As the school year approaches, you may be thinking,” how on this earth am I going to get everything in.” Or maybe you’ve been at it a week or two and it seems like there are not enough hours in the day. We have to spend time on our schoolwork; how will we ever finish all this work? We have church activities, little Johnny wants to play soccer again, Jenny wants to take art lessons. And I need to keep up with the house, meals, laundry and all the other day to day chores. What about having spending quiet time with God and taking care of my husband? I.am.so.overwhelmed! Help! If this is how you feel, take a deep breath, say a quick prayer and think it through.
- Get up before the kids: I don’t care how tired you are, how little sleep you had the night before, if you are not a morning person, make every effort to get up early, even if it’s only 15 minutes before the kids. Get a cup of coffee, take a shower, spend time with God. If you are a morning person, exercise, set up for the day and cook breakfast. Trust me on this one, if your kids wake you up, you will feel rushed and behind all day.
- Organize your day: Print a daily schedule, use google calendar, find a planner system that works best for you, When I homeschooled, I used a daily schedule sheet and scheduled in blocks.
- Decide what time you want to get up and go to bed 6-8 hours before then (at least try). Then block out your day, maybe breakfast and chores from 8:00 to 9:00, then plan on school from 9:00-12:00 (include breaks), lunch from 12:00-1:00 and finish up school from 1:00-2:00 or 3:00 if your kids are older. Include time for housework. If your family does sports or other activities, plan dinner to coincide around that. And stick to your schedule. I also suggest that you use one day per week for errands, homeschool activities and the like. On that day, you can either do a light school day or maybe no school if you work hard during the week. Kids need a routine and once they get used to it, your day will flow smoother. I write this scripture on the top of my daily sheets and it helps me keep things in perspective.“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3
- 3. Lesson planning: I do suggest you plan out daily lessons. It can be something as simple as writing out what you plan to accomplish each day on a legal pad and making a list of materials needed, to buying a lesson planning book and planning like a teacher in a traditional school. The important thing to do is plan. Planning gives you a vision for what you want to accomplish. If time gets away from you, simply finish up the next day. It may take you a few weeks to figure it all out and that’s ok.
- 4. Evening schedule: There is nothing worse than waking up to a messy house. Been there, done that! I suggest that you train your kids to pick up before they go to bed and make sure the kitchen is clean. Establish a good bedtime routine with your kids and then concentrate on you and your husband. Take a bath, spend some time reading, watch a little TV, relax. If you are not a morning person, set up for the next day.
Remember, you’ve got this. Make school a priority, you can do it!
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