Things That Help Our Days Run Smoothly

When young moms ask my advice about homeschooling, I'm at a loss. My family looks different than theirs so it's not going to run the same way. I want to say: "Oh just do this or use this curriculum and your problems will be solved!" But it doesn't work that way. You have just two littles and I have 4 big kids. You do all the cooking and cleaning and I'm just a supervisor and helper of those tasks. You do all the teaching, but your school day is an hour long. My big kids do most of their school independently, but our school day is 4-5 hours long. Homeschool families just don't compare. 

BUT I do have some tips I've learned as a big homeschool family that really help us. I hope you may find some encouragement in here somewhere:

• soaking breakfast dishes until lunch time so we can focus on school work in the morning
• specific "tidy up" times (we do one in the morning and one in late afternoon) so I don't have to constantly be correcting the children for not picking up after themselves
• chores only after school (I'm not including setting table and the like here, just stuff like vacuuming, dusting, watering plants, sweeping the porch, etc. Trash is the exception. It has to be taken out in the morning.)
• I have learned to develop a team mentality when it comes to where things belong. I like to think it's my kitchen, but since I depend on my kids to do so many kitchen tasks, it's really a team effort to keep it running. So I figure I won't be the boss of where stuff goes until it's mostly me in the kitchen. Right now, it definitely isn't. This also goes back to the idea of: I can nag all day long or I can figure out a new way of thinking that eliminates the stress of doing that all the time. 
• When it comes to keeping the kids' closets in order and clothes neatly stacked in drawers, my method is denial for the most part. 

Homeschooling with a Toddler

Homeschooling with a 2-year-old around is not easy! It took me the whole first month of school to figure out, through trial and error, a schedule that would work with Julia present. The good news is: I did figure it out!
I separate our kids into pairs that are on the same level: Maya and Isaac are on the same level. Pretty much everything they're doing is the same. Elena and Chloe are on the same level. They're working through different math books, but otherwise everything else is the same. (Same history books, same literature, same language arts - I did it this way on purpose.) Daniel and Lydia are on the same level also. They're both in first grade. Daniel is learning to read (online) and Lydia is reading. (I did this on purpose to. I see no reason to teach two kids to read at the same time if I don't have to. Been there done that, thankyouverymuch.)
So while I work with Maya and Isaac on the subjects they need me for, Elena takes care of Julia, and everyone does their independent school work. 
While I work with Elena and Chloe on the subjects they need me for, Maya takes care of Julia, and everyone else does their independent school work .
While I do school with Daniel and Lydia, Isaac takes care of Julia, and everyone else does their independent school work.
The afternoon is set apart for chores. I came to the conclusion some time ago that we couldn't keep the house clean AND do school at the same time. So the house pretty much stays a mess until school is done. I like a clean house, but I also like finishing school while the sun is still up. ;)

Training Children How to Clean

Now that we've talked about tidying up, let's talk about the harder job: cleaning. What works for one doesn't work for the other. In my experience, (speaking of children-in-training here) if I help them tidy up, they'll just pretend to be tidying while I do most of the work. But if I help them clean, they are motivated and enjoy doing it.

There is a window of time when the children are little that they want to help you clean. Seize it! Having less than shiny floors is well worth having a child who wants to mop them.
I suggest having two brooms, two mops, two dusters, etc, so that you can work right along side your little one in training. Wet your mops, then show little Suzy how you wring it out. (Not that she'll be doing it herself at this young age, but she should know anyway.) Then show her how you mop backwards (you pull a mop towards you, rather than pushing like when you vacuum). After she's got the hang of it, stand back and praise her while she does it herself for awhile. Then join her again to finish up the job.
Keep up this method for several weeks or months, until she's got it and you can trust her to do a good job.
In the Clark house, we rotate chores annually. My goal is proficiency. Last year, Daniel gathered up all the trash cans and returned them, and Isaac took out the trash. This year, Isaac and Daniel passed the baton to Chloe and Lydia. I didn't have to train Chloe and Lydia how to do the job. Isaac and Daniel taught them. Ditto that for all the chores that were passed onto another child. My job just keeps getting easier and easier!
The time you invest teaching your children how to clean will pay big dividends. I recently encouraged my kids: You guys are so blessed that you already know how to clean a house well. I didn't figure all that out until I was in high school. It's not fun to learn it then!

