in the placement test afterwards, so I felt as if he needed less phonics instruction and more fluency, grammar, and spelling instruction. We might start Level 4 of All About Reading later this year if I feel as if it’s needed, but for now we’re doing Learning Language Arts Through Literature (the yellow book) as his core L.A. curriculum.

I spent a lot of time researching L.A. curriculums for my older kids this summer and landed on this one because of how much good literature it incorporates into the lessons. Each week focuses on an excerpt from a classic book or poem. We use that passage to practice spelling words, grammar skills, and comprehension. In addition, there’s a Literature Link that is assigned every few weeks.

One of our favorite parts of homeschool is doing shared reading of good literature together, so my son and I will read books such as The White Stallion, Madeline, Meet George Washington, and The Courage of Sarah Nobel together and we’ll practice written responses, oral comprehension, vocab words, and fluency.

Spelling- I wanted to include an additional spelling component to his L.A. curriculum because we started Spelling You See last year and really enjoyed it. He’ll finish Level C this year and move onto Level D afterwards. I like this curriculum because it teaches kids to write spelling words in context, rather than just memorizing a list of words and then quizzed on them at the end of the week.

Writing- I had all intentions of beginning WriteShop Jr. last school year but with being pregnant and not feeling as well, we neglected to do a formal writing program…so I’m excited to get this stated this year! All three of my elementary aged kids will do writing together in the afternoons. Our L.A. curriculum does include some writing, but this program will teach them more directly the different modes of writing and the writing process. We’ll use Book D from WriteShop Jr.

Extra Fluency/Comprehension Practice- Each month (in addition to our monthly reading challenge), my older kids will be assigned one chapter book to read and do a simple book report on. I love this book report idea from Little School of Smiths!

Math- When my son was in 1st grade, I felt that Simply Good and Beautiful Level 1 became too easy, so we switched to Beast Academy by the Art of Problem Solving and loved it! It’s an online math program that focuses on problem solving and critical thinking while boosting mental math skills. I’ve never seen a math program this rigorous, but engaging and fun. Although it’s fairly independent with video lessons, I’ll be there to assist as needed.

He’ll also do daily math fact practice too using addition and multiplication flashcards.

Typing- Thank you for all your recommendations on typing programs! I sifted through about half a dozen of them and finally landed on Good and Beautiful Typing. We did a 10-day trial of their new online typing program and both of my older kids loved it, which is a pleasant surprise since they’ve normally very much disliked any other typing program we’ve done!

Handwriting- I really like The Good and the Beautiful’s handwriting books so my son will do Level 3 Introduction to Cursive this year.

History- We’ll continue with our Beautiful Feet Books Early American History curriculum, as mentioned above, doing lessons usually about three afternoons per week plus note booking.

Science- As mentioned above, we’ll do our Geology study with one of our homeschool co-ops and my son will also have a class on Animals at our other co-op. I didn’t want to do a separate science curriculum at home this fall since we’re transitioning to life with a new baby, so we’ll add more to our spring schedule if needed.

5th Grade Curriculum Choices

My daughter will be participating in a Homeschool Enrichment program two days a week (in addition to the main co-op our family participates in one day a week) which will mean she has independent studies in the morning and then electives in the afternoon. We’ve been praying about changing things up for her for a while, and this new opportunity sounds like a perfect mix of independence and creative electives such as nature, art, cooking classes, business and entrepreneurship, athletics, and the chance to learn with other kids.

Language Arts- She completed All About Reading Level 4 last year and has a solid phonics foundations, so we’re doing Learning Language Arts Through Literature (the purple book) for her core curriculum. I’m excited for her to read great novels such as Farmer Boy, Trumpet of the Swam, Number the Stars, and Caddie Woodlawn— which I’m planning on assigning as an independent study and do regular check-ins with her on vocab and comprehension. I’m also having her create a book report on each of these books as I think written narration is so important for comprehension.

Spelling- I didn’t love the spelling component of her L.A. curriculum so we’re continuing Spelling You See Level D from last year, which we both really like.

Writing- As mentioned with my third-grader’s curriculum, we’ll be doing WriteShop Jr. for our writing instruction this year. I love the idea of teaching different genres of writing while also working on editing and grammar skills. She’ll also take a Creative Writing class at one of our co-ops this year which I’m really excited about!

Extra Fluency/Comprehension Practice- Each month (in addition to our monthly reading challenge), my older kids will be assigned one chapter book to read and do a simple book report on. I love this book report idea from Little School of Smiths!

Math- My daughter switched from Beast Academy back to Simply Good and Beautiful 4 last school year so she’ll finish that curriculum and then we’ll decide if we want to continue with TGTB or move onto something new. I’ve switched her math curriculum a lot over the years to adjust to her learning style so I’m still trying to solidify which one works best!

Typing- As mentioned above, she’ll also do Good and Beautiful Typing. We purchased a refurbished Chromebook laptop last year and it’s been a very affordable way of including online learning into our homeschool year, where each of my kids can use a laptop for various parts of their learning.

Handwriting- I really like The Good and the Beautiful’s handwriting books so my daughter will do Level 5 Focus on Cursive this year.

History- We’ll continue with our Beautiful Feet Books Early American History curriculum, as mentioned above, doing lessons usually about three afternoons per week.

Science- As mentioned above, my daughter will do our Geology study with our co-op as well as many hands-on learning opportunities through the electives in the Homeschool Enrichment program she’ll be in two days a week.

Our Daily Homeschool Schedule

With five kids at home most days and three of them doing formal lessons with me, I knew we needed to have a pretty set rhythm to get everything in but not feel so stressed and overwhelmed since I also have to juggle the feeding and napping schedule of a baby!

Here’s how we structure our days during the school year typically 4 days a week + 1 morning at our co-op…

7:30 am- Wake-up, breakfast, chores for everyone

8:30 am- Begin schoolwork- We begin with Math, I’ll work 1:1 with my 1st grader while checking in on my 3rd grader and my 5th grader does most of hers independently…I'll check over it when she’s done. My husband usually takes the 4-year old for a walk which is a huge help!

Then we move onto L.A. lessons where I work 1:1 with each child as they rotate through their independent items or play with the baby or 4-year old.

10:00 am- Morning Basket/Bible and snack time- We meet at the kitchen table for a snack break while we have our Bible time and go over other items from our Morning Basket (I’ll share more on what we’re doing for this later). Sometimes we head out for a walk around the block if we need a little more of a break before getting back to lessons.

10:30 am- Continue with lessons, usually finishing up L.A. with everyone as well as their independent activities

12:00 pm- Lunch as a family, the kids like to watch the daily episode of World Watch News

12:30 pm- Playtime or outside time until our afternoon begins

1:00 pm- Writing lesson with the 3 kids followed by our History Lesson before beginning nap and quiet time

2:00 pm- Begin afternoon quiet time, a very needed part of the day for everyone when we spend most of our days together! If the baby’s nap schedule coordinates and allows me to have kid-free time, I sit and write, check emails, or do something relaxing.

3:30 pm- Quiet time is over, kids have a snack and usually head outside to play with neighbors

If you have questions or other recommendations similar to what we’re using, I’d love to hear about them! Choosing homeschool curriculum is something I always enjoy researching and deciding over the summer, but it can be really overwhelming with all the options out there.

My basic rule of thumb is to try out a curriculum for about half a year and if it’s really not working, I have the freedom to switch it up and don’t have to feel locked into completing it. We’ve switched curriculums a lot and what worked for one child might not work for others, so there’s always room to pivot as needed.

As always, thank you so much for reading and following along with our homeschool journey! If this post was helpful to you, I’d love to hear any thoughts you have through a message or comment below!

My family thrives on a predictable rhythm (which is why one of the most enjoyable topics for me to write about is habits) so after a couple of months off of our normal routine we were all ready for it. Even my non-school-loving child was eager to begin, so I guess it really was time!

In case you missed it, and I wrote a post together last month about Getting Ready for a New Homeschool Year and all the details on how to pull it off. But today, I wanted to share a very short and sweet post on how we actually do our 1st Day of School and how we make it a simple yet meaningful start to our year.

If you’re a homeschooling mama and need some fresh ideas on how to make your first day back just a little more exciting, feel free to use any of these ideas for your own family!

1st Day of School Traditions We Love

1. A Fun Breakfast- Unless it’s a Saturday morning or a holiday, my kids always make their own simple breakfasts. This has been one of the best ways to encourage independence and makes our busy mornings less stressful when the older kids can make their own breakfasts. But on the first day of a new homeschool year, we always do the same special breakfast— chocolate covered sprinkle donuts and chocolate milk. It’s simple, highly anticipate by all the kids, and a rare treat that only makes its appearance one day a year!

   

2. Decorate the table- At the start of our homeschool journey, my grandma helped me sew this school-themed table runner. And 7 years later, we still love it! Like the donut breakfast, this table runner only comes out once a year. And when I dig it out of the cupboard, my kids squeal with delight at what’s about to happen. I also put new markers, pencils, and colored pencils out on the table to enhance the “new school year” theme plus a handwritten name tag and note for each child.

   

3. All About Me Posters- I found these free All About Me posters from My Science Doodles blog years ago and every year I have my kids fill them out on the first day of school. It’s so fun to see how they change their interests and favorite things from year to year. I hang these up on our art boards and usually only take them down a year later so we can compare and see how they’ve changed.

   

4. Take Everyone’s Pictures- Making an annual family yearbook is one of my favorite things to do (I’m planning on sharing a post about how I do them soon!) so taking milestone photos of my kids is a favorite way of documenting a new school year.

5. Start Slowly- I plan out our curriculum choices over the summer, but don’t actually begin all of them until the beginning of September. Instead, I like to ease into our year gently with adding one core subject each week— this makes the start of the year with multiple kids so much less overwhelming! Today, I did an L.A. lesson with each of my kids and they also did typing, 30 minutes of independent reading, handwriting, and we all did bible time together. Next week, we’ll add in math, the following week we’ll add history and by Labor Day we’ll be in the full swing of it all!

   

As always, thank you for reading and following along! If you have any additional 1st day of school traditions, I’d love to hear about them— big or small! Stay tuned for our 26-27 curriculum choices, how I make my kid’s daily schedule cards, some downloadable rewards coupons, and a fun interview with a best-selling author on her new book!

If you enjoyed this post, here’s a few others you might also appreciate…

• A Day in the Life of a Homeschool Mom of 5

• 3 Simple Systems That Keep Our Kids Motivated Every Day

• Our 25-26 Elementary Homeschool Curriculum Choices

Ever since my oldest daughter stopped napping around age 3, I’ve been determined to preserve the small window of peace and quiet I had each afternoon. Letting her run around the house and do whatever she wanted just wasn’t a healthy option — especially for me as an introvert who honestly craves a little alone time to feel like a better mom.

Over the years, as my children have ended their afternoon napping days and transitioned into quiet time, we’ve gone through room switch-ups, activity changes, and tweaks to our afternoon rhythm — yet it’s stayed rooted in consistency and a few key habits that keep it running strong.

If you’re a mom who feels completely exhausted by dinnertime and wonders how you can enjoy your days at home with kids even more, afternoon quiet time might be a game-changing habit that deserves a place in your home.

In this post, I’ll share 6 quiet time habits we use in our home with kids ages 11, 8, 6, 4, and 4 months that provide just the right balance of structure plus some peace and quiet each afternoon.

1. Read Together (But Separately)

Since beginning our homeschool journey, I’ve always had a quiet reading time for my kids — even before they could read a single word. We’d all gather in our homeschool room, set a timer (short enough for little kids to manage), gather our bins of books, play classical piano music, and read silently to ourselves.

We were together, but reading separately — a habit we still do today at the start of every afternoon quiet time.

Teaching kids at a very young age to build their reading stamina by quietly looking at picture books is one of the best ways to encourage a love of reading as they get older. For my oldest kids, reading for 30 minutes is no problem and something they look forward to. For younger kids, keeping their own bin of books that they enjoy gives them a chance to read the pictures, even if they can’t read the words.

2. Everyone Has Their Own Space

Many days, my kids beg to spend quiet time together, saying, “We’re having so much fun playing Legos together, can’t we please stay in the same room?!” And even though I’m all for encouraging positive sibling interactions, my answer is the same: “You may be getting along great right now, but that might not be the case in 30 minutes, so we’re going to take some time apart. When quiet time is over, you’ll be excited to play together again.”

We have to be flexible and creative with space in a smaller house where every child doesn’t have the luxury of his or her own bedroom. My two youngest kids still nap in their rooms, and my husband occupies our bedroom as his work-from-home office. So my oldest three kids, who do quiet time, rotate through the homeschool room, the basement, and the spare bedroom in the basement.

Each room has something to enjoy in it — one has the Lego table along with other toys, another has our large school table with markers and drawing supplies, and another has a keyboard for piano practice and space to be a little more active. Each week, we rotate rooms to mix things up and add a little more enjoyment to this time.

3. Keep Rules Simple But Firm

Our homeschool days are rooted in consistency (yet flexible enough to be enjoyable), so having a basic set of rules for afternoon quiet time is no different. The kids know what to expect, aren’t constantly pushing back, and can anticipate how long this time lasts.

I feel like a broken record, but every day after our 30 minutes of silent reading is over, I remind my kids of our quiet time rules — because simple rules gently stated over and over again create consistency, and consistency creates a habit.

• Set the timer for 60 minutes.

• Stay in your spot without coming out.

• Keep your music and noises quiet.

• Find something to occupy yourself for the whole time.

If these simple rules are followed, the kids are rewarded, which I’ll talk about below.

4. Kids Stay in Their Spaces the Whole Time

Not only does each child have their own space for quiet time, but the expectation is that they stay there the whole time. It’s not an eternity, just 60 minutes (which is no problem for my three oldest kids by now).

Nothing is more distracting when I’m trying to write, read, or relax than having multiple children scampering around the house asking me questions, gathering more art supplies, or wondering when they can end quiet time.

When our timers begin the countdown, we all stay in our designated quiet time locations and remain there until it’s over — a simple rule that makes a big difference!

5. When Time Is Up, Tidy Up Your Space

After the 60-minute timer goes off, spaces must be tidied before coming out of quiet time and grabbing a snack. This never takes more than a few minutes, but it changes the way our whole home feels by the end of the day.

6. A Good Quiet Time Is Rewarded

As mentioned above, if the kids stay in their spots for the full 60 minutes without complaining or wandering around the house, they get one of our coupons (they usually spend their coupons on Nintendo time on the weekends, but there are other ways to use them too).

Earning these coupons really motivates my kids, so there’s a big incentive to follow our quiet time rules.

Quiet time doesn’t always go seamlessly or without reminders of our rules, but with repetition, this daily habit has become one that makes a big difference in the time we spend together at home.

