OK, so you spent last winter reviewing ‘08, analyzed what you’d accomplished and how to improve, set goals and created a plan of action for the upcoming year. Your plate’s full and your to-do list is ready to go. Actually, it’s in your face… taunting you, right?!?  So… when and how do you get it all done? Read on and learn how you can conquer the “To Do” beast!

Time-management is something almost everyone struggles with! From the homemaker, with or without a business, to the CEO of almost any Fortune 500, we all have the same amount of time in a day – and “too much” to accomplish! There are probably as many methods and plans out there as there are personalities – no matter what the system, it has to work for you! Anyone I’ve ever talked to that uses their time efficiently has usually created something from a bunch of different ideas. Here’s some suggestions to look at to get you started on coming up with your “perfect plan”.

A suggestion from Network Marketing Coach Terry Dean is a less-overwhelming twist on the old “to-do” list, and has certainly brought him impressive results. Each evening before going to bed, he makes a list of 5 – yes, only 5 – things that he needs to complete the next day. They can be short, easy ones, or a part of a bigger project… but they will ABSOLUTELY be accomplished the next day. Now 5 may not seem like much, but by the end of the week, he has completed 25 concrete, measurable activities or items that will have contributed to his business success. Hmmm…

Another tip, from Nicole Dean, the “mostly sane” WAHM, is to outsource whatever you can! (Boy, can’t wait to outsource my housecleaning ! Of course, a cornerstone of her business is built on helping bloggers and those with web-based businesses do just that, by providing PLR articles and other marketing tools. If you don’t like writing and adding to your blog, website or newsletter, she’s someone you might want to check out.

And this is 2 variations on using good ol’ files. If you’re used to using a filing cabinet and have easy access to one, you can label them 1-31 (you’ll be re-using them each month). In them you can stick sticky notes, your bills, reminders, and notes and/or cards to send. Each day you open the number corresponding to the date, and whatever is inside is your to-do list for that day. The variation involves fewer files, but more “revisiting”. You label your files by activity (bills, correspondence, phone calls, meetings, shopping, etc) and stick in your lists or reminders into the appropriate file. Of course you then have to check each one, every day…

Here’s what I do…

I have a notebook that fits into my purse. It’s a bound book, more like a journal, so I’m not tempted to use it for the kids to write in or tear out a page if I need to. I create a weekly list of general tasks I want to accomplish. Because I also homeschool and have a lot of pressing personal demands on my time, I constantly refer to this list when I have a free moment. Kids taking a test? Respond to an email. Math lesson in progress? Write the outline to an article. Lunch time? Enough time to resize some photos for  the website. Article topics go on a separate page, so I can switch back and forth between completing those activities which I will more-easily check off, and keeping up with a growing list of ideas. Outlines (and sometimes complete articles, which I compose while out and about) also get hand-written here and put on the computer when I have a larger chunk of time available.

Now there you have 5 methods to adapt to your own set of circumstances! You know best the environment you live in, methods that work best for you, and where your time-management challenges lay. But we all know that all the information in the world is worth nothing if we don’t get up and act, so… you know what to do next!

Being organized is really a freeing experience, keeping you from that nagging fear and worry that you’re forgetting something.  It allows you to handle the inevitable homeschooling “glitches” smoothly, enables you to get your paperwork (scheduling, bill paying, phone calls) done timely, and helps you to be more available for others in the process.  So do yourself a favor, put some thought and energy into coming up with a plan, and …slay that beast of your own each day.

Originally posted 2009-03-04 20:18:59.

Homeschooling is an education option that is widely debated by comparing and contrasting it to public school. There are always two sides to every story, and there are many topics that always seem to come up in these discussions. This article will focus on one of the popular topics, by sharing our family’s experience as it relates to it. We hope to address more in future articles.