Our Homeschool Day in Pictures

Our homeschool day starts with breakfast. I wake up (around 7:30) and eat breakfast before the kids wake up, so I can make this time productive. I wake up any sleepy heads at 8am. That's when our day begins. While they're eating their oatmeal (or whatever Kyle made for us), I read our Bible study. I read a Psalm, a Proverb, and whatever verse Pastor Jesse preached on the last Sunday. By this time, everyone's finishing up eating. Then we go over our memory verse a few times. Finally, we practice whatever poem we're working on.

After breakfast, I plop down in a kitchen chair to supervise table chores. I just sit there, but I am accomplishing much. The children stay on task when I'm present.

Maya and Isaac don't get easily distracted, but everyone else does. ;)

Maya will one day be sorry she didn't take the sponge rollers out of her hair when I asked her to. I tried to warn her. {giggle}

Daniel and Lydia are still responsible for the dishwasher, but now they are responsible for the silverware too. (I always make them wash their hands first. ;) )

Ok, now back to school. A lot of this happens simultaneously, so pay attention:

Round one:

Isaac has the least amount to do on this day, so he helps Daniel and Lydia with their 2 pages of phonics worksheets. (Get Ready for the Code.) Julia-the-Funky-Headed supervises, but doesn't help at all. She never helps anyone come to think of it.

While Daniel and Lydia are doing their phonics, I'm supervising Elena and Chloe's Latin lesson. (Maya and Isaac used to do this, but they kept mispronouncing the words, so I decided to have them wait. Reading and writing first, right?)

While Elena and Chloe are doing Latin, Maya is upstairs reading along to Robinson Crusoe while the audiobook plays. Her comprehension is very good, but her phonics is coming along very slowly. I decided not to hold her back from good literature.

Round two:

Maya is still listening to her audiobook; Elena and Chloe have finished Latin. Elena is now in my room doing long division. She cannot handle any distractions at all during math, but I figured out she also gets lonely being banished to my room, so I work out a time when I can sit with her.

While I'm supervising Elena's math, Lydia and Daniel start on their chores.

While Lydia and Daniel are doing their chores and then getting dressed for the day, Isaac is doing copywork. He is a perfectionist, but as a boy, he hates handwriting, so this takes him awhile.

While Isaac is doing his copywork at the table, Chloe's doing her math drill. She's currently taking a break from multiplication until she gets all her facts down.

Round three:

Elena has finished her math quickly, since I'm there and she's not distracted. So now, she reads Mother Goose to Daniel and Lydia. Each of the big kids get a day to read to the littles. We're taking our time working through Ambleside Year 0.

While Elena's reading to the littles, Chloe is doing her reading. She loves biographies, so I picked up a bunch of Christian Heroes for Young Readers. She loves these.

Elena has chosen Elsie Dinsmore, and Isaac has chosen The Frog and Toad Treasury. (But they're not reading right now.)

Isaac and Maya are taking turns doing math drills and getting dressed for the day.

Lydia and Daniel are now done with their school for the day. They're now upstairs playing while Elena does her copywork.

Ok, now the rotations part of our school day is over.

Daniel and Lydia are playing upstairs or outside, and I've just put Julia down for her nap. It's now about 11am. I gather the four big kids and we do our history and/or science readings. (Maya was taking the picture.)

We're wrapping up medieval history, and I'm reading The Whipping Boy. The kids are loving this book! After reading this for about 20 minutes, I'll switch to a picture book (currently Peter the Great) or nature study (currently Christian Liberty Nature Reader book 4).

They narrate back to me what they remember of the story after I read and we'll stop after each place I read about and I'll have them point it out on the map, i.e. "Peter the Great visited Venice. . . (Do ya'll remember where Venice is? Right, Italy. Isaac, show us where Italy is.)"

If you have a big map handy, it literally takes seconds to teach geography.

Later that night, around the dinner table, I'll ask: Who can tell Daddy what happened to Prince Horace and the Whipping Boy today?

Because they're creating a relationship with the book, they'll be able to tell you about Prince Horace a year from now. They haven't just memorized the dates and names in medieval history, they've actually learned it.

After reading time, we take a break and all have a snack.

Now it's about 11:45. I help Isaac with his phonics lesson (he does a lesson out of ". . .100 Easy Lessons", then he reads a chapter out of a Phonics Pathway reader.)