If your afternoons feel chaotic and as if they’re unraveling by 3pm, I’d encourage you to smart small with introducing quiet time to your daily rhythm and gradually working up to your desired length of time.

Then, determine each child’s quiet time space. Give them a timer (visual timers work great for preschoolers). Reinforce simple rules. Provide a few activities they can stay occupied with for the whole time. And after a few weeks, I think you’ll start to see why this habit has the potential to be a game-changer.

Thank you so much for following along! If you don’t already subscribe, I’d love to have you here. I write a mix of homeschooling and parenting articles, always with the goal of encouraging parents and providing tips and habits I’ve learned along the way!

Over the last 6 years of homeschooling, our Bible time has become one of the sweetest parts of our day. Every morning at 10am, we take a break from math and reading, grab our Morning Basket and a snack, sometimes even light our candles, and have this time with Jesus together. We sing, pray, read, acknowledge our gratitude, memorize, and ponder ideas.

So in this post, I want to share my 10 favorite Bible resources that we’ve used over the last 6 years during our Bible time. This doesn’t include our Advent or Easter study ideas, just normal homeschool mornings.

Many of them are books we purchased online, others are habits that I created and have now become solid anchors. I hope this post is helpful as you gather your own ideas about what Bible time looks like in your home, whether you homeschool or not.

In no particular order, here are my 10 favorite Bible resources for kids!

1. The Ology- Okay I know I just said these were in no particular order, but if I had to give a #1 choice, this would be it. I love this book! It was one of the first resources I purchased for my Pre-K aged daughter when we began and it’s been a constant source of inspiration to our faith ever since. We’ve read through it at least 3 times and each time I feel as if I could go on and preach a mini-sermon from it. It’s that good.

   What I love most about it is that it gets to the very heart of the gospel message and draws children (and adults!) back to Christ’s sacrificial love for us. The Ology (like the word theology) leads the reader through a systematic theology framework of what our faith should mean to us– with chapters about the theology of God, people, sin, the promise and the law, Christ, the Holy Spirit, adoption into God’s family, change, the Church, the end times, and God’s work.

   It is so thorough and can be read slowly over a school year if you include the referenced scriptures, depiction of the artwork, and explanation of more abstract theological ideas. It’s great for elementary aged kids and beyond, but can also be used with younger kids with some help with understanding from parents.

   This book is one that I think every Christian family should own!

   

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2. Our Prayer and Gratitude Journal- Several years ago, I wanted to include my kids in a gratitude practice during our morning Bible time. So I grabbed a simple blank notebook and marker and this began the start of our prayer and gratitude journal. Nothing fancy, but a consistent anchor and favorite part of our morning that we’ve done for 2 years now.

   At the end of our Bible time, I ask each child to name one thing they’re grateful for today. Sometimes it’s profound and thoughtful, other times it’s childlike and innocent– such as a fun cereal or memory. Then we follow with each sharing a prayer request. Oftentimes, it’s the same one they mentioned yesterday or the several days prior, but it reflects what they believe we should be praying for. Then I pray– expressing gratitude for the things listed and lifting the prayer requests up to Jesus.

   This might just be the simplest, yet most meaningful habit we incorporate into our homeschool time– and one that I hope we’re still doing until my kids graduate. Additionally, it’s so rewarding for us to look back over the years and months to see how the Lord has been faithful with our prayers we wrote down in this journal.

   

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3. The Jesus Storybook Bible- The Jesus Storybook Bible is definitely my favorite storybook Bible. The stories are written so beautifully that they always lead back to the heart of God and his love as “Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love”. We come back to these stories over and over again, and my kids never tire of hearing them retold. Of all the Bible storybooks to own, this is my top choice.

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4. The ABC’s of God and Me- My real-life friend, , wrote this book a couple years ago and it’s been such a great addition to our Bible time this past year! It’s an alphabetical journey through attributes of God and ourselves. I love it because it’s taught both my kids and myself that we are loved, cherished children who have a mighty Father, giving us names to call him and scripture verses that correspond with each attribute. For example, God is Almighty, the Bread of Life, our Comforter, Defender and so on through the alphabet.

   My kids loved memorizing the names in alphabetical order and it gave us all a rich language to refer to God as we prayed.

   

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5. New City Catechisms- I never grew up learning Catechisms but early on in our homeschool journey my husband I thought they’d be a great way for our kids to learn and memorize the core doctrine of the Christian faith.

   In the New City Catechisms, kids are led through 52 questions and answers– such as What is our only hope is life and death? or What is God?. There’s a song that goes with each question that makes it fun and easy to learn (I downloaded the free app so it’s really easy to pull up and sing together). Even a few years later, my kids can still recite the answers to many of them!

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6. Little Pilgrim’s Progress- This might be my 2nd favorite resource and one I’m already excited to do again in the next year or two! Little Pilgrim’s Progress is a narrative story for kids based on the Christian allegory Pilgrim’s Progress.

   The story takes the reader on an allegorical spiritual journey of the life of a rabbit who goes from the “City of Destruction” to the “Celestial City”. Along the way, he encounters a variety of characters, both ones like him who are journeying to the Celestial City and also ones who belong to the world. He faces dangers and temptations but ultimately safely reaches the Celestial City and rejoices at finally being home.

   It was a slower read since so much of it needed to be explained to my young kids (for example characters who have names such as Evangelist, Giant of Despair, Vanity Fair, Hopeful) as well as themes of worldly temptations, so it took us most of a school year to read through.

   This book was a great resource that taught my kids about the Christian walk of faith, the challenges we might face, and that we have a King who is greater and more powerful than any giant.

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7. The Treasure- This beautiful book was written by the same author as The Ology, so I knew I had to check it out as well. The author takes kids on a voyage through the books of Luke and Acts in a fun fictional story of two kids who find a sea captain’s old journal that gives clues leading to a hidden treasure– Jesus.

   My kids enjoyed working through these books and diving into the works of Jesus here on earth. Sometimes parables and teachings of Jesus can be trickier for young kids to understand the meaning of, so this book helped to guide them towards greater clarity of more complex themes.

   

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8. Hymns- We’ve been singing hymns each morning since the start, beginning with the Doxology as our very first one. Since then, we’ve added dozens of others and rotated through new and old ones. I grew up learning hymns in my conservative church, so teaching many of my favorites to my own kids brings me so much joy! The lyrics are so rich and full of the promises of God. It’s always been a great way to open up our bible time.

   Some of our favorites over the years have been Blessed Assurance, Crown Him with Many Crowns, I’ll Fly Away, Nothing But the Blood, Power in the Blood, Standing on the Promises of God, This is My Father’s World, To God be the Glory, and Amazing Grace.

   I print out the lyrics (usually just the first verse or two) in larger font on a piece of card stock, put each hymn on a ring to keep them in one spot and cycle through each day, and hold them up for my kids to see and learn.

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9. The Biggest Story- This is another bible storybook, similar to the Jesus Storybook Bible, that we found over the last few years. It’s a little more advanced, better for ages 6-12, and the illustrations are beautiful. There’s a smaller, 10-chapter book that contains some of the most well-known stories from the Old and New Testaments and a longer version, The Biggest Story Bible Storybook, that has 104 chapters. It’s my favorite resource for our Bible time at Easter.

   

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10. Adventures in Odyssey- I wasn’t sure if I wanted to add this one to the list since it’s not something we do during our homeschool time, but it’s definitely one of my kid’s favorite parts of our day so it made the cut! We do earlier bedtimes for our kids to protect intentional evening time for my husband and myself, so our 4 kids who share a bedroom listen to a few episodes of Adventures in Odyssey until they fall asleep.

    What I love about this resource is that it isn’t just a fun narrative story, but always has a great message of faith in a kid-friendly manner. My kids are frequently saying, “Oh I know this Bible story, I learned it in Adventures in Odyssey!”. The topics they hear (such as friendship, honesty, hard work, having patience) are very applicable to their lives and give them a fun and entertaining way to hear good examples of how these characters manage life’s temptations, struggles, and successes.

    We use the free radio station on their website and play it through a bluetooth speaker in the kids’ room. No more borrowing cd’s from the library, searching the bedroom for missing cd’s, or dealing with an outdated cd player. Maybe one day we’ll upgrade to the club to get access to all of them at once but for now this works great.

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I hope this list of my top 10 bible resources for kids was helpful as you consider how to incorporate bible time into your own family’s rhythm! If you have any other suggestions of what your family has enjoyed, I’d love to hear them! And as always, thank you so much for reading and following along!

Stay tuned in the next week for a peek at our 2026-2027 Homeschool Curriculum Choices for Preschool, 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades.

The habits that shape our days aren’t new or highly systemized. They’re the ones that have been around for years, practiced widely among households that held similar values as ours—quietly shaping families in simple, low-tech ways.

They’re built on consistency, not occasional bursts of effort.

Timeless truths, not new apps.

Good old-fashioned wisdom, not the latest parenting hacks that social media insists are “the right way.”

Over time, we’ve found ourselves returning to a handful of these old-fashioned habits—simple rhythms that shape our days, our home, and our children in steady, lasting ways.

I’ve been reflecting on many of them lately so this post is a way for me to think out loud– putting meaning to thoughts, and thoughts into writing.

1. Eat Dinner Together at the Same Time Each Night

“All great change in America begins at the dinner table”.

Those wise words were said by President Ronald Reagan years ago as a way to encourage families to value the simple, repeatable habit of eating dinner together, engaging in good conversations, and joining to connect at the end of a day.

For us, family dinners each evening around 6pm are sacred and prioritized. It’s a time where we light the candles, share our “one good thing” from the day, and engage in sometimes light-hearted, but sometimes deeper, conversations (usually by pulling a conversation card from the little box and taking turns answering).

We teach our kids to linger instead of “eat and run”. To ask thoughtful questions of one another. And slow down and be appreciative of the home-cooked meal we share. It’s not perfect– practically every night our kids need the reminder to sit and enjoy instead of rushing off after the last bite. But through consistent effort and drawing them into a shared experience, I hope this habit becomes something that marks our family’s legacy for years to come.

2. Repeat the Same Simple Meals Each Week

I love to cook, but decision fatigue is a real thing when I’m raising five kids, homeschooling, and managing everything else at home! There’s something so satisfying about feeding my family nourishing meals, cooked from scratch, that I know they’ll all eat without (many) negotiations or complaints.

Having simple, repeatable meals are consistent anchors for our family that encourage enjoyable family dinners each night– ones where we can eat, chat, and enjoy the time rather than constantly bribing the kids to eat just one more bite.

Grilled burgers and fries. Spaghetti and meatballs. Salmon and rice bowls. Homemade pizza on Fridays. Freshly baked sourdough bread and soup.

Repeating a handful of meals doesn’t feel boring or squelching my love for cooking, it feels simple, sustainable, and life-giving in this season of raising young kids.

3. Write Things Down on Paper

There’s a definite simplicity about writing things down on a good old pad of paper. It can’t vie for our attention with flashy colors, distracting ads, or the lure of being updated on a friend’s recent announcement.

Our hands do the writing. It’s a slower, more methodical process. Writing creates a deeper cognitive engagement rather than triggering a dopamine reward as screens are inclined to do.

Instead of reaching for an app, try writing down your grocery list, meal plan, schedule for the week, or even crafting a sweet note to a friend or family member and hand delivering it instead of sending a text message or email.

Years from now, the way we digitally communicate or use our phones to store information will likely morph and change, but the art of crafting a hand-written letter or writing down a list will never go out of fashion. It’s a God-given ability, let’s not forget to use it.

4. Keep Fewer Toys (and Rotate Them)

As a “trying-to-be minimalist”, I’ve read many studies and articles on toys and why less is actually more.

The average American child owns 87 toys, yet can’t focus on a single one of them for more than 3 minutes. $400 later (which is what the average family spends annually on toys), are our children happier than decades before when they had only a fraction of today’s toys?

Today, we have fewer toy options in our home. We’ve learned to pay close attention to what they enjoy playing with– not just hanging onto toys because they were expensive or deemed “educational”.

Bins of Duplos, magnetic tiles, LEGOS. A caddy full of markers and colored pencils. Printer paper for drawing. And bikes, scooters, balls, and the trampoline out back. Currently, that’s what makes up our toy category and it’s been the simplest list since having kids.

Your list likely looks different from mine, but I’d encourage you to truly pay attention to what your kids actually play with and either get rid of or put the rest away.

5. Give Children Real Responsibilities (Not Just “Helping”)

Decades ago, I think kids were responsible for a lot more than today’s kids. They were given opportunities to do hard work, which shaped them into capable and independent children by the time they were teens.

Today, many kids enter college without the learned skills of doing their own laundry, cooking simple meals, basic car maintenance, or the ability to manage money.

I have a long way to go before my kids enter those college years but until then we’re working on providing real responsibilities that make a difference long-term. My oldest daughter (almost 11) joins me for dinner prep each evening– a new chore on her chart that we’ve both come to love! She’s learning the skills needed to make dinner from scratch and asks to eventually take over making dinner one night a week, completely by herself in the next year.

My younger boys are given chores around the house that teach them what a thorough and complete job should look like– such as tidying up and vacuuming our schoolroom each morning, wiping down the bathroom sinks, and cleaning up the yard after a summer thunderstorm.

They’re responsibilities that carry weight and do more than just teaching them how to pick up a few toys.

6. Have More Unstructured Playtime Outside

Unstructured time outside, just playing, has clearly decreased over the past few decades. A recent study from the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research found that American kids spend a mere 7 minutes in unstructured playtime each day. That’s a 50% decline over the last 20 years!

For us, our homeschool days are fairly structured with a predictable rhythm (because a routine is good for everyone when you do life at home 24/7!), yet the amount of free play outside that I give my kids is essential and prioritized.

Kids need opportunities to ride bikes through puddles, make “afternoon stew” out of whatever items they can find in the yard, create new games, play hide-and-seek, pick flowers to make necklaces out of, and exert all that built up energy that they have.

Sometimes they need less rules and more autonomy. More time to be bored. Less stimulation from a screen. More independence to roam (safely of course) with neighbors and siblings. I believe that when adults give children outlets to develop their own fun outside, it opens the door to greater creativity and builds their stamina to just be a kid without the constant hits of dopamine that screens provide.

7. Read Aloud as a Family

The simple practice of a parent reading aloud to their children is timeless and still just as effective today as it was hundreds of years ago. Even toddlers have the ability to listen to a good story being read to them years before being able to read themselves, which begins to build their stamina for reading and an appreciation for good books.

Reading aloud to all 5 of my kids at once means a time to quiet other distractions or active play time. Whether they’re picture or chapter books, newly released, popular titles or ones that were written decades ago, the practice of reading to my kids teaches many great skills that can’t be taught with other forms of entertainment.

These skills may be hearing what good, fluent reading sounds like, talking about character traits we want to emulate, or teaching valuable lessons that shape who our kids are becoming.

