Time for Change

Hello there! I am afraid I haven't have time nor inclination of late to blog. I have been reading my favorite blogs but haven't commented much. I have been feeling "quiet". There are times I go through every few months when it feels like time to listen.

It seems lately lots of my blogs are talking about schedules. Perhaps the change of seasons inspires us to take another look at our schedule and see if we can tweek it to better fit us and our families. I am no exception.

I find my schedule to be ever changing, especially our homeschool schedule. I always have to be aware that the time will come when what I am doing no longer works. Then it is time to be flexible!

In general our schedule works like this:

Kids up and dressed and teenager showered by 7:30 a.m
7:30 a.m.: Tyler doesn't independent Bible/Greek Word
8:00 a.m.: I gather with all the kids and read/study the Bible.
8:30 a.m.: The whirlwind of school for grades 4, 5, and 9 start.
11:30a.m.: I make lunch. Youngers empty dishwasher and Tyler empties trash.
12:00 p.m.: Lunch
12:30 p.m.: School starts back up.
2:00 p.m.: The dream is to be done with school and have an hour for the 4 of us to clean and do chores.
3:00 p.m.: Free time.

At 3:30 p.m. my life gets crazy. I am all for my kids being in activities but this year it is too much and I am just counting down the days until the beginning of June when most of it ends. So, from 3:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday we are shuttling kids to their activities. We are not consistently gone and either dh or I are here most times, just not all of us together. Friday is easy because every other Friday all we have is a 30 min. drum lesson for Christian and then we are home.

Have I lost you yet? Well, here is what has happened. My schedule isn't working because I am too busy and I need some real spring to give me a needed boost of energy. So what is failing?? Homeschooling. It is not failing but has faltered a bit. Yes we are doing our work. But because of my exhaustion I am letting them do too much independently and I need to better schedule them so that I am spending the proper time actually TEACHING and PREPARING. It is awful discouraging to get behind in correcting and then realize one or more of them have gone amuck and that I have let them practice doing something wrong over and over because I wasn't keeping short accounts!

So, what I am doing is making them more independent when they clean and less independent when they school. While they clean I'll correct papers and print and photocopy the things we need for school and planning the next day. Normally I know in my head what I want done for chores and I direct them as they go. But now I will need to get it all scheduled and written down for them so they can go on without me.

It will be good in the end. These problems always end up as blessings because in the end the house runs smoother for it. :) For example, when I hurt my back the kids had to learn many more chores and much more about how to run a house. So now, when I am up and moving, I am still reaping the blessing of them being more able to help and run things. My trial forced me to teach them what I should have taught them anyway. Well now it is time to up the level! More about this in the coming days...