On Empty Nest Mom, Cindy Downes asked: "What do I do with my toddler and babies while I am teaching the older ones?" Here was my reply:
I
go by the assumption that it is true that 95% of what we teach will be
remembered, so my 9-year-old and my 7-year-old teach our 5-year-old
(not yet a Kindergartner) and 2-year-old. While I am working with one
of the older ones, the other older one will pull out a K4 book and
teach the little guy. The baby is at a copycat age and loves books, so
she will sit by them while they do "school."
When they are not
teaching the younger ones, my older children will do some schoolwork
independently. This frees me up to do housework with my toddler
following after. Our K4 child is well old enough to know how to respect
the work of others, so I expect him to be quiet and read or write or
else he needs to go play in his room while they work.
(Originally published on my 2005-2008 Keeping the Home blog)
With my Parenting Perfection (::cough::), I have no need of the Supernanny's help, but I do occasionally watch the show just in case she comes up with something that I do not do. Last night, I finally noticed that very thing I was searching for:
Supernanny always creates a schedule for the family.
For several years, I've been a fan of routines, as in "morning routine," "lunch routine," and "evening routine" (originally learned from Flylady). My children have thrived under these routines. For example, 9yo son has a morning routine of:
* Get dressed
* Make bed
* Eat breakfast
* Put away breakfast dishes
* Brush teeth
* Pick up 2 floors (hallway and boys' room)
* Be ready for school (homeschool) by 8:30am
We are pros (Perfect Pros, that is) at doing our routines, but... there is no schedule to it, except that we need to be starting school by 8:30am. Which means that our big fella will often stay up until 10pm at night,then want to sleep in past 8, which does not give him enough time for doing his morning routine.
And so he has a grumpy mama on his case.
A routine is an awesome help for a mother, but I've come to realize that a schedule is also a necessity. Being a creative person, I abhor schedules, preferring to pick the daisies when I feel like picking them, and not because it is 3:42 p.m., Daisy Picking Time. Because of that love of freedom, we've had carefree days, but the days just sort of "go by," without much getting accomplished.
After Supernanny's suggestion, I sat down and made a schedule. One that allows flexibility (to pick the daisies) but keeps us on track so that each day is productive. Here is our big fella's schedule, for example:
8am Morning Routine (if up before now, you can watch t.v., but it is off at 8!)
8:30 Bible time
9 Schoolwork
10:15 Break/Snack
12 Lunch
12:30 Lunch Routine (pick up 2 floors, sweep the kitchen)
1 Quiet Time: Finish schoolwork or read
2 Play quietly or with friends outside
3 Play loudly or with friends outside (baby is up from her nap =D)
5 Bath/Shower
5:30 Dinner
6 Evening Routine
6:30 Family Time
7:30 Computer Time
8:30 Reading in bed
I'll let you know how it goes, but for now, the kids are so excited to have a schedule. They keep looking at it and saying, as our 7yo daughter just did a minute ago, "Mama, It's 2:53. Only 7 minutes until 3:00, our Play Time!"
I haven't made a great schedule for myself yet. It's a little harder for me to stay on schedule than it is for them, you know, without a mother to tell me I must. It's just not my fault that I get easily sidetracked by the mailman, the baby's diaper changes, the rotting bananas, this blog....
(This article was originally published on my 2005-2008 Keeping the Home blog)
I've had a love-hate relationship with homeschooling over the years. We've tried all types of schooling, except boarding school (which sometimes is way more appealing than it should be!). We've sent our children to public school, private school, homeschool, and blended school (a combination of public and homeschool). With all that trying, you're probably guessing that our eldest is older than he is. He's only in 4th grade!
Only recently have I begun to like homeschooling. There were one or two things (several, really, but I'm not admitting to much) that I had to learn first...
Here are a dozen of the things I had to learn before I could view homeschooling as fun:
1. Homeschool does not have to be in session from 7:45am - 2:45pm five days a week.
2. Reading a comic book is still reading.
3. Writing is more fun - and much more tolerable to a 4th grade boy - if he can write about his favorite subjects instead of Lincoln or photosynthesis. It is still called writing even if it is about Bionicles.
4. Going to the beach can still count as school; we will call it a "Field Trip."
5. Learning practical skills is just as important as learning academics.
6. Doing housework counts as school.
7. Feeding the chickens counts as school.
8. Drawing pictures, even of aliens, counts as school. We'll call it "Art Class".
9. Cooking and housework count as school.
10. Math can be taught outside of a textbook by using it in chores or cooking, or as in, "Let's feed 8 chickens with 2 cups of feed. How much feed will each chicken get?" (Oh, but we have 17 chickens....that gets harder)
11. We can have school on Saturday, if we want, and not on Tuesday.
12. A bad day is still a school day, because something is learned every day even on bad days.
What have you learned that has made homeschooling more fun for you?
Lori Seaborg
p.s......I look forward to blogging with you! I've had a Keeping the Home blog for several months now, but jumped at the chance today to have a Keeping the Home...school blog.
As is in my profile, I'm not the mama who is ahead of you in homeschooling knowledge. I'm just the gal right beside you, trying to motivate the 4th grade daydreamer, keeping up with the 1st grade scholar, occupying the 4-year-old, and balancing the baby on my hip. Of course, I do all of that at the same time, just as you are doing!
Let's walk beside each other, learning from each other.
(This article was originally published on my 2005-2008 Keeping the Home blog)
This is a photo of our homeschool lesson for today. Without our permission, one of our hens decided she wanted to be a mama and fiercely defended the eggs I wanted to gather three weeks ago. Today, here is the result of our waiting, and boy! are they worth it. We have five baby chicks -- 3 yellow (one with a top hat of black), one black (with a top hat of white) and one brown with a black stripe. She is still setting on the final 5 eggs. I had written "Baby" on the eggs that she was hatching, so we could gather any future eggs for ourselves. See the chick's beak?
If you are using this photo to teach your kids about chicks, tell them:
(Originally published on my 2005-2008 Keeping the Home blog)
1. Pay bills - DONE*
2. Have a Christmas tea for Mom when she comes to visit today (from 50 miles away), a simple thing, just tea and Christmas cookies, a cheese ball and Ritz.
3. Mop the floors which I've been avoiding.
4. Place order at LeeValley for Christmas gifts.
5. Place book order at Overstock and/or Amazon (I've decided I'm going to be the book aunt from now on).
6. Make cookie dough to freeze or to bake:
- Cut-out cookies
- Chocolate ones
- Those powdery balls (Russian or Mexican somethings)
7. Wrap gifts to put under empty tree.
8. For homeschool, have the children do math as they string cinnamon sticks or bay leaves onto wires and have them write in their journals. A light day for school, as is all of the month of December.
9. Download the printer onto this new computer, another task I've avoided.
10. Write for 2 hours minimum this evening.
And change diapers, dress the baby, turn the 4-year-old's clothes right-side-out, feed the chickens, eat, stand in the sun at least once, etc. etc.. It's 8:15am, I'd better get busy!
*I like to write things on my to-do list even if I have already done them. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to then cross them out.
(Originally published on my 2005-2008 Keeping the Home blog)
