Does anyone get up really, really early to study by yourself before homeschooling?

[stm4him]

I am studying theology and want some focused time to study daily.  I usually consider myself a night owl rather than an early bird, but that usually isn't very conducive to homeschooling so I am considering other options.  I'd love to hear what time you get up, how long you study, how you get school going, etc. and what your night has to look like in order to make that work.

 

Thanks!

[Mrs. A]

I'm only just getting this going again after 2 years of diminished brain power and the exhaustion the comes with pregnancy and the first baby year. I've been getting up between 5:30 and 6 and I'll say my prayers, shower and then read my Bible and take some time to study Greek, Arabic and work on going through Euclid's geometry. I don't let myself take very long. I would love to be able to spend more time on each thing, but it turns out that I just don't have that much time and if I wait for a large uninterrupted block nothing happens. So I stick with doing a few exercises in each subject each day. It usually takes about 20-30 minutes, then my time is up and the day gets started as usual. It's very refreshing and makes that early wakeup time worth it.

 

I do have to get to bed by 11 at least. Any later than that and I can't get up. But my goal is actually to be in bed by about 10 or so.

[LauraBeth475]

I have wanted to be this homeschooling mom for years.

 

No.

[Critterfixer]

No. I can be up by six if I must, or before, but if I'm up, the kids are up. They are old enough now that I can get writing done in the morning, however. I find my best writing time is after school is finished, so I'm pretty aggressive about having a 3 pm stop time. I write between 3 and 5, and then I get supper between 5 and 6. I can usually get in another hour of work between 9 and 10, and then I turn into a pumpkin.

[Sahamamama]

Getting up early has never worked for me. When I get up too early, I crash in the mid-afternoon, so what's the point? Since my husband travels for weeks at a time, I run this ship solo. My days are long enough as it is.

 

What works best, in terms of study time, is to stay up about two or three hours after the kids are in bed. I am more reflective and analytical then, anyway, and I would stay up that long to "wind down" after the day, regardless of whether or not I determine to study.

 

So, no, I don't get up early to study.

Edited July 26, 2016 by Sahamamama

[SoCal_Bear]

+1 on the staying up late to study, prep, work, etc.

 

[Heidi]

To finish my degree when my dh was deployed I got up at 4am and worked until 6am when the baby usually woke up. Kids were usually in bed by 8 and I was in bed by 9.

Now I get up at 430 to work out. I'm home by 615,I wake everyone at 630, I shower and dress while they dress and make their beds, and the day ideally starts by 7.

[LindaOz]

I've thought about it. At the moment I am getting up early to exercise (hopefully) by myself before everyone gets up but my 4yo seems to have an internal radar that knows when I get up. Apparently that means she has to get up too. I don't know how I'd make study work with miss 4 chatting alongside me.

[sewingmama]

I am NOT a morning person but I get up at 5 am to study (I am doing Uni). My brain does not work properly after 3pm so night study is out. My kids get up around 7.30 -8 so I get about 2.5 to 3 hours peace. They interupt me every 5 mins anyway when they are awake as does my DH so its pointless during the day when they are awake.

 

I just go to bed when the kids do..9.30. I don't do anything special to plan but I dont have young toddlers so its easier. We school from 9-1.00 and the afternoon is free for whatever. Sunday we never go anywhere so if there is any catching up to do I do it then.

Edited July 26, 2016 by sewingmama

[mamamoose]

I am naturally up early and most mornings I review the day's lessons and do my own bible time. I enjoy this time and always have...my kids all get up early too, but they stay in their rooms until I start making breakfast.

[shadah]

I study:

While waiting for dd to finish her math

While cooking

When everyone else is in bed and I need downtime.

 

No way could I do it in the morning.

[Seeking Squirrels]

I do not believe in morning times that start with a number smaller than 7. I cry if I have to set my alarm for earlier for any reason. But I'm a night owl. I have a very hard time making myself go to bed before midnight. Most nights I turn in around 1am. 

 

For a while I had a good habit of spending about an hour after the kids were in bed doing khan academy and great courses. But we hit a rough patch when I was too exhausted for any of that (but still not remotely ready for bed) and I stopped. I need to start again. 

 

 

[Momto4inSoCal]

I study at night time. I do a devotion in the AM a bible study with the kids but anything else is done at night. I'm a night person. Plus I have a 4 yo that wakes up at 6:30 hungry. His twin will sleep till 9:30 or 10 and takes a bit to wake up before he can eat. Such opposites. Anyway I have tried setting the alarm to get up before everyone but my early riser always hears me and wakes up so I lose my early time and end up with a cranky kid later on. 

