Friday, April 11, 2008 Ultimate Homeschool Expo - Giveaway!
I am so excited to share with you another giveaway from Cindy Rushton! This one is a workshop on scheduling and it is awesome! I am also including an article Cindy wrote on scheduling that will complement this workshop. This is just a sampling of the many workshops that will be included in the Ultimate Homeschool Expo coming up April 28 - May 3. The neat thing about how Cindy is setting this Expo up is that you pay the one-time fee for the membership website and have access to ALL the Expo goodies indefinitely! You can download all the free goodies in the Mommy Grab Bag (which will include several of my ebooks as well as hundreds of items from others as well!), listen to the mp3 workshops, read the articles, etc. at your convenience. Cindy has just done a wonderful job setting this all up and it will be worth your time to take a look! Click here to find out more about the Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2008!
Ok... now for today's goodies.....
Scheduling ABC’s Audio Workshop with Cindy Rushton
Let Cindy take you by the hand and show you secrets to
developing a schedule that works for you and your family!
Download by Mp3
http://tinyurl.com/2cpsb9
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Psst! A Secret to Scheduling Success!
by Cindy Rushton
Want to know one of my biggest secrets to homeschooling the easy way? Want to know one of my biggest secrets to scheduling success? This one secret can make your daily schedule finally fit. It can end your scheduling frustrations forever.
I am not a "schedule by the minute" type of person. (GRIN) I fail with schedules like that. They don't meet my needs. My life includes too many areas that have different needs daily. Timed schedules just do not work for me.
So, what has worked for me? Setting up a framework to my day. This is one incredibly powerful tip. It can make a HUGE difference in your day as well. It just might be the secret that has alluded you through the years.
Wondering what I mean by a "framework" for your day? By framework, I mean a general flow to each day that includes all of the areas of my life that I juggle. But, how do I do that? Here are some quick tips:
1. Decide what should be included in your daily schedule. Look at what you are all about. Look at your goals, activities, values, priorities. Look at your husband's schedule--wrap everything around him. Look at what you need to include in your day to get everything done--quiet times, lessons, homemaking, read alouds, work, etc. This is important. Otherwise, you will include things in your schedule that may not be the very best choices. And...one big risk...you may never get around to the things that matter the most. Decide what really needs to be a part of each and every day for your day to be successful.
2. Decide the best time for the tasks you need to complete each day. This will help you get a good flow to your day. For me, quiet times are just best at the beginning of the day. Chores are great right after them--I need them completed so my brain can focus on the table time. Our business work and errands need to be done in the early afternoon. Read alouds are best before bedtime. You get the picture. When I tried to read aloud over lunch, we had so many distractions that we could never fit it in. Trying to work the business in the morning would never work...and of course, we couldn't take care of business errands at night. See how important it is to really look at the best time to get tasks done. Look at the best time for all of the tasks that need to be done. Look at the best flow to get everything done easily each day. You may not get this right at the beginning, but you will get closer and closer each day. You will love it!
3. Balance your day. Don't let any one area of your life get out of balance. Everything that we do in our day has a tendency to grow into a big time thief--homeschooling, homemaking, home business. Those important aspects of our life can easily grow out of their boundaries. While I love each of them, they can get rather exhausting if we don't keep them in balance with the other things that we have to do. The best way for me to stay balanced is to be reasonable about what I expect for each day, keep things simplified and easy, and keep everything inside of its time of the day. I don't mind those days that we want to dig deeper in a topic that we are studying. I also don't mind those days that we tackle a messy room. I don't even mind those days that we have a special business project that needs more time. But, if those areas were demanding extra time every day, it would be easy to get burned-out, frustrated and battle with our time each day. Want to make it work? Find a balance for your day.
