Hopping...

Homeschool Hop Button" height="130" width="130">


Okay, I have a little secret. Other homeschool moms are about to gasp and get all wide-eyed. I have broken one of Homeschooling Moms cardinal rules~~~

We have been living without a real schedule for about a year now.

And we were good with that until about three weeks ago and a hospital stay and then it all started to unravel--the house, school, outside activities--all my bearings were gone. My mind was cluttered and bogged down trying to think for everyone and still get my mom duties done. Oh, and add in a new puppy and well, it all went downhill very quickly.

My Sweet Hubby suggested very gently, cause I was fragile and he knew I was gonna blow or give up very soon, that I might need to try something different. Cause you know, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is um, insanity. He didn't say it just like that by the way :). He somehow can say things in a nice way in which I can't.

So, yesterday I spent about two hours working on a routine for us. I have four kiddos home all day, various animals, and two in-laws that live next to us. Makes for a lot of fun, but you know, a lot of chaos can ensue on a daily basis. And thats okay. For Mark and me, the most important things the kids can be learning is that life is not all about them, that service to their family and grandparents is a good thing, and then the practical home skills and book skills they need for their lives. That's the number one reason I love homeschooling-we can do all of that daily! I just needed to manage better. That's really what it boiled down to.

So, there were a lot of hmmms and haaaas when I introduced our new routine this morning. One of them might have rolled their eyes, but we had a "Come To The Altar" meeting and that took care of that. Daddy will be home tonight to back me up and take care of any other resistance that may occur.

I even wrote down a routine for me because I was forgetting so many things and at the end of the day I was kicking myself-like reading to James. I read soooo much to the three big kids. We could all climb on top of the couch together and snuggle and read. With three big kids I have not been doing that with James. And that is very important to me so I wrote it down on my list.

Now, I've been doing this schooling thing for 8 years now and I KNOW its not going to go perfect everyday, or even anyday, but at least I can look at the list now and know which direction we need to be going in.

Its in pencil by the way. That way I can start adding to the chore list if someone complains. I know, mean mom......

Be sure and go visit over at Hip Homeschool Moms for more link-ups.

Oh, they are having give-aways this week also!