Are you a checkmark person like me? Checkmarks make you feel like you’ve accomplished something! I like them, and my girls do too. Per my daughter’s request, I created an EXCEL spreadsheet that lists every possible school subject that we could potentially study.

My girls are both good readers now (ages 8 and 9), and I recently realized that I was preventing

them from becoming self-learners because they were spending too much time waiting on Mom’s instructions. Why wait on me when they can read it for themselves, do the work, and check it off? Now don’t get me wrong…Our school is not just about “tasks,” but hopefully about loving learning. I have worked hard to create an environment where my children love to learn, but practical things like this have helped us a great deal.

As a result of spending much time being overwhelmed at everything we need to be learning, a wise friend once told me to just “take the next step.” I think children are like this too. If they see EVERYTHING listed on day one, they will be too overwhelmed. My first spreadsheet included the basics with reasonable goals that I knew they could attain.

* Personal devotion while eating breakfast (My 8-yr-old is reading 1 chapter per day of The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos. My 9-yr-old is reading 1 chapter per day from the gospels in the MacArthur’s Study Bible). 10 mins.

*  Worship (we sing 1 hymn together). 5 mins.

*  Joint devotion (We pray….praise, thank you, help me, help someone else...and do various Bible readings.) 15 mins.

*  Math (I’ve given them a list of every worksheet page in their Math-U-See books. They do the next page, and there is an incentive for completing their book. They also know how to check their own answers. I’m always available for help, and I watch the DVD with them when they move to the next chapter.) 30 mins.

*  Grammar (We do Easy Grammar…We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! You master one grammar concept at a time…prepositions, verbs, etc.)  They turn to the next page and ask me to check their work.) 5-8 mins.

*  Handwriting (We recently switched from Italics Handwriting to A Reason for Writing….requested by both my girls after being inspired by observing their close friend’s handwriting ~Thanks, Rebekah!~  They do ½ to 1 page per day. This curriculum includes

 scripture copywork. I don’t expect them to do it everyday, but handwriting has recently become an art to them, and they  are very focused on learning this new method because they say it’s a prettier style. 5-10 mins.…….This sounds like a lot of handwork so far, but my girls knock out grammar and handwriting quickly…..

*  History read-aloud (I am currently reading Genevieve Foster’s Augustus Caesar’s World. My girls take turns narrating back to me.). 20 mins.

*  English from the Roots Up (On their own, my girls learn a new Latin or Greek word per day and review the ones they previously learned.) 5 mins.

*  Paddle-to-the-Sea (I want my girls to read all the Holling C. Holling books which are focused on American geography and science. Although we’re doing ancient Roman history, I’ve added it to our school because it is so refreshing. They each read one chapter per day which is only

1 page, and then they come and narrate it to me. I’m also using these books to strengthen my girls’ narration skills. 10 mins.

This is a good stopping point. This is about 2 hours of work. This amount of work is not overwhelming to my girls, and they could easily check off every single subject. I’ve found my girls moving ahead on their own in certain subjects without me nagging them. For example,

English from the Roots Up only takes 5 minutes or less. It’s quick to do and check off. Do you know how invigorating it is to them when they check off so many items on their spreadsheet? They look for their new sheet everyday, and they enjoy showing it to Dad when he gets home from work.

I followed the above schedule for a few days, and then I started slowly adding more subjects. I wanted to make sure my girls felt comfortable with this amount of work first. They noticed that the spreadsheet kept changing, but it was updated at such a slow pace, they did not complain about

the extra work.

Also, they know which ones we do everyday, and which ones are 3 times per week, etc. They don’t seem to be stressed looking at a full page of work because they know that it is impossible to do everything in one day. Many times I will put a circle next to the ones that need to be

completed TODAY.

I only list the subject on the spreadsheet because they know everything listed here in parenthesis.

For example, they know to do the next math page, 3 pages of Blood and Guts, etc.

On with the list....

*  Blood and Guts (This is a fantastic “living” science book about the human body. On an index card, I made a list of 3 pages at a time…1-3, 4-6, 7-9, etc. and made a column for each girl to check off when she had finished reading it and narrating it to me. We also do some of

the experiments, but don’t feel obligated to do all of them. 3 pages are chock full of great information, so sometimes I let each child read the information to me, and then we discuss it. Sometimes we both read them together. It helped to break down the work in chunks of 3 pages

at a time….a very realistic goal.) 20 mins.

