So.... planning.  It's something my son covets dearly.  HE LOVES to know what is going on so he can plan his life out around mine.  Do you have a child like that in your home?

ONCE he knows what is going on, he's content.   He will frequently double check as the day goes along... but overall, once he knows he's content.    It's been a work in progress and I CANNOT tell you for sure if this system will even work for him.    What he wants is a scratch paper write out, but I find when I do that, then either I put too much on the paper (cause I write everything down we want to do) or I forget things and the lad gets stressed because I'll say "OH, I forgot about "X"" OR I just don't get the list written.  Which means tons of questions all day long.

I am hoping that this method works better than that the one I was hoping to do this year (Mama Planner) and is less labour intensive than this paper method I tried.

Mama Planner was a no go... one lad thought it was too much writing and looked like way too much work to do when I wrote it out in columns.. and when I asked if he could write out what he needed to do generated looks of horror and being backed up by dad.  :)

The paper method kinda worked.  Really it did.  It went through several metamorphoses...but the checking things off and getting confused about meals and stuff... it was WAY more work that what either of us wanted.

This calendar method is rather simple and works around my needs and around the lads.  :)  It follows mostly the schedule we've been hashing out for the last month and a half.  He's happy with routine, but is pleased to switch it out if it benefits him.  :)  For instance sometimes we don't do art because well.. yard work or a museum/field trip awaits or sunny weather let's go pokemon going!!! happens.  :)

You may be able to see that I colour coded it.   Grey for the dailies, Pink for astonomy, blue for veritas press, green for math and such like.   We've needed to work things out.. like astronomy and German only happen three days a week.

Because Friday are our co-op days having our Fridays be a do it differently day works best for us, means no change in routine for a routine oriented lad, all that changes in location.  :)   We do almost everything different on Fridays except the lad likes to do his Veritas Press studies every day.  :)

I don't write down specific lessons since one thing simply follows the next.  Do one lesson, then do the next, it's just how life goes.  If you don't understand something in the next lesson, then go back and do the last lesson again until you know where you misunderstand things, or remember to ask questions, and then proceed on to the next thing.   The lad knows I or Dad are always available for the asking of questions so no excuses for not being able to get help.  :)

But I digress.   I just used a $10 calendar from Costco.  not too expensive, easily dumped if doesn't work, but I genuinely think that this will give him a good overview without causing stress, and letting him know what to expect for the next day. 

Hopefully all hearts will be happy.  :)

Tell me though...just in case it doesn't... what do you non-organized type of mammas do with your routine oriented children to keep the household sane?   More ideas are always good.  :)

Welcome with me today won't you?  Kym from Homeschool Coffee Break.  Did you know that Kym is a fellow Canadian who just happens to be living stateside.  :)   She's a dear heart and is an encouragement to me.  She has walked the path before for a good long time and is worth listening to.    Welcome KYM!  :)

Day Three of Tips for Homeschooling Parents.

As I write this post I have a pounding headache and a drippy nose.   Fun isn't it?  NOT.
I have a boy avoiding me (who has had this same cold) and a hubby being kind to both of us as he finishes up the cold he managed to bring into the house last week.

So as I bleariedly eyed my computer screen thinking what I can I write on, I thought of a conversation I had with my lad over breakfast.

Me "Son, we really should try to get some schooling done today"
Son "No, mom, no no"
M: OH?
S: "Just no mom, we can do other things today".

This is so NOT my son.  Usually he'll say "I can do my Veritas press and my science and my......" and then can we think about if I have to do anything else?

This lad LOVES his on-line schooling.   Everything else he could toss out the window (what child couldn't) but his on-line stuff I never really have to even ask.

AND THEN the clincher.. He disappeared.
Like totally.  

ALSO not like my boy child to do.

What do I hear coming from upstairs.. Cough cough, hack, sneeze, cough cough....

Think perhaps that's a hint that today we should let our colds get the best of us?

Sometimes as parents we need to do that.

Just as if my lad had a bad cold I wouldn't send him off to a public school, just because we are at home schooling, doesn't mean I need to push schooling just because he's home and I can.

I need to.
YOU need to.
Read your children well.

My lad has had flus, colds, not feeling well days where doing school was totally not an issue.    But when he's acting out of character... that's when I find I need to simply listen.   Don't you find it the same in your school?

Time for me to get off this beast and take a break... Sleep sounds good... 

Other Posts In This Series
The Importance of Family.
Working and the Homeschool Life. 

