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I'm asking because we had a horrible day. The house was a wreck because we were so busy this weekend and took the day off yesterday to do some clothing shopping.

On a "normal" day we start school by 9am. The order was : history,bible, poetry, cursive, story, science, dictation, English, geo/art, math. But last week ds and I switched it a bit because when he got to math he was taking FOREVER because he didnt' want to do it. So now it's : history, poetry, bible,cursive, dictation, math, story, science, English, geo/art. That is working a bit better.

I'm also fiddling with our chore chart and adding laundry and dishes for the two olders. Trying to get a routine of doing chores after breakfast. I need help with chores, I'm tired of doing all the laundry and dishes everyday myself.

I'm often up by 8am at the latest, but a few days last week I stayed up too late and didn't get up until 8:30 or later and that throws off our day. I have been doing very well at no phone time for me until lunch and that helps a lot.

It's hard for ds (8) because his sisters are playing so he wants to play. They are 5 tomorrow, and 2. I sometimes send them upstairs to play and occasionally just put the tv on in my room , something to keep ds from getting so distracted. He complains that he hates school but he does really well.

I so would love to start at 9am and go to 11am then break for lunch for an hour and finish up and be done by 1 or 2, but that never happens! I get on the computer or they run off and play.

This is sounding so jumbled but thanks for reading. Any tips are appreciated. It's late and I need to get to bed so I can get up in the morning. I'll clarify if I need to later.

Thank you,
Katherine
ds 8 Bigger
dd 4 LHTH
dd2







d

oh my goodness! Do you live at my house? I could have written that myself. I've been trying to figure out how to be more productive in our school day and I keep hoping things get better when I get our HOD going.Obviously if I'm posting this late I'm not a morning person. God is still working on me in this area as both of my children are Morning people.That's why I've been drawn to this program.(haven't gotten it yet,waiting on God to provide $) It seems to be made for people like me. I just don't have the heart to force my kids to sit and do boring work for hours and hours.

I have two things that I do that are very simple but might help. I make sure everyone does their chores before they eat. That makes them get done early and also we need to finish with a set amount of school (as a rule but there are some legitimate exceptions of course) before you eat lunch. The other one is similar if they go outside to play a timer goes on and they need to come in when it goes off and get back to school. Then after that time no playing until school is done. Simple but it works for us.

Sometimes I think when there is a place that becomes a constant struggle it is a good place to insert a new rule and help them get used to it. I have one with special needs and it also effects her emotions so dawdling is huge for her. She would go until 6 PM every day if I would let her. I just can't do that because it wears me out so I found I had to establish some time rules and once we did that it really helped. Another thing is my older kids get up and get started on independent work sometimes before I am even awake or just getting ready. So school is the first thing they get started on in the morning usually taking a break for chores when they hear me getting close to getting up. But these are again my older kids and my younger ones believe me I still have to wake up a lot of times. Not much info but I hope something here helps.

Yes, some time rules would help. I'll think how best to do that for us. I'd like to work from 9-10:30 then take a 30 min. break.

DS gets up before me and wakes me up to ask if he can watch TV. I always say yes, I just want to know he's awake. He wakes at 6:30 or 7 almost every morning. I'm trying to get a rule that the TV goes off at 8am but it only works if I am up and going and not on the computer at 8 which has not been happening lately.

I like the early chore idea too, working on that.

Katherine,
I too am here to encourage you that you are not alone. Somehow the laundry at our house never gets put away and no matter how many times I clean off my kitchen table the clutter continues to pile up on it. Even though I get up reasonably early, I still have trouble getting started in the morning. I think we homeschoolers have the hard job of shuffling the full-time job of teacher with the 24-7 job of Mom and keeper of the home. I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like there are too many jobs, not enough time, and not enough rest. But the Lord encourages us in His word "Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Galations 6:9 I keep it in my signature to remind myself all the time.

