One of the questions I get asked the most about homeschooling is what a typical day at Parnell Academy looks like? Also, questions like how long does it take for your girls to finish a day of school? What curriculum do you use? Do you pull out your hair? What time do we wake up, so on and so forth.

I recently ran into a mom from my girls previous public school at a local grocery store. We hadn’t seen each other in about 3 years. She is one of the chatty Kathy mom’s that HAS to know all the school and kid gossip, ( I know because I did a five-year stint with her). Truthfully, I tried to hide out so I didn’t have to face all of her questions, BUT that didn’t happen. I found myself face to face with her, and boldly faced her with a smile. We said hello, she asked the girls where they are attending school and they quickly replied, “We are homeschooled” she then looked at me and said, with sudden shock and a BIG WOW, “there is no way I could homeschool my kids, I am excited summer is over so I can send them out the door for the day!” My Heart quickly felt saddened she would feel this way about her children. When did raising kids become a burden instead of a blessing? She then continued to ramble on, how when the school she works at enrolls a new student she can immediately tell if they have been homeschooled, and how the education is NOT the same as public school. So on and So forth. ANNNDDD of course nothing positive to say about homeschooled kids.

With all this being said when I first started homeschooling I did NOT look at it as a blessing, I absolutely looked at it as a burden. I felt the same as this mom, I had my subtle little life of going to the gym, leading bible studies, going to lunch with ladies from church, ohhhhh and QUIET time and a clean house! Without verbally communicating, I regretfully felt the same way as this mom did. Until God put the calling on my life to pull my girls out of the public school system and homeschool them. I NEVER wanted to homeschool my girls, NOT EVER!!!

Devine circumstances led us to what we now call PARNELL ACADEMY!!!

So lets just say I had NO IOTA of an idea of where I should begin, and what a day of homeschooling would look like for our family. It all began with trial and error and learning how my girls learn and how they both learn COMPLETELY different from each other. This was not an easy task and I would say it took most of our first year to “GET” eachother. So what does a day of Parnell Academy look like? 

One of the rules we have for our girls is they have to be showered and dressed before coming to the table to learn. Wake up time is no later than 6:30 am. I whole heartily believe, you look how you feel, if you look lazy and what I like to call a ragamuffin (not sure if that’s even a word, HA!) you will have lazy performance, this was a rule from day one. And this rule also applies to me too! If we look good, we feel good, if we feel good, we will work good.

Before they shower we have incorporated their personal Bible Study time, they each get up and spend time in Gods Words and in prayer before heading to the shower. Not only does the outside of our bodies need to be cleansed and ready for the day, but also our inward body needs nourishment and cleansing as we wash our selves in Gods Word. (See Matt 23:25-27 & John 6:35)

Both of our girls are required to do chores (they get paid for) before starting the day. Each week they alternate between kitchen and living room. One will have Kitchen the other living room. This gives us a clean area to work at during the day and less stress about a dirty house. Since I homeschool from my kitchen table.

Our school day starts anywhere between 8:00-8:30 in the morning and usually ends around 3:30. We were led to use a curriculum based out of Pensacola, Florida called Abeka Academy. It is a Christian curriculum and this might come as a surprise to some but it includes…. WAIT FOR IT…… Reading, English, Science and Arithmetic!!! Yes, as homeschoolers we have the same subjects as the public school system, just not always with the same content. Their curriculum comes with digital teachers as well, which was a relief to me. In the beginning I was fearful they weren’t going to like it this way, but they love it!!!! God has been good to us in the area of adjustment.

After they finish school for the day we usually make dinner together, then they have the night to enjoy other than their required 30 min of reading or study time for a BIG test they might have the next day.

As we begin to journey into our third year of homeschooling, I can say homeschooling my girls has become a blessing and a passion of mine to make each year more organized and manageable. I no longer look at spending time with my girls as a burden, instead as a GIFT of time, time that would have otherwise been spent with other adults labeling them as what they saw fit; as I carried on with what I call, my perfect princess life.

We have learned to forgive each-other faster and laugh, LAUGH a lot, and to have FUN!!!! Homeschooling is a GIFT that I wish everyone could experience with their kids. This has given me a passion to come along side other new beginner homeschool mom’s to encourage and teach them the things that I had to learn the hard way.

Oh and the answer to the last question, do I pull my hair out? YES, YES I do. We have days when we ALL are pulling out our hair!!!!! But it doesn’t trump our good days. 🙂

It blesses my heart to see other homeschool families lead differently than our family. Each homeschool family will find their own personality and routine, each are uniquely built and special in each mom’s heart.

We are thankful for Parnell Academy.

Happy Homeschooling,

Jessica Parnell