Home Educating - Scheduling

Part 1 of the series can read here.

I am a first born, thus I tend to have some first born qualities that lend themselves to being very useful in homeschooling. Scheduling is one of them. However, sometimes I schedule so much that I don't allow for any freedom. This is something I have to work very hard on.

One of the products that I started using, back when it first came out, was Managers of Their Homes. The Maxwell's put several schedules in the book and then they teach you how to make a schedule. I found this very useful as I was beginning our homeschooling. Plus having a spreadsheet made me feel so prepared to face the day! I still use what this book teaches, but have branched out a bit and made the schedule more my own.

Confession time…since we moved in October, I have been having a very hard time getting our schedule back on track. Several things have caused this. First, Daniel is home in the morning until about 8am. I really enjoy this time, but it does slow the children down a bit. Second, my baby still isn't sleeping through the night. This causes me to be very tired in the morning. Therefore, it is rare for me to be out of bed before 7 am. It's usually closer to 7:30 am. Third, all the children (except the baby) sleep upstairs where I don't go very often. So they don't get up right away and then leave such a mess that takes me being a drill sergeant to get it picked up. Fourth, it's cold and dark in the morning and takes great discipline to get up. Right now I just don't have it.

So I really need to talk to my husband and get things figured out. A realistic schedule needs to get set up so that our family can function and look like we really have purpose in our day.

Here is a brief and condensed look at the general schedule that we have. Each child has his/her own schedule broken down inside this main schedule.

• 6:30 am up and devotions (some shower)
  
• 8:00 am breakfast
  
• 9:00 am family devotions
  
• 9:30 am children divide up and mom work with younger children on their assignments. Older children work on their own.
  
• 12:15 pm lunch prep/lunch/cleanup
  
• 1:30 pm rest time for those 12 and under. 13 and older finish school work or do something quietly.
  
• 3:00 pm free time
  
• 5:00 pm dinner prep/dinner cleanup
  
• 7:45 pm family worship
  
• 8:30 younger children go to bed
  
• 9:30 everyone else go to bed
  

Some things to think about when making a schedule.

• Make it realistic. Allow enough time to get the tasks done
  
• Don't cram everything in.
  
• Be flexible. God will place interruptions in our day. We need to welcome them and not be tied to our schedule.
  
• Is everything in the schedule necessary? Are you trying to do too much with your time? Too many activities?
  
• Clear the schedule with your husband. There may be thing he doesn't see as important that can be taken out. He may also see thing you may be missing.
  

A schedule can be a good thing; just don't schedule your life to death. Take the time to enjoy and have fun with your children. Let them see the blessing in having a good balanced schedule.

Home Educating – Why we home educate

Home education is a subject that is dear to my heart. We are currently in our 10^th year of home schooling. Our 7 children range in from 15 years to almost 11 months. So we are in the process of teaching high school, jr. high, grade school, and preschool. That sounds like a lot, especially in a day and age when most parents look forward to sending their children off to school.

Our home school journey began in 1999, more out of necessity than conviction. As the years have gone by that has changed. Having our children at home is now a conviction, not a necessity. Our family believes that home education follows God's commands found in Deuteronomy 6:1-9:

"Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you—'a land flowing with milk and honey.'"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

As homeschoolers we can easily lose our focus. Pressures arise from friends, family, and even other homeschoolers which make us lose confidence in whether we are doing the best for our children. Their children are involved in this activity or studying that subject and are excelling in all that they do. We on the other hand can barely get the kids through their assignments, get a meal on the table, or the laundry finished. We begin to think that everyone else has it all together while we are failing. That is why it is so important to know the foundation of why we are homeschooling.

Why are you homeschooling? Your curriculum choices, scheduling, extra-curricular activities, and even choice of support groups are all built upon the answer to this question. So pray and study Scripture. Talk with your spouse. Examine where God is leading and you will find the answer to "why?".

    

Home Education Series

One of my commenters has asked for some posts on home education and how it works in our family. Even before she had asked, my desire was to write up a few posts. The comment just spurred me on to write the series of posts sooner that I had intended.

My goal was to have the first couple posts out already. However sickness overtook me and then the issue of the CPSIA. Please read up on this legislation and how it will affect you and your family. The first post will be up sometime this weekend, with the others following every couple of days or so. Feel free to leave your comments or questions. Emails are also welcome. My address can be found in my profile.

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

More on the CPSIA

Shannon, at Rocks in My Dryer has an excellent article that gives more in depth information on the CPSIA that will be taking effect on Feb 10th.

Read it here.

This is VERY important.  Please take the time to see how this is going to affect everything.

Consumer product Safety Improvement Act

Consumer product Safety Improvement Act....

Sounds harmless doesn't it? The government having Americans best interests in mind.

NOT!

On February 10 a new law goes into effect All products for children 12 and under will need to be tested for lead. Companies who don't comply will be charged high fines. How does this affect us? Think about all the small mom and pop companies that you buy from....or ebay...or etsy.....can these afford to pay for the tests? Probably not. So out of business they will go and their products will no longer be available. Government control at its best!

To read more: Story 1, Story 2, Story 3 and mot importantly Story 4, The effect on libraries!

To read the full 62 page text of the new legislation CPSIA

Please write your senators, representatives, the CPSC, you local newspapers....spread the word so we can get this overturned.