Debunking the Myth: Homeschooling takes a lot of time

The public schools where we live begin around 8:00 am and let out around 3:00 pm.  That is 7 hours each day that the child is away from home and in the public school building. When you add the time to get to and from school its closer to 8 to 9 hours per day. This is equivalent to someone working full time. Plus the kids we know that attend public schools have homework nearly every night. This adds another hour. Then there are the extra-curricular activities that they may choose to stay late to participate in.

Our experience has been that we spend an increasing amount of time on “school” as the child gets older. One hour per day is plenty for kindergarten, two hours per day for 1st through 4th grade and about four to six hours for junior high and high school grades. This includes all homework and research papers, etc.

Our kids have done well on the standardized tests and their annual evaluations with this approach. So I’m confident that we covered everything required and more. This has allowed time for other priorities like household chores, helping with the family business, helping a friend and free time.

Homeschooling does not require as much time for the student as the public education system requires. Then there is the teacher or parent’s perspective. As homeschool parent you will need to spend the times listed above with your child daily plus about another 30-60 minutes per day to prepare, review, plan, etc. When you have clear goals and work together, it doesn’t need to take that much time. Once you get through a grade with one child it gets even less time consuming with the next.

Randall & Karen Webster have been homeschooling their 5 children for over 10 years. They offer advice and encouragement through a Free 5-part Mini-Course at Frustration Free Homeschool.

Originally posted 2009-05-27 11:02:41.

For many families with young children, our homes can tend to look less tidy than we would prefer. Hot wheels and Barbie dolls scatter the living room landscape, artwork hangs sideways by a magnet on the refrigerator, and velcro-fastening shoes seem to multiply on a nightly basis. Add to this all the “stuff” that comes along with doing school at home and you could have yourself a mighty mess. Don’t jump the gun and go hire a Professional Organizer just yet. In this article, I’ll share some tips that have helped curb the clutter here at The Clark Academy Of Excellence.

• Go Paperless. - OK, OK, I know that’s not feasible, especially when you have children practicing handwriting, doing crafts and keeping journals but do as much as you can to keep the paper to a minimum or AT LEAST keep it organized! Here’s how we do it: For art projects, we have an “art line” in the bonus room. It’s like a clothes line except we hang artwork on it. Simply attach a string (we used some decorative ribbon) to each end of the room and use clothespins to fasten the papers. For other papers, we have a binder that holds our work for each week. Handwriting is one thing that I like to keep so that we can see progress over time. We do a lot of our math work on our chalkboard so there aren’t a lot of math worksheets to keep. Not every piece of work your child does needs to be kept. If you don’t need to keep it, throw it out! Another innovative way to go paperless: Consider scanning your child’s work at regular intervals and keeping digital scans. Many scanners will scan multiple documents into one .pdf file. You could also upload your child’s work to a blog and let them keep an on-line journal of their work.

• Have A Designated Space For Your Supplies - So many of us dream of that extra room that we could use for a scrap-booking, craft or sewing room. Homeschoolers may also dream of having a school room. While that’s not realistic for many of us, it is realistic to have a dedicated space to keep supplies. An old armoire can be refurbished to cleverly hide supplies in a public part of the house or you could use a less attractive old metal cabinet and store items in your garage. Either way, having a place to keep books, papers, crayons, and glue is essential to being organized. The mantra “a place for everything and everything in it’s place” is a useful one. Spending twenty minutes looking for the scissors every time you need to do an art project is not an efficient use of your time and can frustrate your children as well as their teacher.

• Workboxes - The workbox system is all the rage right now for homeschool organization. We do not utilize it currently but I can envision doing so as I begin formally schooling multiple children and as we get into more “seat work” as the children get older. Essentially, workboxes are ways to store a child’s daily required lessons into individual folders or boxes by subject. The child knows what is expected of them each day and work stays organized. You can purchase a system ready to use or modify the idea to your needs as found at the-ella-echo.