[JudoMom]

I do. I like to get up by 4:45 so I can get my coffee and settle in by 5. I study my Bible, and then read and take notes on the "self-improvement" books I'm reading (currently "The Art of Teaching" and "The Artisan Soul").

 

I think best in the morning, so this works for me. My brain is kind of useless after 8 pm, though. And I'm not opposed to a 20-30 minute lunch time nap if needed.

[fralala]

I am not really a morning person, either, but for me this means it's better for my whole family if I can get up first, have at least one cup of coffee, and have a little quiet time to myself before the day begins. My baby usually wakes around 5:30, and most days I can get him back to sleep for 45 minutes. My other kids usually sleep until 7.

 

I do go to bed pretty early, though-- I go to sleep around 9, sometimes before then if I'm exhausted. I rely on a lot of help with the post-dinner clean-up in order to get this done. And I also insist on an afternoon "in your rooms" time after lunch (I can't with good conscience call this a "quiet" time because I have a 3 year old, but it is a little bit more time for me).

[freelylearned]

I wasn't a morning person before my kids were born, but I soon figured out that it was very difficult for me to hit the ground running when my kids woke up, usually at 6:00. I needed at least an hour for coffee, devotions, and personal study. So I started setting the alarm for 5:00 am. If I included a little exercise (rounds of counter push ups, squats, heel raises, etc) while I waited for the coffee to brew, it was easier for me to reach full alertness quickly than if I just waited for the coffee to kick in.

 

Now my internal clock has adjusted and I get up between 4:30 and 5:00 on my own. I DO need to take power nap a couple of times a week since starting an earlier schedule because I just can't sleep in anymore. 

[Guest]

I am not naturally a morning person, but that has been the only way I can get quiet time to myself for study at many different times in my life.

 

During college, I had to take an 8 AM class to get my degree. In order to be able to function, I had to set my alarm for much, much earlier, drink coffee, eat breakfast, and allow my body to wake up enough to where I could function in class. I didn't have much of a social life that semester, but I did complete the requirement.

 

When I had opposite gendered teenagers, I lived in a two bedroom house and slept on the couch in the living room. My alarm was set for 4 AM. This was for homeschooling lesson planning and research, not for self-study or college classes for myself.

 

Currently I have a very high energy eight year old and a rather old and sluggish body. I get up at 7 to plan the next school year, keep up with changes in the homeschooling world, maintain some sort of contact with adult friends and family, and have some time for my own thoughts.

 

Sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do. Caffeine helps, but not everybody tolerates it well at every stage of their lives. Mornings can be pleasant and peaceful and something to look forward to. When you are first trying to adjust to being a "fake morning person", it might help to reserve the first half hour or so for something completely self indulgent: Bible study, meditation, a private bath by candlelight, flavoured coffee or cappuchino, etc. and then start studying for your classes.

 

It's really sweet to be fully awake and feeling like you have already accomplished something by the time you wake the wee ones. I like to bring them breakfast in bed and read aloud to them. I'd resent having to get ready for that the minute the alarm went off and my feet hit the floor, but it's a joy and a pleasure after a few hours of "me time".

 

HTH

Edited July 27, 2016 by Guest

[lllll]

nm

Edited November 5, 2016 by cathey

[JennyD]

I get up around 4:30, write for about an hour, then work out before starting the day with kids around 7.  It is not ideal but I have come to the conclusion that it's the only way for me to make steady progress.  

 

To make this work, I need to be in bed by 9 or 9:30.  This almost never happens.  Rather, I usually go to bed around 10 or 10:30, mostly so I can actually talk with my husband.  I also have occasional evening commitments that push everything later.  But it's the best I can do at this stage of my life, and regular writing makes me so much happier and fulfilled that it's worth it.  

Edited July 27, 2016 by JennyD

[Holly]

I don't get up "really, really, early", but I study first thing in the morning (which for me is about 7:00).  It goes best if I get up before the toddler, but I also enjoy my sleep to get up very early.   My current focus is Latin, and I find that if I wait until everyone is in bed at the end of the day, my brain is too tired to absorb anything.  I save my evening "me time" for light reading or knitting or email/facebook, none of which take too much brain power.  If I don't get up early, I sometimes work on Latin after lunch.  

 

As far as how much time, I'd say 30 minutes or so.  

Edited July 27, 2016 by Holly