There’s no other activity that quiets our home more from the chaos that often arises like pulling my kids close on the couch and opening up a book together. It’s a habit that I hope to be doing for decades, even with grandchildren down the road!

8. Practice Simple Hospitality at Home

I began an unwritten goal for myself at the start of 2026– to host a family over for dinner as many weeks as possible.

Inviting others over for dinner takes effort, intentionality, and extra money, but the benefits of opening up your home for others, sharing a meal together, and practicing the skill of good conversation are rich in so many ways.

Many times it’s just one family at a time, often ones we know well and have fun lingering over dinner and sending the kids off to play. Other times it’s hosting a themed party or gathering (we hosted a winter Olympics party in February with games and prizes!).

The real benefit of this habit isn’t what’s served for dinner, but the conversations, company, and encouragement that’s shared. Teaching our kids to be generous with what we have through our hospitality is something we hope they’ll grow to do on their own later on in life after seeing the blessings that come from it in their childhood.

9. Have a Weekly Sabbath

Practicing a Sabbath, or day of intentional rest with a focus on honoring God, is something that I was taught as a young child. We always spent the morning at church, then headed to my grandma’s house to play with cousins in the afternoon, followed by a simple dinner, usually blueberry pancakes at home. Even as a kid, it stood out to me as a day marked with less busyness.

Today, my husband and I set this day aside to take a step back from the productivity that the rest of the week is marked by. We get up early and go to church. We have a relaxing afternoon at home, usually some reading, watching a sports event, maybe even a nap or leisurely walk. Then many Sunday nights we head to my parent’s for family dinner– a favorite tradition we’ve had for about 15 years now.

Since the beginning of time, God created this day of rest to be set aside as a gift, not an obligation or legalistic set of rules. There are several ways that I’d love to see my family grow in our practice of Sabbath, but choosing to set aside this one day of the week as a slower, less productive day to feel refreshed and celebrate the blessings that the Lord has given us sets us up for enjoying the rest of our week that much more.

The Beauty of Old-Fashioned Habits

None of these habits are extravagant or done perfectly in our home, but make such a big impact in the way we function as a family and raise our kids. If life begins to feel too busy or full, it’s these habits that we fall back on as the foundation for stability and simplicity.

These habits have been around for many years and have stood the test of time for many families, being ones that can’t be replaced by screens, automated systems, or quick-fixes.

Maybe your family practices many of these habits as well, and if so I’d love to hear how they’ve benefitted you! The goal in life as we raise kids into adults isn’t to get through the challenging years until they can fend for themselves and make their own decisions, but enjoy the journey of raising a family in this modern world.

With love,

Mollie

As always, thank you so much for following along! If this post was helpful to you, I’d be so grateful if you subscribed and shared it with anyone else who might find it encouraging!

There are so many logistics to consider when starting to homeschool. Some of these decisions are changed over time and as families grow, but we thought it would be helpful to share some of the systems that have worked for us and some other homeschool moms from the Substack community.

Moms who have gone before us are a wonderful resource for learning about homeschooling. I asked my friend what she did to get ready for a new homeschool year and loved her sweet response…

“I love the beginning of a new homeschool year, the smell of crayons, the new notebooks and that cracking sound when you open a new hardback!

Getting back into a routine was always nice too after a relaxed summer.

We started our school year officially after Labor Day in September each year as we took our vacation late in August.

Each year it seemed I moved our materials and supplies around the house as we acquired more. We started out at the kitchen table in the early years with a bookshelf and by the time we ended homeschooling all those years later we had a full room setup and a small library going! It’s what worked for us as well as utilizing the dining room.”

Sharing From Our Experience

Preparing for a new homeschool year looks different for every family. The beauty of Substack and the growing homeschool population is that there are tons of resources we can look to. I have never had a TikTok, but one of my SILs told me she often watches homeschool reels there. What works for one mom may not work for another, but take whatever ideas seem like they would suit your family and forget the rest. 😊

My friend and I are here to discuss what we do to prepare for a new homeschool year.

Tara- Hi! I am Tara from and I live in South Carolina with my husband and our 4 kids. This year I will have a 3^rd grader, a 1^st grader, a kindergartener, and a three-year-old “preschooler” and this is our 4th year homeschooling. I was a public school teacher before becoming a mom and always thought I would go back to teaching once my kids were in school. I never intended to homeschool, I even thought it was “weird” and now I cannot imagine our life any other way. Every year I have learned and adapted. That is the beauty of homeschooling, you can change it based on your family’s individual needs in the season you are in.

Mollie – Hi, I’m from This Evergreen Homeschool and I live in Pennsylvania with my husband and our 5 kids! This school year will be our 7th year as a homeschooling family, and although there have been days when it has seemed overwhelming, it’s been such a blessing to our family.

This year my kids will enter grades 5th, 3rd, 1st, and preschool, and my youngest is 4 months old. I unexpectedly decided to homeschool (shortly after resigning my from elementary teaching position) after my oldest daughter, age 3 at the time, asked me to homeschool her. After much prayer, it’s a decision that’s brought a lot of joy to our lives– the flexibility with our schedule, the ability to choose what we teach our kids, and the opportunity to shape who they’re becoming by spending many more hours of their lives together.

How and When Do You Start a New School Year?

Tara: There are so many different models. As a former public-school teacher, I desire having a big chunk off during the summer (where we focus on reading, adventures, and a little math on Math Mondays). I love to start mid-July and finish usually mid-May. Since I am from New York, my husband is from Ohio, and we live in South Carolina – visiting family and having family visit us is super important to me. I find that, by starting early, I am able to take off whenever family decides to visit. We take off any time my mom visits for a week, we go to NY or OH, and a traditional Thanksgiving, a long chunk off for Christmas, and then we usually take off in the spring based on when the family is visiting.

Mollie: Also as a former public school teacher, I love the idea of longer breaks over the summer to leave room for trips, adventures, and lazy days that the rest of the year don’t have as much of. For us, we like to begin our school year by late July so that we’re wrapping up our year by Mother’s Day (honestly it’s such a good gift I can give myself!). We take smaller breaks throughout the school year at holidays and leave space for the occasional day off here and there.

One of the best perks of homeschooling (and having a husband who works from home) is that we can travel anytime we like! Our favorite thing is to do a 2-week trip to Florida in January when the PA weather is unpleasant and we need some sunshine! We still do school, just in another location.

How Do You Store Books, Student Work, and Portfolio Documents?

Storing Books:

Tara: My husband is an excellent wood-worker (as a hobby, I wish it could be his full-time job!), but it is such a wonderful perk to being married to him. As soon as I realized how many books we would be accumulating, I asked him to build me a new bookshelf for them. We keep it in our room. Having a bookshelf that is for all of the homeschool books has been very helpful to me. If your bookshelf is in a common living space, you could always designate the top shelves to the homeschool books. It helps keep everything in one place and then you know exactly where specific books are. This is also where I keep my past lesson plan books

Additionally, we keep a basket in our living room for library books so those are not mixed up with our books. During specific times of the year, we avoid the library and those baskets are full of our seasonal book collection, which keeps the novelty alive as well. They are also conveniently next to two little brown chairs in a corner that I lovingly refer to “the calm-down corner.” Sometimes little ones need to just sit & relax with a good book and this inviting spot is perfect for that.

I have a “teacher” basket that I keep all of the books for that week in and I update it regularly as we rotate through books. When it is time to do school, I just bring my basket over to wherever we are working that day.

Mollie: I’m a minimalist at heart so anything that isn’t useful isn’t kept! I only hang onto the best books that we’ll come back to over and over again. We also rely heavily on our local library. We have many of our hardcover books in our school room in a cubby where my kids can pull them whenever they have a free moment (these are our science related books, our favorite storybooks, and other non-fiction resources that are frequently used and enjoyed).

I also like to display some of the read-aloud books that we do in History (we use Beautiful Feet Books), and we always have a basket of good read-alouds from the library in our living room for easy access. Keeping books within arms reach has always been one of the best ways that my kids have developed an appreciation for good books.

Storing Completed Work:

Tara: I save all of my children’s consumable books, like ELA (The Good & The Beautiful), Math (Math-U-See), and Handwriting (Handwriting Without Tears). I keep them in my closet in a bin near their portfolios. I just want to keep these items safe just in case I ever need to present them to anyone. I don’t know how long I should keep them, but it feels like protection over my homeschool for some reason – proof of all we have done over the last several years. I wish we had a basement to store stuff in! The Lowcountry is below sea-level so basements are not a thing here!

Mollie: I save my kid’s consumable curriculum books for the next year after they complete them as a way to show evidence if I’d need to show our local school district. I just store them in a crate in our basement and toss them out the following year to avoid cluttering up our school storage space. A few of my kids do curriculums that are online (my son does Beast Academy for math) so it’s all digital and records can be obtained online.

Storing Portfolio Documents:

Tara: I have a box with a lid with folders in it. Each child has a folder for each grade. I keep special work here and work that I feel is worth saving. It is also important to have this depending on where you live, in case your state ever questions you. We do not have to submit anything unless it is asked for, but we must have samples of student work, a portfolio, a lesson plan book, and two report cards per school year for each child. I also have to be a member of a Homeschool Association. Thankfully, my children do not have to deal with standardized testing. Every state is different, but in SC that is how it works.

Mollie: PA has pretty strict homeschool laws, but fortunately since I have my K-6 Elementary teaching degree I am considered a Private Tutor and do not have to have anyone evaluate my kids at the end of the year…which means I don’t need to make a portfolio either. I don’t need to report grades, give a report card, or submit lesson plans– so I feel pretty fortunate but also very responsible that my kids are given a quality and thorough education by myself and a role I don’t take lightly.

Do You Have a System of Displaying Student Work?

Tara: When my children make beautiful art, write something lovely, or make a craft at church, we have boards above their homeschool desk to display their work. The boys have one and the girls have one. Once that board gets full, usually those items end up in their portfolio. I usually empty that board of our summer crafts for a fresh start at the beginning of the year. Emptying the board symbolizes a fresh start and a new school year.

Mollie: A few years ago when the artwork began piling up, I knew I needed to make a permanent space for the items we wanted to display– otherwise they ended up living in piles and collecting clutter (again, I’m a minimalist!). My husband bought two foam insulation boards (you can find them at Lowes or Home Depot), I covered them with white fabric, and then we used command strips to attach them to our school room wall. Each board is about 8x4 feet. We’re able to tack up our favorite art pieces from co-op, special drawings, or anything we want to save for the next few months. I clear off the board every few months and we keep the pieces we want to save and recycle the rest!

What Supplies Do You Purchase?

Tara: As we prepare for the new school year, there are a few items I like to buy every year. New pencils, a new folder for each child, crayons, and markers. Most other items we just buy throughout the year on an as-needed basis. We re-use a binder each year for science with the new curriculum (Sonlight) and then I just store the previous year’s in a folder with the other student work.

Some years, we go as a family and let the kids pick out all of their supplies which has been fun; however, this year, I wanted to be prepared ahead of time. You better believe they all noticed the pile of supplies and have asked multiple times to use them. I gently remind them that they have to wait until the first day. That keeps the excitement alive.

Mollie: I always replenish our key school supplies at the start of the year, such as pencils and erasers, markers, dry erase markers, tape, and notecards. Seeing the fresh supplies come in the mail builds their excitement that another year is about to begin!

Both: If you are just starting out…plenty of paper, coloring supplies, traditional glue, gluesticks, a globe, maps, lined paper, pencil sharpener, blank notebooks, folders, notecards, dry erase markers, small whiteboards

Where Do You Do School and Keep all the Supplies?

Tara: One of the wonderful things about homeschooling, is you do not have to sit on a hard chair at a desk all day. My kids do their work anywhere – the dining room table, the island, the couch, the floor, the porch swing. I do think it is important to have a homebase where everything is kept though.

My husband built a cool industrial looking desk out of a huge piece of butcher’s block and metal pipes. It is wide enough for all 4 children (although I wish it could fit 5 now so I could have my own spot, too!). We have a wide hallway in the back of our home and we call it the “Homeschool Hallway.” Each child has a bin at their seat to keep their math, ELA, and folder in. There is also a caddy storing coloring devices, pencils & a sharpener, scissors, and glue.

Like I stated earlier, I keep the books all in my room. I want to keep the excitement alive. Once we have read it together, I let them borrow it. But I try to not allow my children to read ahead or they might be bored during the group reading.

Mollie: When I first began homeschooling, my daughter and I sat at our kitchen table to do schoolwork and did our read-alouds and active work in other places around our house. Today with 4 kids doing school, we need more space for everyone to work. We have a designated schoolroom next to the kitchen (so I can still be productive in-between schooling the kids). Each child has a space at the school table as well as a bin to put all the curriculum and supplies in, which are kept in an 8-cube storage unit.

We store pencils, markers, and dry erase markers in cups on the school table for ease of access and simplicity.

How Do You Plan Field Trips?

Tara: Did you know that your area might have places with homeschool days? This can mean great discounts or even free admission. Three moms and I had pizza and a planning session at my house last week. We mapped out field trips and our “Fun Fridays” for the first half of the school year. It got all of us SO excited for the upcoming school year! I will share more about that soon.

Highly recommend finding other homeschool moms that you vibe with. It enhances the entire experience. Our kids all get along really well and we are all aligned in our faith and values.

Mollie: We’re in three homeschool co-ops (our main co-op that meets weekly, a science/history focused co-op with friends that meets bi-weekly, and a field trip co-op that we can pick and choose which ones to participate in). I try to get my kids out on field trips whenever our schedule allows us to enhance their learning and take adventures together, but it’s definitely not a weekly thing unless it’s summer.

Some of our favorite field trips are hiking with friends, visiting local farms and gardens, touring historic homes, Christmas caroling at the nursing home, going to science and children’s museums, and touring local businesses such as the ice cream store or pretzel factory. We also love the free museum passes from our library which saves us so much money!

What’s Your Homeschool Rhythm?

Tara: Our family thrives having one stay-at-home-day a week. The kids wear pajamas all day and we get a lot of laundry done and the ironing for my husband. I try not to over-plan. More than one commitment a day doesn’t usually bode well with my family.

We start each day with a peaceful morning. The kids are expected to do “the list” before they are allowed down (get dressed, make bed, brush teeth, clothes in laundry basket & this year I am adding read your Bible to it which I am really excited about!!) Then they do the morning chore (unload the dishwasher) and then eat breakfast. We start school around 9:00am. I used to make us start at like 7:00 which is just so unnecessary. This isn’t school at home, it is home school! Now the children enjoy some play time before school and I enjoy a peaceful coffee.

We have mid-day activities a few times a week this upcoming semester so school will have to be completed after those, and we will be participating in Fun Fridays every single week.

This is what our routine will be like this coming school year.