* Spelling (We are using a curriculum called Spelling Plus. It groups words phonetically and focuses on the 1000 most frequently used words.) 10 mins.

*  Dictation (THIS is the main reason why I’m using Spelling Plus. There is a dictation book that corresponds to the spelling lists. Mastering a spelling list is not that difficult. Once you learn how to spell “sight,” for example, then you can very quickly memorize “might” and “fight.” IF, however, a child can USE one of these words in a sentence ONE WEEK after learning to spell the word, then you know she has mastered it. My girls each have a notebook, and I call out the sentences to them one at a time…trying to state the sentence one time only which teaches attention skills. After my child writes about 10-12 sentences, she and I TOGETHER proofread the work. We first read the sentence in the book and then compare it to her sentence. If a word in her sentence is wrong, we don’t make a big deal about it, but I circle it, and I add this word to her spelling list and may give her the same sentence the next day. If she misses it 3 days in a row, we keep working on it until she has mastered it. I think dictation is the key to learning to write. When my girls first started dictation, I noticed a leap in their writing. I believe dictation, step by step, gives them confidence. After we finish this curriculum, I will probably start pulling dictation from their copywork.) 15 mins.

*  Assigned Literature (I want my girls to read “living books.” These are the best books which teach morals and character, ones that may cause the reader to be changed as a result of reading them. The Secret Garden is an example. I will always observe springtime differently as a result of reading this book. Sometimes my girls need a little extra “push” in this area because if they had their way about it, they would read “book series” day in and day out. I help them choose a book from a living book list and have them read “a little bit” everyday. My oldest recently read Caddie Woodlawn. She wasn’t interested, but after reading a little everyday for about 3 days, she figured out the book was great and then devoured it very quickly. My girls, fortunately, are readers. They both read many, many books on their own. I have placed books in almost every room of our house. They’re in the bathroom, the family room, the breakfast room, the car, etc. They almost always   read in the car. They have taught me many things that I didn’t know simply because they remembered what they read from a book.) 30 mins.

*  Written narration (My 3^rd grader can write half a page, and my 4^th grader can write one page about various topics. Charlotte Mason, an 19^th century educator, said that a child will learn to write well by learning how to narrate well first…this takes a couple of years…and eventually the child will be able to write her ideas on paper. The narration will flow from her mind to the paper. This seems to be natural and is much easier than giving a blank piece of paper and asking the child to write on a topic he or she knows nothing about. That’s hard for ME!) 10-20 mins.

*  Nature/picture/music/poetry studies (We’re in a Charlotte Mason co-op every other Friday with 3 other families. Right now we’re studying birds, Howard Pyle’s art, George Gershwin’s music and Robert Louis Stevenson’s poetry. The kids work on these subjects in between our co-op dates.) 10 mins….longer for nature study.

* Typing Instructor (I ordered this typing curriculum from www.timberdoodle.com for about $10. My kids love doing it, and their typing speed is increasing. They also love the computer, and since I limit computer time, they feel that this isn’t really school.) 10-20 mins.

*  Math drills (I did this quite a bit last semester, and I need to prioritize it again. www.mathusee.com has an online timed drill. It’s very easy to use, and I usually have my child stand at the computer behind me while I type. She is usually trying to beat her previous day’s score, so I don’t want to bog her down with typing. It really works! If kids only do worksheet pages, their speed in addition/subtraction/multiplication/division will increase very slowly.) 10-20 mins.

*  Veritas Press history cards (My kids are learning chronological history cards. They read 3 per day and then review all the cards back to a certain point in time. They memorize the title of the card and the associated picture. It’s rather fast-paced, but I think it gives us a nice snapshot of a historical timeline. It has greatly helped me in my understanding of historical time periods.) 15 mins.

*  Memory work (We memorize geographical areas, prepositions, science terms, etc. We review these several times per week.) 15 mins.

*  Exercise (What more can I say about this? We’re not doing enough of it!) 30 mins.

