I have decided to take a break from blogging. Between home, school, work, and health I feel that the self-made obligation that I placed on myself to try to keep up my blog is just unrealistic. So I have decided to just post when the mood strikes. Even though over the last few months readership may have gone up, the feedback has declined severely, probably due to lack of my own ability to participate. I feel the quality of my posts have lost my original intent for starting a blog. I will try to keep adding freebies as I can, including the monthly journal writing prompt calendars. I am working to set up another place where you can access these as well as my e-books more readily instead of searching for what you need. I so appreciate those who have been with me for years. Your friendships have meant so much to me. I will continue to visit your blogs as time allows and promise to keep you in my prayers.
(On a side note: I am working to put all of 2010's prompt calendars into an e-book with vertical and horizontal versions and journaling pages. For those of you who don't want to wait for the freebie calendars to be posted, it will be for sale for $3.99 very soon on my other site, Proverbs 22:6 Academy. )
Awww... New Year's, the time to set new goals for yourself. I like so many others out there, am setting new goals for myself and for our homeschool. I want to be more organized in the next year. My life is really busy. Besides homeschooling (and of course taking care of kids and house all day), I also work from home. I feel like I have very little free time. In addition to this, I am determined to get myself healthy this years which is going to take extra time (to learn more about this, check out Get Fit in 2010!) and to add Bible study into my day (yes, this has been sadly lacking), so I need to get really organized to add a few more hours into my time. Here are some resources and tips on getting organized for the New Years.
Get your household in order-
If your household is falling apart, your homeschool probably will too. Get your household routines down, so you can spend the time in your homeschool that you need.
Some helps for getting your household organized-
A home management binder- A home management binder will help you keep all your schedules and important information together. To learn how to put together a home management binder and to get resources, check out this link:http://bit.ly/46irl0
Motived Moms- I LOVE this program!!! Motived Moms is a very inexpensive program that you can buy that helps you organize your house work and to remind you daily of the tasks that need to be done. It breaks the work into simple chunks, so not to overwhelm your schedule. You can learn more about Motived Moms at their website: Motived Moms
1. Make sure you set aside time for homeschool. Try to avoid interuptions during this time. Your homeschool will stay much more organized if your time is not always being interupted. Here is an article on How to Avoid Interruptions while Homeschooling.
2. Keep your homeschool stuff in one spot. Whether you have an actual schoolroom or not, it is a good idea to keep your things together so you are not using valuable homeschool time searching for what you need.
3. Prepare ahead of time. Have copies and printouts already prepared before hand. Doing this during school time, will greatly impact the time that you are using for schooling.
One last thing- if you have a child that has trouble focusing on school work and has trouble completing it in a timely maner, then you may want to consider a small reward for when they complete their work. This could be like an hour of tv time, computer time, video games or outside time, something that they look forward to when they get all their work completed. This may help the day go more smoothly.
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in classical
Happy New Year's everyone! I hope your holidays were infused with memories. There is always a sigh of relief that comes after Christmas Day as you realize that the hustle and bustle is over for another year.
Now it is time to think about the beginning of a new year. I always feel that New Year's is similar to the first day of the school year. There is a sense of anticipation of the plans you have for the New Year as well as their being a sense of newness. You can let go of any negativity that happened during the last few months and start all over again in January. You can start with a fresh slate.
The New Year is a time to take stock of all that has happened in the first part of the school year. Are you happy with the results? If you are not happy with how the last few months have played out then take time to think long and hard as to why, exactly, things are not working.
Is the problem with your curriculum? Is it too workbook-y for your child? Is it too teacher-intensive for you? Does it meet your child's learning style, as well as your teaching style?
