(A Day in the Life of) My Living Room

9:49 am - Josiah, with a just-for-fun book, and Shav share the space as morning sunlight pours in the east-facing window.

10:12 am - When Benjamin gets down from his highchair after breakfast, the coffee table is his first stop in a morning full of play.  Moriah is there to check out what he's doing, too.

 10:13 am - Tired from a late bedtime the night before and an early morning rising, Josiah yawns widely as he fights against sleep.

 10:16 am - This coffee table is just the right height for Benjamin.

10:41 am - Our official school day begins with memory verses, and we use songs (found in YouTube videos) to learn them.  Tobin, Moriah, and Benjamin are watching the screen.

 10:42 am - A pile-up is happening on the blue chair as the music continues.  Josiah's losing the battle against sleep, while Shav and Tobin wrestle behind him.

10:43 am - Shav and Tobin are constructing a cushion tunnel for Benjamin, the happy explorer.

10:45 am - Another memory verse song begins.

10:48 am - As we finish the memory verses, Josiah and Shav practice their ninja skills on each other.

11:04 am - One of my favorite parts of school (and favorite parts of life, if I'm being honest!) is reading aloud to my kids.  Right now, we're reading Anne of the Island and are getting close to the end.  Is she going to marry Roy Gardner???  ;-)

11:34 am - During this morning of homeschooling, we've successfully made a mess.  But living rooms are meant to be used...

 11:37 am - ...and apparently, couch cushions are meant to be jumped on.

12:13 pm - While the kids gather around the kitchen table for lunch, the living room sits idle for a few moments.

12:44 pm - As soon as he finishes his lunch, Benjamin clamors to get down and play again.  If lunch is late, I sometimes take him straight from his highchair to his crib; but today was early enough that he could have time to play before his nap.

 12:48 pm - Josiah at the computer, helping to install David's math disks.

1:10 pm - Shav does his math on the computer (I LOVE TEACHING TEXTBOOKS!).

 1:31 pm - Now that Benjamin is in bed, I can clean up the living room and know that it will stay in that state for longer than the time it takes my littlest one to cross a room.  ;-)

 1:36 pm - The LEGO clean-up isn't complete (is it ever?), but everything else has been tidied.

1:45 pm - David's turn to do math.

 2:46 pm - Josiah recently bought himself an ocarina, and he uses the computer to find new techniques and new songs to play.

3:50 pm - After his nap, Benjamin cuddles with me while David entertains him.

3:52 pm - While David practices his choir music, Benjamin--what else?--plays with tractors and cars and trains and trucks.

4:08 pm - Benjamin took a tumble and hit his head. A little snuggle time with Mommy was just the thing to fix it.

 4:16 pm - David was showing his music to Benjamin, inspiring him to dream, I'm sure, about the day when he will be old enough to sing in a choir.  ;-)

4:29 pm - David and Benjamin take a snuggle break on the little couch.

 5:15 pm - After an afternoon of playing outside in the wonderful, warm, sunny, fresh air, Tobin, Shav, and Moriah are ready to listen as we do more of our group school things.

 5:29 pm - After reading together about gorillas, we watched a YouTube video about them that reinforced what we just learned.

5:36 pm - A YouTube video about different kinds of tractors kept Benjamin happy and still while I cut his fingernails.

5:47 pm - Cutie pie.

 5:51 pm - While Moriah listened, Shav practiced his choir music.

6:28 pm - What a surprise!  Benjamin playing with his tractors and such again.  ;-)

7:05 pm - DADDY'S HOME!  While I dished up the potato soup for supper, Moriah and Benjamin romped near him while he did a Spanish lesson using the Duolingo app on his phone.

 7:16 pm - The living room was empty briefly while we ate supper, but Benjamin, who had had a snack earlier, didn't take long to eat and was soon back in his favorite playroom.

7:50 pm - Josiah practiced on his ocarina while Shav hovered nearby and Jeff relaxed in the recliner.

8:16 pm - Tobin's turn to practice his choir music.

 8:18 pm - Meanwhile, I gave Moriah a reading lesson, snuggled together on the little couch.

 8:19 pm - And Shav kept us safe with his imposing Nerf gun.  ;-)

10:23 pm - With the younger ones in bed, Josiah finally got a chance to practice his choir music.

 10:57 pm - Everyone's done.

 10:58 pm - Good night, living room, scene of much activity and noise and many happy moments!

* If you enjoyed this post, you might also like a similar (although much shorter) one I did about my kitchen table.  :)