"Day in the Life" Questions

After posting my Day in the Life of Our Homeschool post, Michelle asked a few questions that I thought were worth answering publicly.  

What does the daily list of independent work consist of? Do you look at the week and the assign the pages/ assignments? Is it just for the older two?

The independent work is for the oldest three-- Gavin who is close to 10 and in 5th grade, Maddie who is 8 and in 3rd grade, and Owen who is 6 and in 1st grade.   By independent, I mean that they work in their own book on their own level, unlike our Bible, history, science, and other subjects that we do  and read together. 

I am almost always in the same room or nearby, but I'm trying to break the habit of, "Mama, I did the first math problem.  Can you check it?" or "I wrote a K!  How does it look?"  Instead, I want them to finish a page before bringing it to me, avoiding the chaos of working with every child at the same time! 

Independent work consists of 1 page of handwriting, a row of math drill, and 1 page of math for Maddie and Owen.  For Gavin, it includes spelling, 1 grammar lesson, 2 typing activities, and 1 math lesson, though not all on the same day.  When we sit down at the table, I'll let each child know what subjects to work on and they can choose the order.

Do you set an alarm and get up at a certain time each morning? I have to admit that is really a stumbling block for me.

I have a confession, too.  I stay up too late almost every night, then have a hard time getting up in the morning.  Brian sets an alarm for work, but the clock is on my side of the bed so I am the one who turns it off every morning.  While I often drift back to sleep, I have disciplined myself to be up by the time he leaves.  If not, it can set me behind all day.  With out new routine of morning chores, it would set a bad example if I slept while the kids worked around me.