Assignment: This would be a good week to tell about your worst struggles with a lifestyle of homeschooling. Tell about something you’ve struggled with and how God’s mercies gave us the strength to get past it. Also, share any curriculum/homeschool methods that have been a relief to you, i.e., a particular Teacher’s Manual or Homeschooling method that’s been easier for your family. Talk about how you felt when the burden was lifted and Oh, What a Relief it is.
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Since I am relatively new to homeschooling, I have not encountered struggle to the degree that veteren homeschoolers have. Right now, as mentioned in the last assignment, the struggle is fitting it all in. It seems daunting at times, but I am thankful that the Lord led has prepped my heart to the degree that He has to persevere (BTW, ‘persevere’ is a favorite word in our family), and stick with it.
Having a routine has helped immensely. But, having a flexible attitude has helped even more. Here is my ideal agenda; please understand I rarely adhere to it in its entirety, but it is something I work of off daily.
5:30 – 8:00 AM Work at home, online, as a Support Specialist for DH’s Interactive Ticketing company
8:00AM – 9:00AM Kids up/ Breakfast/ Morning routine – get dressed, vitamins, brush teeth, make bed (I also try to get dishes taken care of and laundy started)
9:00 – 12:00PM Homeschool – Morning focuses on Bible, Character, Phonics, Handwriting, Reading,, Math (There are alot of breaks for play, phone calls, etc. between items, so this easily takes the whole morning)
Noon – 1PM- Lunch and play (I am also working toward a quiet time as well)
1:00PM – 4:00PM Homeschool -Afternoon focuses on Science, History/Geography, Read Aloud, Spanish (2x/week), Art (1x/week), Art Appreciation (1x/week), Sign Language (1x/week), P.E.
4:00PM – Get dinner ready
5:00PM – Dinner
5:30PM – Family Time (Walks, biking, movie, etc.)
9:00PM Boys in bed (I am going to get this shifted to 8:30PM as it gets darker)
Errands and chores are accomplished throughout the day, as the opportunity arises.
Two items that have been excellent aids in establishing this routine have been:
Accountable Kids
Motivated Moms
Also, half of my paycheck goes to a housekeeper once a week. It is totally worth it to me, and I although I still have a good amount to do around the house, it is nice to have this help.
For homeschool organization, I use Sonlight; they have a daily lesson plans already laid out for the items they cover. I typically follow most of their plan and transfer it to a spiral journal, so I can document everything in one place.
Also, I write on a dry erase board, all of the subjects we cover:
Bible
Phonics
Handwriting
Readers
Spelling
Math
Character
Science
P.E.
History/Geography
read Aloud
Spanish
Sign Language
Art
Art Appreciation
Quiet Time
Vocabulary
Kitchen Skills
Field Trip
Community Service
Playdate
As we accomplish a subject, I erase it. What is not done that day gets carried over to the next.
One of the things I learned early on is to not be slave to a curriculum or organizational method that is not working for you. This has really given me the freedom to not feel obligated to stick with something, and to go and find what works for both me and my children.
John 1:12 "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."
I love the organizational links. Thanks a bunch.
Mrs. Kerri
BFS Teacher
I too have learned that flexibility is key in a succesful day of homeschooling!
I too have learned that flexibility is key in a succesful day of homeschooling!
Jessica
http://apathwithpromise.blogspot.com/
I learning to be flexible and to not worry if we don't get everything accomplished each day. My calendar has so many arrows on it moving things we didn't do to the following day. Oh, well! 😀
Blessings~
Laura
Edited by ilovemy3angelbabies on September 11, 2008 at 10:44 PM
Thank you so much for sharing.
Blessings,
Linda