While he's reading to me, Maya is starting to prepare lunch and Elena is doing her reading upstairs. Chloe is getting dressed for the day.

When I'm ready to help Maya with her phonics lesson (She does the same thing he does), Isaac goes to get everyone else, so they can begin setting the table for lunch.

Lunch happens when all the school is done. Usually by 12:30.

Teaching Children to Think, Part 2

Part 1 here.

Here's how I "micro-manage" my kids:

I don't wait around for them to forget to do something. In the beginning, I tell them what to do. I'll say: "I'm making dinner. Ya'll set the table." Or, "We're leaving in 10 minutes. Everyone should be dressed to the shoes with teeth brushed." Or, "Dinner's over now. Let's do our table chores."

I do this for months. These are not new things. We always do these things. It's just that now I'm spelling everything out. I'm not expecting them to think of any of it on their own. Expecting it just gives me opportunity to be frustrated and criticize my precious kids.

After several months of this, I switch to asking questions. "I'm cooking dinner. What do you all need to do, so we can eat?", "Now that your laundry is dry, what should you do next?", "What are your chores today? What do you need to do next?"

My life has gotten easier, not harder. Life runs more smoothly. And my kids have many opportunities to be praised, not criticized. What a concept!

Fall Break!

Our homeschool is officially on fall break. In the past, our school breaks (we call them "half time") have consisted of Bible and the 3 Rs. But the 3 Rs take up the biggest chunk of our school time, so we were still spending a significant part of our day indoors. Well, NO MORE! I have learned my lesson!

Now that the weather is nice (and it won't last long before it'll turn cold) we are spending the majority of our day outside. We do our morning Bible study, I do our read-aloud for the day (History or Science) and that's it. The first two days, I forgot about chores. Our house got really messy really quick. Oops!

Don't waste the wonderful weather sitting indoors doing seatwork! Leave that unfairness to the out-schoolers. Enjoy the weather while it lasts!

Table Chores

Every morning after breakfast, we

• wash our breakfast dishes
• clear the table
• take the placemats outside and shake crumbs off
• sweep off the table w/ a hand broom
• wipe down the table

Then we do seatwork at the table. After lunch, we

• throw away our paper plates (it's a lunch thing) & wash forks if used
• sweep the kitchen and dining room (each child has their own day)
• take the placemats outside and shake crumbs off
• return placemats to the table

The remainder of schooling happens on couches, beds, floors, and outside. No tables needed.

After dinner, we

• wash our dishes
• take the placemats outside and shake crumbs off
• 1 child puts away leftovers; 1 child washes pots & pans (typically only my beloved crock-pot); the rest of the kids put away clean dishes and tidy up the rest of the kitchen

Going Places

It took me way too long to realize this, but I have finally come to the conclusion that we can't get all (and by all, I mean "any") our school work done on the days we go places. For instance, when we plan to go to the aquarium at 10am, I shouldn't attempt to get math done beforehand.

This summer, we completely missed out on going to our beloved church library because we were too busy schooling. It never occurred to me to reschedule our day around the library's schedule (only open 9-noon two days a week).

Well, it finally did! We now do Bible over breakfast and that's it before our outing. The only thing the kids have to do is clean up their dishes, get dressed, and brush their teeth. Chores will happen later. School will happen later, if we get to it.

With low expectations come plenty of opportunities to praise and much less stress!

Homeschool Scope & Sequence

This blog post was forwarded to me in response to my article, Are They On Track? I love it and wanted to share. (It starts at 1 year of age and ends at 20; I just wanted to give you a glimpse.)

Christian Homeschool Scope & Sequence

Age 5-6

• Fully aware of example to younger siblings
• Able to watch little ones responsibly and play well with them for a short period of time in a specific area
• Demonstrates respect and honor to adults
• Demonstrates gratefulness
• Starts learning and desiring to learn who God is
• Keeps drawers, shelves, bins, desk, etc. organized at all times

Age 7-8

• Grows in understanding of God
• Grows in understanding of God’s commandments and how obedience benefits God’s people
• Can differentiate between wise vs. foolish behavior
• Is self-directed on chores
• Demonstrates meekness, and joyfulness
• Has learned to love correction
• Shows a heart to honor and obey parents and to please God
• Boys: able to help work out doors, help fix cars, cut firewood, hunt, fish, etc.
• Girls: Able to help bake, can cook a meal independently, can sew, crochet, etc.
• Can notice and fulfill needs of family
• Understand stewardship and wise handling of money