Monday - Stay-at-home-day/Pajama Day

Tuesday - Dance class for 3-year-old @10:15-11:00 *Having big kids bring math or ELA to this.

Wednesday - Art Class for big kids @10:00

Thursday - Homeschool Enrichment classes for all 4 kids @10-10:50 (Weekly coffee date with myself 😊)

Friday - Ice-Skating Lessons for daughter then FUN FRIDAY!

Mollie: I also thrive when we have a daily rhythm and my kids know the expectations of what’s scheduled and what they need to accomplish. Each morning my kids do their chores, fix themselves breakfast, and make sure they’re ready to begin our school day by 9:00. My kids have a laminated schedule that they check off with a dry erase marker to keep them focused and moving along. We have a few weekly activities but otherwise we spend a lot of our mornings at home learning.

Monday - Normal school day (typically school from 9am-2pm with breaks throughout, then afternoon quiet time for everyone)

Tuesday - Normal school day

Wednesday - Our main co-op from 9am-1pm, we do math and independent reading when we get home

Thursday - Bible study for me at our church, my oldest daughter helps with the Kids Ministry, then we do most of our schoolwork when we get home later that morning

Friday - Normal school in the morning, then every other week we have our Science/History co-op from 12pm-2pm

Do You Have Any Special Traditions for the First Day of School?

Tara: We always fill out our First Day of School boards which I love. One of the questions is “When I grow up, I want to be…” I always take a picture of them holding their boards. I love hearing my children’s answers. We also draw self-portraits at some point during the first week. We do it every year so it is fun to watch their art skills improve as they more accurately depict themselves. But I am excited to see Mollie’s answer here because maybe I need to step-up my game for First Day of School traditions.

Mollie: We begin our school year the same way every year…chocolate covered donuts with sprinkles and chocolate milk for a celebration breakfast! It’s such a treat because we rarely have them. I break out our first day of school table decor (a school-themed table runner made by my Grandma years ago) and have their All About Me posters with a new set of colored pencils or markers at each child’s seat. I also write them a special little note too as a way to encourage them and share in the excitement of a new school year together. I also take their pictures too as a way to document this new season of life.

Tara Update: We copied Mollie and had donuts and chocolate milk for breakfast today on our first day! We also did the All About Me sheets over the weekend. I totally forgot about those, I had them do it on the first day of our co-op last year so I was glad this post reminded me of them. The kids were very excited to use the new art supplies. They were so excited about the breakfast idea, I said “Say thank you to my friend Mollie on Substack,” and they all said, “Thank you Miss Mollie!”

Do you Begin Teaching all Subjects at Once?

Tara: I do begin teaching all subjects; however, we start school mid-July, and our homeschool enrichment classes, dance class, baseball, and ice-skating, don’t begin until August or September so it is an inadvertent slow start.

Mollie: Once we begin, I like to introduce one main subject a week as a slow-start to the year– it’s a great way to ease the summer transition! We’ll start math and some smaller items like handwriting or typing the first week, then add in ELA the second week, and additionally science and social studies the next week. By the beginning of September when all the neighbor kids are off to public school, we’re fully into our routine as well. Our two academic co-ops and Bible Study don’t begin until September so it’s a nice way to get into our curriculums before adding on the out-of-the-home activities.

Tara: I am sorry to jump back on, but I just had my first day and Mollie’s idea is fantastic. Today was kind of overwhelming to jump back into all subjects, and to also do the self-portraits and the First Day of School board. I am going to jot this somewhere I will remember it. A slow start takes away any unnecessary stress. Oh and also! Make sure your house and kitchen are clean and tidy before day one. My house was a mess from our family movie day yesterday and I couldn’t function until it was clean which slowed us down a bit!

How Do I Structure the Day to Make Time to Teach all Kids?

Tara: I do as much as we can together first. For example, our Bible reading, poetry, history, and read alouds usually happen first snuggled up on the couch. Science reading is also something that everyone who is in kindergarten or higher participates in. Often my kids all do their math simultaneously and I bop around and help whoever needs help. When I need one-on-one time, I just send the other kids upstairs for some free time. They can play or read or do whatever as long as they aren’t disturbing us. I also find that spending time with the toddler/preschooler/baby before officially beginning school is helpful. And giving them some sort of coloring book or workbook that they can work on and refer to it as their “school.” That helps ensure I can find the time to teach and spend time with each child.

Mollie: This is always a hard one to balance with multiple kids! I create my kid’s daily checklists in such a way that I’m always rotating my focused time between one of my kids. For example, last year I always began working with my kindergartner on his ELA while my other two elementary aged kids began something independently. Then my kindergartner would move onto something independent while I rotated to doing math with my 2nd grader. Then I’d switch to my 4th grader, who required less 1:1 time. They get much more able to work independently the older they get!

We all meet at the kitchen table at 10:00 for a snack and our Morning Basket (Bible and other readings), then continue with more independent work or time 1:1 with me until lunchtime. It’s really just a cycle of rotating through kids and creating enough opportunities for them to do work by themselves so they’re not just waiting around for me!

What Goals Do I Have for Each Child This Year?

Tara: I haven’t really sat down and come up with goals for each child. We always make non-academic summer goals, but haven’t done beginning of the year goals. Other than continuing to improve their spelling, writing, reading fluency, and advancing in math. I would like my children to be more helpful during mealtimes. They are fully capable of serving themselves breakfast, preparing snacks, and even preparing simple lunches. I also am adding to their morning chart for them to read the Bible. That is a life habit that I truly wished someone taught me when I was a child. Another non-academic goal is we are working on their skills with speaking to adults. Looking in someone’s eyes when they are speaking with them and reciprocating questions asked. Things of that nature.

Mollie: My husband and I talk about this a lot as the seasons are always changing with a wide range of ages and abilities of our kids. For our 2 older boys, our current goal is to instill in them the ability to do hard work. We want to raise our boys to be capable of doing hard things (physically and mentally).

I also want my kids’ reading stamina to continue to build, especially my 1st grader as he’s transitioning from non-reader to reader. To help with this we plan time for independent reading with a fun reward system.

For my oldest daughter (soon to be 11), we’re working towards the goal of helping to prepare family dinners each evening– which is one of the best life skills we can teach young kids! She’s my little “sous chef” as she practices chopping, reading a recipe, and growing in her ability to serve our family in this very tangible way. We both love this time of day where we can chat, work together, be creative, and it’s genuinely very helpful for me!

What Do you Do with Little Ones When You’re Trying to Teach Older Kids?

Tara: I actually wrote an article on this topic. But my younger kids are very happy to just go upstairs and play while we are doing school, but I also find that just giving them something to work on alongside us is helpful. Also letting little ones sit on my lap during the read-alouds is helpful. When you have littles that still nap, sometimes it is helpful to do school while they are napping. And if they are too little to be unattended, maybe set up something that will keep them quiet and engaged such as Play-Doh, kinetic sand, stamps, or other toys of that nature. Magnatiles, blocks, and animal figurines keep my children busy for HOURS.

Mollie: This has been the hardest part of homeschooling ever since beginning! During schooltime, I set up toddler friendly activities at our kitchen table– usually playdough, bins of colored rice with scoopers, moon sand, puzzles, a chalk board with magnets, maybe even some water play if I’m feeling up for it! I also let my preschooler do 20 minutes of Reading Eggs on the iPad. Sometimes they’ll sit on my lap and color while I’m working with another child, or play nearby since our play space is the other half of our school room.

How Do You Handle Snacks and Meals Within the School Day?

Tara: My kids eat breakfast before we start, and after reading Mollie’s response I am realizing I should give them the autonomy of fixing themselves a simple breakfast. We always eat snack mid-morning so we all stop for snacks. They usually (over) serve themselves. Then we break for lunch. Sometimes the kids help prepare lunch, but perhaps that will be a goal this year for the two older ones to take turns doing this. An afternoon snack is usually a daily occurrence too. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t let them have 2 snacks, but it is what it is!

Mollie: Part of my older kid’s morning routine is to fix themselves their own breakfast (usually something like a bowl of Cheerios, a sausage pattie, banana, yogurt and granola, a smoothie). I encourage them to eat a bigger breakfast so they’re not hungry in 30 minutes! We then stop at 10am for our Morning Basket and snack time. My rule is one salty snack and a piece of fruit. Around noon we end our schooltime and my soon to be 11-year-old daughter prepares lunch for her siblings (this is a great chore for older kids and very helpful for moms!).

There are so many different ways to find a rhythm in your homeschool. The important thing is you find a way to function as a family providing time for both productivity (both with academics, life skills, and keeping up with the cooking and cleaning) and intentional time together. One of the best parts of homeschooling is the gift of time so being able to enjoy our time with our children is of utmost importance.

Sometimes that means inviting them into whatever it is you’re doing, like Mollie said with cooking dinner with her daughter or getting off the sidelines and joining our kids in whatever they are into – puzzles, board games, art, cooking, whatever it may be.

I (Tara) asked my kids what their hopes are for the new homeschool year and my oldest son wants to play a lot of board games with me, my daughter wants to go on a lot of field trips, and my new kindergartner just wants to have fun. All of these hopes will become their reality. It’s the beauty of homeschooling.

We hope you found this helpful as you prepare for either another school year, a first homeschool year, or if you’re just daydreaming about the future.

Happy Homeschooling!

Tara and Mollie

But writing is something that always feels so good to do. Getting my thoughts down and out of my swirling mind feels like a quiet accountability partner — one that reminds me to write honestly and openly, sharing what might also benefit others in a similar season.

So today, while my three elementary-aged kids read independently and the baby and 3-year-old nap, I’m making space to sit and write. I’m not sure exactly where it will land, but I know the practice itself is soothing and grounding.

In this week’s Notes From Home post, I’m sharing how we’re settling into a summer routine and being intentional about our time at home — with summer learning, a sibling kindness challenge, favorite activities from our Summer Bucket List, and a homemade snack my kids have been obsessed with.

Sage’s first day trip to the NJ beach!

1. Our Summer Schedule

During the school year, having a predictable schedule to meet the needs of my kids’ schooling is one of the most helpful things. We begin and end at set times, have afternoon quiet time, and regular out-of-the-house outings (like co-op and Bible Study).

Summer is naturally much more relaxed since we take a few months off from our curriculum, but sometimes when we completely ditch the schedule, we all feel it.

My kids have too much unstructured time where they’re either unsure what to do or asking when the next fun thing will happen — leaving me feeling less summer bliss and more “can we just get back to our regular school routine?”

What’s been working for us is a mix of structured learning time plus plenty of time to run around outside, play, or check something off our summer bucket list. Here’s a look at a typical summer morning for us:

6:00 am — Morning time for me while the house is still quiet. Coffee, Bible time, maybe even some writing.

7:30–8:30 am — My 5 kids gradually wake up and start the day. It’s a later start than our school year, but not a “sleep the summer away” kind of morning either.

8:30 am — Breakfast (my kids fix their own) and chores.

9:30 am — Outside play with neighbors, a library visit, or something low-key from our summer bucket list.

12:00 pm — Lunch (made by my 10-year-old daughter), then more outside play or a walk around the block.

2:00 pm — Nap and quiet time for everybody (it’s great when the baby’s nap lines up with this!). Two of my kids nap, while the other three have quiet time with independent reading, a math page, and playing in separate spaces.

We all need a break before coming back together for the rest of the day! This is when I try to get in some writing time or work on another project around the house.

3:30 pm — Clean up, snack, and back outside to play with neighbors until dinner.

6:00 pm — Dinner, cleanup, and family time — usually a walk or bike ride, a backyard game, or a hike.

2. A Little Summer Learning

From my experience as a public school teacher, I’ve seen firsthand how hard it is to catch kids up from the “summer slide” when learning is completely put on hold during those months off.

Even though we’re still on our summer break, I don’t want to spend the first few months back playing catch up. So when we ended the school year, I gave my kids two requirements: 60 minutes of reading each day and a math review page.

I purchased these workbooks for my kids, and each day they complete 1–2 pages during quiet time. It’s just review from this past year, but enough to keep their math skills fresh.

And each time they complete 30 minutes of reading or a math page, they get to color in a box on their Summer Learning Chart— which gets them a date with my husband or myself when it’s completed!

3. Our Summer Bucket List

A few weeks ago, we got a giant poster board and made our summer bucket list. My kids and I love making seasonal bucket lists to give us fun ideas for how to make the most of the season!

We likely won’t do everything on our list, but it gives us flexibility and inspiration to have fun this summer.

So far, we’ve enjoyed going on hikes and visiting playgrounds, catching fireflies at night, making homemade ice cream and popsicles, taking a beach day trip, having a paper airplane contest, going strawberry picking, making our own boats to float down the stream, and having a water balloon fight with neighbors.

4. Our Kindness Challenge

Does anyone else struggle with kids showing kindness toward each other? This area has been lacking in our home lately.

In addition to our daily team huddles about being united as a family and choosing kindness instead of selfishness, I decided to motivate them with an actual challenge.

The rules are simple — when I catch them displaying an act of kindness toward someone (a sibling, parent, neighbor, stranger at the library, etc.), they get to put a star on our chart.

When the chart is full, we celebrate by doing something fun together, like a trip to the donut shop or candy store!

It’s a team effort, and we all work together toward one goal. I’ve found that when I take time to praise my kids for positive actions, they’re filled up by those affirmations and actually start looking for more ways to be kind and serve others.

After thanking and praising one of my boys yesterday for helping his sister clean up the playroom, he came up and asked, “What else can I do for you, Mommy?”

If we expect greater positivity from our kids, maybe the change has to start with us. Maybe it takes noticing the good and abundantly reinforcing that instead of only pointing out the undesirable behaviors.

Give it a try! Here’s what our simple chart looks like…

5. Our Favorite Healthy, Homemade Snack

My kids love snacks. They would completely skip meals if it were up to them and just snack all day long.

I have a love-hate relationship with snacks and am always reevaluating them as part of our daily routine — are they worth it, or should I just encourage my kids to eat more at mealtimes? Ahh, the struggle.

But when I take the time to make granola bars, energy bites, muffins, or another healthy snack, my kids are usually much more satisfied than when they’re digging through the snack cabinet for pretzels or popcorn.

So here’s a healthy oatmeal bar recipe that I end up tripling in a large sheet pan because it’s easy to make and keeps my kids satisfied.

As always, thank you so much for being here and following along! I’m so grateful for the many of you who have sent messages, left thoughtful comments, and connected personally about motherhood and life.

