Aug. 31, 2007 - Our Homes (with children in them)

I read this poem this morning and wanted to share it.

Excuse This House

Some houses try to hide the fact
That children shelter there;
Ours boasts of it quite openly,
The signs are everywhere.

For smears are on the windows,
Little smudges on the doors;
I should apologize I guess,
For toys strewn on the floor.

But I sat down with the children,
And we played & laughed & read;
And if the doorbell doesn't shine,
Their eyes will shine instead.

For when at times I'm forced to
Choose the one job or the other;
I want to be a housewife...
But first I'll be a mother.

-by Cindy Jacobs

Aug. 15, 2007 - Kids rooms cleaning zones

I read this on a website yesterday.  I think it may have been www.mymessyhouse.com .  I decided to try to implement it.  I think my kids will be less overwhelmed.  It breaks their rooms down into different zones that they clean each day. 

This is what I came up with for my 9 year old twin girls shared bedroom:

Monday – Laundry – Take all of your dirty clothes downstairs and sort them.  Put away clean clothes (ask Mom if you’re not sure where they belong).  Take out any clothes that you know don’t fit or are torn and give them to Mom.

Tuesday – Dressers – Clean off the top of dressers.  Straighten drawers.

Wednesday – Toy Boxes (Barbie box, Dress up box and toy box) – Remove any toys that are broken and bring them to Mom.  Take out anything else that doesn’t belong in them and put in the correct place.

Thursday – Bed – Clean out from under the bed.  Put anything that doesn’t belong in the correct place.  If your covers are messed up, then remake your bed correctly.

Friday – Chifforobe - Straighten drawers and shelves.  Remove anything that doesn’t belong and put away.  Make sure the door will close.

Saturday – Floor – If you keep up with your other chores daily and keep up with minor daily maintenance, the floor should be easy.  Place dirty laundry in baskets; throw away trash, put away toys, clothes and shoes.

                  Bench – Make sure throws and pillows are where they belong on the bench.  Fix canopy over bench.

Daily –

Keep a trash can with a bag in it at all times.  Throw trash away as soon as you see it.   Empty trash as soon as you see it is full.

Always put dirty clothes in the basket as soon as you take them off.

Put away toys and books as soon as you are finished using them.

Make your bed as soon as you get up.

When you leave the room and when you first come back in pick up what you see is out and it will not get messy.

This is for my 5 year old sons room.  Of course someone will have to read it to him and help him implement some of it.

Jul. 27, 2007 - My Schedule (In Theory)

Here is my attempt at structuring our school days this year.  I am going to pray for discipline and God's grace to help us stick to it.

6:00 a.m.    (Me)  Shower and Dress

6:30 a.m.     Fix Hubby's breakfast and lunch

7:00 a.m.    My quiet time

7:30 a.m.   (Me) Make bed, fix breakfast, help kids      (Kids) Wake up, make bed, get dressed

8:00 a.m.   (Me) Breakfast & school prep.      (Kids) Breakfast and clean up from breakfast

8:30 a.m.   Devotion, Worship, Bible reading(OT), Scripture memory and prayer

9:30 a.m.  (Me, M & KG)  Math-U-See            (KH)  Reading independantly

10:00 a.m.  (Me, KH)  Math-U-See      (KG)  Finish math & reading     (M) Educational video

10:30 a.m.  (All)  History and Science on alternating days     History - The Story of the World Vol. 1         Science- Apologia: Exploring Creation with Astronomy

11:00 a.m.  Phonics, Language, Copywork, Handwriting, etc.                     We will be using First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind and Simply Grammar for Language, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and Explode the Code for Phonics, and A Reason for Handwriting and handwriting worksheets from www.donnayoung.org .        Right now for spelling we will be using the dolch sight word list, words they mispell while writing and vocabulary words (I will be getting vocabulary words from our reading when we come across a word they don't know the meaning to).

11:30 a.m. Lunch (Everyone helps with clean up)

12:00 p.m. Chores

1:00 p.m. Free time for reading, library, computer, nature walks, outdoor or indoor play, educational televison, elective curriculum (Home Ec, art, music), naps,educational televison, errands, etc.

4:00 p.m.  Finish chores, Dinner Prep. and Free Time

5:30  Dinner

6:00 Free Time

7:00 (Me) Work on extra chore for the week (painting, cleaning out a closet, etc.)  (Kids) Baths, get ready for bed and clean room

8:00 Character training (www.characterjournal.com ,a different character trait or virtue each week or an area we have a need in), Family Bible reading (NT), Prayer, then get kids in bed

8:30 Free time alone or with Hubby

10:00 Bed time

Please keep in mind that this is a guide.  I will not be really strict about changing things at that exact time and we will be as flexible as we need to be.  This would be an ideal day (but how many of those do we actually have).  I just found that last year when we tried to stick with a schedule we got a lot more done.

Also, an idea that I have found works really well at our house. Remember my children are 9, 9 and 5.  I really need time in the morning when the house is quiet, this benefits me and them.  What they get from me is much better quality if I have this.  So, I set an alarm clock in their room for 7:30 and they are not allowed to come downstairs until it goes off (they are early risers).  They don't mind it at all.  Most of the time it wakes them up and I'm much more awake and smiley when they come down.  Maybe that will work for some of you too!