• Oct. 14, 2008
Make your life easier - get organized!
There are a few things that make life with homeschooling so much easier. Today my oldest (11 yr. old son) asked if I was so glad that we homeschooled. My reply was "yes, why?" He then replied "because we are here to help you so much".
Somehow in this little wonderful brain of his, he has the idea that Moms should do everything and that if he does part of the work around the house he is "helping" instead of just "stepping up and being decent". We are going to have a little chat about that as a family very soon.
Kids need chores, they need responsibilities and if we remember this and try to have a system in place then things can run quite smoothly. Here are just a few thoughts I thought I would give out. Nothing too fancy and I'm sure that most of you probably have all of this in place. Please keep in mind that they are not all original ideas, I have gathered things from other mothers that share what they learn!
- Get up before your kids. It is too hard to care for yourself with little people knocking on your door or just coming in while you shower or apply make up or even moisturizer. Be good to yourself. Get a jump start on your day and be prepared for the kids to wake up. This makes a monumental difference.
- Plan your meals and shop for a whole week at once. Take the guess work out. Use a Day Timer or some sort of planner so that you know if you need to defrost chicken today for tomorrow's lunch or dinner. Never forget to have some quick fix meals (Chicken Voile, Mac & Cheese, T.V. Dinners) on hand so that when you are just too wiped out or the day doesn't go well you still have a back up plan and don't end up breaking the bank by going out to dinner or ordering take out.
- Have your kids take care of their laundry. Children can easily learn what it takes to care for their own laundry as well as linens. A six year old can learn to operate the machines because they should be able to read what settings they are placing things on. Older children can help younger ones. It can be a good idea for there to be set times when people do their individual laundry so that there is no confusion. I've been amazed at how much tidier my children are now that they have to combat stains and worry about looking decent. They also don't like wrinkled clothing so they know to get laundry folded and hung right when the dryer is done.
- Take school outside or to any other location when you can. Break up the everyday mundane stuff with a fun setting. Fall and Spring are perfect for this! Take advantage of good weather. Children even think it is fun if you set up a card table in the garage for an art lesson or science experiment.
- Give things to charity or throw them out. As holidays approach or even birthdays keep in mind that you need to downsize before there is a new load of goods to put away. We do this each year when we receive our new curriculum. We go through all the school stuff and keep the needful things and then give away or toss the outdated or extra items. A good purge right before Christmas is my sanity! We try to do it in plenty of time so that the thrift store that we donate to has time to sell the goods to those who want them for Christmas.
- Don't stress. We all have those days where no matter what, the kitchen counters never are seen. My kitchen sink tends to get lost. Sometimes laundry days are missed and somehow we all live through it. It's not my favorite but it is much better to just accept that people are not perfect, not any of them! Keep a good attitude and be gentle with yourself!