4. Set up routines. Talk about a HUGE help for me. Without routines, things can get so frustrating every day--there are constant decisions, there is more strife in the family, there is no consistency. Routines help us to make things go faster, without the strife and struggle of figuring things out DAILY. Routines reduce the stress of making decisions daily. Routines help our children to know what to expect so they can move through all of the things that they need to do each day. Routines are crucial. They assure a smooth ride. They keep us on track. They keep us out of the ruts. They take us in the direction that we want to go. One of the toughest things I ever did was develop routines in my home. However, one of the most rewarding things that I ever did was develop routines in my home. When I got very, very sick, everything kept going. During those times that I have been stretched, things kept on going. All because of routines. Set up routines. Then, your children will know what to expect. They will learn what is next and next and next. The decisions will be made for you. They will be able to "just do it" with or without you. Set up routines for your family. Develop one set of routines at a time--look for the time of day that things go haywire. If it is morning, for example, look at all that needs to be done. Brainstorm. Make a to-do list for that routine. Write it out. Work it as a checklist until it becomes a habit. If you see other things that need to be added into that set of routines, add them. Tweak it until it is smooth. Then, move to the next troublespot. Do this for all of the times of your day. Watch to see how much it helps!
5. Prune anything that is not necessary. Truth is, we cannot do everything. What we do in our day keeps us from doing other things. It zaps our time, energy, strength. We need to be picky about what we add to our day. Every single thing that we do costs us something. We need to constantly prune those things that are not necessary. Prune anything that hinders, distracts. Be honest. Be ruthless. Prune. Even the good things! Go for the best!
6. Take the squeeze out of your schedule. Watch out for the squeeze in your schedule. Don't fill every minute of your day with something to do. Why? Because there are always going to be crisis situations, interruptions, melt-downs, delays. If we have our schedule maxed out, we will constantly be overwhelmed, overworked, and squeezed. Find ways to take the squeeze out of your daily schedule--cut out extra running, watch out for time thieves, prioritize your daily to-do's (and eliminate any that make the day too tight), cut out extras that are unnecessary, keep the day simple and easy. Keep a relaxed atmosphere. Constantly, take the squeeze out of your daily schedule.
7. Stay flexible! Stay adaptable! Actually, one of the reasons that we really want to develop a framework to our day is so we have more flexibility, so we have more "space" in our day to be adaptable. We want to be able to seize opportunities that come our way. We want to be able to slow down and enjoy our children. We don't want to miss teachable moments. These days just go by too fast. We want to enjoy every second. We want to make sweet, sweet memories. This requires that we stay flexible and adaptable. So, take the time to develop your own framework to your day. Do the tough work. Get your plans together. Work on these suggestions. Then, stay flexible. Stay adaptable. Grasp on to all that God has in store for you!
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About Cindy Rushton…
Cindy Rushton is the hostess of the Ultimate Homeschool Expo, the very first online homeschool convention. She is recording Preview Chats for the Ultimate Homeschool Convention RIGHT NOW! Join her wonderful guests FREE for the next weeks as they count down to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo (April 28-May 3, 2008--BUT! NEVER ENDING because it is an ONLINE Convention!). Get your ticket NOW and receive her awesome A Quick Start for Notebooking Mini-Set FREE today! Check out all of the details here:
THE ULTIMATE HOMESCHOOL EXPO 2008
Watch for more giveaways in the next couple of weeks as we count down to this awesome event!
P.S. Just a reminder that if you are interested in getting $25 for FREE, check out my blog post here!
(Deadline is April 15th!) |
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Wednesday, March 12, 2008 AWESOME Science DVDs!
 
 
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Moody Classics, 19 DVDs
By Moody Publishers
Marvel at amazing insects, animals, and fish. Journey through the human circulatory system. Discover why the Incan culture mysteriously declined. And through it all, rejoice in the majesty of God! Packed with fascinating facts about physics, biology, astronomy, and more, these award-winning films offer your whole family a balanced approach to science, while giving credit to the Creator. 19 DVDs, 28 minutes each. |
We were recently able to purchase this wonderful set of Moody Science DVDs! We have borrowed them from our church library for a while, but are now so thankful to have our very own set. Not only are these DVDs full of science to learn about, but there is always a spiritual application at the end of each video. Click on the link or graphic above to check these out at CBD! |
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Saturday, November 10, 2007 Neat Bible Study Website & Software - FREE!
