heartofdakota.com

Hello, everyone!

We've been following your suggestions and Julie's schedule for the past two days. I have continued with our 8 AM start time and we have completed by 11:45 AM both days! Whoo-hoo! Things are looking up, timewise!

I, however, feel very disjointed and unsettled during school-time, but I know I will get more accustomed to the schedule with more practice. My poor children think I'm losing my marbles (the few I have left ) because I keep looking at them, with schedule in hand, and asking, "Who are you, which guide are you in, and what are you supposed to be doing right now?" The children are overjoyed to actually have playtime again,instead of going from school, to lunch, to chores, etc. Now, if the Lord would bless us all with slightly cooler weather so they can run and play outside...

I can't thank you all enough for your help and encouragement. You have all been wonderful blessings, my sisters in Christ.

Amy,
Congratulations on your progress!

I have been homeschooling for a looooooooooong time, and I still describe myself as feeling "out of breath" for the first couple of weeks. But I've also homeschooled long enough to know that if we stick with the schedule, it falls into a routine after a couple of weeks and I actually DO have time to breathe, and even to fit in a bathroom break!

Keep up the good work...your whole family will benefit from your efforts!

tollhousemom

Oh Amy - I am so glad to read this! You really made this work - hats off to you! I always feel like I'm needing a schedule in hand at first too, and it takes some real thought to work through the beginning of the school year for me. Pretty soon though, I'm not having to look at the schedule so much anymore, and it just starts to flow as a routine instead. And that's when we've hit our groove. I'm so happy for you Amy, and I have all the respect for you in the world, as you have a bigger family than I do, and you are really doing a good job of teaching them all. Thank you so much for sharing here - it will be an encouragement to others who read this!

In Christ,
Julie

Way to go Amy!!!! I was laughing out loud reading your "Who are you, what guide are you in...?" comment. After a few weeks you'll remember - or they'll just bring you the books you need and you'll open them to the sticky note.

Kathleen

So glad you are making it work! I think you must be like a Supermom!! I would personally have the older children doing as much independent work as humanly possible! Is that bad? I don't think so.

For the younger ones, have you ever heard of blanket time? I do this with my youngest one. I get out a blanket, or it could be a rug, and set a timer for her to stay on that blanket for a certain amount of time. Usually at least 30 minutes. This is also a quiet time for her too. You can put books on the blanket, blocks, toys, whatever or they could even watch an educational movie or something, but they cannot come off the blanket. If they do, there are consequences, as this would be disobedience. It may sound a little confining, but it really works, and they actually come to enjoy blanket time.

Anytime the youngers are out of control or bored, you just say "Blanket time!" Then they get their blankets and choose what they want to do. The two of them could even play a quiet game together on one blanket. During this time, you can help the other one with any questions they may have about their lessons. I also have them do "coloring time" until they finish a page or until the timer beeps. Setting the timer for the structured time for the youngers really does work.

I can't stand interruptions, even though I know they are a part of life. I don't multi-task well either, but this method really helps me! Hope it helps you!