*  Manners (My girls are extremely shy, so we have been practicing phone skills. I gave them a script to follow. I call our home phone# from my cellphone, and we review different scenarios over and over. I hope to see fruit!) 5-10 mins.

*  Nature study book (We have a nature study book with great drawings. My girls read 2 pages at a time. I hope this will ispire them to do more nature studies. Anytime I come across a new resource book that I want them both to read, I can add it to the list and tell them the # of pages.) 5-10 mins.

*  Miscellaneous (I’ve also added some items such as PLAY, HUG YOUR SISTER AND SOMETHING NICE TO HER, FILL UP WATER BOTTLE, SILLY/CRAZY TIME WITH MOM, CHORES, HANDICRAFT, etc.) They check it off when done….

Last week, we realized that I could use one sheet per week instead of one sheet per day, so I typed my list as follows:

Subject             Mon      Tues     Wed     Thurs    Fri        Comments

There are now A LOT of checkmarks at the end of the week. Having a weekly schedule makes it easier to keep up with which subjects need attention or which ones didn’t get completed the day before, etc.

Please note that we don’t do every subject every single day. There are some non-negotiables (math), but we do as much as time allows. Because of this spreadsheet, we are accomplishing more school mainly because they know what to do everyday, and they like making the checkmarks. Did you notice that many of these subjects take only 5 minutes? It’s easy to accomplish a short lesson versus a long lesson, and for the most part, that’s all they need. Also, I don’t have an excuse for “forgetting to do spelling” because it’s on this sheet everyday.

I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I can say with confidence that our checklist has made us much more efficient…both my girls and I. I also believe it’s excellent training for anything that we need to accomplish in life. My girls are developing positive habits which will hopefully impact them in the future. I want them to be good stewards of their time.  I haven’t always been a good steward of my time, and I still struggle with it. It’s only by God’s grace that He has given me ideas to implement. I believe the key to home schooling, and anything for that matter, is to be in His presence daily…in prayer and in His Word.

     My 9-yr-old daughter is fine with writing….if she’s writing about something that she wants to write about. I give her freedom to do this quite frequently, but today I wanted her to write about Treasures of the Snow. This is a Patricia St. John book that we recently read aloud, and the story was one of forgiveness and redemption. It was so powerful. Last week my daughter wrote about the character of one of the kids in the story before the climax, so today I asked her to write the last half about the change in the girl’s character after the climax.

     Tears started to stream down her face. The thought entered my mind…”What am I supposed to do? She’s in the 4^th grade, and this is a reasonable assignment. I need to help her move toward this type of writing.” I asked her to go outside and jump on the trampoline because the release of endorphins make her happy! Well, that is….they usually make her happy. She walked back inside, and I could tell she was still unhappy. I could see the dread in her eyes, so I grabbed her hands and started to do the tango with her. Unfortunately, she was a limp noodle, and the endeavor was not an easy one. I then asked her to lead me in the tango so I could be the “limp noodle.” Yeah! Laughter resulted!

We then moved to the table, and I sat down with her next to me and started asking questions. She easily narrated how Annette had changed. Why was it easy? Because this book is a living book! It moves the reader and sinks into one’s heart. After reading a living book, it causes a person to apply the morals of the story to her own life. This book moved both my girls toward a closer relationship with their Lord (and me too!) Back to the written narration….. I wrote down some points that she narrated, grouped them together per paragraph, and told her she had done a fine narration and would have no problem from this point on. She was off… About 15 minutes later, she gave me her notebook, and I told her she had done an excellent job. Hugs and smiles followed the words of affirmation.

     I will note that I have been doing dictation with her at least 3 days per week for a year. Dictation has helped pave the way toward fine-tuning her writing skills. She is no longer fearful of writing, but today she was fearful of writing something a little more complicated than usual. Also, I didn’t correct her spelling. We’ll work on the mispelled words during our spelling time tomorrow. For now, this written narration took a lot of her energy, and she feels successful. And…she has just experienced a lesson in perseverance!  

