We are NOT Hermits!

We have nothing on the calendar today because a field trip was canceled. Here's a conversation I had with my 14yo son.
James: We have nothing today?
Me: Well, we have lessons.
James: But we're not going out of the house today?
Me: No.
James: Oh my gosh, we're hermits!

As this post will tell you, we are quite a long way from being hermits. Now that our school year is under way, our routine is becoming second nature. Here's a glimpse at how our days (should) go.

I work 20 hours a week from home on the computer.
This is divided into 4 hours each day Monday through Friday, but I have the freedom to work whenever I want during each day. So, when you look at the below routine, you can imagine me shoving my 4 work hours into the "free" times. For example, while the kids are at karate, I bring my laptop and work from the karate school.

Our mornings usually follow a schedule like this:
6:00 AM - Mom gets up. Get ready for the day and work before the kids get up.
6:30 AM - Dad gets up
7:00 AM - Alarms go off for the kids. Get up, do chores, get ready.
7:30 AM - Dad leaves for work
9:00 AM - Lessons begin. The bulk of their work is done in the AM.
12:00 PM - Lunch and clean up kitchen.

I will note that the kids NEVER get up when their alarms go off. I am working on how to make that happen. Ideas welcomed. Keep in mind that I rarely go upstairs where their bedrooms are.

On Mondays and Tuesdays, we are generally home in the afternoons so the kids keep working on lessons or have free time. I am a paid supervising teacher at a homeschool partnership on Wednesday afternoons; the kids have stayed home on Wednesdays and done much the same as on Mondays and Tuesdays. James and Emily have just gotten a seasonal job that will probably keep them busy on  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons for a few weeks. Suzy went with me to work this week Wednesday and she will do that if the older kids are at work.

On Thursdays, I teach two writing classes and my kids are each in one of the classes. We leave at 10 AM and don't return home until dinnertime. One Thursday a month, I have scheduled as an off-day and we do not have writing class on those days. During the class they are not in, my kids work independently on assignments. After writing, they attend two karate classes - their own level and a lower level for review. We often stop at the store on Thursdays after karate.

Every other Friday is homeschool co-op, so on those days we are out of the house from 9 AM to 3 PM. On the off-Fridays, we often have a field trip or park day to choose from. Lessons for the week must be done, or they don't get to attend anything special on Friday (or the weekend, for that matter).

In the evenings, we have some commitments as well.
Monday night - karate class at 5:30 and sometimes a lower level class at 6:15
Wednesday night - James goes to Royal Rangers at 5:30 and youth group at 7:00. Emily goes to youth group at a different church at 6:15. (She has to be on track with her work in order to go.)
Friday evenings are usually work time for me, but often the kids have a friend over or make plans to go somewhere.
James and Emily have been learning to referee soccer games and those are usually on Tuesday and Thursday nights and Saturday mornings. They only can ref if we have no other commitments.

Emily goes to Teens for Christ two Saturdays a month and is gone from about noon to midnight.

I am trying to protect Tuesdays as our Stay Home Day and make no regular commitments on those days.

So, there you have it! The basics of our full lives!