This was our first day trying to get back to our normal routine after a trip to Michigan to visit family for Mrs. McGoozle and the kids and a 12-day work trip for Mr. McGoozle.
7:00 am: Everyone woke up and gradually made their way downstairs to get ready for the day. The kids played while we chatted and caught up on some dishes while making breakfast. The kids don’t love oatmeal and it was going to be the second day in a row so I pulled out the pretty pottery bowls as a treat. The ploy was only mildly successful.
8:30 am: We ate breakfast together and played one quick round of a card game called Moron (or Villiage Idiot/Fool or Anarchy in the Monarchy or other names I probably haven’t heard yet). Stubby recently learned the game while we were at our brother’s house and has become obsessed. He’s been begging to play together and we finally did.
9:00 am: Breakfast is done so we move on to chores. Everyone finishes the remaining items in their morning routine (get dressed, make bed, brush teeth, read Bible). Smiley washes the breakfast dishes and Stubby takes care of Slinky. I start some laundry and do some work on the computer. While the kids are waiting for me to finish up, Smiley reads to Squeaky and Stubby plays a single-player version of his card game. Mr. McGoozle is home from work today but is working on house projects- mostly notably laying some insulation in the attic space.
10:00 am: Everyone is done with chores so we bundle up and head outside to shovel snow. Mr. McGoozle shoveled our sidewalks before he left for the store so we work on the neighbors’ sidewalks. Stubby and Smiley also work a little bit on the snow caves they’re building. After we’re tired out and cold, we head inside for a snack and the start of the academic portion of our school day. We usually start with some free reads where each child gets to pick a book to be read aloud. Today’s selections are Three Cheers for Tacky by Helen Lester, the final section of The Journey that Saved Curious George by Louise Borden, and chapter 8 of Full Steam Ahead by Rhoda Blumberg. We say our family motto and read the poem for the day from Sing a Song of Seasons edited by Fiona Waters. Then it’s time for our Bible lesson and hymn. This year we are reading through Joshua and Judges for our Old Testament lessons and the Gospel of Mark for our New Testament lessons. Today was an OT day so we read Joshua chapter 3. We usually pick one hymn and one psalm to sing each month but because it’s Advent we’re just singing through the Christmas section of our hymnal. Today we sing O Come O Come Emmanuel.
12:15 pm: We have an appointment today at 1 so we take a break from school, eat lunch, and get ready to go. After our appointment, we head to the library to get some new books. Each kid usually gets to pick 3 books from the library each week. They sit and read/look through most of the books before they ever make it to the bag to be checked out. On the way home, we continue listening to North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson, the second book in the Wingfeather Series. This is our family’s 2nd or 3rd time listening to the series.
3:00 pm: We made it home and I decide to try to get some more schoolwork done. I don’t usually like to do school in the afternoons but we got a late start today and ended early because of the appointment. I work with Smiley on her math and reading lessons while Stubby watches a video for his math, reads a chapter of The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George for science, and starts studying his dictation passage for the week. Smiley moves on to a phonics game on the tablet while I read another science book with Stubby. Mr. McGoozle is just finishing up the insulation project and then we have plans to go get a Christmas tree. Stubby draws a diagram in his science notebook while I start getting the girls ready for tree harvesting.
4:00 pm: We drive about 10 miles out of town in search of a good tree. It’s getting pretty dark already and it’s pretty cold but we are successful! Each of the kids gets a turn at chopping before Mr. McGoozle finishes the job and we head home.
5:45 pm: We’ve made it home. The big kids shower, I work on dinner, and Mr. McGoozle gets the tree trimmed and put in its stand. After Stubby showers, I ask him to read me one more thing for school. He finally gets it done and writes a narration about it. Everyone pitches in to clean up a little bit.
7:00 pm: We sit down to dinner- chicken fajitas (sort of because I forgot we were out of tortillas). Each night at dinner we go around and share our favorite and least favorite parts of the day. We also light our Advent candles and read the section for today from Shadow & Light by Tsh Oxenrider before listening to the suggested song and viewing the suggested artwork on my phone. Once that is finished, we clean up from dinner. Stubby washes the dishes, Smiley vacuums the floor, Mr. McGoozle helps Squeaky get her shower done, and I put away food and clean up the kitchen.
8:15 pm: Time for bedtime books. Mr. McGoozle usually does the reading when he’s home and there’s usually a Hank the Cowdog book in the mix when he’s home. After books, he tucks the kids in. He plays a video game for a while and I read Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. We go to bed around 10 pm.