• Use Clean Up Time As School Time - With young students especially, tidying up between activities is useful not only for keeping your home clean but can be used for teaching as well. Are there toys all over the floor? Sorting is an important math skill for early elementary children. Look at your clean up time as part of your school day. You are instilling good habits and values in your children as well as teaching them to sort and classify. A bookshelf can be organized alphabetically by title and then on another day by author. Spatial skills are honed when a child puts away pots and pans and figures out where to place them and what will fit where. Clean up time is a regular part of “regular” school and should be incorporated into your home school as well.

Those Barbie dolls and tiny race cars may still pose a threat to you in the middle of the night but if you employ some simple organization tips, you’ll be on your way to a well organized home school environment.

Originally posted 2009-10-06 13:50:42.

Having an organized homeschool routine and supplies will make your program more efficient. You will spend less time scrambling and more time teaching.

A Humble Clipboard
A simple clipboard has been a major organizational tool I have used for years. Each child has their own clipboard. We use different colored plexiglass for all students which allows them to locate their clipboard from across the room. Their academic schedule for the week is on the top of their clipboard. Their unfinished school work is on their clipboard. Their schedules for sports, scouts, or other extra-curricular activities are on their clipboard. There are no loose papers to lose, and kids begin learning time management in elementary school.

Writing Supplies
This seems so obvious to be trite, but organizing your writing utensils can be helpful. Consider finding a place for your pencil sharpener near an electrical outlet (if its electric) AND a trashcan. We have one pencil jar for pencils, one for pens, one for markers/highlighters, and one for colored pencils. One person has the chore of sharpening the pencils and emptying the sharpener tray every week. Nicely sharpened pencils are positioned point up. When a pencil led is dull or broken, the pencil is placed point down until the day of sharpening arrives. Other office supplies are also strategically placed in convenient locations around the house.

Set Up Your Homeschool Headquarters
You need an area of your home which is your homeschool HQ. That does not mean you need to do all the work there; in fact it may be better not to. However, it will be helpful to have one area designated for keeping your books and supplies.

The motto “A place for everything and everything in its place” is particularly important for homeschool – at least when the school work is done. You should choose an area that will be both aesthetic and convenient. If you find the kids leave their books on your kitchen table that is not convenient. The end-tables in the living room might be convenient, but they likely aren’t aesthetic.

Some families have an area with bookshelves where all supplies are stored when not in use. Other families find it works better to have the books kept in each students’ room.

The Tot’s Spot
For younger children, a specially organized area can be an asset. Have puzzles, books, art supplies and activities that are reserved for use during homeschool hours. Even a toddler placed in a high chair can be given some “school work” appropriate for his little fingers for a short period of time. A flexible plan of toddler and infant activities helps to keep the academic clock ticking effectively.

Grading Older Students’ Work
In the early years of education, evaluation will be almost immediate. However, as students mature, they may go hours and even days without having their work corrected. All work to be graded should be left in a designated place. That might be the clipboard or a file cabinet or other location. One teenager acquired a wallbox from a local office supply to hang outside her bedroom door just for completed assignments. That way her work would be accessible for grading at anytime, but allowed her the privacy of her bedroom.

In addition to having a place for completed work, it also helps to have a schedule for correcting, grading, and providing one-on-one feedback.

If you want to have a more enjoyable homeschooling experience, good planning and organization is essential. Even if you adopt a more eclectic style of homeschooling, being organized in your routine and materials will prevent stress and aggravation in your day.

Homeschool Planners Can Help

If you live in a state with more stringent requirements, a homeschool planner may be essential so you can easily create monthly or yearly progress reports. These are also helpful if you’re keeping transcripts. Of course, if you enroll your child in a virtual school or certain “in a box” curriculums, you can opt to have records kept for you. If you have a hard time with paperwork that may be a good option for your family.

Homeschool planners help you keep track of textbook and workbook pages covered, projects completed, unit studies you went over, field trips attended, books read, and daily attendance. It can be simple or elaborate – a 3 ring binder can suffice if you’re so inclined, or you can search online for free homschool planning worksheets. If your state requires more documentation, it might be best to go with a more elaborate system for your peace of mind.