I do have a plan and do my best to try to stick to it. If I have a day that I picked up the phone too many times instead of let the machine get it; or a little one is sick and the drive to the Dr takes half the day; or I get stuck answering e-mails; or the dh wants to skip school and take the dss camping; or we have to halt school to have a "clean the house it is way too messy" day; or life comes along... I brush myself off and tell myself today is a new day. Today I will stick to the plan.

I find it's important to continue with the curriculum until we finish (even into the summer). Amazingly at the end of the year we have more right days than wrong. My children are growing strong and learning. Homeschooling is so different than public school. I have my degree in education, and it has taken awhile to let that register. But it is important that we set goals for our kiddos and be consistant in reaching them. But for the homeschooler perhaps we have to play catch up on the weekend, in the evening, during the summer. Because, atleast at our home, something is always coming up. Sometimes I have to admit to myself that the Lord has control of my day and I have to submit to that. Other times I have to admit to myself that I haven't been a good steward with the time He's given. As Dory says, "Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming."

Our day if all gos according to "plan"
7:00 I check e-mail and do my quiet time
8:00 dss get up/ I start breakfast
8:30 Bible with 4 yr
9:00 Bible with older two dss
9:30 get dressed and chores
10:00 Math with 8 yr, 10 yr does independent work
10:30 Math with 10 yr, 8 yr does independent work
11:00 Letter activities and art with 4 yr
11:30 Reading/ DITHOR
12:00 History
1:00 Lunch
1:30 Story and quiet time with 4 yr
2:00 Language Arts with older two dss
3:00 Science
5:30 Dinner
9:00 Storytime for older dss and bedtime

i wish i had more advice. we try to have a routine where we start at the same time and it works as long as we don't have anywhere to go in the morning. Or sometimes with the weather being so nice (we live in NW Florida) we have been going outside and then try to cram lessons in the afternoon. it can be done but they seem to work better in the morning.

i have a 21 month old which makes it hard. if we can't get something done in morning we try to do it during her nap. When we do this, mom doesn't have as much time for chores. the kids can help with folding laundry and putting them on racks to dry but i have to do the rest.

Also i am the sole dishwasher. they are just too young. Not everything is plastic or they could help more. well i should say they aren't too young. they want to help, but like i said not everything is plastic. sometimes they can help put away stuff on the bottom cupboards. it is washing the dishes that takes the longest though.

Our t.v. is pretty close to where we do school so we don't have the option of putting on a video for the younger at times. at times i do wish we did. yet, it will only be a season.

Believe me when i say our house is a wreck too. Mainly the dishes. we have tried to do them right after dinner. but even when my husband is home in the evenings it seems like either he is with the 4.5 yr old and 6 yr old and myself with the 21 yr old or vice versa. so who is doing the dishes?? maybe dear hubby needs to figure out how to entertain them ALL at the same time. sometimes i think i have 4 children

I have just had to tell myself it is only a season. my kids will be old enough soon enough and then i will wish they were little again. at least i will have a cleaner home, then, right?

Just know you are not alone. if my kids were in school and i was home all day the house would be clean. But instead we have chosen to educate our children AND be at home at the same time. really it is two jobs at once.

i pray you find a rhythm that works and will find contentment

Jenn D.

I just want to jump on here and say that I also think it's the time of year. When school first starts everyone's excited ( Mom included) and everyone is doing their best because it is a new school year. But, by about mid October everyone (Mom included) starts relaxing a little. The copywork is not quite so neat, the independent work is not done quite as timely, etc. You know what I'm talking about, right?!
This is not an excuse. I just think we have to realize that little by little things slip, and we don't even notice it until we have a really bad day (like the one I had this week) . So, I have had to pull the reigns in and remind them and myself that this a great privilege and responsibility that God expects us to do our best at.
What I am trying to do is nip the little things in the bud that lead us down that slippery path to discouragement and despair. Things like little attitudes that lead to laziness, silliness that leads to frustration for Mom, interruptions that could be avoided, and lack of attention that leads to repeating directions, explanations, etc. These are just a couple of mine. Yours may be different, but it has helped me to pinpoint where my frustrations and aggravations were coming from and hitting them head on. IT IS NOT EASY! I am exhausted at the end of the day (I have 11, 10, 8, 5, and 22 mo dc), but I think they are getting the point that if we all work together, give Mom our attention, and work in a timely fashion, things will be better for everyone involved. Hope your days get brighter and better.