With love from my home to yours,
-Mollie

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy:

• 10 Tiny Changes to Make Our Home Run More Smoothly

• Savoring Summer- Our Daily Rhythm with Structure + Adventure

• The Simple Rhythm of Daily Quiet Time in Our Home

• The Art of Taking Successful, Adventurous Day Trips with Kids

I’ve met many homeschool families over the years where some of them continue their schooling right through the summer so that they rest of the year has flexibility, but for me I need a several month reset to feel refreshed and excited to jump back into another school year. Maybe that’s the previous public-school teacher in me, but taking this intentional break allows me to do more adventures with my kids, take on some neglected house projects, and get back into some hobbies that I didn’t have the time for during the rest of the year.

That being said, it’s our second year making a Summer Bucket List and it’s been one of the most fun ways to kick off a new season! We’ve also made one for the fall too, but there’s something magical about summer adventures that no other season can compete with.

In this post, I’ll share about our goals for our bucket list, how we gathered ideas, and what things we’re most excited for that we included on our bucket list. If you’ve never made one with your family, it might be a great way to add excitement and adventure to the months ahead.

But before I get into all of that, let me explain what this Summer Bucket List isn’t…it’s not about doing it all or feeling guilty if we’ve only accomplished a handful of adventures (like last year when I became pregnant at the beginning of summer and didn’t feel like leaving the couch very much!). We certainly aren’t trying to pack our summer full of back-to-back activities, leaving little margin in our weeks.

It’s also not a list of expensive attractions or events that cost much money— fun can absolutely be free! Many of our ideas are free, they just require some planning and creativity.

I like to refer to our bucket list like a poster full of inspiration we can return to when we hit a lull or feel that familiar “I’m bored” start to surface.

No expectations, rules, or requirements. Just a list of what will help to make this summer full of learning, connecting, and being together.

Making the Summer Bucket List

Since a bucket list isn’t new to my kids, they all had ideas of what we needed to put on this year’s poster— which I love because traditions are one of my favorite parts of being a mom.

We began with a giant list of idea (curtesy of Chat GPT) that contained ideas divided by categories…

• Arts & Crafts

• Nature & Outdoors

• Food and Baking

• Water Play

• Exploring & Travel

• Celebrating Fun National Days

From there, I read off the ideas to my kids and they gave a thumbs up or down if it was something we should include in our chart. I kept reminding them that these are all just possible ideas, not guaranteed plans and that we very likely wouldn’t accomplish all of them this summer.

After we narrowed down our list (no set number, just a bunch of good ideas), we made and decorated our poster. I let my kids have complete ownership of this since it motivates them and builds excitement!

What’s on our Summer Bucket List

Arts & Crafts

• Make tie-dye t-shirts

• Make DIY boats and float them down the creek

• Paint rocks and hide them around the neighborhood

• Have a paper airplane contest

• Make friendship bracelets

Nature & Outdoors

• Play backyard sardines at night with flashlights (a fun version of hide-and-seek!)

• Make trail mix and go hiking

• Camp in the backyard (we call this Camp-o-Rama)

• Catch fireflies at dusk

• Watch a movie outside

• Backyard family Olympics

• Go to a baseball game

• Make bird feeders

• Play badminton in the backyard (we just picked up a set and are excited about this new sport!)

• Go strawberry picking

• Visit 5 new playgrounds

Water Play

• Visit a splash pad

• Have a neighborhood water balloon fight

• Wash the car together in the backyard

Day Trips

• Play in the fountains in Philadelphia (we love Dilworth Park)

• The beach! (we live less than 3 hours from beaches so it’s our favorite day trip)

• YES Day! (my kids are thrilled about this ambiguous event)

Baking & Food Fun

• Make homemade popsicles (here’s our favorite recipe book!)

• Have an “ice cream for dinner” night

• Donuts for breakfast

• Make homemade ice cream (we have this ice cream maker which we love)

Silly National Days

• June 20- National Vanilla Milkshake Day: we’ll be doing this one while we explore a new ice cream shop!

• July 20- National Lollipop Day: a visit to our local candy store is one of the best times (we did this one last year and still talk about how fun it was!)

• July 24- National Cousins Day: my kids’ cousins are their best friends so why not celebrate with a sleepover and some fun activities

• August 2- National Ice Cream Sandwich Day: this will be another fun baking activity we can do together

• August 10- National S’mores Day: Bring on the campfire and backyard campout

  

  Let Summer Be Simple and Sweet

  You don’t need to fill your calendar with expensive trips or outings to make summer feel fun. Sometimes all you need is a list of easy, cheap, possibilities, a few lazy days, and the willingness to stomp through a creek, catch fireflies in the dark, or indulge in ice cream for dinner!

  I hope this post inspires you to create a bucket list of your own, making it one that fits your family and your rhythm. And if you do, I’d love to hear what you put on yours!

  Here’s to a slow, joyful summer ☀️

I had every intention of posting last week, but instead, I found myself in a familiar and unpleasant newborn-season experience — one I’ve encountered several times before and would be perfectly happy never to repeat again. If you’ve ever breastfed a baby, you probably know exactly which dreaded infection I’m talking about.

Thankfully, antibiotics worked quickly, and I’m feeling much better now.

But motherhood is full of bittersweet moments like that. Even in the middle of the fever, chills, and exhaustion, I kept reminding myself how much I still had to be grateful for— a healthy baby girl, beautiful spring weather, a husband working from home to support our family, and the glimmer of the school year coming to an end.

1. In Our Homeschool — Finishing Strong (by Finishing Early)

It’s that time of year when both kids and moms start to feel the weight of wrapping up the school year. Lessons take longer, attention spans grow shorter, and everyone is anxious to close the books and head outside.

That’s part of the reason we begin our school year gently in July, work hard from September through May, and aim to wrap things up by Mother’s Day — which honestly feels like a pretty wonderful gift to me.

Last year, I wrote this post about how to finish a homeschool year well. My original plan was to continue for a few more weeks before beginning our summer break, but my husband reminded me that sometimes the healthiest thing we can do is slow down and say “no” even to good things.

This newborn season has brought more interruptions, more pauses to feed or hold the baby, and more moments where my attention is pulled in several directions at once.

So we wrapped up our schoolwork, placed sticky notes where we left off, and stepped into summer mode with a huge sigh of relief!

Honestly, it feels like the right decision with no regrets.

2. Mini Entrepreneurs

This week, one of the homeschool co-ops my kids and I are part of hosted its annual spring Market Day, and I’m still amazed by how creative all the kids were.

Each child created something to make and sell.

My kids made homemade popsicles, notebooks, squishy fidget balls, and bookmarks. Other children sold flower bouquets, baked cookies, painted nails, made hair clips, and so many other creative ideas.

Giving kids opportunities to create and run little businesses helps them take ownership and responsibility for something that feels entirely their own.

All week long, my kids were blending popsicle ingredients, hot-gluing notebooks, and coloring bookmark designs. Even though our schoolwork had already wrapped up, they spent hours each day working on their projects — not because they had to, but because they genuinely wanted to.

That’s what I love so much about project-based learning. It taps into motivation in such a different way. I’m already brainstorming ideas for next year!

3. My Weekly Rhythm — A Free Template

I mentioned my weekly rhythm template in a previous Notes from Home post and received so many messages asking if I could share it — so here it is!

It’s become one of my favorite ways to organize my week— meals, goals, to-do lists, homeschool plans, and even thoughts I want to hold onto during motherhood.

I function so much better when everything is written down in one place instead of swirling around in my head.

If you’d like to try it yourself, you can download it here, make a copy, and edit the sections however you’d like to fit your own weekly rhythm. It’s incredibly simple, but it makes a big difference in how my weeks feel.

4. Getting Real with Decluttering

In my last Notes from Home post, I mentioned that my husband and I had started a major decluttering project.

We both feel noticeably calmer when our home feels orderly instead of chaotic — and for us, that chaos usually shows up in the form of clutter and too much stuff (especially from our not-so-tidy kids!).

So we’ve been slowly working through one area at a time. So far we’ve tackled the outdoor space, a bedroom, the bathroom, the linen closet, and parts of the attic filled with old clothes, toys, and holiday decorations.

We don’t live in a large home, and with seven people under one roof, there really isn’t room for much beyond what we truly need.

We’ve had to become fairly ruthless about what we keep, because decluttering never really works unless you’re willing to let things go.

One night while feeding the baby, I came across a video tour of a family who converted a backyard shed into a home. It was beautiful, thoughtful, and surprisingly inspiring. Watching people use small spaces intentionally always leaves me rethinking what we truly need.

5. One Thought to Keep

Lately I’ve been realizing how often peace comes not from adding more, but from releasing something.

Finishing school earlier than planned. Letting go of clutter. Saying no to extra commitments. Slowing down enough to enjoy the season we’re actually in.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is simply make room for what matters most.

As always, thank you so much for being here and following along! I’m so grateful for so many of you who have sent messages, left thoughtful comments, and connected personally about motherhood and life.

Stay tuned for another Notes From Home post next week!

With love from my home to yours,

-Mollie

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy:

• How Do I finish Our Homeschool Year Well?

• Minimalist Lessons My Kids Teach Me Everyday

• Savoring Summer: Our Daily Rhythm with Structure + Adventure

• The Art of Taking Successful Adventurous Day Trips with Kids

After easing back into some of our usual, feel-good routines last week, I felt a sense of settling in—but in a way that reminded me to take this season slowly.

Throughout the week, I kept coming back to a quiet theme– an invitation to embrace an unhurried pace of life. In my interactions with my children, the items on my to-do list, and even what I say “yes” to outside the home, it all seemed to point in the same direction—toward living more slowly, more deliberately, and with greater purpose.

1. In Our Homeschool- Working Through Novels

One of the simplest changes we’ve made lately has also been one of our favorites.

I’ve never quite found a language arts curriculum that fully captured what I wanted—it always felt like something was missing. What I really wanted was for my kids to experience good books.

So in this slower season of pregnancy and now with a newborn, we started something new in our mornings. We choose a great book together—sometimes a classic, other times a Newbery winner, and take turns reading aloud as we snuggle together on the couch.

As we read, I highlight vocabulary words, we pause to talk through deeper questions, and the kids work on both fluency and a short written response in their journals.

It’s simple, but it’s become the part of our school day we all look forward to most.

And maybe more importantly, it’s helping them develop a taste for what good literature actually is—something deeper than the quick, graphic novels that they’re naturally drawn to.

Slowing down enough to sit with a book together has been worth it.

2. An Intentional Moment- Date Dinners at Home

In this season of life, getting out for regular date nights isn’t always realistic, so we’ve started doing something that has worked surprisingly well—weekly date dinners at home.

Gleaning this tradition from reading M is for Mama, on Thursday nights, we keep things simple and predictable. We start about an hour before the kids’ usual bedtime, make them a fun, kid-friendly dinner, and let them have some movie time downstairs while we sit down together upstairs.

Lately, it’s been meals like carne asada with homemade tortillas or steak with sweet potatoes and a Caesar salad. Nothing elaborate—just uninterrupted conversation (a rare commodity the other days of the week!).

We usually come with a few topics we want to talk about, and it’s become a meaningful way to invest in our marriage without needing to leave the house or spend a lot on a nice restaurant.

It’s a small rhythm, but one that reminds me that the best type of connection is one that’s meaningfully thought about– and sometimes that means putting it on the calendar before life absorbs all the margin or energy.

3. Rhythms at Home- Deep Dive Decluttering

Lately, I’ve felt the pull to declutter more deeply.

With a family of seven in a smaller home, it doesn’t take much for things to start feeling full. Instead of trying to tackle everything at once, I’ve been taking a slower, more manageable approach.

I start with the easy wins, like the bathroom, linen closet, the car, our junk drawer. They’re smaller spaces that can be completed in 30 minutes or less, which is essential in this busy season of life.

These shorter decluttering sessions build momentum and make the bigger areas of the home feel less overwhelming when I get to them.

Decluttering a whole home can feel like a lot, but when you start slowly and work in one space, piece by piece, that feels more sustainable than trying to do it all at once.

4. Something I’m Loving- Chocolate Granola

Something you can always find in our kitchen is homemade granola.

We already love Greek yogurt and granola, but over the past few months I’ve been experimenting with making different varieties. This version has quickly become a favorite—my husband likes to call it a “healthy version of Cocoa Pebbles”.

It’s simple, made with good, whole ingredients, and one of those small things that makes everyday routines feel just a little more enjoyable.

I’ll include the recipe below if you want to try it!

• 4 cups rolled oats

• 1 cup finely chopped nuts (I use pecans)

• 1/2 cup coconut flakes

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1 cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, coconut, salt, and cocoa powder. Mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup, honey, oil, and vanilla— then add to dry ingredients. Stir until every oat is coated.

On a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spread granola in a single layer, pressing down with a spatula. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Then, stir granola and press down again. Bake for another 10 minutes. Finally, sprinkle chocolate chips all over the top of the granola and bake for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate.

After removing from the oven, use a spatula to spread the melted chocolate chips over the granola (this makes the best chocolatey clusters!).

5. One Thought to Keep

The other day at the library, I was reminded of something I haven’t been able to let go of.

The entrance was under construction, and everything had narrowed to a small walkway. My toddler was taking his time—wandering, pausing, moving at his own pace, while a few people waited behind us.

I gently urged him along, feeling that familiar pressure to hurry, and politely apologized to the woman behind us.

She smiled and said, “Oh, I’m not in a hurry. I’m never in a hurry anymore—but it took me a long time to get there.”

I was shocked to hear someone actually say that. And it’s stayed with me ever since.

Because if I’m honest, much of my life is lived in a quiet state of rushing, like moving kids along, getting everyone out the door on time, trying to fit everything into small pockets of the limited time I have.

But what would it look like to choose something different?

To not be in a hurry?

To slow down in my interactions with my children, in our school mornings, in the way I move through the day?

I don’t have a perfect answer yet—but it’s a question I’m carrying with me this week and pondering often.

As always, thank you so much for being here and following along! I’m so grateful for so many of you who have sent messages, left thoughtful comments, and connected personally about motherhood and life.

Stay tuned for another Notes From Home post next week!

With love from my home to yours,

-Mollie

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy:

• Three Simple Systems That Keep Our Kids Motivated Everyday

• How to Homeschool With a Baby or Toddler in Tow

• Two-Minute Tasks for Kids + Moms That Make Life Feel Easier

• Living Counter-Culturally in This Modern World

New seasons of the year tend to bring out a few clear emotions for me. As my husband and I were talking in the car recently (a place where we have some of our best conversations), I mentioned how the newly blossoming trees and vibrant green grass always feel rejuvenating—like a fresh start after a long, dreary winter.

In a similar way, this season of having a new baby and transitioning to a family of seven feels the same. We’re nearly two months into life with another baby, and as we begin to emerge from the tiresome (yet blissful) weariness that newborn life brings, we’re craving sustainable rhythms again—ones that ground us and shape who our kids are becoming.

This past week, we rolled out new chore charts, had more predictable school days, and returned to some of our regular pre-baby routines (like afternoon quiet time, the evening house reset, and meal planning now that our baby meals have ended). They’re not perfect—but they are steady, and that alone makes a difference.