Reduce the Clutter!

Reducing clutter is important when you’re homeschooling. Books, workbooks, art materials, DVDs, computer software, etc can quickly get out of hand and spread all over the house. If your kids are older you may want to keep their homeschooling supplies centrally located in the kitchen, study or living room, wherever you spend the most time doing school.

A cabinet in the kitchen, a filing cabinet, a shelf, a large plastic container, etc – most of us already have these in our homes. You can organize art materials, paints, paper, pencils and erasers in smaller plastic tubs or containers with lids so everything stays together. If you have multiple kids homeschooling, you may want to have a color coded system so everyone knows where their stuff is.

Reassess Regularly

It’s good also to reassess every once in awhile so homeschooling stays enjoyable and rewarding. What’s working well? What’s not working? If you have held on to curriculum that just wasn’t working for you, consider reselling it to another homeschooler and using the proceeds to purchase something else that will work better with your children.

Stay Flexible

Remember that learning can get messy! Don’t hamper your kid’s excitement for learning by expecting perfection when it comes to cleanliness. If everyone’s getting stir crazy and you need a burst of energy, head out for the day.

With just a little bit of extra effort, keeping yourself, your children, and your homeschooling organized will make the task of teaching your children much easier for you.

Originally posted 2009-08-10 11:30:07.

Managers of Their Homes, or MOTH, as it’s sometimes referred to, is a spiral-bound, 180 page manual on the why and how-to of scheduling a large (or small) Christianhomeschooling family. Many books are written from a Christian worldview that can be read, enjoyed and used by non-Christians. MOTH, however, is not. After convincing you why scheduling is important the Maxwells give you “The Key to Successful Scheduling” (drum roll): it is for mom to have daily quiet time with the Lord.

Teri and Steve Maxwell are homeschool veterans, and they understand that homeschoolers have different needs than may be adequately covered by other scheduling methods. With this in mind, they have 5 chapters that address topics like interruptions and challenges to a schedule; they account for how a homeschool family’s schedule can change from school year to summer-time; and they have a unique view on how to schedule in “Priorities.” What qualifies as a “priority,” you wonder… it is sewing, reading to your preschoolers, painting, scrapbooking. This is one thing I had never considered, that I am grateful for the Maxwells for pointing out. Their philosophy is this: If you always wait for a four-hour, child-free block of time to do what you think is fun, or a task you must do (such as taxes), then you may never get around to it. But if each day you schedule a half-hour dedicated to that task, you will do it much sooner. Such time is well-spent if it helps a housebound (sorry, homeschooling) mother do things that rejuvenate her spirit.

Another thing that the Maxwells thought of is scheduling time for everyone who is involved in an activity. If Jackson has swimming at 5 p.m., what am I doing? What are the other kids doing? This system makes you account for everyone, each hour. It helps you consciously decide to do math with your fourth-grader while the baby naps.

One thing that was a totally new idea was having older siblings watch the younger siblings while you work one-on-one with a school-age child. It fosters sibling relationships, independence, care-taking, and responsibility!

Features that I found to be helpful included a Q & A section at the back, in which Teri Maxwell gives advice based on her family’s successful use of the system. Also encouraging were letters at the front of each chapter from one of the 24 families that “tested” MOTH before it was published.

On the down side, this book has 40 pages of sample schedules of the “test families.” I found these to be of very little value when I made my own schedule. In addition, on every page of instruction, there are two-inch sidebars which are filled up with comments from the families who did the “testing” of the scheduling system. I found them to be distracting unless I focused on them at the end of each chapter, so they didn’t break up my train of thought as much.

Also, there is a lot of focus on the final presentation of the schedule: cutting up different colors of paper for each child or parent, using sticky-tac to adhere the squares to the final paper. I think it’s a lot less work and mess to just write each person in a different color pen.

