ordering the chaos...

amidst the chaos, we have been homeschooling for a few weeks now.  in reality, we are catching up on last year’s math, writing and language arts.  we never quite finished up our curriculum from the 2010 year, so, we are hitting it hard right now to get things “caught up” so to speak.

but, we are living in chaos.  i would take a picture of it, but let’s just say, if you showed up on my doorstep right now, i would come out on the porch to talk with you rather than let you in our home.

we are a mess!  every two weeks, i frantically clean for 2 solid days while we get the house ready for our small group.  and even then it isn’t that clean. the clutter is overtaking me! 

a lot of it stems from the inability of my children (and my husband, bless him) to put their things away when they are done with them.  and my inability to make them (the kids, not the hubby) . 

so we are embarking on a few new things to get the house cleaned up.  i am going to start training the kids to clean!  i know, i know.  this is not a new topic for most of you reading this (does anyone read this?)...but i guess i have always just done things myself because it is easier.

faster.

and i don’t have to redo anything (usually).

But... NO MORE!!

every month i will train each child on one age appropriate chore.  i think this is do-able.  rather than try to eat the whole darn elephant, ya know? that way, each child will be proficient in one chore each month and we will slowly build up responsibility in each of them.

a much needed character trait.

my character will be stretched also.  i have very little patience with my children when it comes to teaching them how to clean up after themselves.  i know that i am going to have to learn how to hold my tongue and not blow my top when they don’t do as i have instructed or if it needs to be done over. 

or if they decide to use the broom as a rifle and the sponge as a missile.

i have boys, remember?

and so, i am coming up with a short list of chores for the kids to do.  as i look around the house, the major areas of need are the kitchen, bathrooms and dining room.  no surprise as we do most of our schooling in the kitchen and dining room.  laundry is also a HUGE need as things collect in various piles: clean, unclean, folded but unfolded by moose, sorted and need to be put away, etc. 

i am still contemplating who is going to get what chores, but i thought i would share this for now. 

wish me luck!!

Home Educator's Conference

we attended our annual home educator's conference for the first time this year. and by 'we' i mean 'me.' my wonderful husband stayed home with the kids so that i could go and be 'free' to listen and engage.

i wasn't disappointed!

the keynote speaker, Dr. Voddie Bauchum, Jr. was challenging, encouraging and didn't pull any punches. homeschooling has always been what we were going to do. but in the back of my mind, i always thought that if i couldn't hack it, i could send my kids to a private school maybe.

not anymore. i will not even consider that as an option. it will no longer live on the horizon of educational choices for us. no way. i learned so much this saturday about the benefits of homeschooling i am all in!

some other gems i picked up this weekend:

Melanie Young is a mother of 8 who has homeschooled through 7 high-risk pregnancies (read: bedrest for 7 of the 9 months each time). wow! she was funny and had some awesome tips for bulk-cooking and freezer meals. i plan on implementing a few of her suggestions in the upcoming weeks! website: www.YoungandSons.com

Accountable Kids is this awesome chore tracking system. i am so excited to implement it it isn't funny! my two oldest are in love with checklist style chores and to-do's so i know this will go over well with them. i like that it focuses your kids on their successes, but also allows for negative consequences. we say 'NO' so frequently in our house, i often forget the praise! i think this will help me stay on track as well and won't let me slide when i am not on my game.

have you ever checked out Doorposts? this site has amazing tools to help you stay consistent with your discipline, reward your children with blessings and teach scripture through character building. we ordered their new "Put On" chart for our wall that focuses on the Colossians 3:12-14 verses :

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and if one have a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these, put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

we use several of their wall posters (Go To The Ant Chart, If-Then chart, Brother-Offended Checklist) to aid in our day-to-day life, and i expect that this new poster will serve us well. i can't wait for it to arrive :)

that is all for now! i plan on putting together our first unit schedule this week. i will post it when i am done. have a great day :)