1. New Chore Charts

If you’ve been following along for a while, you probably know that we are big believers in age-appropriate chores for our kids. It was time for a chore chart refresh (I do this several times a year), so last weekend we sat down to brainstorm.

Each of our kids received a new, laminated chore chart on Monday morning. There were squeals of delight (especially from the 3-year-old with his very first chart!) as new chores were handed out and each child’s strengths were highlighted.

-Our 10-year-old cleans up breakfast and dinner, mows the lawn, deep cleans the bathroom, feeds and changes her hamster’s bedding, folds laundry, and vacuums a few rooms.
-Our 8-year-old empties the dishwasher, vacuums and tidies the school room, cleans out the car, folds laundry, and freshens up the bathroom each morning.
-Our 6-year-old takes out the recycling, cleans the kitchen chairs, tidies up the bedroom, and makes his bed.
-And the 3-year-old makes his bed, gets himself dressed, and helps brush his teeth—simple things that are slowly building good habits.

We keep the laminated charts on the fridge where the kids check off each task with a whiteboard marker as they complete them each day. If you’d like my free customizable chore chart for your own home, see the link at the bottom of this post!

2. My Weekly Rhythm Chart

Something I’ve done for years is a Weekly Rhythm Chart for myself. I write it out each Sunday and work through it during the week. It keeps me accountable, motivated, and focused—especially in seasons where it’s easy to feel scattered.

The sections are…

• What Matters Most

• What Feels Hard

• What I’m Looking Forward To

• Goals for blogging, home, health, and homeschool

• Big Rocks (the most important tasks)

• Little Rocks (the smaller ones that still matter)

• Plans for Dinner

By writing these things out, I’m able to move through the week with more clarity and at a sustainable pace—which makes everything feel just a little less overwhelming.

I haven’t done one of these since before I was pregnant, so it feels especially good to return to something that has worked well for me in the past.

3. A Marriage Challenge

Another conversation my husband and I had in the car recently turned into a simple (but surprisingly helpful) way to “critique” each other. And yes—this only works if both people are in a place to receive it!

We each shared two things:

• Something to takeaway — what positive skill/trait of our spouse’s would we take to incorporate into our own life (I said my husband’s zest for life and his ability to have fun with our kids even when life feels demanding)

• Something to give — what skill/trait would we give to our spouse to make their life better (my husband said he would give me more resiliency to be less sensitive and offended when the kids are disrespectful)

Being intentional about investing in our marriage is something we both value deeply. When kids take up most of our time and energy, it’s easy for our relationship to quietly slip to the side.

Even small, honest conversations like this help bring it back to the center.

4. Something I’m Loving — Breakfast Smoothie & a Simple System

For the past few months, I’ve been making this peanut butter/banana/blueberry smoothie for my husband and I in the mornings. It’s not only delicious, but full of ingredients that actually keep us full all morning.

• 2 frozen bananas (sliced)

• 1 cup frozen blueberries

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt

• 2 cups milk

• Several tablespoons natural peanut butter

• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed

• 2 tablespoons hemp hearts

• 2 tablespoons chia seeds

• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

The real game-changer, though, has been the system.

Since gathering all 10 ingredients every morning isn’t exactly realistic or simple, I make smoothie bags once a month. I buy about 60 ripe bananas (yes, I get some odd looks at the grocery store!), have the kids slice them, and flash freeze them on cookie sheets. Then we bag up everything that can be frozen together.

In the morning, I just empty a bag into the blender and add the milk, yogurt, and peanut butter.

It saves so much time—and more importantly, it makes this a routine we can actually stick with.

5. One Thought to Keep

There’s something about rhythms at home…

They don’t need to be rigid to be steady.
They don’t need to be perfect to be meaningful.

But when they are simple and consistent, they become a quiet foundation—something everyone can return to, even when life feels full or slightly chaotic.

Right now, that’s what we’re building again.
Not perfection—just steadiness.

And that’s what matters most.

As always, thank you so much for being here and following along! I’m so grateful for so many of you who have sent messages, left thoughtful comments, and connected personally about motherhood and life.

Stay tuned for another Notes From Home post next week! I’ll be sharing our favorite chocolate granola recipe and another habit I started years ago to encourage creativity into a busy life with kids.

With love from my home to yours,

-Mollie

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy:

• 10 Tiny Changes That Make Our Home Run More Smoothly

• Daily Chores for Kids: A Simple Habit That Transforms Our Home

• Daily Chores for Kids: An Age-Based Guide + Free Printable Chore Chart

• 10 Ways to Shape Capable Kids

There’s something grounding about an ordinary day and looking back at what was accomplished (or lack there of!) in this season of life. Right now, we’re in our last month of the homeschool year while learning how to do life with a newborn baby (our 5th).

Today, there’s no co-op. No field trips. No packed schedule—just a regular Thursday at home in April. These are the days that don’t look impressive on paper, but subtly shape our family life the most over the years.

We’re in a postpartum season with a newborn baby girl, so our rhythm is slower, less productive, and a little less predictable. But it’s real life— and this is what homeschooling looks like for us today.

5:30 a.m.
The baby wakes for a feeding. I sleepily head into her nursery, feed her in the dim light, and remind myself this is just a season and more sleep will come in a few months (hopefully). After a few wake-ups overnight, I decide it’s too early to start the day—and crawl back into bed while the rest of the house is quiet.

6:50 a.m.
My alarm goes off but I ignore it. My body needs the sleep more than it needs the ambition. Typically, I love waking early before the rest of the family for quiet time to pray, read my bible, have coffee, and enter into the day without distractions. But today, I’m moving slower and that’s okay.

7:30 a.m.
I finally get up when I hear little feet leaving the bedroom (they can’t rise before 7:30) so I know this is my cue to get up as well. I make my coffee, have a short prayer time, and begin the slow start to our day while my 8-year old unloads the dishwasher and begins his chores.

8:00 a.m.
The other 3 kids are still sleeping so I head to their room to drag their sleepy bodies out of bed. They start their morning chores, run their 3 laps around the house (a little routine I added especially for my energetic boys!), make their own breakfasts, and get ready for the day. It’s a later start than usual, but it fits this postpartum season.

8:30 a.m.
I wake the baby so we can get started with her day too. After a feeding, a quick bath, and getting her dressed, I make our usual peanut butter/banana/blueberry smoothies (I’ll share the recipe next week in my newsletter!) for my husband and I and head to the schoolroom to begin, while holding the baby in my arms.

9:00 a.m.
I begin school with the older kids (ages 8 and 10). My husband walks our three- and six-year-old to a nearby neighbor’s house (an older friend from our life group) for an hour of play, which is an incredible gift to give someone in a newborn season! I sit down with the big kids and we dive right in and make good use of this time, free from the usual distraction of little boys. We do math lessons, read together, spelling, and math flashcards (the essentials). I’m also holding the baby, who refuses to be put down today. One hand rocking, one hand pointing at math problems— a real balancing act and a tangible test of patience!

10:30 a.m.
The younger boys come home. We gather for our Bible lesson and snack time at the kitchen table— we read from the book of Luke about Zacchaeus and the kids reflect on what it means to “seek and save the lost”. We sing a hymn, write in our gratitude and prayer journal, then the baby starts fussing. So I retreat back to her nursery and feed her while the kids finish up their remaining schoolwork—independent reading, a final workbook page, whatever is left on their checklist (which we simplified in this slower newborn season).

11:00 a.m.
I get some one-on-one time to do school with my six-year-old (while trying to calm a fussy baby). We do a math lesson, read from his All About Reading phonics book, and race through math flashcards like it’s a fun game (anything made into a race or game is an instant motivation to get work done for this child). He’s done— and honestly, that’s enough for kindergarten.

12:00 p.m.
School wraps up for the big kids. I send them outside to jump on the trampoline while I reset the kitchen and school table a bit.

12:15 p.m.
We gather in the kitchen to chop and flash-freeze dozens of bananas for smoothies. Tomorrow, we’ll turn them into smoothie packs—one of those small systems that makes mornings smoother (which I’ll share in next week’s Notes From Home newsletter). By now, the baby is still needing to be held so I resort to wearing her in the KeaBabies wrap so I can finally have my hands free yet still provide her with sleep.

12:30 p.m.
Lunch is made entirely by my ten-year-old daughter. Today it’s mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, fruit, and veggies. Not the most healthy, but she planned it and made it start to finish—and that matters more as she’s slowly being shaped into a more capable adolescent. I have leftover chicken and veggie stew (provided by my friend who blessed us with a delicious meal earlier this week)— trying to eat soup while wearing a baby is another test of skill!

1:15 p.m.
We’re fed, cleaned up and it’s time to walk my eight-year-old to the local elementary school for his speech class. Baby in the wrap, kids on scooters. It’s a rare 90-degree April day, and I’m sweating, but grateful to be moving again at six weeks postpartum.

1:30 p.m.
We walk around town and wait while he’s in class. My body is moving slowly but it feels therapeutic with the sun on our faces and signs of spring all around.

2:15 p.m.
We’re back home. My daughter graciously helps me get the toddler down for a nap so I can sit and feed the baby again. Followed by the start of quiet time for the older kids— 30 minutes of independent reading in their own spaces, then quiet play or earned Nintendo Switch time.

2:30 p.m.
I attempt to sit and write this blog post while sipping a cold drink—but mostly end up pacing with the baby, who needs constant motion to settle. My plans can wait, I tell myself once again, this is the season I’m in— embrace it, don’t resent it.

3:00 p.m.
Still pacing. Still rocking and singing the same song in her ear. Still thinking. I sip an iced coffee and mentally draft blog ideas while trying to get the baby to sleep. I sneak in a few moments of writing but nothing substantial. The kids try to come out of their quiet time locations but are reminded of the rules and why we do afternoon quiet time (mostly because I need a little reprieve from the demands of tending their needs every other minute of the day!),

3:30 p.m.
Quiet time ends. The kids come out for snacks, do some cleaning up, and then head outside. Soon after, the sight of neighbor kids gather in the yard—a daily rhythm I’m incredibly thankful for. They find the sprinkler buried in our messy garage and set it up themselves. I’m finally able to sit while holding the baby and get this blog post drafted. Only a few more moments of quiet time until I need to wake the toddler from his nap.

4:00 p.m.
I get the toddler up from his nap and do a quick pass through the house to reset things just a bit. The rest of my writing will have to wait until another time, maybe tonight before heading to bed if all goes well with getting the baby situated.

5:00 p.m.
Another feeding for the baby and then we head out for baseball practice—all five kids with me tonight. My husband stays back to finish a work project, so it’s my turn to load everyone up and go. While I’m gone, I asked if he would reheat our dinner (again, another baby meal we were blessed with from a friend yesterday).

6:45 p.m.
We’re back home from baseball practice. Dinner is later than usual, but that’s the tradeoff when you add even one sport into the mix. We already find ourselves wondering what this will look like in a few years—whether we’ll want (or be able) to juggle multiple schedules given what we prioritize in life and family rhythms.

7:00 p.m.
We eat, then move right into evening routines since there’s not much time left to play or jump on the trampoline. Our daughter takes charge of the kitchen, which involves cleaning up dinner, washing dishes, and vacuuming the floor while the boys tackle the yard and playroom.

7:30 p.m.
PJs, potty, teeth— 3 words are all that’s needed for the kids to start the bedtime transition.

7:45 p.m.
My husband gathers the kids for an animated Bible story (this one was from Bible Brick Stories), tonight was on Jonah.

8:00 p.m.
It’s bedtime, but we have to stagger it since all 4 kids are in the same room. The two younger boys climb into bed and listen to Adventures in Odyssey. The older two kids head to their own spaces for Bible reading (currently they’re working on this Doodle Devotions for Kids) and quiet time before turning in about an hour later.

8:15 p.m.
After everyone is in their spaces, it’s just my husband, me, and the baby. We always try to guard this time together— to catch up from the day and connect. Tonight, he wears the baby in the carrier so I can rest my back and legs after a long day.

9:00 p.m.
One last feeding for the baby before I head to bed, knowing I’ll be up again in a few hours to start the cycle over again. But before turning out the light, I finish up this blog post now that the day is through. My legs and back are so tired from wearing, pacing, and rocking the baby all day long— but the aches remind me that this season is temporary, that one day she’ll no longer need me to hold her to be content. And when that day comes, I’ll likely miss the baby-wearing days.

That’s a fairly ordinary Thursday for us right now!

Looking back, I wasn’t particularly productive or efficient with my time today like I usually hope to be— but sometimes when life demands more of you (like waking at night with a baby or spending hours pacing the house to get her to sleep), you have to give yourself grace.

Right now, life is tiring, full, and the pace of life moves a little slower— but it’s rich in things that matter most. My children are well fed and healthy, they’re learning and growing in responsibility, and we all work together to quietly run the home.

This is the rhythm of our life right now. And for this season, it feels just right.

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Hi there! Welcome to This Evergreen Homeschool—a place where I write honestly about homeschooling, share reflections on motherhood, and offer practical ideas to make life at home feel more sustainable and joyful.

This week marks one full year of writing on here! Looking back, I’m reminded how life-giving the habit of writing can be. During my last pregnancy (our baby girl is now five weeks old), I had very little energy or motivation to write, be productive, or even solve the everyday challenges that come with life at home with four kids.

But now, I’m ready to begin again—and I have so many ideas to share!

This week, I’m starting something new…a shorter, newsletter-style post called Notes From Home. My hope is that this becomes a steady place to share pieces of our week, like things I’m thinking about, small shifts that are helping, tips for moms, little wins or struggles, and simple things we’re enjoying—without the weight of a longer, single-topic post.

Short and simple, but full of what matters most.

Thanks for being here!

Notes from Home — A Gentle Return

The past few weeks have felt like a welcome, gentle return to real life after having our fifth baby, Sage. Before she arrived, I planned to take two weeks off from homeschooling to adjust, recover, and ease into life at home with five kids.

As we step back into our rhythms, we’re moving more slowly while still keeping the basic structure of our days. Mornings start a little later, we linger longer over breakfast, school is focused on only the most important parts, and there’s more time to play and soak in all the newborn snuggles.

1. What’s Working

Homeschooling while having a baby or toddler in tow is one of the hardest parts—I’ve always said that. For the rest of our school year, we’re sticking to the core subjects and setting the rest aside (like typing which my kids despise).

That means math lessons and math facts, reading and spelling, and our daily Bible time together during our morning snack.

If all goes well, we’ll squeeze in a history lesson before afternoon quiet time.

We worked hard in the other subjects earlier this year, so lightening the load for this final month feels like a gift I can give myself.

2. A Small Shift

Having my kids make their own breakfast has been a great way to build capability and independence—usually cereal, oatmeal, or toast with fruit. But lately, I’ve realized they need something more filling to carry them through the morning without constant snack requests.