Keep on keepin' on,
RuthAnn

Thank you for your replies.

Yes, RuthAnn, I agree about the time of year, it was fun and exciting and now it's just plain and regular. I want to change up our schedule again.

I don't do much of a time schedule for school work, just an order. I think a lot of it is I've slept later the past week and we've not started until closer to 10am, we do better if we start at 9am. I do like my morning computer time though.

3muskateers, when you're working with one child, what are the others doing? I see that part of it they are doing inedependent work. What type of independent work?

If I work with my 4 yr old (woops, she turned 5 today) sometimes ds is okay doing his math or English in the other room and sometimes he wants to help me with her. And the 2 yr old just is around, in laps, maybe "drawing" at the table with us. It really does help when I send both girls upstairs to play. Maybe I could work on getting them to do that every day, if even for 15 minutes. DS focuses better when they aren't near him playing, because he just wants to play if he sees them playing.

We took today off for dd's birthday, that was a nice break. Maybe I'll do a relaxed day tomorrow.

Katherine
ds 8 bigger
dd 5 LHTH
dd2

3muskateers, so your day pretty much goes until 3:30 too. Do you modify if you have shopping or dr.apts?

Mabye we would do better if I built in a longer break around lunch. I so would like to be done by 1:00 but guess that is too much for ds? This is 3rd grade this year and more work so I think that is probably part of the adjustment for me.

Kiloyd,

3muskateers, when you're working with one child, what are the others doing? I see that part of it they are doing inedependent work. What type of independent work?

My youngest 4 plays by himself, watches videos, plays with brothers, or sits with me when he is not doing his LHTH or our story time. LHTH has really helped me have special focused time with him. Before, sadly he was kinda lost in the mix while getting the older two taken care of.

My older two are 8 and 10. They do Cheerful Cursive, flash cards/math drill, copywork, DITHOR (10 yr), Explode the Code (8yr), and math worksheets on their own. I write it on our wipe board or in an assignment book. They bring it to me to check and then check it off their book or the wipe board. They know to open their assignment book and check everyday. If for some reason I didn't get the assignment books finished I quickly write it on the wipe board.

When I am working individually with one the other works on something else until I can get to him. This has taken time for me to get the hang of (the one room school house idea). I have one look over dictation while the other does Rod and Staff with me. And vice versa. I try to do alot together science, history, poetry, Bible. At other times they play with their brother and wait for me to call them.

3muskateers, so your day pretty much goes until 3:30 too. Do you modify if you have shopping or dr.apts?

I try not to shop during the day. I shop at night and on weekends like other working moms. Honestly grocery shopping is the worst. But I gotta do it and be grateful for the food the Lord has blessed us with. I do modify for drs appts and life stuff. When we have to alter we do as much as we can in the afternoons or mornings (whichever half a day we have). I always want to have a nice long summer break, but it doesn't always happen. I think finishing by 1:00 or 2:00 is very doable if one is disciplined to begin early. I never can get going on time. So I too just try to stick to the order of the day and always complete the years curriculum before the next fall.

Hope that helps. I'm up crazy late tonight so it may sound like I need some sleep.

Seems like everything is usually a mess around here, too. That's something I just have to learn to accept. Our house is small. Four people live here. We homeschool. Dh is messy by nature. I constantly have to remind myself that peace does not come from a perfect home but from the Lord!