This was by far one of the best home schooling weeks my girls and I have had! I have been thinking about it all day while trying to figure out what “went right.” As I tucked my 9-yr-old in bed,  I asked her why the day had gone so well, and with much confidence, she said “Mom, we’ve all been praying that we would stop fighting and get along.”  “Oh, ye of little faith,” quoted multiple times by Christ…..I thought quickly to myself. Isn’t it amazing how God uses our children to help us “see?” 

We did make some changes, so I must give God the glory for giving me these ideas… 

1)       While attending a home school talk entitled “How not to get burned out in your home school,”  I proceeded to ask other mothers if they struggle with a lack of joy and laughter in their homes. I am so intense and focused on the work and getting on with our day. One lady responded “If you are not enjoying your kids, something is wrong.” That felt like a freight train running me over, but I took it seriously. I decided to implement a daily 10-minute “silly/crazy time with Mom” in the middle of our morning. As a matter of fact, I’ve scheduled it in our daily school Excel spreadsheet. It’s official now. I can actually have a little fun. As I tucked my girls into bed one night, I told them that I had a little surprise for them, but they wouldn’t see it until the next morning, and that it would be on their school spreadsheet. Needless to say, they were very excited when they read it. Since implementing this idea, I have jumped on the trampoline, chased them around the house playing monster (as our beagle, Jack, thinks I’m attacking them and therefore attacks ME!), and the old standby that every child loves…hide-and-go-seek. It has been rejuvenating, good for my spirit and a breath of fresh air for my girls. 10 minutes…amazing!

2)       I am a very health-conscious person, and I typically don’t use food for incentives, but I did today. After my girls and I have our worship time and devotion, the math books are open, and we’re on our way toward the daily academics. Math is a struggle. Doing one page of division can turn into 45 minutes.  Distractions, procrastination, inability to focus….it all drives me crazy. Today I told my girls that if they could do their math page within 15 minutes, they could split a small 60% cacao, Giradelli dark chocolate. (You know there’s health benefits from eating dark chocolate, right?) My 8-yr-old rushed through her page in 3 minutes and did not miss a problem. My 9-yr-old finished hers when the buzzer sounded. Both girls felt a major sense of accomplishment, and so did I! Was it the flavonoids, antioxidants or simply the endorphins being released as a result of their taste buds being excited? Whatever it was, attitudes were excellent, the day went smoothly, and I was in awe of how God did answer our prayers!

3)       I’ve figured out why I lose my children once they reach a certain point in their school spreadsheet. Their action items are too vague. They must depend on me to give them instructions, and they probably get tired of me talking so much! Today I rearranged some things on their list and added specifics. As a result, they were able to move through each item more quickly and efficiently. My 8-yr-old showed initiative by telling me “She wanted to check off every single thing on her spreadsheet today!” (including some things that are listed, but we never get to….like Typing Instructor.)

4)   One last thing recently implemented which has made a huge difference in our day is Mom/daughter devotion time. After my girls eat their breakfast and we sing a hymn together, we run upstairs to my bedroom and dive onto my bed. This is where we have our joint devotions. I sense that this is a special time for my girls. We take turns praying (1-praise to God, 2-thank you to God, 3-help me..., and 4-help someone else.) Each girl has her own John McArthur Study Bible, and we take turns looking up verses, reading, and discussing what they mean.

5)   Last, but not least, I must admit with humility... I've recently realized how much impact MY attitude has upon my girls. You know the saying "When Momma ain't happy, nobody's happy?" That is so true...as evidenced in my home. I have felt very convicted by this, and have improved my attitude. I've been giving my girls more grace. I've been kinder to them and have treated them with more respect this week. I've been softer with my voice. I don't typically yell at my kids, but I can speak very harshly, especially when we're in a hurry out the door. I still have high expectations of their character and will discipline as needed, but I've noticed that I've had to do much "less" discipline. The main thing that has changed is ME! This is definitely an area where I've had to repent, and ask God to change me. And....look what He's done so far!

I am still in awe..... We've never had a week like this!

I have been reading LindaFay's homeschool blog for at least 2 hours and have been inspired to create my own blog! So....here we go. Hopefully I will someday inspire someone struggling with things that the Lord has helped me to overcome. Have you seen the movie called "Pass it On" with Helen Hunt? That's what I'm doing...passing on the encouragement.....