ORGANIZING HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM

Today I want to share how we organize our curriculum for our 1st grader. This year we are doing Abeka and I couldn't be more pleased with it. My son is learning so much! He's becoming and excellent reader and writing with great penmanship. I have found a great way to organize all of his daily work. I had this cart in my closet, not being used and it just happened to work out perfectly. There are just enough drawers for each subject.

 At the top of the cart (on picture below) you can see my teacher manuals. I keep them there for easy access. I also keep my binder on top. As I grade his work, I hole punch each page and then put it in my binder where I also keep other records like field trips, attendance, and so on. The top drawer says Bible, but this is also where I keep my small supplies like dry-erase markers, the hole puncher, stickers, etc.

I have labeled each drawer in the order that we do each subject. This really helps us both know what to do next. The only thing that varies is the seat work drawer. Sometimes he does that out of order because I usually assign that whenever I can go take a shower, so he can be working on his work independently.

I try to make it a point to take about 15 minutes or so each night to prepare for the next day. This means writing things on our dry-erase board, tearing out pages and adding only those pages to his drawers, and gathering together any other objects that are needed. This is a huge help for me when we do school the next day. When preparing for the next day, I go to my front hall closet where I keep a bookshelf. This is where I store all of the books and cards that are not currently in use. I have bags hanging above the shelf. Inside the bags are things that I have already cut out or prepared, but I'm not currently using.

It's messy and has some extra things on it,
but this is our shelf and it works for us!

I hope this has helped you get some ideas to make organizing your homeschool curriculum easier. I think that without this system I would be going crazy every single day, trying to figure out what comes next. I imagine that I would also be misplacing things and I sure don't need to add anymore chaos to our days. If you have organizing tips, please share them in the comments!

Be blessed my friends!

FINDING JOY IN THE LITTLE THINGS

It's so funny to me how often I hear the words, "I could never do that". It's usually mentioned when talking about being a stay at home mom or especially homeschooling my kids. I never thought I could do it either, but God doesn't call the qualified. He calls those who will listen to Him and then He equips them with everything they need. This has been an 8 year journey for us and it's never really been easy. But God never promised easy. He did promise that He would never leave or forsake me and that He'll never give me more than I can bare. Some days I question Him on that. I wonder, "Do you really think I can handle all of this God?". This week has been a perfect example. We have no extra money right now. We have a leak in our roof and our heat and air completely stopped working. Our 6 year old has been having major behavior issues and I can't figure out exactly what's going on with him. The baby wants no one but me. On one hand I really love that, but on the other hand, my back hurts and sometimes I just need a break. I could go on and on about other issues going on right now, but I'll spare you the details. It's just been rough!

I've tried to make things better. I've added more games to my 6 year old's school work and I tried helping our teenager with his science project. The only thing that got me was a blister on my finger from the glue gun.

Here he is working on a glider:

Today was the worst day of all. It's almost 4 in the evening and I haven't really done any school with the 6 year old. I had such a stressful morning that I decided to just get us all ready and head to Chick-fil-a. I just had to get out of the house. I think the kids needed it too.

Here's a couple of pictures I took of the youngest two in the playroom:

And so here I am, back at the house feeling so unaccomplished. I feel like I'm barely surviving. So when you think that you can't do it, just remember, it's not all rose petals and daisies. Some days I think that I can't do it either. I'm sure no matter what your life consists of, you too have days where you think that you just can't go on.

Oh look! While I was busy creating this post, something did get accomplished. My son finished his glider!

It's things like this that helps me get through these tough days! It's these little things that are so huge to me and bring me so much joy. Thank you to my oldest son for working hard on your own to accomplish what needs to be done. 

Be blessed my friends!

JUST WALK AWAY

I've decided to start blogging more about my homeschool journey. Too often, I see other mothers who are ready to throw in the towel after having a bad day (or many bad days). 

I want these moms to know:

A. They are not alone.

B. There will be bad days, but it happens to all of us.

C. It doesn't have to stay bad.

This is our 8th year of homeschooling. That's so hard to believe. In no way do I consider myself an expert, but I do hope that I can help and encourage newer homeschoolers by sharing my journey with them.

Most of the moms who are having a difficult time are mothers with small children in the house. As you can see by this picture, I too have a small child and he is into EVERYTHING! He's very demanding and he's very much a momma's boy. One thing I do have working in my advantage though, is a teenage son who helps me out a lot.
(I will share with you in a later post just how we manage our homeschool.)

Even though I have my oldest son's help, I still have MANY days where I feel swallowed up by homeschool. I forget about the positive reasons for homeschooling and I just want to run away. The picture above was taken yesterday. It was one of those days where I felt very overwhelmed. So I got my youngest two dressed and went for a walk. The walk was mostly for me, but it was really good for them too. By the time I made it around the block, the baby was asleep. Thank God he stayed asleep when we got home! I put him in his crib and he took a 2 hour nap. 

Sometimes we just need to step away from the situation and get a change of scenery. This goes for many situations in life, not just homeschool. So the next time you feel like you just can't take anymore, get out of the house. Take in some fresh air. Talk to God. Love on your kids and thank God for them. Until next time...

Be blessed my friends!

I AM NOT PERFECT, BUT THAT'S OKAY

Already FIVE whole days have gone by since my last post! I just don't understand how to make the time to write. Currently my husband is holding our baby; the child who won't let us put him down lately without screaming and crying and throwing himself backwards on the floor. He is dealing with a bug bite on his ankle that made his ankle and foot swell up pretty big and turn a reddish-purple color. He's also dealing with teething and bowel problems. And aside from all of that, he's definitely a momma's boy. I usually don't mind. I love cuddling with him. But too often, I just can't. I have two other boys who need my attention and help with school work. Not to mention housework and other responsibilities. Still, I try holding him as often as I can because I know that these days are passing by so quickly and soon enough he won't want to be held. 

A pic from a better school day!

Today felt like a complete fail, besides the fact that we finished all of our homeschool work (even if it was around 7:30 in the evening). 

Here's just a bit of how the day went: 

We got a late start, I changed TEN poopy diapers, all 3 boys were acting up in one way or another, I never got my shower or even got to wipe yesterday's makeup off of my face. I'm still sitting here in my pajamas at 9:30 in the evening. I had a major headache and felt tired most of the day. I'm sad to admit that I raised my voice much more than I should have. I'm really working on trying to be a gentle parent. Today was definitely a challenge for me in that area!

On days like today I really need God to speak to me in a loud, clear voice because it's just too noisy to hear His whispers. I am a perfectionist. I'm not perfect, but I expect things to be great. I hold myself to very high expectations. I've struggled in comparing myself to the Proverbs 31 woman and today I felt very far from being that woman I strive to be! Thankfully, as I sat down eating dinner, I read something that really stood out to me. What I read today was this, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Jesus said this in Matthew 5:8. Thank God that He didn't say, "Blessed are the perfect." Instead, blessed are those who seek after His heart and desire to make good choices. Blessed are those who walk with Him and try to apply His Word to their daily lives.

God knows my heart! He knows that He means the world to me. He knows that I strive to be the best mother and wife that I can be. He knows my deep desires to be a gentle, patient mommy to my boys. He knows that even on days like today, when I didn't make the time to study my Bible, that I still love Him and want to walk in His ways. Sometimes we just need to remind ourselves that we are not perfect! But we are pure in heart! That's all that matters! Jesus was the only perfect one and where we fall short, He fills in the gaps and offers His grace and mercy.

I'm so glad that His mercies are new every morning. All I can do is to try to not expect perfection and continue to draw near to Him. I'm looking forward to a new start tomorrow.

Be blessed my friends!