Is the problem with your schedule? Is it too rigid, too time-intensive? Or is it too relaxed to the point that you aren't getting anything done? Maybe a rhythm-type schedule would work better for you. Many homeschoolers start their learning time first thing in the morning. Maybe that doesn't work for you. Maybe starting later in the day, even in the afternoon would work better for your family. After starting school in the morning for 5 years, our family has started our learning time after lunch and that has worked so much better for us
The problem might just be with your philosophy. It just might be that the way you are educating your child resonates with you but not so much with your children. I found myself in that situation. A Classical Education resonates so strongly with me. I know that if I could be educated over again, I would love to be educated in this manner but it doesn't work for all of my children. So I have spent this last year trying to think if it is possible to achieve a happy medium. So far, it isn't working very well, but I am not giving up.
I want to encourage you if you are having difficulties in your learning time, to take the next few days and think deeply as to what exactly is the problem. Then slowly try to come up with some solutions. These ideas might not work, so be ready to go back to the drawing board and fool around with more ideas. It is very much a trial and error process but once you hit pay dirt, it is so rewarding for both yourself and your children.
Julia lives on the Canadian Prairies with her husband, homeschooling their 3 children (10,8,6) and is attempting to give them a Classical Education. You can read more at her blog.
Last Day to enter the latest give-way on The Homeschool Lounge! I received my planner last week and I LOVE IT! It has absolutely everything you could hope for in a planner, made perfect for homeschool moms to stay organized. The style and format of this planner is so unique, like nothing I have ever seen before. Read on below to learn more ...
If you describe yourself as 'just too busy', your 'just too busy' to not have a plan! Don't let 2010 run off without you! Eliminating the chaos altogether will only make life too regimented and mundane, simplify it so you can get a chance to enjoy all the belly laughs along the way.
The most amazing, unique, marvelous, out of this world feature - the one that sets this planner on a whole new level - is the format. It gives you the benefits that a 'week at a view' planner offers (the space to plan) while at the same time keeps the entire month in view so you can ensure that all your week plans coincide with whats ahead. No more flipping back and forth!
What it offers on a monthly planning level:
There are 2 planning pages at the beginning of each month that have space for financial planning, goals (personal, marriage, family and household), lesson plans...
On a weekly planning level:
set a daily top priority
supper planning
phone calls
to do list
The overall size of the planner is 8x10, the goal was to make it as small as possible while still allowing the space for your entire world to fit!
* THE UNIQUE FORMAT REVEALED *
YOUR MONTH/WEEKS
No more flipping back and forth, the month is either straight across the top of the page and the each week for the month is across the bottom or vice versa so the planner isn't bottom or top heavy.
You have the room to plan your week . . . all the while keeping your full month in view so nothing slips past you!
To enter this giveaway please "Attend" this event by selecting the "Attend Event" option to the right! A big thanks to http://www.chaossimplified.com for wonderful giveaway!
I can't believe she's already over a week old... why does the time keep going faster? As you can imagine, things have been a LITTLE crazy and busy in our home, so until I can post anything, here is a video my Beloved made...
No Homeschooling, No Christmas for the Johansson Family
Posted By Gena Suarez, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
As you celebrate Christmas this year, please remember all the parents who are still fighting for their right to homeschool, and for parents who have had their children taken from them by force without just cause because they homeschooled their children--like the Johansson family of Sweden. This Christmas we can rest easy knowing that the gifts that we bought for our children will help further their education or offer a new way for your family to have fun together. The Johanssons have been denied Christmas with their only child, and so much more.
I've done this each year for a few years now. These are the final days of my Video Countdown to Christmas that started on December 15th. Each day I'm uploading an inspirational or comedic video that shares the spirit of Christmas with my readers. Check it out on Communication FUNdamentals!
Song for a Dark Queen A Swiftly Tilting Planet To Kill A Mockingbird Beowolf The Sword and the Circle Leven Thumps Masada Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight Unveiling Islam The Sword, The Ring, and The Parchment
Richie's Reading List
The Tough Winter Pompeii...Buried Alive The Sword and The Tree Be A Wolf Young King Arthur Look What Came From France Favorite Fairy Tales Told in France Brenden the Navigator The Horn of Roland
