Day in the Life – The Balance of Homeschool, Motherhood and Blogging

In this day in the life video, I share the balance of homeschool, motherhood and blogging in our home. 

To watch the entire video, click here.

Well friends, my first ever day in the life video went up on YouTube today! I personally enjoy watching videos like this on YouTube, just because I love to learn from other mamas and see what works for different families. My video and this post shares how I balance homeschool, motherhood and blogging!

To be honest, I have been hesitant to share my own “day in the life” video simply because I don’t see myself as anyone special. But I decided to share anyways for a few reasons – 

First of all, if you watch the video you’ll notice right away that I’m recovering from a cold. I didn’t have a voice to record my regular content! Ha!

And second, I remember what it was like a few years ago trying to figure out this whole blog/YouTube thing. Balancing work with motherhood is tricky, and I was always looking to other experienced mamas for help and wisdom. 

After consistently blogging and creating content on YouTube for a year now, my work has doubled our income and I am just blown away that my hobby has turned into a business.

So much of what I’ve accomplished would not have been possible if it weren’t for other moms that God brought into my life. They set an example and proved to me that it is in fact possible to be an involved mom and homemaker, blogger and YouTuber, all while homeschooling your kids. 

It’s not easy, and it definitely takes time trying to figure out how to balance it all. My hope today in sharing this “day in the life” with you is to encourage other moms who are trying to balance it all. Because no – you don’t have bury your head in your laptop, ignore your kids and abandon housework in order to have a successful business! 

If you are really interested in this topic, I shared how I monetized my blog last year, filmed a blogging Q and A, and I also created a post specifically for overwhelmed mamas, here!

Day in the Life – The Balance of Homeschool, Motherhood and Blogging and the Daily Schedule 

Here’s what a typical morning looks like for us – 

5:30 – Rise and Shine/Personal Devotions

7:00 – Get Ready

8:00 – Homemade Smoothies and Calendar

8:30 – Children’s Devotions and Reading Time

9:00 – Breakfast and Morning Work (Phonics and Math)

10:00 – Break (Outdoor play, craft time, etc.)

11:00 – Lunch Prep and Piano Lessons 

11:30 – Lunchtime followed by Play

12:30 – History or Science Lesson (we rotate)

1:00 – Nap and Quiet Time

This is when I get the majority of my blog work done. Filming, editing, photography, writing posts, etc.

4:00 – Prepare Dinner

5:00 – Dinnertime

7:30 – Family Devotions and Bedtime

Evenings are spent with my family. There are exceptions to this, for example if I have a deadline I need to meet I may ask my husband if I can take some time alone to get extra work done in the evenings. But that rarely happens, for the most part I don’t do any more work until the kids are in bed. 

Day in the Life – The Balance of Homeschool, Motherhood and Blogging and the Daily Schedule Explained

Grace over Perfection

Alright so let’s talk about this schedule! Do I follow it perfectly every single day? No, not exactly, but I would say we follow it pretty closely. The weather obviously plays a big part, if it’s a beautiful day I might allow the kids more time outside where science is all around them! Comparing worms, collecting and identifying leaves, studying the parts of a butterfly. 

Sometimes kids can learn so much more from experiencing something hands on than they ever can from a book!

There are other times (like just last week) where I might not be feeling the best. I can’t help but think about my first trimester of this pregnancy, and how some days I struggled to put one foot in front of the other. 

Yes, there were times when we watched Liberty’s Kids rather than reading from a history text book. But guess what? That’s okay. Teachers do that, too! In fact sometimes I think it’s so much fun to surprise the kids and do something different than what we normally do. 

The point of a having a schedule isn’t to force your kids into following it down to the last second. The truth of the matter is that kids actually thrive in a routine environment. They know what to expect, and they aren’t fighting you at every turn when you explain what’s next. 

In fact, most of the time I don’t even have to tell my boys what to do now. They are so used to our schedule that it’s automatic for them, which in turn is a huge blessing for me!

So let’s start at the beginning!

Morning Quiet Time

In the video you’ll notice that I start every morning with coffee and personal devotions. This is something that I started doing in college, and I have to say that my time with the Lord is so precious now that I can’t ever imagine trying to start my day without it. I need His strength to the be the mama He wants me to be. 

Without Him, I would probably lose my mind most days. Ha! So I try to take time daily to get into His Word, seek wisdom and ask for help. 

Take Time for Yourself

After my personal devotions I get ready every single day. This could look different for everyone, but if you’re a stay at home mom I would highly encourage you to at least change out of your pajamas, even if you’re just changing into more comfy clothes. 

I promise that if your teeth are brushed, your clothes are changed, and your hair gets some dry shampoo, you will feel so much better and ready to tackle the day! 

We always start the day with smoothies made from homemade kefir. There are so many benefits to making homemade kefir and incorporating it into your diet! But that’s a post for another day. 

Be 100% Present

From 8:30 to about 12:30, you’ll see in the video that most of my morning is spent either homeschooling or in the kitchen. I don’t spend any of that time blogging or trying to create video. 

Why? It does’t work. 

How do I know? I’ve tried it. 

The only thing that will come from you trying to blog and mom at the same time is frustration. Yelling at the kids, not giving them your full attention, and feeling like a failure both as a blogger, and as a mom. 

Learn from me – just don’t do it! 

It’s so important to give your kids 100% when they are there with you. What do I want my children to remember about their mama? My cooking, my baking, my smile, my laugh. Focused, one on one attention. Reading to them. Praise over what they accomplished. Hugs, kisses, and cuddles. Pushing them on the swing. Listening to them when they share something with me. 

Believe me friends, it took some time for me to realize how important this was. Once I did, it changed everything. My blog thrived, my channel grew, and my business became more successful. I had more joy as a mom. I didn’t go to bed feeling guilty over the time I had spent on work that day. 

Block Time for Work

Like I said in the video and the schedule above, afternoons are when I do the majority of my work. My youngest still naps, so I lay him down and have the older two stay in their rooms for quiet time. Usually I give them books to read, or I may even give them some extra seat work. If they finish everything they are supposed to, I’ll let them play outside. 

Caleb usually sleeps about two hours (at least) and you would be amazed at how much you can accomplish with two dedicated hours of blog time!

My husband is usually home around 4:30, so I try to start on dinner around 4 so that we can eat around five everyday. Again, I don’t do any more blog work until after the kids are asleep. Every night is different, some nights I only work from 8-9 p.m. and other nights it’s even later. Since I’m pregnant and sleep is so very important, I’ve really been trying not to push myself too hard. 

My husband does his own personal devotions in the evenings, so it works out perfectly for me to get a bit more work done. We don’t watch television at all on weeknights, but that pushes me even harder to be completely finished with my work by Thursday night. That way we have Friday and Saturday evenings to spend some down time together watching something we enjoy!

Sundays are even more special. A few years ago we decided as a couple that no matter what, we would rest after church together and not do any type of work or projects. It has become the most meaningful, cherished time of the week for both of us. We have our kids rest and it’s an amazing time to recharge and connect as a couple.

Are you a work at home mom? Do you enjoy “day in the life” videos as much as I do? This post was a little out of the ordinary for me, but I hope in sharing how I balance homeschool, motherhood and blogging that it’s been an encouragement to you!

PIN IT FOR LATER…

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE…