Tag Archives: Home school scheduling

Hint for Home Schoolers – Saturdays

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Saturday is the day where many home schools “fill in the gap.” That is – get to the stuff not compatible with the ordinary school week. I stress here – I am only sharing with you what worked for our family. Every family is different, with unique needs and interests.

The bread machine at our house chugs away almost every day of the week. But – I really enjoy baking, and my family loves eating what I bake. Depending on other activities – I make it a point to bake something tasty every Saturday. Sometimes I bake in the morning, sometimes afternoon. Sometimes – all day long – as in the case of holidays and special occasions.  Pies, cookies, or cakes. . . from scratch. Here is where I strive for variety. The quantity aimed for was an amount that would last until the next Saturday. Once in awhile there was a sudden invading army of teenagers, and what was intended for a week only lasted a couple of hours! But most of the time, the calculations were correct.

If you choose to involve your kids in an extracurricular activity – Saturday is the ideal day for it. It was important to us that our children be competent swimmers – so all were enrolled in swim classes at some point. If you can get them in at the same time, with different class levels – it becomes easier. Saturday is also a good day for any music class, horseback riding, or whatever else is right for your family. Again – if you have more than one child – try to consolidate. For instance, while one of my kids was having a guitar lesson, another was having voice lessons in the same music academy.

I will add this caution – it is far more important for your kids to become grounded in the Word of God, than to become a star athlete, math genius, or musical child prodigy.

Try to adhere to the same sleeping and eating schedule that you follow during the week. You can avoid a lot of trouble if you do, and may quite possibly ward off some infections ( the ones that come when kids don’t eat right or get enough sleep.) Again – teens and pre-teens need a LOT of sleep. They are the ones most likely not to get enough.

Saturdays should be enjoyable, not stressful. Don’t try to squeeze so much in that you don’t know if you are coming or going! Be creative – some piano teachers will even come out to your house! Your kids do not need more than one or two extra curricular activities a week at the most. Make Jesus the priority – not recitals, trophies and certificates.

And – the horror of it all – Saturday afternoon is  the best time for “practice driving” with teenagers. [God help you]

Helpful email subscriptions:

Daily Focus Devotional from Alpha Omega Home School  (very fortifying) http://www.aophomeschooling.com/

Off the Grid (health and self sufficiency articles from a conservative, Christian perspective)  http://www.offthegridnews.com/

I encourage you try a “baking Saturday.” The way to man’s heart may be through his stomach, but don’t underestimate the effect of hot cookies or brownies on the rest of your family as well.   The routine of Saturday baking is a wonderful tradition, that reaches back hundreds of years. It satisfies a longing for simpler, unhurried times. Ask yourself – will your adult children remember you driving them to soccer practice? Or will they remember long talks over homemade peanut butter cookies and milk? [My husband’s testimonial -“Have a hot pie off the rack, you’ll never go back.” He loves, loves, loves hot cherry- apple pie with ice cream!]

To emphasize how serious I am about this – one of the therapies employed at a local children’s home (for severely emotionally disturbed kids) is having female volunteers bake cookies for and /or with the kids,  in a one- on- one setting.  The therapists haven’t even come close to understanding why this means so much to these poor young people.

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Galatians 6:9

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Recipe for cherry-apple pie

  • pie crust for double crust, 9 ” pie
  • 1/4 tsp. almond extract
  • 3 lbs. peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 21 oz.  can cherry pie filling
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

Place baking sheet in center oven rack (I line mine with foil.)  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare homemade or store bought pie  crust, adding the almond extract.  If your kitchen is warm, divide the dough into two, one slightly larger than the other, flatten into disks and store in the fridge.

Spray 9″ deep dish pie pan with cooking spray.  In large bowl, toss apples with sugar and cinnamon.  (I use a mechanical apple peeler – a truly wonderful doo-dad!)  Stir in pie filling.  On floured surface, roll out larger dough disk into 12 ” circle, and fit into pan.

Spoon the fruit mixture into pie shell.  Roll out the remaining dough into 11″ circle and fit over pie, or cut into strips and weave lattices.  Cut slits for steam to escape if using solid top crust.  Seal, trim, and crimp edges, using ice water as “glue,” if needed.  Lightly brush crust with beaten egg.

Bake on hot baking sheet for about 1 hour, 15 minutes.  After the first 20 minutes, I always rotate the pie, and then tent it loosely with foil for the remainder of baking time.

I do not add any “thickeners,” such as flour or cornstarch to this recipe, because the canned cherry pie filling usually does the trick.  But brands vary!  I use Comstock, which is very dense.    If you are concerned about too runny pie filling – don’t add more than a tablespoon or two to the filling, or it might get gluey in texture.  Also , do not attempt to substitute another apple for Granny Smiths in this recipe, or else it will be too sweet.  It is very important that you set this pie on a hot baking sheet at the start of the baking time – or the center will not bake!  Not only that -it  helps keep your oven cleaner.  This type of fruit pie is notorious for bubbling over.   Happy baking – but a warning – if your spouse is a fruit pie lover, you may find yourself making this one a lot!

sage

Hints for Home Schoolers – The Rest of the Day

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The third installment will address the third part of the day. By dividing your day into small but defined segments – you will feel less overwhelmed, and have a series of small successes each day! And really, each small success is a huge triumph, when you consider that you are doing a woman’s most important work – raising Godly children for His honor and glory.

swans

Now that free time is over, if you have older children – they will still be working in required subjects. Various state laws sometimes require that home schools be in session for the same amount of hours that public schools are. Most home schoolers find a way to comply, without chaining their teens and preteens to a desk all day. My kids were in a self directed program for middle and high school, which only required my supervision, not direct teaching.

11. Attend to any remaining subjects after lunch. For us, this was time for history, science and supplemental subjects like health, art and music.

12. Depending on how many kids you have – this could take 1 – 2 hours altogether, with very short breaks.

13. By around 2:30, even the older kids should be finished with everything except what we term as “seatwork.”

14. We would all have a light snack between 2:30 – 3:00.

15. From 3:00 – 5:00 is complete free time. Even for mom. Time to sew, garden, play piano, or – take a nap! Many times we all hit the family room with our afghans and snoozed for varying lengths of time, depending on age. Sometimes a teenager needs a nap more than a toddler! And – because dinner was always in the crock pot, this was very, very stress reducing.

16. Twice a week, during the afternoon free time period, was an outing. One was a necessary grocery shopping trip. The other was for a weekly field trip. This consisted of driving to the library, or park. We varied parks, so there was plenty of free diversion. Even in winter, we loaded sleds into the vehicle and spent a lot of time outdoors.

17. By this time – everyone is ravenous – and the wonderful smell coming from the crock pot is enough to send up a cheer from everyone!

18. After dinner and clean-up, is what I like to call “quiet time.” Quiet playing, reading and studying. Teenagers will have a lot of written work to satisfy diploma requirements. Immediately after dinner was the best time to finish copious amounts of high school work. This is not the time for younger children to be screaming and running around the house. It would be a very good time however, for reading library books, or watching videos. I have very strong objections to exposing kids of any age to television as it is now. There are many options – such as DVDs from the library, or something like Netflix, which gives you complete control.

19. Younger ones gets baths around 7:00 – 8:00. Then, I don’t know about yours – but mine always had to run around after baths! Every night. (usually wanting to be chased ) And, of course, a bed-time snack.

20. After everything settles down, I make dinner in the crock pot for the next day, and put it in the fridge to start in the morning.

Yes, bread machine. Another home school helper extraordinaire. Saves tons of money, especially if you want your family to have pure food. And yes, I load this up at the same time as the crock pot, and set the delay timer. You can not imagine how easy it is to get your family dressed, washed-up, and to the breakfast table when there is the aroma of hot cinnamon raisin bread calling to them.

Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

Proverbs 31:28

Hints for Home Schoolers – De-clutter!

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Is your lifestyle making homeschool more difficult than it has to be? Do you spend precious time looking for things when you could be being productive? I’m going to share a few of the things I learned over the years that kept me sane. We’ll go through each letter of the word de-clutter.

snail

D – is for determination and discipline. Both are required to go the long haul in your successful homeschool. If you are bogged down with too much stuff, too many activities, too little space, too little money . . . now is the time to determine in your mind to change things. Make a firm decision to pare down to the truly necessary, which will make room for things like time for meal planning, organized shopping, cleaning, and school work! Don’t wait for a special day to make the determination decision – it should be a life long commitment.

mess

E – is for excavate and eradicate. You may say, “Well. that should be obvious!” But you might be surprised to know how many families have a home school that looks something like this or even worse. Holding onto garbage, yes – some of your kids drawings are superfluous – will overrun you in no time. If you are schooling more than two, the paperwork alone can pile up dreadfully in just a week or two. Determine what is necessary to keep, and pitch or recycle the rest. Eradicate the unnecessary stuff. This also applies to clothing and groceries.

containers

C – is for categorize and contain. Even if you are blessed to have a dedicated room for school, its a very good idea to keep a separate container for each child’s work. Especially records that need to be kept to satisfy state requirements. One mom I know has a laundry tub for each of her kid’s books and paraphernalia because they do their school at the kitchen table. The baskets are slid behind the couch when school is over. No one will spend time looking for their science book if it is in their special container.

L – is for lists and labels. One of the greatest pieces of advice I can give you is the notepad one. Get in the habit of carrying a small notepad and pen in your pocket all day (I wear an apron with pockets) and you will never have to rely on memory again. It will be so simple to just jot down whatever it is, and not even skip a beat while you are pushing someone on the swing, or working fractions, or making dinner. Write it down! The other point to this section is labeling. Labeling everything, will make organizing a breeze. Even if your kids have a juice cup to drink from during the day – label it. This goes for their lists of chores as well. Each one should be written down with their name on it.

U – is for utilize and unburden. That may sound contradictory, but the two terms are connected. If you follow the ideas listed before, you will better utilize your time. By taking advantage of time saving devices like shower sprayers, certain household chores can become self cleaning. In addition – using an accredited curriculum can save hours and hours of lesson planning and stress.

timer

T – is for timers and tempers. This is another item I have in my apron pockets. By timing everything, from tidying the kitchen, to gardening, to reviewing flashcards – using a timer prevents overload. Specifically, when a child is not understanding a concept, by limiting the time to 15 minutes, you can circumvent frustration, – both yours and the child’s. In the same way, anything from ironing to penmanship practice will seem much more manageable when the timer is set. You simply don’t go past it! Even morning chores become less arduous when a simple timer is set.

technology

T – is also for taming technology. I am not one of those parents that shuns technology. But using it wisely can only be done through diligence and applied balance. IPads are being used as toddler babysitters!  One family has a beautiful tree-house which sits empty, as the children while away the hours playing video and computer games. Technology can be an incredible help in our home schools, and it can also be our greatest enemy.

swans

E – is for energize and emphasize. At the risk of sounding like your mother, I’m going to recommend that you go to bed much earlier than you think you should. When my kids were younger, I tried to hit the hay around the same time they did, because I found it was much easier for me to get up very early in the morning, while they would sleep much easier at night, not thinking they were missing out on something. There is a ton of evidence to support the idea of adults getting to sleep before midnight. Most research indicates that the hours of sleep you receive before midnight are twice as valuable as the ones after. If you do this for two weeks, you will be astounded at how much energy you have, and how much you can accomplish with half as much effort. http://www.drlwilson.com/Articles/sleep.htm

organized

R – is for rigid and relax. If you are rigid about purging you will be able to relax in your home. Rigidly purge paper, clothing, toys, and whatever else is cluttering up your mind and house. You can see by this picture that the home school can be very organized with very little money. That goes for the kitchen, attic, basement, and wherever else the stuff tends to pile up. Hooray for de-cluttering your life!! Amen!!

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My favorite basic bread recipe. 


1-1/2 cups water

1 Tbl. light olive oil

3 Tbl. honey

1/2 tsp. kosher or sea salt

2 – 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour (preferably King Arthur)

1 – 1/4 cup bread flour

1/3 cup vital wheat gluten

2 tsp. active dry yeast

Add all ingredients in the order listed to the pan of bread machine which has been sprayed with cooking spray. Use the whole wheat setting. Good for sandwiches, toast, etc. I make this more than any other kind of bread. At least three times a week. Great with just about anything, including peanut butter and jelly.

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Forasmuch as there is none like unto Thee, O Lord; Thou art great, and Thy name is great in might.

Jeremiah 10:6

Hints for Home Schoolers – Taking Care of Mom

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The exertions of home schooling will far surpass any career a woman can pursue. To ensure that the rewards are commensurate with the effort – it is essential that the teacher/ mom maintains her physical and emotional health.

mom

Every home school mom can end up looking like this mom – even on a daily basis. There are a few ways to prevent the demands of home school from consuming you, and it will require some discipline to make sure you are taking care of yourself. If you neglect certain things – teacher/mom can wind up flat on her back, which won’t benefit anyone, least of all your children. This article will address the common sources of trouble for teacher/mom, and offer solutions.

pecking-order

One problem faced by some teacher/moms is a critical family member. While this was more common in past years, yet today some well- meaning and/or controlling grandparents, siblings, or very close friends will try to make you feel as though home school will irreparably harm your children. If they are not convinced by statistics proving the excellence of home school, you may need protection more tangible. By this – I mean your husband. Here is where dad can and should swoop in and come to your defense. Next time Aunt Mary bombards  you with a home school horror story, dad can protect you from the negativity.

distracted-mom

This is a HUGE one. Electronic distractions! Do not ever get in the habit of taking phone calls and emails from friends and family during school hours. There will always be a lady from church, or even your best friend, that somehow have the idea that since you are home all day – you aren’t busy. Be firm about this. A half hour spent counseling someone on the phone will send your school day into an irretrievable mess. Not only that – it sends your kids a confused message about prioritizing. In addition, turn off your computer! Young mothers with demanding young children crave adult interaction, which sometimes leads to long hours into the night spent on the internet. Which, in turn, leads to sleeping-in in the morning. This is very self-defeating, as your hoped for schedule collapses.

dreaming

Trying to be wonder woman, and then failing will bring you down. Set realistic goals for house work – and put your kids to work! Have them do as much as possible during a set period of time. And yes- money should be paid! (this will be addressed in detail in a future post) Some jobs for kids include folding laundry, brushing/feeding/walking dog, dusting, emptying trash, unloading dishwasher. . .you get the idea. If you have pets, cook, or have a crawling baby – vacuuming or sweeping needs to be done every day. Have the oldest child do it. If you restrict yourself to the chores that are truly too difficult or dangerous for them, and have them do the rest, you’d be surprised how clean you can keep your home.

walking

Discuss with your husband what time he can give you. Meaning – when can he completely take over for one hour a day/evening to give you a reprieve. For me, it was an hour in the late evening (9:00-10:00) for a long, hot, QUIET, bubble bath. Only when I had a newborn was this routine disrupted. One mom I know has a husband who works from home (farmer). After he does his very early morning routine, he comes home and supervises the kids doing morning chores, while she takes a long, long walk – alone. She pauses here and there to do some deep breathing. You may need another kind of alone time routine. But be sure you stick to it like glue – it can save you from freaking out. Even just sitting outside by yourself with a book, or with nothing – will work wonders.

procrastination

Putting things off – anything from laundry to flashcards – will cause your home school to self destruct in very short order. I stress – dividing your day into small, conquerable sections, will keep things moving. Doing a couple of loads of laundry every day, is more efficient then waiting until your kids have no clean socks. If you automatically do the dishes while the coffee pot is brewing in the morning – you won’t be faced with a pile in the afternoon or evening. The same discipline needs to be applied to school. Putting off things that are difficult for your kids, will only make it even more difficult when they have to catch up. Enforce the reviews and rote learning NOW. Yes – they must memorize multiplication tables and a host of other things.

prayer

The single most important thing you can do for yourself, is maintain an active prayer life. Do not – I repeat – do not neglect spending time with the Lord, separate from your alone time. The larger your family and the younger your children are will affect the amount of time you have. When my family was young, I only had 15 minutes in the morning before the kids were up. Now, of course, I can spend a great deal more time. It is understandable that you don’t have much time for personal Bible study right now. But the Bible study you have with your children is of utmost importance. Spending some time in prayer and perhaps reading a Psalm will bless and strengthen you greatly for your work.

saying-no

Learn to say no. Until your kids are older, the sign-up sheet at church will have to go without your name! Some people refuse to comprehend that you are completely committed to home school, or what a huge commitment it is. Also – you are not the drop off babysitter for your sister or your friends with little preschoolers. The same goes for the people who want you to teach their children and grandchildren right along with your kids. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!

28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

Proverbs 31: 28-30

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Home made laundry detergent   

The only home made cleaners I use,  are this detergent, and my home made spray cleaner from here.  I would not go to the trouble of making detergent, if it were not more effective at cleaning, and cheaper to boot!  It’s the only thing I have ever used,  that will remove all odor from dog mattress covers.  One thing I strongly recommend, if you decide to try this, is to leave your bars of soap unwrapped and exposed to air for several days before grating.  It will make it much easier and powdery.   I also buy a huge bag of soda ash at the pool supply store, instead of the washing soda, making it even cheaper.

years-supply-of-laundry-detergent-4

3 bars Fels Naptha, grated
1 box Borax 
1 box Washing Soda
2 cups of baking soda
2 containers of Dollar Tree Oxyclean
1-2 containers of Purex fabric softener crystals

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/08/make-a-years-worth-of-laundry-soap.htm

Hints for Home Schoolers – Afternoons

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The second installment in this series will deal with the second part of the day. We left off with the mid-morning break after Bible study. If you have little ones, ideally it could be timed with their morning nap.

racoons

The time right after the snack in the morning, is the best time to tackle your child’s most challenging subject. Different kids will grasp things at different speeds. One child may be a prodigious speller – but may resist long division. If you are schooling more than one child at the same time – give each one their toughest subject at this time. If you have the space, have them sit as far apart as possible, but not so far as to make it difficult for you to see them at all times. In this way, you can move between them, giving assistance where needed.

The curriculum we used from A Beka,  had plenty of “seatwork,” which I gave to each one to work on independently while teaching another one. This seatwork had to be completed every day, before any free time.

6. Present and assign most challenging subject to each child. Start to finish, this could take 30 – 45 minutes.

7. Take a stand up and stretch, jumping jacks, bathroom break. Depending on age, some nappers may be up now too.

8. Now would be the time for the second most challenging subject – depending once again, on the individual child. I always gave preschoolers a coloring page at this time, so they could “do school” too. This could take around 20 – 30 minutes.

9. Lunch! I always felt celebratory at this point in the day. Conquering their tough stuff first – made them feel good too. Lunch usually takes 30 – 45 minutes including cleanup.

10. Free play time. Only during the very worst weather did they stay inside. This varied, from 30 – 45 minutes. 

crockpot

Yes,that’s a crock-pot! This single device is a home-school helper extraordinaire! It can be loaded up in the morning and started before the kids wake up, or there is my method. At night, I would put everything in the crock-pot (even meatloaf) and then put the crock into the refrigerator overnight, to be started in the morning. It made the mornings a lot less hectic. Sometimes I actually started it at night, in the case of baked beans, which  cook all night.   Using the crock-pot was, and is, a life saver, seriously! Because of the crock-pot, I was able to do some things I like to do in the late afternoon, like playing the piano.

Fool proof crock pot brown rice:

  • 10 cups water
  • 4 cups brown rice (rinsed)
  • 1 Tbs. butter
  • 4 tsp. salt

Spray inside of crock with cooking spray.  Put all the ingredients into crock, give it a stir and turn on high for approximately 3 hours. 

This recipe makes a ginormous pot of brown rice, which is eaten hot as a side dish, with cheese and re-fried beans for lunch, stirred into pancake batter and muffin batter,  and remade in the crock pot in the form of rice pudding.  This method will even give good results to some of those “tough” rice mixes, containing wild and red rices, that never seem to cook by ordinary methods. 

Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

Proverbs 31:25

Next week we look at the third part of the day, and in upcoming posts are the goodies like pets and field trips!

Hints for Home Schoolers – Mornings

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As a veteran home-school mom of over 25 years, I thought it might be nice to start a series sharing some of the things I learned in the trenches. It will also give an opportunity for other home-schoolers to comment and share their experiences, as well as assist those who are contemplating home school.

Let’s begin at the beginning – that is – the beginning of the day.

Some moms like to go with the flow. I fell into that at one point, and it always led to a disorganized day. After determining in my mind to start at a specific time, (with allowances for sickness of course) it was much easier to accomplish everything.

1. I would arise at 6:00 am, (sometimes with an infant) and clean myself up, dress appropriately, and spend 15 minutes in personal devotion to the Lord. Also – care for the immediate needs of any pets.

2. Wake children at 7:00, get them cleaned up and dressed for the day, and all eat breakfast together at 7:30.

3. Spend one hour doing household chores. Age suitable – even a four year old can run a small vacuum. If the weather is warm, the garden also gets inspected during this time.

4. Have Bible study with the children. I used A Beka Bible flashcards for ages 6-13. (To say they loved those flash cards would be an understatement) Younger kids play with Bible felt books and puzzles on the floor, or Bible coloring pages seated at a kiddy table,  at the same time.  Interesting to note – when the young ones were ready to take part – they requested to sit- in with the “big kids,” and sat with rapt attention.  It was a natural transition from “milk” to “meat.”  High schoolers have independent, guided Bible study.  Bible study is the single most important part of your school day!  

5. Morning break – consisting of a light snack ( hot chocolate with a graham cracker or fruit) but it really helped us get though the morning!

Money saving idea –  A spray bottle can be filled with water to the base of the neck, then a squirt (approximately a teaspoon) of dish-washing liquid, (I use Dawn) then the rest of the bottle filled with isopropyl rubbing alcohol. This home-made spray cleaner will clean glass, mirrors, counters, tile, washable painted walls, bathroom tile, and vinyl floors – and will remove stubborn wax coatings from fruit – with no noxious fumes! I buy the alcohol in huge bottles from Sam’s or Costco. It saves a huge amount of money over store bought cleaners.  An added bonus – this cleaner is completely safe for granite counters, unlike cleaners containing vinegar or ammonia.  Will also kill mildew!

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

Proverbs 31: 27

Next week we will cover the second part of the day.  Divide and conquer!