This week, I started making a simple, protein-packed breakfast instead.

I make one large cheesy omelet and divide it between the kids, add a slice of sourdough toast, half a banana, and a small sausage patty (honestly, the sausage is the motivation to eat everything else!).

From day one, it’s worked beautifully—and kept them full far longer than a bowl of Cheerios. Next week I’ll share our favorite smoothie recipe and how I freeze the ingredients in individual bags to make mornings even easier!

3. A Gift We Received

Our church Sunday school class provides meals for families after the birth of a baby—for six weeks!

We’re now in week five, and it has been one of the greatest blessings. Not having to meal plan, grocery shop, or prepare dinner has freed up time and energy I didn’t realize I would need so much.

If someone in your life has a new baby, this is one of the most meaningful ways to support them. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, even a simple breakfast casserole or a few lunch items can make a huge difference.

4. Conquering a Fear

One of my boys has a persistent fear of bees. It may sound silly, but the moment he sees one, he runs inside in tears. He’s missed out on playing outside with siblings and even family walks because of it.

He’s never been stung, and I’ve tried to gently explain that the risk is low. We’ve had many conversations, and while he’s made some progress, the fear still lingers. Ironically, one of his favorite foods is honey—he even asked for his own bottle for his birthday!

One thing I’ve learned since becoming a parent is to meet these moments with prayer rather than trying to solve it all myself. For him, I’m praying for a spirit of courage rather than fear. For resilience to face hard parts of life even as a little kid.

5. One Thought to Keep

A home doesn’t need to run at full speed to be thriving.

Right now, that looks like getting up when my kids wake (instead of my usual hour before them), starting school later, and making simpler meals.

This is a season with a newborn and four other young children, finishing out a homeschool year while keeping a home running. Comparing it to other seasons only leads to frustration and unmet goals.

So I’m trying to see it for what it is—a full, meaningful, and slower season. One day, our home will pick back up to all its normal rhythms and routines but until then I’m trying to live in the season I’m in.

And that’s enough for now.

If you enjoyed this post, check out some favorites from my archives…

• 10 Ways to Make Home Feel More Calm with Kids

• 9 Common Fears About Homeschooling (and why you don’t need to believe them)

• How Do I Finish Our Homeschool Year Well

• How to Homeschool with a Baby or Toddler in Tow

As my children get older, I’m reminded of their growing capabilities. Of course, there are many times they struggle when they don’t succeed or get what they want, but other times I see real strength. There’s perseverance when school feels hard, a growing awareness of someone else’s needs, and even moments of going above and beyond what was asked of them when it comes to helping out around the house.

The idea of raising capable children is one that I’ve thought about often over the past decade of motherhood, and it’s something my husband and I continue to prioritize as they approach adolescence. Capability doesn’t just happen—it needs to be taught, practiced, and stretched over time to produce good fruit. It’s formed in ordinary days, through small expectations and repeated opportunities to try again.

An Expectation of Doing Hard Things

When I think about families who raised children over half a century ago, a few images come to mind. Children were marked by a high level of independence and were given opportunities that built risk tolerance and maturity. It wasn’t uncommon in the 1950s to see kids handling tools, chopping wood, or caring for younger siblings.

Because of this kind of upbringing, many children became capable of doing hard things, learning from failure, and entering adulthood with skills that had been steadily developed over time. They weren’t shielded from responsibility—they were shaped by it.

Today, it seems that our focus as a society has shifted quite a bit when it comes to the capability of our youth. Many kids carry fewer responsibilities at home, are rewarded regardless of effort or outcome, and are often protected from things that feel difficult or uncomfortable.

I can’t help but wonder—is our current generation of children being prepared for a thriving adulthood, or simply one that is more comfortable, dependent, and easily discouraged when things don’t go as planned?

Our Vision for the Future

For us, raising our five children over the past ten years has led us to develop our own philosophy of parenthood—one that has shifted as we’ve learned from many mistakes but thankfully grown in from experience in success! It’s still evolving, but one thing has remained true— we want to raise capable, not lazy, kids.

Not just for our own benefit in the present to make life easier at home, but because we believe it will serve them well in the future. We want them to step into adulthood with confidence, resilience, and the ability to contribute meaningfully to the world around them.

How We’re Raising Capable Kids in Our Home

In this post, I’m sharing ten ideas we’ve implemented in our home to help shape our children into more capable, independent, and resilient kids. Not all of these ways have worked for each of our kids, but overall they’ve given us opportunities to see growth and perseverance.

1. Chores

We place a high value on chores in our home, starting as early as age three. These simple responsibilities give our kids a chance to contribute in a meaningful way and begin to see themselves as real helpers, not just people who live under the same roof. In a full home, where we spend many hours together, chores teach our kids the value of working together to keep things running smoothly so we can all enjoy our space more.

2. Caring for Siblings

With a ten-year age gap between our oldest and youngest, there are many natural opportunities for our older kids to step in and help younger ones. It’s one of the greatest gifts as a parent to see them caring for one another! Whether it’s grabbing a snack, helping with shoes, or assisting a sibling in getting buckled in the car, these moments shift their focus outward. They begin to see themselves as fully capable of caring for someone other than themselves and encourages a deep sibling bond.

3. Creating Opportunities for Independence

We’ve found that independence doesn’t happen unless it’s intentionally practiced. Small moments, like sending our daughter into the grocery store to buy one item, asking them to speak to an adult for help, or delivering something to a neighbor themselves, builds confidence in a big way. Instead of doing everything for them, we’re slowly handing them pieces of the world to navigate on their own.

4. Giving Simple Responsibilities Beyond Chores

In addition to daily chores, we try to give our kids opportunities to serve in slightly bigger ways. Tasks like making breakfast for the family or helping prepare part of a meal require multiple steps and a greater level of responsibility. These moments show them that they are capable of serving others in meaningful ways.

5. Letting Them Plan Something

Whether it’s organizing a small party, rearranging a bedroom, or helping to plan a family day trip, we give our kids chances to think through details and make bigger decisions. It invites them into the kind of thinking that adults do every day and allows them to take ownership of these ideas, which really encourages them.

6. Putting Them in Charge

There’s something powerful that happens when a child is trusted with leadership. It could be watching a sibling for a short time or leading a family devotion, and through this they tend to rise to the level of responsibility given to them. Being “in charge” helps them see that their voice and actions mean a lot to our family.

7. Encouraging Them to Do Hard Things

We try not to shield our kids from difficulty or let them give up when it gets hard, even if it would be easier in the moment! Doing hard things, whether learning a new skill, sticking with something frustrating, or trying again after failing, builds resilience over time. It teaches them that struggle isn’t something to avoid, but something to work through. Grit is built with a continuous “get up and try again” attitude while also layered with lots of gentle encouragement along the way.

8. Helping Them Discover What They Love

As our kids grow, we pay attention to what naturally draws their interest. When one of our children finds something they enjoy, like drawing for our oldest daughter or baseball for one of our boys, we try to make space for it in our schedule and encourage steady progress. Pursuing something they care about gives them a sense of ownership, discipline, and inner confidence that carries into other areas of life.

9. Give Them Something to Take Care of

When kids are responsible in caring for something other than themselves, it encourages skills such as organization, time management, and diligence to keep something alive and well. A small pet (like a hamster) or their own vegetable or wildflower garden in the backyard are simple ways we’ve done this with our kids. They get to see the direct results of caring for something, watching it grow, and problem solving when things don’t go smoothly.

10. Have Them Set Goals

Working continuously towards a goal they want to achieve (especially if they’ve set it themselves), shows them they can persevere even when something is difficult or tiresome to accomplish. This builds grit and stamina. As a homeschooling family, there are many opportunities for our kids to set learning and life goals. They’ve set reading goals and been rewarded when that’s complete, saved up their “Donghia Dollars” for special prizes, and also been mindful to save up earned chore money for our seasonal “Spending Days” (occurring on the first day of spring, summer, and fall). These small ways encourage them that steady progress and delayed gratification pay off.

One day, our children will enter the world as young adults without us as parents by their side to help them with. The small responsibilities, the perseverance through hard moments, the chances we gave them to be a leader and try again when a mistake is made…we pray those are the things they will carry with them most. And our hope is that they won’t just feel prepared, but confident in their ability to meet whatever life has in store for them. Because they are capable of great things!

As always, thank you so much for reading and following along! If you have ideas of how you’re raising capable and independent children, I’d love to hear! Idea sharing is one of the best resources in parenting!

Hello friends! It’s been a little bit since I’ve written on here but now that our baby girl has arrived at the beginning of March, I’m feeling much more creativity and a new sense of motivation to get back to regular daily writing time and weekly posts. During my pregnancy, I felt like nearly all of my energy was devoted to growing that baby and resting as much as possible— leaving little margin for other outlets such as blogging.

But like any new season, it ushers in changes and new routines. I’m looking forward to writing about some of my favorite topics— homeschooling, motherhood, habits and routines at home, and maybe even dipping back into my minimalist ways with sharing my favorite tips!

Today, I’m sharing a special 2-week Easter Guide that I created last year! My kids and I had so much fun reading about eggs, the Resurrection story, doing science experiments, lots of crafts and baking, singing hymns, memorizing scripture, and reading lots of great books.

If you’d like this guide for your own family, you can download it for free at the end of this post! Whether or not you homeschool your kids, this guide can easily be incorporated into learning and Bible time at home or done in the evenings or weekends before Easter.

A Peek Inside the Easter Guide…

This simple guide is a way to way to build excitement, anticipation, and remembrance at the Easter season with your preschool and elementary aged children. It consists of book lists, hymns, scripture memory, crafts, baking ideas, science experiments, and other resources that can be done for the two weeks leading up to Easter.

It’s broken up into 2 parts (Week 1: Eggs and Week 2: The Resurrection Story). Feel free to do every part of this guide or select just a few based on the time and ages of your children! We do our Easter School during our “Morning Basket” time every day, usually lasting up to an hour depending on the activities planned.

Within this guide, you’ll find the following...

• Easter hymns with printable lyric posters

• Scripture memory with a printable mini-poster and copy-work page

• A book-list for read-alouds

• A list of plans and activities for the 2 weeks of Easter School

• Resurrection Eggs instructions

  

  Grab the Guide Here!

  To download my Free Printable Celebrating Easter Guide, you can do that right here. Simply download the PDF below, print it out, and place it in a folder or binder for easy use each day.

  

  

  Celebrating Easter A Two Week Easter School Plan

  6.15MB ∙ PDF file

  Download

  Download

  I’d love to hear if you download and use the guide with your family and how it’s been meaningful during this special time of the year! Thanks so much for reading and Happy Easter!

  Thanks for reading This Evergreen Homeschool! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Eight years ago, nearly to the day, I made the decision to resign from my full-time elementary teaching job to stay home with my toddler and newborn baby. With only two young kids at the time, life already felt busy, full, and slightly chaotic most days as a new mother. The learning curve was steep, but I knew this journey would be worth it.

Fast forward to today, and our tiny home is richer and fuller than I ever could have anticipated back then. Unexpectedly homeschooling. Four—almost five—kids later. Choosing a lifestyle rooted in raising our children in ways that feel counter-cultural to today’s society.

Our home is filled with strong sibling bonds (most days!), a lot of meaningful time together (I homeschool the kids while my husband works from home), and a foundation of biblical truth that we try to weave naturally into everyday conversations.

But it’s also filled with bickering over whose turn it is, selfishness instead of selflessness, and the constant hum of needy voices vying for attention or for a parent to solve a dispute. Anyone else feel like they manage a part-time role as judge and jury at home?

Life at home can feel nothing short of chaotic some days. It’s a constant seesaw of emotions.

However, one thing I’ve learned over the years of motherhood is that I have a great ability to shape the tone of our home. As the gatekeeper, homeschooler, meal planner, and sole nurturer, much of the emotional stability rests in my hands—through intentional habits that give form to how our days unfold.

In today’s post, I want to share some of the ways we’ve found to make home feel more calm with kids—because it is possible, with effort, extra patience, and consistency. Not every day is peaceful, but with daily rhythms and intentional habits, our home atmosphere can shift from disarray to something steadier and more grounded.

And if you have your own ways of cultivating calm in your home, I’d truly love to hear them!

Ways to Make Home Feel More Calm with Kids

Wake up before the kids

This has always been my number one habit for creating a calmer home. Waking up at least an hour before the kids gives me space for prayer, quiet, and emotional preparation so I’m not starting the day already overwhelmed with the demands of little voices. It’s something I learned very early on in motherhood and allows me to feel far more grounded and equipped when they scamper out of their beds ready to take on the day.

Have a chore routine

We started assigning age-appropriate chores about seven years ago, and it’s been one of the best habits we’ve ever built. Chores give our kids a sense of purpose and ownership in our home while teaching them that family life is something we all contribute to. It also keeps the workload from landing on one person (me!) which helps a lot in the midst of having kids home all day long.

Keep a gratitude journal with the kids

This has become a favorite part of our morning Bible time together. All we need is a notebook, a pen, and one simple prompt: What or who are you grateful for today? Their answers range from silly and lighthearted to surprisingly deep, and it’s shaped how they notice goodness in their relationships and the world around them.

Keep breakfast and lunch prep simple

Too many food options add unnecessary chaos to an already busy homeschool day. My kids are responsible for making their own simple, healthy breakfasts (usually oatmeal or cereal), which cuts down on dishes and frees me up mentally in the morning. Lunch follows the same rhythm, with my oldest preparing something healthy, easy, and repeatable for everyone.

Sit and connect

Some of my favorite homeschool moments happen sitting snuggled on the couch with one child and one book between us (my daughter and I are currently reading Anne of Green Gables together and it’s one of the highlights of our school time). This individual time gives space for conversation and closeness that’s harder to find when siblings are competing for attention.

Have an afternoon quiet time

Quiet time has been a cornerstone of our afternoon for years. From about 2 to 4 p.m., everyone retreats to their own space to nap, read, create art, or play quietly. It’s the reset we all need (especially me!) and makes the rest of the day seem much more peaceful.

Have regular outside time

I’m no health expert, but I do know that daily fresh air changes everything! Time outside helps kids regulate their energy, supports physical health, and naturally calms overstimulated bodies and minds— especially of little boys who require an extra output of physical exertion! My kids begin our day with “3 laps around our yard”, have recess breaks throughout the morning, and then do the majority of their outside play as soon as afternoon quiet time is over until they’re called in for dinner.

Have family dinners

In a world where family dinners are increasingly rare, this is one rhythm we protect most nights of the week. We sit together, share “one good thing” from our day, and reconnect without distractions. This consistent habit grounds us as a family, even on days that feel more hard.