Like any other scheduling system, it falls onto the shoulders of one person: the discipline of the primary educator, usually the mother, to follow it. If you slack off, the kids wander off to the t.v. and the work doesn’t get done. I felt at times exhausted just thinking of following my schedule for another 10 hours. It can be overwhelming to see all you have to do and are responsible for in one place! It is important to leave time to transition from activity to activity, to schedule free time. It makes it so much sweeter after you’ve had a day of productivity!

Originally posted 2010-01-18 15:22:17.

Maybe, in many ways, you are an “expert” homeschool Mom. You have well-developed academic goals for your children and have chosen a curriculum or method and materials that work well for you. But what happens when you add infants, toddlers, or preschoolers into the mix? Likely you sometimes doubt your ability to adequately nurture the little ones without compromising the educational needs of your older children. Or, you worry that you are neglecting your home management responsibilities, or missing out on the joy of day-to-day life as a family. These few tips were designed to help you through this often-overwhelming phase of the homeschooling journey and give you confidence in your attempts to “do it all.”

First, prioritize. Make sure to put first things first. This is necessary at the heart-level as much as on paper. Priorities will be different for each family, and different tasks have to be juggled on different days, with varying levels of importance – so this is a very fluid process. By way of example, our priorities are as follows: faith, family relationships, discipleship of our children, academic learning, and home management. Not everything needs to be done perfectly every day. The idea is that in the long-haul all your goals will be met. Remember that when you homeschool, it’s 24/7/365, not from  8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday, 180 days a year. Some days it seems that we have to emphasize character-building issues and it may be a temporary frustration not to do so much “schooling,” but we catch up quite easily on other days. It’s a balance – so set your priorities and keep them in some kind of order, day by day.

Next, develop a good routine. “Schedule,” maybe – if it works and doesn’t become a hard task-master for you. Routine, DEFINITELY! Everything goes much smoother if everyone knows what to generally expect in the course of each day. Make time for Bible reading and prayer. Fit in chores, school time, free time for the children, some family time, extra-curricular activities (well-considered), and whatever else is on your priority list.

Now, integrate tasks. Consider how multiple objectives can be met concurrently. Some of the things that need “doing”: taking care of the baby, keeping the young ones occupied during school time, schooling the older kids, character training, home management and perhaps ministry or service within the community. And of course, it’s important to always enjoy just being a family! Some examples of integration: let one of your older children spend some time rocking the baby while they listen to a teaching tape or watch an educational video. Have a daily 30-minute chore time (or two, 30-minute chore times) during which everyone helps in some aspect of home management or food preparation. At the same time, do math drills out loud, Mom can read aloud to the kids while they work, or verbally review what the children have learned in their lessons during the morning or the day before. Let the little ones use the math manipulatives that the older kids are using or scribble on paper while the big kids do their writing. It may be a bit distracting, but it keeps the family unified and lets the little ones feel included – thus, they are often less disruptive.

On a related note, integrate academic subjects as much as possible. Think about how you can kill many birds with one stone in academic learning by doing a Unit Study on a topic of interest. Use your science or history textbook as a springboard for theme-related ideas that you can flesh out with different activities. A quick search online will usually result in many great ideas, no matter what topic you want to cover. One example: One science topic on our list of objectives was to study the human body systems. We read a library book on body systems (SCIENCE), then (for LANGUAGE ARTS), we reviewed how to use a dictionary. The younger children used a simple kids’ dictionary and the older used a standard dictionary. Each child looked up different words related to the topic. (For example, the first grader looked up things like “brain,” “stomach,” and “lungs,” while the third grader defined things like “system,” “organ,” and so on.) They wrote words and definitions, then a short summary of what we had read. To integrate MATH, we compared the interrelated body systems to the interrelation of different mathematical operations (i.e., addition as the opposite of subtraction, and multiplication and division as inverse operations). Integrating social studies in this case was a bit challenging so we simply did some book work at a later time. Integration is great, but it doesn’t have to be all-or-none. You can purchase many unit study materials, but a little creativity and an Internet connection sometimes suffices just as well. Also consider how the arts and different subject areas can be integrated just through journaling and “living books,” as in the Charlotte Mason approach.

