A Day In The Life....

Say hello to the Harris Family!

What state do you live in?

We live in Alberta, Canada.

How long have you homeschooled?

We have been officially homeschooling for two years now, but because we believe that the children are learning simply by living life, we have been educating our children since the oldest was born in 2001.

How many children do have?

What are their ages? We have 5 children at this time (hoping for more). They are 7, 6, 3.5, 2 in January and a newborn.

Do you have special needs children?

At this time we do not know of any special needs.

What is a typical schedule for you?

Right now our schedule/routine is very relaxed mostly because of Christmas, our new baby and the fact that we do live life as our education. We get up and eat breakfast between 8 and 9 AM. We do daily chores – getting dressed and cleaning up breakfast. Then I allow a little television through out the day. They are encouraged to play – blocks, Lego, dolls, coloring, drawing, organizing, sorting, math workbook or sheets, puzzles, mazes. We have rest time or nap time around 1:30 or 2, where each child is on his or her own spot. They are encouraged to read, play with little toys or sleep. Around 4 PM, we do a pretty intense cleanup and a few more chores and we start supper. After supper is baths, stories and bed.

How do you handle teaching older kids with toddlers underfoot?

I try to set up teaching times when the baby is sleeping and the toddler is engaged in play.

Do you plan to homeschool through high school? Why or why not?

We do plan to homeschool through high school. We believe that is a very important time in a growing child’s life and that they still need the close parental guidance we provide now. There are so many lies taught into today’s schools and the social interaction is not a positive influence.

What curriculum do you use and why?

For the most part we do not have a curriculum. We do use ACSI Math, but in a very relaxed manner at this time. I provide lots of books, Discovery Kids TV, interaction with all ages of people, board games and life experiences. For example, my daughter, age 7, buys our eggs. I give her the money and some ideas of what to say to the “egg lady” and she gets them and brings them home. She is responsible to make sure they arrive unbroken and are put in the fridge. I believe that learning how to act and react in real life is more important than just learning facts from a book or practicing math’s rules in a workbook.

Are you involved with a homeschool group? Why or why not?

We are not actively involved with a homeschool group. We would like to be but the nearest one is 25 minutes driving time away and with 5 children the logistics of getting there are too involved at this time. We go out to community events and children’s programs here in our little town and meet with homeschoolers in our home as often as possible. Oh, and being that my DH is involved in the fire department we get included in tours of the hall and trucks too!