Light a candle at dinner

This simple habit might be my favorite of all. Lighting a candlestick or two signals that it’s time to slow down, linger, and be present with one another at the dinner table. Ordinary meals become elevated when candles are lit and the table becomes an invitation for conversation.

Have an end-of-day tidy-up

After dinner, while my oldest does the dishes, everyone else helps reset the house. Toys are put away, school messes are cleared, and surfaces are tidied so we can start the next morning fresh. Waking up to a calm space always feels like such a gift and a more simple way to ease into our morning time instead of dealing with yesterday’s messes.

Conclusion

Life at home with kids doesn’t need to live in a constant state of chaos, but can truly be enjoyable when there’s ways to manage behaviors, emotions, and rhythms throughout the day.

My hope is that someday my kids will look back on their childhood and remember our home being filled with simple, ordinary days filled with meaning instead of ones marked by stronger emotions and moments of disarray. Those days still have their occasions, but when I’m mindful to implement strategies that bring calm rather than chaos, home is a much more enjoyable place to be.

As always, thank you so much for being here and following along! I’m so grateful for each person who reads, comments, shares, and goes out of their way (virtually or in real life!) to share with me how something resonated with them.

For as many years as I can remember, January has been marked by a quiet sense of uneasiness and a noticeable lack of enjoyment. It’s the month that follows the happiest season of the year, and once the celebrations are over, we’re left with long, dark, cold days stretching out ahead of us.

Honestly, it’s a month I’d willingly remove from the calendar if I could—even though it happens to be my birthday month.

I consider myself a glass-half-full, optimistic, and generally even-keeled person, which is why the emotions I feel every January have always surprised me. These “winter blues,” as they’re often described, show up as a mild but persistent dip in mood and energy, largely driven by colder weather and fewer hours of sunlight. And as soon as the holiday season is over, I feel them kick in!

Now that a new year has begun and January is here, I’ve realized I’m faced with the same two choices every winter: I can give in to the mood and simply countdown the days until spring comes, or I can learn how to actually enjoy it—recognizing the unique beauty and delight winter offers, despite the freezing temperatures and darker days.

If you feel similarly this time of year, my hope is that these ideas offer some encouragement. Below are eight ways I’m choosing to lean into winter this year—not just to hold the winter blues at bay, but to truly embrace the season and make it an enjoyable part of our family life.

8 Ways to Enjoy Winter and Fight the Winter Blues

Get Outside Every Day

Research consistently shows that sunlight and fresh air play an important role in mental health, particularly during winter when both are harder to come by. For me, this looks like bundling up and heading outside for a walk each morning while my husband makes breakfast for everyone. I make sure the sunlight hits my face and I take a few deep breaths of cold, fresh air before the day begins.

I also intentionally schedule outdoor time for my kids every day, even when it feels inconvenient. I often remind myself of the Scandinavian saying that there’s no such thing as bad weather—only bad clothing. With warm layers and the right expectations, it not only gives us fresh air but keeps germs at bay too.

One little routine we’ve started this past month is “daily laps around the house”. Before we begin school, my kids have to complete 3 laps around our property. I don’t care if they run, jog, or leisurely meander their way through it, but this quick burst of fresh air and exercise fuels them for the morning of schoolwork ahead!

Host Regularly

I’ve found that staying socially connected during the colder months adds a surprising amount of joy and energy to the season. Each year, I look ahead at the weekends from January through March and intentionally plan opportunities to host friends, family, or neighbors. Even if it’s a simple dinner of soup and homemade bread, it gives us all something to look forward at the end of each week.

Plan Weekly At-Home Dates With My Husband

In December, my husband and I started a simple rhythm that’s made a big difference in our ability to connect and make time for each other. One evening each week, we make a nice dinner for just the two of us. We put the kids in their room about an hour earlier than usual—often with a movie—and then spend the evening together at home.

These quiet, kid-free hours give us space to reconnect, talk, and simply enjoy each other’s company. During winter, when evenings are long and energy can feel low, this weekly rhythm has been grounding and life-giving.

Plan a Themed Party

So far, all of my kids have summer or fall birthdays, so winter can feel less exciting as far as celebrations go. However, having one larger, themed event to look forward to is one of my favorite ways to make winter feel less burdensome.

This year, we’re planning an Olympics-themed party in February! We’re inviting several families over, cooking an Italian-inspired meal as a tribute to the host country, setting up simple “minute-to-win-it” style games, and watching the opening ceremony together.

The anticipation is just as fun as the event itself! Planning something festive reminds me that winter doesn’t have to be monotonous—it can still feel celebratory and fun.

Do a Deep-Dive Declutter

A thoroughly decluttered home always refreshes me, and winter is an ideal time for this kind of reset. I aim for about 30 minutes a day, slowly working through closets, drawers, and overlooked spaces throughout the house.

Clearing physical clutter often brings me lots of mental clarity, making the home feel calmer and more functional during a season when we spend so much time inside. I usually start with the easiest spaces (like the bathroom, closets, and our vehicles) then build momentum from there.

Cook Nourishing Comfort Foods

Winter often brings lower energy, changing appetites, and the inevitable germs and sicknesses. This season, I’m focusing on cooking nourishing comfort foods—like sourdough bread, slow-simmered soup with bone broth, spiced granola, hearty roasts, and vitamin packed smoothies at breakfast to help support what our bodies need as well as make our home feel warm and cozy.

Anticipate Something Exciting

Anticipation for something exciting always carries me to great lengths, especially in winter! This might be a quick getaway to a warmer place, a special family outing, or a small tradition planned a few weeks ahead. Even knowing something enjoyable is coming can lift the heaviness of winter days.

We won’t be traveling much this year since our baby arrives in early March (and our last baby came a month early while we were on vacation!), but that doesn’t mean we can’t look forward to smaller moments—like our traditional cheese and chocolate fondue dinner on Valentine’s day, watching the Olympics in the evenings, going to the local Fire and Ice Festival, and taking a few day-trips to our favorite nearby cities.

Create a Winter Bucket List

This past year, my kids and I created both a summer and fall bucket list at the start of each season. We brainstormed lots of fun, free ideas of how we can bring more enjoyment into those months. It challenged us to be more intentional with our time and again, anticipate many seasonal activities that we hoped to accomplish.

This month, we’ll do the same thing, adding ideas like roasting marshmallows in the fireplace, going on snowy hikes, baking cinnamon swirl bread and handing it out to neighbors, making pinecone bird feeders, and starting the Harry Potter series as a read-aloud after dinner.

Embrace Winter

So whether or not the winter blues have gotten you down this year, I want to encourage you that winter is only one season of the year, but a season that can be used for growth. I recently heard on a podcast that as we sit and wait for winter to be over and for the signs of spring to emerge, we should take this time to let our roots grow deep– allowing ourselves to unwind and be refreshed, appreciate the stillness and less busyness that the post-holiday season brings, and give thanks for the goodness that is revealed in this season.

Winter doesn’t have to be a season we merely survive— after all, Finland followed closely by the other Nordic countries, consistently win the Happiness Award, even though they’re among the ones where winter last the longest. With a few intentional shifts, it can become a time of connection, rest, and quiet joy. You don’t need to adopt every idea on this list—often, choosing just one or two is enough to change the feel of the season.

Happy winter, everyone! As always, thank you so much for being here and following along! If you’ve found additional ways to enjoy the season, I’d love to hear them. Until next time, stay warm!

The month of December is filled with presents, treats, celebrations, and countless traditions, and I have to admit that many years I find myself caught up in the busyness of gift buying and event planning that I have to pause to remind myself of the true point of the season.

For the past 8 years since I’ve been a stay-at-home-mom, I’ve celebrated Advent with my kids, and it’s become one of our favorite parts of the year! We still use the same old antique window frame strung with 25 little baggies that rests atop our piano. For us, it’s a way to add excitement to the month of December as we lead up to the most important day of the year (think less consumerism, more meaningful activities that build our anticipation of the season). In this post, I’ll share what goes inside each of these 25 bags and how we incorporate Advent into our homeschool rhythm throughout December.

Advent comes from the Latin word that means “coming”. In the Christian church, this is a time of preparation and waiting for the birth of Jesus. There are many different ways to celebrate Advent, but one common way for children to recognize and celebrate this season is to do an Advent Calendar. Of course the Advent calendars can be as simple as children opening a piece of chocolate each day that leads up to the 25th, but the calendar that we do goes beyond that and incorporates Bible verses of the nativity story along with a special activity or experience each day.

Here’s what’s inside each of these bags…

• A bible verse card that’s simple and easy for young children to understand and learn. I found these on Pinterest and you can grab them here.

• A tiny book that goes over one part of the nativity story (ex. shepherds, Bethlehem, Magi). I can’t find the link to this specific one but there are lots of Advent Book Calendars available.

• A special activity, craft, or experience.

Each year looks different with what traditions and activities we include throughout the month, but as I mentioned in my last post, I’m keeping things more simple this December as we will soon be welcoming our 5th baby in a few months and my energy is beginning to dwindle!

Here’s what I’ve included in our Advent calendar bags this year…lots of old favorite crafts and baking, some free local attractions, and a few service activities— all ones that enhance our enjoyment and anticipation for Christmas Day and Christ’s birth without adding extra “stuff” or spending lots of money. Feel free to incorporate any of our ideas into your own version of an Advent Calendar!

• December 1- Make a countdown to Christmas chain to hang in our schoolroom. The kids have so much fun taking one loop off the chain each day as we get closer to Christmas Day.

• December 2- Begin our embroidery ornament projects. A few years ago, I taught my daughter how to do basic embroidery. She enjoyed it so much and turned them into beautiful ornaments to give as gifts! This is a great handicraft we’ll work on throughout December.

  

• December 3- Bake shortbread dipped candy-cane cookies. Each week, we’ll bake one favorite kind of cookie together. Baking is a test of patience with 4 kids but we still enjoy the process of measuring, sharing responsibilities, and giving cookies to neighbors and friends.

• December 4- Dry orange slices for ornaments and table decor. My kids make a lot of ornaments during our Christmas School curriculum and always enjoy giving them away as gifts. This year, we’ll dry orange slices, string them on twine, and make pretty ornaments or place setting decorations with fresh greens.

• December 5- Make gingerbread houses at our church.

• December 6- Go to the town tree lighting celebration.

• December 7- Celebrate the 2nd Sunday in Advent. We started doing this last year and enjoyed it so much. I keep things simple with our 4 colored candles and candle holders (one year I’ll make a creative wreath!). My husband and I lead our kids in these candle readings, then we sing a Christmas hymn together. While we read, the kids sip on hot cocoa and color the week’s candle on this coloring page.

• December 8- String popcorn and cranberries for the birds. We’re doing a bird unit in science this year and have loved watching the birds in our backyard, so this year I think my kids are all old enough to make garlands to hang outside.

• December 9- Make pinecone bird feeders. One of our favorite winter crafts to do during Advent is this one!

• December 10- Bake sugar cookie trees. The 2nd week of our Christmas School focuses on evergreen trees so this is always a fun and easy cookie for us to make and decorate together.

• December 11- Make paint chip tree cards. We started doing this years ago and still make them each year! All you need is a few paint chip samples from your paint or hardware store (cut into the shape of trees) and some paper.

  

• December 12- Christmas family movie night with hot cocoa and a cozy fire in the fireplace. Some of our favorite are The Grinch (newer animated version), The Muppet Christmas Carol, Home Alone, Elf, and The Polar Express.

• December 13- Family day trip to Philadelphia to see the Christmas sites! For years, we ventured to New York City in December but with me being nearly in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy (and having our last baby a month early!) we’re opting for a closer city. We’ll see the Electrical Spectacle Light Show in Franklin Square, stroll around Reading Terminal Market, see the tree at City Hall, visit Christmas Village in LOVE Park, and walk around to see the holiday decorations in Center City.

• December 14- Celebrate the 3rd Sunday in Advent.

• December 15- Bake and decorate cutout sugar cookies. This one gets really messy but it’s always a favorite!

  

December 16- Make accordion angel ornaments. These are surprisingly super simple but make the most beautiful ornaments! You can find the directions to how to make these (and lots of other cute ornaments) in this post.

• December 17- Take the kids to the store to choose a small gift for each other. They’ve been saving their dollars that they earn from our school motivation system so they always enjoy picking out a small gift for each other’s stockings.

• December 18- Visit a local Christmas Magic and Wonder Show with our homeschool co-op.

• December 19- Bake cookies with cousins. Each year, my sisters, my mom, and our kids get together in December to make a whole bunch of Christmas cookies. We each make 3-4 kinds of dough ahead of time and then share everything after they’re baked and decorated.

• December 20- Host a special family Christmas dinner. Last year, my kids chose one family to invite to our house for a special Christmas dinner. They planned the menu, helped to make the food, prepared a beautifully decorated table, and presented each person with one of their handmade ornaments. It was one of our favorite ways to bless another family with hospitality and a great meal.

• December 21- Celebrate the 4th Sunday in Advent.

• December 22- Donate food to the local food pantry.

• December 23- Deliver cookies, homemade ornaments, and cards to our neighbors.

• December 24- Celebrate with family and light candles at church

• December 25- Sing Happy Birthday to Jesus! We always have our favorite breakfast for Christmas morning— cinnamon rolls, ham and cheese quiche, bacon, fruit, and hot cocoa. I love taking time before all the other festivities happen to gather as a family and have a special Christmas breakfast and give thanks to the Lord.

  

Incorporating Advent into our Homeschool Routine

Since we already have a pretty full homeschool schedule the other months of the year, I like to lighten our load in December so we have time to do each day’s Advent activity and our Christmas School curriculum (this year we’re doing Christmas with Tales again but also love the Gentle + Classical Christmas too). Treehouse Schoolhouse and Read Aloud Revival also have amazing Christmas School studies too.

Most days in December, my elementary-aged kid’s school requirement is just one math and reading lesson…the rest gets put on hold until the new year. Then at mid-morning, we gather together to do Christmas School. This consists of Bible readings following the Jesus Storybook Bible Advent Reading Plan, verse and catechism memorization, our daily Advent activity from inside the bags, and going through the Christmas School curriculum (which usually consists of learning a character trait, reading lots of good Christmas books, and any crafts or activities that go with that week’s theme).

This rhythm invites us to slow down, savor the season, and anticipate the hope that comes on December 25th.

Making Advent Meaningful

Maybe you already celebrate Advent similarly to how we do it in our home with an Advent calendar or lighting candles each Sunday in December. Or maybe this post inspired you to add a few more ideas for your own family.

Whatever your Advent rhythm looks like, make sure to keep the thought behind it simple and meaningful— only take on activities and traditions that build anticipation and joy to the reason behind the season.

If you have your own special traditions in December that your family loves, I’d love to hear them! I always appreciate hearing stories and ideas from you all! As always, thank you so much for following along and being here. Please share this post with a friend who might also enjoy it!