Of great necessity is training your toddlers. Expect and train your younger children to occupy themselves with a single activity for at least 20-30 minutes during school time. Activities in a bag or box are good for this (there are many ideas online, free or for purchase). Help your children enjoy reading by giving them quality picture books and simple stories for an independent “reading time.” Remember that even if you invest heavily in the training process on the front end, it will reap great dividends on the back end; don’t put off training in favor of schooling your older children, especially if temporary chaos is the result!

Finally, remember that your little ones are at a stage in life where they need lots of love, guidance, and attention. This time passes all too quickly. So meet the unique needs of your little ones, and everyone will be the better for it. It is important to balance their quiet times with more physical activities. Keep them well-hydrated and offer small, healthy, mid-morning snacks. Fill them up with some “Mommy time” before their independent play period. Finally, don’t expect them to tend to a task or activity for much more than 20-30 minutes at a time.

Leverage these few tips from our “growing homeschool” trenches, and you can remain productive in all your homeschooling and home management responsibilities, while also experiencing the everyday joy that God desires for your family.

Originally posted 2009-09-14 13:15:32.

Upon completing the worst homeschool year ever, you might ask yourself whose fault it was that everything went so badly. Before you go assigning blame, things need to be brought into perspective. Some homeschool teachers tend to hold themselves up to higher standards than they would ever have for a classroom teacher. What does this mean for you as a weary end-of-year warrior? Let’s take a look at how we evaluate our responsibility and “success”.

For homeschool teachers, the responsibility doesn’t begin and end with the schoolwork. We are responsible for our student’s health, nutrition, safety, morals, emotional health, as well as their education. Our daily routine includes way more than that of a classroom teacher. I can say this because I have been both a classroom and homeschool teacher. As a classroom teacher I had responsibility for more children but it was way more limited in scope and drama. I’m not saying that being a classroom teacher is easier, it’s just very different.

Now to the standards. Would you expect a classroom teacher to do what you do and still get all the teaching done? I would say that you couldn’t pay most people to do what you do. Here are some things that we would not expect a classroom teacher to do for his/her students:

• Make sure the student gets enough sleep.
• Make sure the student has a good breakfast.
• Make sure the student completes every single thing we give them to do perfectly.
• Make sure the student understands every concept without error.
• Make sure the student has a good lunch.
• Make sure the student takes care of their personal hygiene.
• Make sure the student gets appropriate social interactions.
• Monitor the on-line media input and guard against predators.
• Make sure the student cleans his work area, as well as his sleeping and playing area.
• Make sure the student has clean clothes, shoes, etc.

This isn’t even a comprehensive list is it? Yet we expect all these things and a stellar achievement record.

Classroom teachers can’t guarantee stellar achievement, and neither can you. You may very well have just had a fantastic year where everything clicked. Or, you may have had a year that brings you some disappointment. You might have had the one that just might break your spirit. But, if you were to step back and look at the big picture, a single bad year is not as significant as it seems at the time. It’s time for us to forgive ourselves for making mistakes and not being perfect. If you made some mistakes, try to correct what you can. If your students made some mistakes, try to figure out how you can reach them better. Remember that it’s not about perfection. Remember why you did this in the first place. Go back and look at the dusty thoughts and passions that inspired you to start on this journey. Regroup and start fresh. What’s done is done. If it can be fixed, fix it. If it can’t be fixed, don’t waste any more time on it. It’s time to move on.

It’s nobody’s fault anyway.

Originally posted 2009-05-21 08:55:47.