Age 9-11

• Completes most school work and all chores independently and well, with good attitude
• Demonstrates good manners, thoughtfulness of others, and respect to all
• Able to serve others outside of home
• Can be a wise friend to other children
• Able to listen and understand a sermon/teach/lecture and take notes
• Can be an example to others outside the home
• Able to plan, organize, and manage projects
• Familiar with Bible and able to read and study independently
• Continues to grow in knowledge of the Holy, able to see Him through His creation, His work, and His Word.
• Beginning to have fear of the Lord (beginning of wisdom)
• Has a heart to love God and follow His ways
• Selflessly serves others at length
• Works diligently and quietly for several hours
• Assumes some adult responsibilities (cooking a meal, caring for the whole yard, etc.)
• Able to be fully responsible for younger siblings for up to a few hours
• Able to grow in wisdom through personal study
• Has formed a personal habit of prayer and can see how God has answered
• Able to examine self
• Ready to discuss and understand mature things

Read the rest here.

What Our Days Look Like

This post is mostly for me, so I can remember how sweet these baby days were when they are past. Julia is growing so fast, it hurts. Me, that is. I've not allowed myself to dwell on it, but there's a sadness in my heart that her newborn days are over. I recently had my sister's kids over for the day and as her 6 year old daughter, Ainsley, was playing with Julia, she said: It's so fun when they start eating and crawling and walking.

Oh yea! I had forgotten about all that! I have so much to look forward to!

Julia's has a very consistent schedule. Here's what life has looked like the past couple of months:

7ish: Julia wakes up, so I wake up and nurse her. We go downstairs together and have an hour to ourselves before the other kids awake.

8:30am: I wake up the kids who aren't awake yet (Maya & Lydia, that is). We have breakfast, read Psalms & Proverbs, do our memory verse for the week and clean up.

9am: Julia goes down for her morning nap. School begins: the big kids do seatwork (math, writing, phonics) & the littles color and practice writing. I workout if they don't need supervision. If they do, I workout later or don't.

10am: Rug time: I read our history or science book or we do Latin, depending on the day.

10:30am: Chore time. I throw dinner and possibly lunch in the crock-pots and then check everyone's chores. "Kids do what you inspect, not what you expect"-- that wisdom has changed my life.

11ish: Julia wakes up & I nurse her. Some kids are still working on chores. Others are reading. Then we all play with Julia for a good long while.

Noon: Lunch time. No school during this time. This is the social hour.

1pm : Julia goes down for her afternoon nap. Kids play together while I have some blog, read, or scrapbook.

2pm I read to the kids while they fold laundry or put clean sheets on their beds.

3ish Julia wakes up and I nurse her. Daniel & Lydia take a nap. I take a nap. Maya babysits Julia.

5pm Julia goes down for her evening nap. I wake up. We all tidy the house for Daddy and set the table for dinner.

5:30 Kyle's home. He hugs all the kids then has time alone with me before dinner.

7pm Clean up from dinner. Julia wakes up & I nurse her before giving her time with Daddy.

8:30ish Julia goes to bed. The kids are all getting ready for bed.

9pm The kids got to bed. It's Mommy & Daddy time. :)

Life is good.

Quiet Reading Time

Right after chores and seatwork, we have quiet reading time for 30 minutes. (I started with 20 minutes and worked up to 30 in a couple weeks.) Maya sets the timer and everyone plops on the couch with their book of choice. Elena is reading a biography of George Mueller, Chloe is reading her third consecutive Christian Liberty Nature Reader (book 5 now), Isaac is listening to Men of Iron on audio, and Maya is reading Mrs. Piggle Wiggle.
This particular day, I came downstairs with Julia while they were in the middle of their reading time. I set Julia amongst them and went to get my breakfast. This is the scene I found 2 minutes later.
Julia will never be lonely.