Others from the Crew are taking part in this five day blog hop as well.   You can find the whole list here, but below I've listed a few people just to get you started.
Jeniffer @ Thou Shall Not Whine
Jennifer @ A Peace of Mind
Jennifer @ Faithful Homestead
Joelle @ homeschooling for His Glory
Joesette @ Learning Curve
Kari @ Random Acts of Boyhood
Katie @ Katie’s Daily Life
Kemi @ Homemaking Organized
Kim @ Homestead Acres
Kylie @ Our Worldwide Classroom

Today is day two in the five day blog hop.  And I have to admit I really waffled on what to write about today.   Music?  Faith?   Life happens?   Work?

I finally settled on work.

I touched yesterday on the fact that my hubby is a pastor.   We are part of a small congregation in central Ontario.  We do okay, but not as great as we'd like financially so due to my love of critters I have a small business running a rabbitry.

It's called AT Home Pets.   I raise and sell rabbits and guinea pigs.   It's a lot of work to care for them.  I help my son raise mice.

I am also in the process of learning to make worksheets and curriculum.   I made my first  this week.  The goal is to hone my skills and eventually start to sell them.  I was talking with my lad about this last night about how I am going to hire him to help me create graphics for this endeavor.   He thought that was a great idea.  :)

The question is of course, since you might be thinking, so what.. you have a business, big yip.  What does that have to do with homeschooling?  

I mention all this because like may people in the world it is sometimes a struggle to make ends meet.   To purchase curriculum, to buy supplies, and clothe children.    My hubbies work provides for necessities in life like shelter, food, medical issues, gas and such things.

My business stuff provides for curricula, clothes for me and the lad, treats "just because" and so forth.   Without my income it would be a LOT more difficult to manage the other necessities in life.. like food... we like eat.  :)

Working with animals as a business has provided me with
1. opportunities to teach my son good animal husbandry skills.   Healthy animals make for easier to care for critters, easier to find them homes, better food sources for animals that need them.. remember he raises mice.. his biggest buyer is the local raptor rescue.  He gives them a discount because they help birds of prey get healthy after running into trouble.   He's had to help me think through the type of bedding we use, housing issues, what colours to pursue and such like.
2. opportunities to learn good customer service.    How to be nice with people, friendly, help them discover the joys of owning a pet mouse, to figure out what size of mouse their snake can eat, and so forth.   To write good animal care sheets for the rabbits and guinea pigs and to continually learn so that one can properly educate people when they ask questions.
3. opportunities to do real life math.  If 10 mice cost "X" amount and the guy asks for a deal, what are you willing to do?   Are you going to ask him to buy two more and throw one in for free?   Will you say no?   What if they want free delivery on top of that?     He's learning that good customer service doesn't mean saying yes to every request.    I thought I would need to teach him to save for a rainy day... but this boy is a natural money saver.   He weighs out his purchases carefully which is really nice to see.  He hates that I make him pay part of the mouse food bill but it's part of having them right?  He gets the income, shouldn't he bear part of the price or raising them?
4. opportunities to deal with the less than polite people.  Granted I've shielded him from most of this, but he sees how some people react to the selling of rabbits and guinea pigs (and to a certain extent the mice).   Animal Rights Activists aren't the funnest people to deal with, and he's seen how I've learned to be protective of where I live and how we do things.
5. Opportunities to teach others about animals we know and love.  It amazes me how often people will leap into something without first doing their research.     Selling animals allows us to interact with people, teaching them how to care for their animal, what should and shouldn't be done and guiding them to good sources for information.   There is so much misinformation out there about how to care for animals it's great to guide people to reliable sources.
6. Opportunities to learn time management.   It's not always easy.   Currently I am dealing with a person who wants to buy an animal on Sunday afternoon.   I don't do business on Sundays until after 6 p.m.  This individual is struggling to work around that and it's hard to stand firm.. but family and God is important you know?   It's hard to work around homeschooling needs, family needs, faith issues  in a "we want what we want when we want it NOW" society.   Sometimes it means lost sales which used to be upsetting until we learned this.. the instant gratification people won't have done their research and do we really want our animals going to people who are like that?   Teaching that long term perspective has been eye-opening for my lad.
7. Opportunities to learn new skills. Whether it's learning how to put together worksheets or curricula, or finding out the latest research on mites in guinea pigs, or how to deal with malocclusion in rabbits, finding out what threatens birds of prey... there are always ways to think and improve and do what needs to be done.  Right now we are dealing with a rat problem which with the help of the internet, friends, neighbours and other business people we WILL tackle and keep our animals safe from harm.  We are happy to live and let live, but causing harm has repercussions.
8. Opportunity to be your own boss.  I HATE, yes indeed I will freely admit it.  I hate to be ordered around.   I love being able to be responsible for my own decisions and the running of my own business.  Being told what I can and cannot do irritates me to no end.   So working a job for someone else gives me added stress (which if I have to I deal with) but the freedom of choosing what I feed, how I care, and such like.. I love that freedom.   I disliked working a 9-5 job and dealing with the politics and rivalries you get in a workplace.  Here... the rabbits don't argue with me.. they may stomp their feet for "FOOD NOW!  ME FIRST!!" but they don't talk back or jockey for importance.  Most customers are easy to work with and doing this is a joy.

For my other posts in this five days of tips for homeschool parents see below
The Importance of Family.

You will find other members of the TOS crew participating in this five day blog hop.   The whole list can be found here, or you can start with the folks listed below.

Over this coming week, the Crew from the TOS Review board will be doing a blog hop about Tips for Homeschool Parents.   I thought it might be fun to participate.   I, unlike some others, really have no clue what I will write about from day to day, but that's part of the fun right?

Today I thought I'd talk about Family.   About how important the family as a unit is to homeschooling well.

Families.
They come in all shapes and sizes.  Big, small, loud, quiet, busy, sedate, of faith, not of faith.   All shapes, all styles, all types.   It's a goodly thing eh?

My family is hubby, wife, child.
His family is mom, son
My family is mom, dad(now deceased) and six children.. boys and girls.. now with respective spouses and their offspring.
We are all different.

My now family is quiet, stay at home, relaxed, faith believing folk.   We like being together... reading, watching TV, doing animation, hikes, camping and such like.  This life suits as well.

One of the things I love about my husbands' job (he's a pastor) is his ability to take his job on the road.   So we can go on field trips and as long as he has a pen and paper, or his laptop he can still do sermon prep AND come with us as we experience new things, learning and growing as a family.

It's a good example to my son, to see his father enjoying these excursions as well, to see the importance his dad puts on spending time with family.  

I know that not all families have this luxury.   Many families have "on the job" requirements.   Fields to work, papers to write, business to conduct, power lines to repair and what not.   Every job is different with it's own needs.   I know that we've had times when we wanted Dad to come with us but he needed to do a hospital call or a funeral visitation and such like.   It's part of the job.

In situations like that though, Dad takes the time to ask us, so how was the trip, what did you like, what did you see etc.   He shows an active interest.

It's so important you know?   For both parents to be interested in what the child(ren) are learning and doing.   It shows the importance of it all.

In what other ways are families important with homeschooling?
1. As a support for each other - if one parent doesn't get something, perhaps the other might.  Or a way to weigh one curriculum against another etc.
2. Bounce ideas off each other - if wanting to build a catapult... dad might have the know how mom doesn't.  If cooking a meal from a foreign country, mom might help cook, dad pick recipes and talk over interesting ingredients with a child more patiently than mom might and together a meal is created,
3. To spell each other off.   Or to tag team events.   To be the watch guard if one parent needs to take a break from the work of schooling and life.
4. To help with the clean up, to turn drudgery into family laughter and communication.
5. To learn how to show love for each other... it's the first place it all starts you know?  

Here are some of the other participating bloggers, please check them out.  :)   Each day a new group of us will be featured.  :)

Next week many students will be heading back to school.  For some that means taking the school bus, walking, riding or biking to a brick and mortar building filled with other students and a variety of teachers from good to well... learning yet to be good.  :)

Others will be signing into private schools, charter schools, online schools etc.

Still others will be crowding around a kitchen table asking their mom what they'll be doing today.   These children, like mine, are schooled at home.

Just as I am eclectic in my approach to schooling there are a many different ways that children can be educated at home.

Next week many students will be heading back to school.  For some that means taking the school bus, walking, riding or biking to a brick and mortar building filled with other students and a variety of teachers from good to well... learning yet to be good.  :)
Others will be signing into private schools, charter schools, online schools etc.

Still others will be crowding around a kitchen table asking their mom what they'll be doing today.   These children, like mine, are schooled at home.

Just as I am eclectic in my approach to schooling there are a many different ways that children can be educated at home.

 Consideration number one.

HOW will you educate your children at home?  WHO will do the educating?

• Will mom or dad be the primary educator?   Often this is mom as Dad will hold down a full time job, but I've seen parents share the duty and even know of a fellow who is the primary educator.
  
• Will you hire a tutor?   Do you need someone to teach a subject in a different manner to help your child understand the subject matter?
  
• Will you become part of a larger group and school via the computer and classes through an over arching institution?   Parents role is merely to ensure their students complete the work requirements asked for.

How will this look in your home?

Consideration number two

How will you pay for your curriculum?

• Do the free route?   There is LOTS of free stuff available for schooling your children.    Some places to start are Ambleside, Easy Peasy, and many others.   If you browse through the links I have on various pages you'll find tons of freebies.
• Take on a part-time job to pay for what you want/need (I have a part-time job)
  
• Create a strict budget
• Find creative ways to get good curriculum more cheaply or free.   (for instance I do curriculum reviews).

Curriculum isn't cheap.  How have you figured your way through the finances?

Consideration Number Three

How will you set up your day?  Month?  Year?

• 9-3 like a typical school?  Sept-June?
  
• Splitting up your day... a bit in the morning, bit in the evening depending on teacher availability?
• four hours (we generally do school 9-1 or 10-2)
• year round varying the intensity depending on time of year and subject?
• In the afternoon/evening to accommodate the night owls in your family?
• something completely unique to your family?

When do you figure your school time in?

Consideration Number Four

What type of homeschooling will you do?

• Will you choose a method and stick to it?
• Will you pick and choose from a variety of methods and weave your way through the various curriculums?
• Will you ignore the methods and just let your children learn as they will, just providing lots of opportunities and then following their interests as they learn their way through life? 
  
• Will you try different methods until you figure out what works best regardless of the philosophical views of the material at hand?

What is your primary method of schooling?

Consideration Number Five

Where will you "Do" school?

• Many parents use the kitchen table
• Others set up a school room
• Some homes are small, space at a premium so floors and couches become the school room
• yet more will find themselves inside and outside and all around the house?

Where do YOU do school?   I'd love to hear.

Today is the first day in a five day blog hop series on back to homeschool.   I hope that you take the time to read some of the marvellous posts a group of us are putting on.  :)  

This is the time of year when people start looking at children getting back into doing school.

Have to admit, it does start to pressure up to "DO MORE" but as someone who mostly homeschools year round (just changes up the focus a bit) I don't like having that external pressure being added.   So many expectations that everything is planned out, that all curriculum is paid for and purchased, that children have all their school supplies and all that "stuff".    I don't like that pressure and it can make me feel nutty in my head.

Thank goodness I have this fellow in my corner.

This fellow that I married some 13 years ago, father of our lad, strong introvert, stable, quiet fellow.    This fellow keeps me sane.

He knows me well enough to know when I'm getting nutty in my head and simply asks "what's up?".   Clarifying for me what's going on in my head when I might not the knowledge to figure out until he simply asks.

Then he simply walks me through what's going on so that I stop being nutty in my head about the external pressures that are going on.

So what kind of things get me going?
1. BUY THIS it's the best ______ ever!
2. Get this freebie...get it NOW.. get it today.  You'll regret it if you don't!
3. Use this planner!     Seriously.. it will solve all your problems.
4. Don't forget to add this to your new year..if you don't you won't have a well-rounded student.
5. Squeeze this event into your summer cause you won't have time once school starts!!!

and more... all the pressure to do this and that....can make a body feel like failure if they listen to it all...and sometimes it gets to me.

There are times when I wonder if I am the only one who gets this way.
I assume that I am not as God's word tells me that there is nothing new under the sun.  NOTHING.

My fellow helps get my head thinking and then I am to process what all is going on in my head and heart, able to talk to God about what is going on, and then (and only then) free to figure out if I truly do need something or if it's just the hype of everything getting to me.  

It helps too that I homeschool year round, we do maintain a lighter schedule in the summer, but we keep things going.   So I don't have to give into some of the pressure that I end up feeling. 

How do you work around the hype of back to school season?
Does it ever get to you at all?
If so, what tricks do YOU use to keep yourself sane?  

Here's a small group you might want to focus on today:
Marcy @ Ben and Me
Debra @ Footprints in the Butter
Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses
Amy @ Homeschool Encouragement
Missica @ The Open Window: An Autism Blog
Misty @ Year Round Homeschooling
Jennifer @ A Glimpse of Our Life
Heather @ Only Passionate Curiosity
Clarissa @ Counting Our Blessings
Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool
Monique @ Living Life and Learning.


The rest are here.