From Dread to Delight: A Monday in the Life of a Micro-School Leader (Copy)
Posted on April 7th, 2025 by Makenzie Oliver
A Day in the Life Series – Monday
Welcome back to the Day in the Life series! If you’re just joining in, this series is all about helping micro-school leaders, homeschool parents, and educators create consistent rhythms and aligned priorities—day by day. In the last post, we explored the power of weekend routines. Now, let’s take a deeper look at how my Mondays have evolved over the years and how they now set the tone for the entire week.
The Evolution of My Mondays
Let’s rewind for a moment. As a public school teacher, Mondays felt heavy. The Sunday scaries were real—restless sleep, endless lesson planning, and waking up already exhausted. I’d head into the week feeling overwhelmed, under-prepared, and constantly playing catch-up. Can you relate?
But when I started my micro-school journey, I knew one thing for sure: that version of Monday had to go. So I reimagined it.
Year 1-3: The Foundation Years
In the early days of my micro-school, Mondays were about renewal—not dread. We kicked off the day outside with unstructured play, followed by a morning walk and our themed academic work. After lunch in the park and silent reading, the afternoon flowed into hands-on learning: science experiments, projects, and creative activities.
I noticed something powerful: the kids were more refreshed, and so was I. We all showed up ready—not rushed.
Year 4: Growing Into Leadership
By year four, our school had grown—and so had my role. Now offsite at a church building, Mondays became Marketing Mondays for me. I stopped teaching on that day, allowing my team to take the lead with students while I focused on outreach, social media engagement, emails, and prospective parent follow-ups.
It was a big shift—from managing lesson plans to managing our school’s visibility and growth.
Year 5: Alignment, Energy & Clarity
Fast forward to now, and my Mondays are beautifully balanced. Here’s a peek into my current routine:
5:00 AM – Wake up & quiet time
6:00 AM – Walk or run
7:00 AM – Head to school
7:15 AM – Open the campus and prep for the day
8:30 AM – Meet with staff, prep curriculum, answer emails
9:15 AM – 12:00 PM – Focused curriculum work as Director of Learning
Afternoon – Walk the campus, chat with teachers, monitor student progress
3:00–4:00 PM – Team collaboration or carline duty
4:30 PM – Head home for family time, dinner, or reading
This rhythm didn’t happen overnight—it’s been shaped with intention, trial, and plenty of tweaks. But now, I genuinely look forward to Mondays.
Why Mondays Matter
Your Monday sets the tone.
It doesn’t need to be a mad dash or a mental drain. When you design your days based on your values, responsibilities, and energy levels, everything shifts. You feel more capable. More grounded. More at peace.
So I challenge you to ask:
What would your ideal Monday look like?
What can you shift today to move closer to that vision?
Keep Building With Us
Inside Microschool Masterminds, we walk through how to build a schedule that works for you—including resources on time blocking, staff delegation, and curriculum management. In Module 1, we dig into how your time and energy set the stage for long-term sustainability and joy in your leadership journey.
Final Thoughts
Stay tuned for the next post in this series, where I’ll share what a Tuesday looks like and how it complements the flow of our week.