Our schedule fluctuates. Just when I think I've got a good thing going, something changes. But I found that to be true when the dc were babies! These days we start school between 9:30 and 10:00. My kids are more likely to play peacefully together or independently in the morning when we're all fresh, so that's when I get most of my housework done. Then ds and I do phonics because that's his least favorite subject ("It's boring!) If dd is content to sit with us on the sofa, we will go ahead and do storytime, Bible, and any other reading we need to do. If she's still happy, we'll include her in rhymes and music. If she's being a pill, I let them watch something together while I get lunch together. During dd's nap, ds and I do math, fine motor skills, and the rotating box. On a good day, I may catch a snooze myself!

After naptime, we go out to play!

Of course, all this could change at anytime due to the weather, illness, change in activities, mood...

On days when I feel frustrated cuz I just can't check off those boxes ( I am a checker!), I try to remember that if ds were in ps this year, we would just have different kinds of stress and frustration. My best friend, whose dc are in ps, was just here this morning moaning about that very thing!

So hang in there! All is well.

Homeschooling is different from other schooling because our chores, housework, etc. all effect our school day and the success we feel with it because our house IS our school. So, we do the chores first thing too. I cannot stress how helpful it is to train each child to do their own set of chores and to keep those same chores for at least a year. Before we start school, each of my dc are responsible for their own hygiene, their own rooms, and their own chores. I try to give them chores that drive me nuts if they are not done first thing in the morning. For example, the 6 yo unloads the dishwasher and takes out the kitchen garbages. My 9 yo lets out and feeds the dogs, wipes down the bathroom counters and mirrors, and has one other rotating chore. We practiced all summer, but they have 15 minutes for their hygiene/rooms, 15 minutes for their morning chores, and 15 minutes to eat.

Having a schedule in place that fits our needs is the next huge help. Some people are morning people and some are night people. I'm a morning person, so my schedule reflects that. My sister is a night person, so her schedule reflects that. I need to have school done by lunchtime because I have a part-time job, and because I begin "shutting down" by the afternoon. By night, I'm a mess and need to just do some non-thinking type things. Making a schedule with yourself in mind is very helpful. If you are not a morning person and can handle school finishing later cheerfully, I wouldn't try to make yourself start school early. If every day your day is starting late and you don't really deep down want to change that because you LIKE starting late, I think it's a good idea to just make your schedule out to start late. As far as schedules go, it seems to work best to follow the same order for the boxes each day, but not to necessarily have exact set times for doing them because we certainly all get "off" because life happens. So, just keeping the order of teaching the same and keeping a brisk pace is very helpful. I use the time increments for boxes suggested on this site and try to adhere to those as we plan our day.

Finally, the last huge help is a unified family effort to pick up the house before bed. We call this cleansweep. I got the idea from my brother-in-law (Mike) , and it works great. The dc "sweep" through the house and clean before bed. One is assigned to each floor, and is responsible for sweeping through the room and picking up so it is neat for the next morning. We've always had an early bedtime for the dc (7:30 PM or 8:00 PM), and then they have quiet time in their rooms until 9:00 PM. If they come out or are loud, it's lights out and to sleep early.

These few things have made a BIG difference in how our day flows. So, that is what our day really looks like - following this routine with school from 8:15 AM to around 12:30 PM. I don't leave the house other than for errands which I do one afternoon a week and have a babysitter come for that afternoon. This has been a huge help and is well worth the money because I get all of the groceries and put all appointments on that afternoon. There are a lot of great ideas on this thread already - hopefully something here helps. I think all of our days probably look quite different from one another's - but finding what works best for you is what will make you and your family the happiest is a pretty important consideration, so you are wise to ponder this. That is something I do every summer - reflect on how the last school year went, and try to make changes to make the next year even better.

In Christ,
Julie

Thanks Julie, your reply was very helpful. All the replies were.

We have a subject order that ds helped pick but not a timed order because some days different subjects may take longer.

I would really like to have school done by lunch or only have one thing left but ds wants more of a break. We're figuring out which chores work the best and I'm having them do them in the morning if I can. I just need to get myself up earlier, well on time and that will help a lot.

Katherine