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Coming to a place of “burnout” as a homeschooling parent, or as a home schooler, means that somewhere in the process, we have lost sight of our goals.  One of the many reasons parents choose to homeschool is that they want to enjoy time with their children. We see homeschooling as an opportunity to spend worthwhile time with our child, exploring learning together, and walking the exciting road side by side. Opening the world to our children is a delight and we enthusiastically begin by talking, reading, walking, and sharing life.

However, it isn’t long before “comparison” steps in and we begin to doubt if we are giving our child the best education possible. The focus shifts quickly from the relationship building opportunity to “an education”, and unfortunately, our society has taught us to measure “education” by scores. So, driven by our need to see results in order to compare our children, we set them down to a plethora of textbooks, a CD course, another on-line program just in case…  and on it goes.

With our eyes on the next homeschooling family (who fits in so much in their day), we begin early in the morning. We become the task master – the time keeper – the driving force. We stay up late to control programs, we mark their work with a red pen, we become anxious when the book isn’t being finished according to our timetable. We push harder, work longer, become more irritated.

Then we notice that there are so many activities that the children from the school down the road are involved in. We need to join a drama group, become a part of the home school choir, take some music and art lessons and be part of a home school network group or co-op if there is one close by. Our children are now being forced out the door, in the car, the baby needs to be woken up and dragged here and there. We keep our eye on our watches…. so that our children won’t be the ones missing out!

It is easy to see how burnout can happen and how we can be swayed by peer pressure from our homeschooling circles and from the community around us. But, how can we avoid burnout?

Let us consider these ways:

• Focus on our unique goals Firstly, we need to know where we are headed. Each family is unique and we should rejoice in that! We need to take time to consider our own family goals. Where are we headed? What is important to US? What is the lasting quality we want to pass on to our children? When we know that, we need to head in that direction and keep to it.
• Nip comparison in the bud.
  When our eyes stray to begin to compare our child with someone else’s or our child to their sibling, we need to nip that thought in the bud. Break off the thought there and then. We need to be in control of our thought patterns, and dismiss what is not edifying. Instead, we should substitute that thought with something else – with a sentence or Bible verse you memorize.
  If you train yourself to actively put another thought in its place, you will be more successful in nipping those thoughts of comparison.
• Be realistic with our time
  Everyone has different limitations according to time. We need to make decisions for our unique family as to how much time will be spent at the desk. Do your children have time for sport? Do they have time for a hobby? Time to think and just “be”? Time for God? Time for fun?
• Consider our own circumstances
  Each family has different circumstances which will affect them as a unit. Health,
  traveling distance to services, number of children, abilities of children, parent and child personalities – all of these have bearing on who we are and what we can do. We should not be in judgement of ourselves because of our own personal limitations, but rather, accept our circumstances and move on confidently and maturely.

So, whether you are a veteran or a new homeschooling parent, I challenge you to keep your focus, remember the goals you have set, don’t give time to comparison, be realistic with your time and accept your personal circumstances. Remember why you began to homeschool and enjoy learning together as a family. When you stop “enjoying” the learning experience, reflect on why you began and review what you are doing.

Originally posted 2009-05-12 10:27:20.

The power of a successful homeschool journey cannot be over emphasized. Every parent who home schools wants to enjoy the adventure, grow close to their children and have well rounded children at the end of it. But moms hold the power to sabotage their own homeschools and often they do not even know they are doing it. Here are some warnings (and remedies) for homeschooling parents so that you are do not become one of them.

Warning #1 – You have no systems in place

How do you know this is happening? You cannot find your school books, the children cannot find their pens and pencils, your laundry is piling up and you cupboards and fridge are empty.

Solution – Take one afternoon on the weekend to plan your meals, do your grocery shopping, get your books ready for the next week and get your children to make sure their desks and pencil boxes are ready for Monday. Set up a laundry system in your home to make sure that your family has clean clothing and linens.

Warning #2 – Your children take forever to do their work

Some children are slow workers, but many are dawdlers. If your junior grade children are taking more than a 3 hours to do their work or your high schooler more than 6 hours then chances are that they are wasting time.

