Saturday, July 2, 2011

The Homeschool Mother’s Journal 7/2/11

In my life this week…

I was feeling quite overwhelmed with the routine of life and, as you may have read in my last post, decided to get myself out and take my kids to the park!  I am going to try to go to a different park each week with them for the rest of the summer.  I feel like the summer is escaping quickly, as it always does, and I want to make the best of it.

My husband has worked long, hard hours and also went on a golf trip for three days, so I am looking forward to having him home Sunday and Monday. 

I am working on taking better care of myself.  With the load I am carrying now, I realize that I have to focus on what God’s purpose and priorities are in my life and improve on those.  I have been burnt out and need to regroup and hone in on the right things.

In our homeschool this week…

The kids have not done any school work as we are still on our “declared” break.  However, after Monday I am planning to start up a few days a week and tie up some loose ends from our current curriculum so we can start the new year in August/September.  I’m hoping the “Day Off for the Park” incentive will help us be faithful the other days.  Again, I will not be doing a full load – just an hour or two, three or four days a week.

My favorite thing this week was…

Going to the park with my kids. 

Questions/thoughts I have…

I am still thinking about ways to organize my homeschool items and also how to order my day successfully, keeping on top of housework and schoolwork altogether once school starts fully in the fall.  If you have any ideas, let me know!

Things I’m working on…

I am working on incorporating the kids more in chores again.  My home has been a whirlwind since we went on vacation and had the garage sale. With their help, I have been able to get the house to a decent level of order again – phew! It is my philosophy, anyway, that the children should learn to work hard and to help take care of the house they live in. It teaches them good responsibility and how to be a part of a family – something that is very important to me! 

I am focusing on taking better care of myself, getting more order in my home and my spirit, and gaining more patience and flexibility as I juggle the many facets of our lives.

I’m reading…

I am mainly reading the classic book, Heidi.  Believe it or not, even with a Bachelor’s of Arts in English, I have not read many of the classics.  It is my goal to start reading some of them.  I am enjoying Heidi so far.  Have you read it?

I’m cooking…

I am getting back into the cooking “groove”.  After being on vacation and feeling pressed with the garage sale, I was not in the mode of cooking much.  It’s back to meal planning and cooking!  I am trying to use the oven less with more stovetop meals and use the grill as well (once it is fixed).

I’m grateful for…

My Lord who never gives up on me and faithfully guides me!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

IMG_8999

Guess who turned one year old last week?

She is the sweetness of life.

4 comments:

  1. I read Heidi several times as a kid and am looking forward to reading it again with my girls.

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  2. It's hard juggling it all, isn't it? I find myself feeling overwhelmed some days and not that happy, involved Mom I want to be. Finding a balance seems to come-and-go! My kids are wonderful helpers around the house though! But it's never done. Sometimes it necessary just to accept that what got done is done and tomorrow is another day! But if you find something that REALLY works do share! LOL

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  3. I used to homeschool at the table and had books overtaking my kitchen while craft suplies were downstairs....this summer i moved everything to one level (downstairs) and utilized magazine holders from walmart to organize my books by child and the extras by subject matter. This made a HUGE difference. Even my husband said.."Wow, that was totally worth $6 a holder"...and he's an accountant! LOL. I too am trying to decide the schedule for the days. What i am realizing is if i give myself a full day a week to devote to house/laundry that the kids have a day off then everything gets done. if i try to split the days; it doesnt. we are a family of 7 though and so i still do 1-2 loads of laundry every day but when i try to say "we will homeschool in morning and i will clean in afternoon" nothing gets done well. having days devoted to specific tasks helped me keep on target and caught up. it took me 3 years to figure out this was the best schedule for our family...but now i finally have happened across one that is working. Stopping by from HMJ!

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  4. Love the idea of a different park each week..I may try that! There are several parks we havent been to yet~

    I agree with you, children working hard together as a family..very important to me!

    I try to wake, pray, read my bible, chore time, then start school with lunch. We take many breaks and in those breaks I check of my cleaning "to do" list~

    Happy Summer!

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