Baby in the House

Julia is 6 weeks old now and I must say I'm enjoying her more every day. The fact that she's sleeping 5 and 6 hours at a stretch at night probably has something to do with it. I actually keep my eyes open while nursing her in the middle of the night now. lol
Julia seems to be breaking the Clark pattern of growth. She is over 10 lbs now and 24". Four inches in 6 weeks- that is fast growth for a Clark. She's clearly not looking to Chloe as an example.
A day in the life:
Julia wakes up around 7am. I nurse her and we both go back to bed. Sometime while we're sleeping, the rest of the kids wake up and start on their schoolwork and chores. When we wake up again at 10am, the big kids and the littles are doing seatwork. (That's math and handwriting for the big kids; coloring and drawing for the littles.) Then they all plop on the couch and have quiet reading time. More on this later.
When schoolwork and chores are done, we all fight over who gets to hold Julia. This goes on until naptime, which happens right after I read to all the kids on the couch. (We're currently reading The Runaway by Patricia St. John and I highly recommend it.)
I'm so enjoying our days with a newborn. Elena said: I'm so glad we have a baby in the house. It's just so great having a baby sister when I'm a big kid.
She summed up everyone's sentiments very well.

Our New Schedule

Baby Julia is close to 3 weeks old now and our daily schedule has changed considerably. That first week, we didn't do a thing other than eat, sleep, and stare at Julia. All of us.

Week 2, I got the kids back to their chores and readings. While I sleep until noon (or almost noon), Elena leads the Bible study while the kids all eat their breakfast. (She reads the Psalm and Proverb of the day.) Then they set the timer for 30 minutes & do their chores; with Maya overseeing her team's chores and Isaac overseeing his team's chores. Finally, they set the timer for 20 minutes and have quiet reading time. After lunch, I read our literature reading and then the littles and I go down for a nap. At night, the kids take turns doing math via Flashmaster and if Kyle and I aren't having a home date, we listen to a chapter or two of Prince Caspian audio drama.

It has worked out well so far. I get the sleep I need, we're getting some school in, and the house isn't a total wreck. I can't imagine how I did this last time around when my so-called "helpers" were only 5 and 3 year olds. It clearly was not this easy then.

Just Playing Games

The Clark family nighttime routine is this: Daddy reads to everyone in the girls' room and we tuck Daniel and Lydia into bed, while the big kids head downstairs.

Then the real fun begins. (Don't tell the littles.) The "big kids" pick out a game and we split into teams. (Good readers get to be their own team.)

Currently, the kids faves are: Apples to Apples, Whoonu, and Snorta. But I am so bad at Snorta, I almost always recommend another game.

We love playing games together. For Kyle and me, this has been a great reward of having older kids. That, and the fact that they can clean.

Hey, I see some unfinished chores back there! Oh well, it's downtime. I'm not putting away no stinkin' towels when I can be having fun with my family!

I'm curious: What are your nightly traditions?

Journal From One Quarintined

This is what took place last week, while I was puny.

Tuesday AM:

Woke up with a fever and dry throat.
Took one clove of raw garlic, set the kids up with a to-do list. Put Elena in charge, since she's the best reader.
Slept all day, waking only to take more garlic. Too tired to take any other vitamins. Not smart.

Tuesday PM:

Woke to discover that Elena made sure everybody got all their schoolwork done and chores too! I'm filled with gratitude. And a bit of wonder. I feel safe being sick.

Throat really hurting. Took two more cloves of raw garlic. One in the afternoon, one before bed.

Wednesday AM:

Woke with a throat on fire. Checked throat with a flashlight in a dark bathroom. All the tell tale signs of Strep throat. Oh crud!

More fatigued, but more motivated to kick this nastiness out of my body. Kyle set Maya up with a schedule and 6 cloves of garlic to crush for me. She brought me a spoonful of garlic every two hours. I wasn't thrilled to see her as she woke me up each time, but very thankful. Also, added 2000 mg of Vitamin C five times a day.

Again, Maya and Elena took charge of household duties. Kyle closes down school until I'm well. Maya cooks meals and keeps the littles in line; Elena made sure chores got done and the house stayed relatively tidy.

Wednesday PM:

I realize once again how blessed I am. But I'm fed up with this flaming sore throat. Start praying about it for the first time. Later that night, my throat stops hurting and my only symptoms now are fever, extreme congestion, and ensuing sinus pain.

Wishing there was an herbal substitute for Tylenol, but too tired to research it. Took 2 Tylenol to get rid of this throbbing whole-headache. (Turns out, there is an herb for pain, fever, and inflammation. But Tylenol is the synthetic substitute for it, not the other way around. White Willow Bark, sold in capsules in your neighborhood health food store. More later on this.)

To Be Continued. . .