Solution – Make sure that you are giving your children short lessons so that dawdling is discouraged. Ensure that you alternate a hard lesson for a easier lesson. Take the time to train your children in the habit of attention so that they learn the importance of giving something their full attention and completing work in a timely fashion.

Warning #3 – Your children spend more time on school work than life

If your children are spending more than a third of their day in formal academic pursuits, it is a sure fire way of producing burnout in mom and child.

Solution – Raymond and Dorothy Moore, grandparents of the homeschooling movement, make use of a head, heart and hand principle. They said that a child’s day should be balanced equally between these three occupations. Head refers to academic pursuits; Hand refers to work in and around the home like chores and entrepreneurial activities and Heart refers to spiritual and moral training a parent should impart.

Warning #4 – Your children are allowed unlimited daily doses of TV and computer

Children should not watch TV or work on the computer everyday. It is an unhealthy situation as the stimulus that the brain receives from these two activities causes a dumbing down process where the child forgets how to entertain themselves, play out imaginary games and be productively and creatively busy – to mention just a few negatives.

Solution - Make a list of all the productive pursuits that your child can do and put to when they nag and ask for TV or their computer games. Ensure that you draw them alongside you in your day to day activities – and set the example yourself!

Warning #5 – Mom does not ensure that she is sufficiently rested

When a mom is tired, burnt out and running from play-dates to sports all afternoon and never takes a moment for a quiet cup of tea and a book, she is bound to be tense and overwrought. When mom has nothing left, she cannot give to her children and be a healing presence in her home.

Solution - Mom needs to set aside small moments in her day to take a breather. This can be a chapter of a good book, a walk around the garden, a cup of tea – on her own. It could also mean getting to bed earlier so that she can rise before her family with a small head start on her day. Mom needs to take time out monthly as well, so that she can set her hand to a craft or hobby where she can take off the “homeschooling mom hat.”

Warning #6 – The homeschooling parents talk of nothing but their children

Does it seem like whenever mom and dad go out or have a moment together, all they talk about is homeschooling and parenting? While there is time for that, it is also very important that they take time to remember that their relationship ranks right up there in importance.

Solution – Make a pact that you will do something special together, weekly or monthly, where you do not talk about homeschooling, parenting or household matters. Just enjoy being together.

Warning #7 – Parents control their children rather than build relationship with their children

This is a tough one… isn’t it? We want the best for our children; we want them to be all they were created to be and to achieve much in their lives. But often a parent will go overboard and forget that the reason they are raising children is so that they can be strong valuable members of a community.

Solution – Like a young sapling tree, protect your children as they need it. Train them in moral and spiritual guidelines as you take hold of those truths as well. As they grow and show maturity in certain areas, permit them to begin making their own decisions within the realm of what is permissible to your boundaries as a family unit.

Warning #8 – A homeschooling mom who spend too much time feeding on other lives

I left this for last because this one point can be the single most damaging thing that can happen to any homeschool. When a mom is always comparing herself and her children to what the next person is doing, what the other children have achieved, the projects that they are doing, instead of getting on and living her life with her children, she is bound to become frustrated and defeated.

Solution – Accept the season that your family is in – perhaps you have just had a baby and an in-depth unit study will sent your teetering over the edge! Perhaps your children have special needs and are not able to concentrate for long. Whatever the reason… accept the season. Also remember that each home and family is unique and your family has a specific flavor to it. When you try and bring in another family’s culture to your own, you dilute the beauty of your family.

Wendy Young is the homeschooling mom to 4 children aged 7 – 14 years. They have always been at home. She has been married for 19 years. Wendy’s website, Homeschool-Curriculum-For-Life,   is dedicated to helping moms choose curriculum, get organized, and enjoy the homeschool journey by equipping them as their roles as wives, women, and moms.

Originally posted 2009-03-26 17:55:51.