Iโve gotten several emails lately asking me how I โdo it allโ, you know, homeschool, cook, clean, do laundry, make printables, blog, and stay sane. After I got done laughing hysterically, I thought I should just be honest and lay it out for you. Keep it real.
The short answer: I donโt.
The Long Answer:
I know it may seem like things are all roses over here at Confessions, but you have to keep one thing in mind when reading my blog (And really this goes for most blogs):
You only see what I want you to see.
1. You donโt see the messes the Teeny Tot makes while weโre trying to do school. And trust me, she makes messes. Itโs her specialty.
Confession: I often take my arm, or foot, or Teeny Tot, and sweep it across the floor clearing away all the debris so I can snap a lovely shot of one of my children working happily on a project.
2. You donโt see my laundry room. Ever.
With 6 people in our house, it seems like that humming sound coming from the Laundry room never stops. Thereโs usually folded clothes on top of the washer and dryer, piles of dirty clothes ready to be washed, and a full dryer that I was previously avoiding, until instituting my beloved chore chart.
3. You donโt see the failed crafts, recipes and all of my โbrilliant ideas gone awryโ. I prefer to block it out and pretend it never happened.
So, How Do I Do What I Do Do?
First off, no one can โdo it allโ, something has to give, for me it’s usually the cleaning, my sanity, or dinner…or all 3 depending on the day. ;o)
Remember, the only pressure weโre under is pressure weโve put on ourselves. If your scheduleโs too hectic, take a minute (I know, I know, you donโt have a minute, but trust me this will help) and write down all your commitments, and then see what you can get rid of, and what is necessary.
You can rest assured that my house is just as chaotic as yours, but we do have a schedule. And I try to follow it. You can get a more detailed version here, but in a nutshell, this is what I do each dayโฆplease donโt judge. ;o)
1. 8:00 am: Wake up, pray, take shower, keep praying, get dressed, pray some more: I seriously do not leave my room until all these things are done. If I did, I donโt think Iโd ever get back to my room to shower and that would be bad. And Iโd have no friends.
2. Throw in a load of laundry. Wonder how thereโs so much laundry in just one day.
3. Make breakfast, read kids their devotion while weโre eating. Secretly try to check my email, but then remember I told all of you to stay away from email until after school hoursโฆ
4. Kids do some chores while I clean breakfast dishes.
5. 9:00 am-ish: Start school, chase Teeny Tot, re-start school, track down 1st grader, re-start school, track down preschooler, lock all kids in schoolroom, finish school.
6. Noon: Swap out laundry, lunch, kids get free time while I clean lunch dishes. Start dishwasher so whoever has that chore can empty it for me before dinner.
7. 1:00 pm: Put Teeny Tot down for nap, lie by her door so I can catch her crawling out of crib, put her back in, lie by door, repeatโฆ
8. TBA based on #7 above: Start Expedition Earth fun stuff
9. 2:00ish: Schoolโs Out! Check emails
10. 3:00 pm: Chore time, finish any chores left for day
11: 5:30 pm-ish: Dinner followed by clean up and Dad time for kids
12: 7:00 pm: Start bedtime routine
13: 8:00 pm: Breathe a sigh of relief that I made it through another day of homeschoolingโฆaaaahโฆ.check calendar to see how many more days are left, pray for perseverance.
14. Rinse and repeat.
A Homeschoolerโs Home
As homeschoolers, we are always here, so our house is always โlived inโ. That makes for extra mess. Sometimes Iโll take a field trip just so I donโt have to clean! If weโre not here, no mess right?
I also have a secret weapon. My Mom. Thanks Mom.
She comes once a week to help out, she cooks for us, folds laundry, cleans, and chases the Teeny Tot. I do school, run errands, drive to dance, to Lego club, to our homeschool group, to science club, and go to the bathroom in peace.
I have another secret. Live Writer.
I blog in advance, sometimes Iโll sit down and write several posts at once and schedule them out. It is much easier to write, upload pics and format posts using Live Writer. I do not blog every day. Thank you Live Writer. Note: You can also schedule posts in blogger in the โPost Optionsโ at the bottom of blogger post window.
Planning: I have to say the thing thatโs helped me remain sane the most this year, was planning ahead. I took the summer to plan out our work for each child for the entire year. Some of those things have changed as weโve gone along, but weโve mostly stayed on schedule. I even purchased all the craft supplies weโd need for the whole year in advance! I know, crazy right? But still, itโs kept me from slacking off in the craft area!
Also, having our year scheduled out helps me to see the big picture. I know when weโre scheduled to finish for the year, so I know if itโs okay to take an entire week off when weโre sick.
Hereโs a sample of our lesson plan for my 2nd grader, I usually put page numbers and such, but I just did this real quick like so you could see an example.
Click here to download this scheduling template
Do I follow my plan? Mostly I do, the kids seem to do better when we stick to a fairly routine schedule. I am flexible to change things that arenโt working, and keep things that are. But on most given days I follow what I set out to do. Like I always say, โBetter to have a plan and not need it, than to need a plan and not have it!โ (Okay, actually that comes from my husband whose motto is โbetter to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.โ This applies to anytime we leave the house. Itโs why I have a mini-van with a large capacity rear storage area. {wink}
Planning Tip: Another tip is to plan in Catch Up Days into your schedule. Inevitably life gets crazy, kids get sick, and if you know we have every other Friday for catch up, you wonโt be so stressed when we get behind. Also, if youโre homeschooling, youโre never really behind, I mean youโre the principal so you set the rules! Can I get an Amen Sister!
Here are some of my posts on organizing, scheduling and the like:
- Make your own Schedule – Word Doc
- Our Schedule โ PDF
- Chore Chart
- My Monthly Meal Plans
- The Commitment Worksheet
- Plate Spinning 101
Other scheduling options:
Have a tip to share? Iโd love to hear what you all do to help make your day go smoother, so make sure to comment below!
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You have no idea how God just used you and this blog to help me through a day when I was dealing with a very heavy heart and the Chicken Little syndrome (you know, the sky is falling…). Thanks for being real and sharing all that you do! Sometimes we just need to hear that other people are living the same life as we are!
Thanks for this look into your life. It's encouraging to hear of others' struggles to keep up with laundry (and I have fewer people in my home!) Wish I had my mom as a secret weapon but she lives far away. Also wish I was better at planning out posts to schedule. I personally don't like Live Writer, but must be the only one:) Every one else raves about it:)
I seriously love you more with each post you write ๐ Any chance you want to come here and organize our school? I am set to teach 4 K4's next year and 7-8 Tots (2-3 year olds)…only two of them are mine…I am homeschooling the neighborhood… but seriously… I could use your organization! You are the bestest…and its good to know that our laundry rooms probably look similar ๐
This is awesome! Thanks for being honest! BTW, we are working on Character using your Character Study…my daughter LOVES it! I've seen a difference already and it's only been a week. Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for posting this!! I really needed to know that I am not alone:) We are all trying to do our best and this was a great post. I agree about schedules and plans…they really make life easier. You are AWESOME!!Anniemoffattgirls.blogspot.comp.s. I clear my clutter too when I take a photo (wink)
Thank you for posting this.. so glad to have found your blog!
I truly appreciate this post! I only homeschool 1 child (2nd grade) while I chase and try to include a 3yr old. I was getting SO burnt out with blogging – and managing the homeschool village I decided my personal social media had to go! 5 minutes on twitter turned easily into a week!I'm also treating The HSV as "business hours" and trying not to look at emails past 5pm! (and scheduling tweets helps)!!But I love you wrote, "the only pressure weโre under is pressure weโve put on ourselves". thanks Stef
Oh my Gosh Erica! Great "Confession"I read #1 and thought…hey I just did that! And then I read the rest and laughed outloud…Being able to have my own space in real life is impossible right now, so the Blog is like therapy, I can move all my graphics and change all my colors and no one can come by and spill milk or blow snot all over it! ๐ Valerie
amen sister!
Thanks for your honesty. I love your ideas and your organization and so appreciate your openness about the chaos! Thanks!Jennifer