Question:Interruptions seem to be the order of the day . . . each and every day. How do you manage homeschool when there is the phone, doorbell, visitors, dentist appointments, holidays, and more. Sometimes I feel there’s just not time to do schoolwork!
Every mom who home schools eventually experiences the nagging suspicion that she is not “covering everything”! I found myself trying to cram every subject into each school year for fear of leaving something out. When I thought about Health and realized how important it is to teach our children proper nutrition, then I put that into the schedule along with Math and English. Then I considered Logic—oh, that was very necessary too! Reading a “National Geographic” article was enough to start a guilt trip that I’d forgotten to teach them about the Renaissance! And on it goes. Aarrgh!!
My college kids, goofing around
I started thinking about having my children work towards their general education degree during the homeschool high school years when my eldest son, Daniel, turned 19. A teen is studying the basic general education subjects anyway, so why not go in more depth, learn more, and receive college credit as well? Courses such as World Civilizations, English Literature, Biology and other general education courses are taken in high school and then repeated a few years later at college. So many of the subjects are the same during high school and general education levels of college that it seemed sensible to just study these subjects once and do it well, rather than study them in the high school years and over again shortly in college at a high tuition price.
Our grandbaby Rachel with her loving mother Melanie
Come Play With Me
Passing through her kitchen,
I saw dishes waiting there. . .
A basket full of laundry
Beside a rocking chair.
Her house was clean, but much undone-
I wondered, “Where is she
That order is not all about
As time approaches three?”
Louisa finds a great spot to read in the cherry tree!
Oooh, summer reading! Gives me a thrill to think about it, as those free hours can be so wonderfully applied to all the lovely books we miss during the school year!
Right now, Louisa and I are reading My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. Yes, Louisa is old enough to read it by herself, but then I would miss out, and I don’t want to. Plus, she wouldn’t have a good reason to sit and crochet or draw while she listens. And, most of all, we’d miss those interesting, value-transferring discussions that bind our hearts together!
I’d like to write a book. I would entitle it Saturated with History or Dripping with Destiny or Learning about History through Stories or some enticing title that would help children want to experience the wonderful deliciousness of learning history.
Working on a quilt with my daughter Julianna
Years ago, I made a list of all my duties I was attempting to keep up with—which can be voluminous when you are a young mother! It looked something like this:
Nurse the baby
Wash the clothes
Fix meals
Keep the house clean
Do errands for Daddy
Take kids on field trips or outings
Play with the little ones
Do my church job
Take a child on a one-on-one date
Wash the dishes
Look pretty and fresh
Clean the bathrooms
Take kids to the park or playground
Buy groceries
Read aloud to the kids
Bake homemade bread
Sew costumes or special clothes for the kids
Play games with the kids
Help kids have parties with their friends
Take walks with the kids
Make Daddy’s favorite meal
Mend the clothes
Go shopping for clothes
Teach kids homeschool
Go on a date with Daddy
Make a meal to take in to the sick
Read the scriptures with kids
Make treats
Not overwork myself
Sit and talk with Daddy
Talk with kids one-on-one
Garden
Have other families over
Cook healthy food from scratch
Go to bed on time
Help Daddy make financial decisions
Drive kids to their activities
Teach a class for the kids and their friends
Make holidays special
Help neighbors
Have dinner ready when Dad gets home
The usefulness of reading charts and library games has always escaped me. “You get a prize for reading 6 books” sounds about the same to me as getting a prize for every 6 brownies I eat. Who needs motivation? Reading is delicious!