You can use this software online, or download it to use on your computer. Take a look at this Bible study website/software if you don't already have one you use.
Here is the website:
http://net.bible.org/home.php
If you want to download the NET Bible, then click on the Download button at the top of the webpage at the link above. |
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Saturday, November 10, 2007 FREE Library Software
Download this free software that you can use to organize all your books, DVDs, CDs, etc.! This might be a wonderful way to organize things for your homeschool! Take a look!
Here is the website where you can download this free software:
http://www.getlibra.com/ |
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Saturday, November 10, 2007 Neat Bible Geography Website
You have to check out this website! You can put in any book and chapter of the Bible and a map will come up along with the Bible text. Geographical names are linked so you can click on a place and it will show you on the map. What a great was to actually "see" where you are reading about in your Bible reading! Take a look!
Here is the website:
http://www.biblemap.org/
Note: This is a "beta" version, so it may not be perfect. They are still working out all the "bugs"...still awesome though! |
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Friday, November 9, 2007 Our Thanksgiving List
We are taking a break from some of our usual school work to do some Thanksgiving projects. One thing we decided to do was to make a list of things we are thankful for. We have a marker board in the kitchen that I cleaned up and wrote "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good-Psalm 136:1" at the top. Each day we try to write a few things we are thankful for.
Having this list before us each day has been a constant reminder of how MUCH we have to be thankful for. The kids have had fun running to the board to add an item throughout the day. Why not give this a try? |
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Monday, November 5, 2007 Homeschooling Through High School - Super Seminar!
I have been so blessed by the ministry of Cindy Rushton over the years. Her workshops are awesome....so helpful and encouraging. Well....this weekend, Cindy Rushton is hosting an amazing workshop. Through the years she has had so many questions about homeschooling through the high school years. Well, she has assembled some of her dearest friends who happen to be the homeschooling high school gurus that you will want to learn from. They will be joining Cindy online all week for various sessions. You can attend these sessions for free or purchase a ticket to access the membership site.
Go to this link for all the details!
http://www.CindyRushton.com/HighSchool.html |
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Monday, October 29, 2007 FREE Printable Worksheets Monday, October 29, 2007 FREE Music Theory Handbooks Monday, October 29, 2007 Online Grammar and Writing Handbooks Tuesday, May 23, 2006 FREE Printable Monthly Calendars!
I just wanted to let everyone know that I have posted some FREE printable monthly calendars
on my website! I have monthly calendars for 2006, 2007, 2008, and
2009! They are all PDF files, ready to download and print!
If you are like me, you are mapping out school for next year and I
thought these calendars would come in handy. Enjoy!
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Monday, May 1, 2006 Awesome Blog for FREE Homeschooling Materials! Monday, May 1, 2006 FREE Clean Heart, Clean Home Organizer! Friday, March 10, 2006 Preparing My Children for LIFE!
This
past week I have spent some time doing some reading and praying.
My oldest (daughter) turned 13 last Friday! I can't believe how
time flies! As I look at the time that I have left with her at
home, I want to make the most it. It is so tempting to follow the
ways of the world...to just look at all the "credits" she should have
and then plan a bunch of stuff that doesn't really relate to her
interests or her giftings/talents.
So...I decided to take some time to go back and read over Barb
Shelton's book, Senior High: A Home-Designed Form-U-La. Again,
God is using Barb to point me to Jesus..the only One who can give me
direction in this path of homeschooling my children. I also
recently purchased Cindy Rushton's ebook, High School: Yes! It CAN Be
Easy Too! It also has been refreshing and encouraging me to look
to Him for guidance.
I don't know what the next few years will hold for us, but it is in His
hands. I know that He will guide us as we desire to prepare our
children for a LIFE that will please Him.
Where are you? Are you fearing men...fearing all the
"requirements" set forth by this world? Or are you fearing the
Lord and walking in obedience to *HIS* Way? These questions I
have asked myself....how about you? Where are you at? Jesus
said, "Come to me...." It is that simple. He is waiting.
Jesus, I come.....
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