school

Feeling Overwhelmed? How do we keep it straight?

If you’re a busy home school parent like me, it’s hard to keep the schedule straight.  Between co-op classes, working at the Bookstore, Favorite Son’s swim schedule, and Favorite Daughter’s dance schedule, I get a little insane.  If I can remember what day it is, I can work at getting us to where we need to be.

With extracurricular activities, it’s a bear to keep it all straight.  This year, with all the activities, I think I’m going to have a daily chore listed on the schedule…  Maybe we can keep the house clean, even though we’re never in it!  Funny thing about HOMEschooling… we’re never home!

Weekly Planner

Weekly Planner

I love this simple little Weekly Planner Sweet Sister created.  We have shared it with everyone for the past 9 years.  I use Good Notes on the iPad to edit the basic form each year, plotting out the dance schedule and co-op classes.  I print it in color, and post one copy in the kitchen (for Dear Husband), and I have one copy posted at the Bookstore.

The kids use it too!  Usually right as they ask, “What time do we need to leave?”

Life can be fun if we keep it organized!  (Well, organized mess in my case!)

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About me… Homeschooling by Liz

“About me”…  Ha!  I’m staring at a blank screen!  This is the probably the place that I’m supposed to prove to you that I’m an expert in my field.

Right.

So let me start from the beginning.  The first thing you should know is that I was never supposed to be a homeschooler.  That’s right.  My sister was the homeschooler.  I was the woman with a career and on a path up the ladder.  And God said…

Trust in me, and I shall make your path straight.

So twelve years later, I am a home school mom of 2.  I’ve been selling books to homeschoolers for 10 years, and running the bookstore at the Christian Educators Resource Center for 8 years.  Exciting stuff!

And this is where I use my tag line.  What I know about curriculum comes from listening to other homeschool moms.  There are tens of thousands of books, whether it is curriculum, curriculum helps, teacher books, readers, reading systems, or even pamphlets.  The business of homeschooling is growing by leaps and bounds.  I cannot experience EVERY book or curriculum.  My children will tell you that I have tried many.  They know, they’ve been my guinea pigs.

So I have to rely on the opinions of other homeschool parents.  I have to ask and listen to what they say about their experience with the curriculum.  Hopefully, this blog will help to store some of that knowledge, as well as gather more.

Well, what do you use?

I hear this question often, as if I’m an expert, then what I use is perfect…  Far from it.  Every year, and sometimes 2 and 3 times a year, I evaluate how the curriculum is working, and if my child is learning.

Every child is different.  In their learning styles, attitudes, activity levels and abilities.

Every family is different.  Lifestyles, goals, activities, and needs.

I used to think my son was normal, and something was “wrong” with my daughter.  In the last couple of years, I have adjusted to understand that my daughter is brilliantly normal, and my son is not.  He is brilliant and creative, and learns things easily and quickly.  They are different from EACH OTHER.  One curriculum does not work in our school, I can’t imagine trying to manage ONE curriculum for a classroom of 30 DIFFERENT kids.

My kids are not perfect, and what we use is not perfect.  So if, in this blog, I tell you “I just love this curriculum”.  Read the fine print.  And don’t take my word for it.  Go out, touch it, feel it, read it, and evaluate it for yourself.

And join in on the discussion!