I want a peaceful home. You do, too. Nothing can so drain us as the conflict and stress that plague families.
Because I am a Christian psychologist, you can imagine that I will encourage you to regularly pray for your family. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 confirms that prayer is a vital part of peaceful living.
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
If your family life isn’t peaceful primarily because of the choices of another family member, remember that we are only called to peace as far as it depends on us. We can’t change people directly, much as we might like to.
But there is something else we can do to promote peace in our homes.
When there is no routine, when we have to scramble to get out the door and are still late, when the house is a wreck and you have no idea what’s for dinner, peace will elude you. I know, because I’ve been there. My poor habits caused conflict with my husband, made me a short-tempered mom, and made me fearful that someone would come to my door and discover what a fraud I was.
If you want more peace in your home this year, develop good habits. I encourage you to read my post at HeyDonna.com titled “Habits: The Heart of the Home” for more on how to do that.
What habits would make your home more peaceful this year?
One of my favorite things to do is talk curriculum with homeschooling friends. If you do too, I think you’ll love this list of top picks from other homeschoolers in the Educents community. You may discover a new resource or decide to give something you’d checked out before a second look.
If you’d like to learn more about the resource, just click the link! If you want to get more involved in the Educents community to learn more about homeschooling and the curriculum offered on Educents, join the Educents Facebook group!
“As a child, I always hated math, even though I was good at it because it was soon boring. When I heard about Fred, I knew he had to be a part of our homeschool. My kids absolutely LOVE when it’s math time, and they are learning a ton about how to apply math to every day practical situations.”
“The writing portion of this resource was the first time EVER that my oldest son ever willing wrote anything! He was excited to write instead of hating it.”
“I absolutely love Magic School bus and all it has to offer. Each month you get a different science kit to take a Magic School Bus adventure. If you search really hard, online you can even find curriculum to go with each science kit and the episode from the television series.”
“My favorite resource at Educents at the moment is Life of Fred. There are so many to choose from I picked the Elementary Series. My kids love these books; we have them up to high school now. My most recent order was Life of Fred Chemistry. My kids will do these without arguing and love Fred and Kingie!”
“I love Times Tales because it’s made this year’s math lessons so much easier! My kiddos quickly mastered their multiplication tables in one sitting with the movie. It’s been such a blessing–instead of drills everyday, we can take more time to learn the actual concepts behind the facts!”
“The Magic School Bus Science Club is something your child gets in the mail each month, for a year! It includes numerous experiments per month, along with most of the materials required. (except household items such as scissors and tape). It is an incredible hands-on learning experience that helps children love science and have fun! My sons who are 4 and 6 absolutely love it!”
“Life of Fred Early Readers series has been a game changer in our homeschool! Both my 6 & 4-year-old boys beg me to do their reading lessons now that we have added Life of Fred. I have noticed an increase in their fluency and comprehension.”
“All three of my girls, ages 8 down to 4 loved watching this DVD and learning the stories. In 1 hour, both of my older girls had memorized their upper times tables! And the real kicker is I was only trying to teach one!”
“Learn to Mod Minecraft is an amazing program that teaches my son, a Minecraft lover, important computer programming skills through a game he loves to play. The lessons are easy to use, fun and engaging. I love that he is a learning a skill that I am not able to teach him.”
“My son loves history (he gets it from me), and I love to throw in “extras” to feed the need for more than what our curriculum calls for. Mini-units are great for that, and this was one of our favorites because we both love Ancient Egypt!”
“The violin starter set includes everything a budding violinist needs to begin their studies. The instrument is well made and economical. The lessons that are included are a huge money saver!”
“We LOVE Magformers in our homeschool! They are a high-quality toy that provide hours of creative play. They are a great way to bring the fun back into your homeschool; your kids won’t even realize they are learning all about structures and geometric shapes and architecture (bonus!).”
“A great resource for young astronomers is the Spectacular Space Unit Study. From writing, reading, math, and crafts, this complete unit, with its simple terms, will spark the interest of even your preschoolers!”
“I love the way the math is naturally integrated into Fred’s life, showing the importance of it in day-to-day life. The chapters are laugh-out-loud funny, and I often get asked to read “just one more.” I’ve never been a huge fan of math workbooks and worksheets, so the combination of math and story is a major win in my books!”
“We have these cards laminated because we know they’ll be used for years to come. My son, who learns best through rhyme and tactile input, is learning to write digits using these easy-to-remember number formation poems! I have reduced the size of the cards, added a ring binder, and now have a portable number set. We also use the cards for matching games and learning about quantity. Such a great price for all of the value provided by this set.”
What homeschool resource did you use this year that you would recommend? Leave your recommendation in the comments!!
It’s fun for me to see what posts were most popular with my readers in the past year. I’m sharing them with you for two reasons. First, you may have missed a good one! Second, these posts help me plan the content that best meets your needs in the coming year. If you have a request, I’d love to hear it via the comments or at psychowith6 at gmail . com.
Now here are the top posts of 2015 in order. Click the titles to read.
You should definitely pin this post so you can return to it to liven up your language arts studies this winter. Look for more ultimate list, grammar, and game posts in 2016.
If you’ve ever been criticized for giving up your education or job to homeschool, I think you’ll appreciate this post. It definitely prompted the most comments from like-minded moms. It was also a post about my faith in Jesus. Look for more faith-building posts in 2016.
I wrote this post because researching curriculum is a real crazy-maker. If you’re looking for science curriculum for next year, definitely check it out. Even though this post was a huge investment of time, look for more “best curriculum” posts in 2016.
The crockpot is a huge sanity saver for me. Fortunately, my family loves the meals I make with it. If you want dump and dash recipes, check it out. Even though I love sharing these easy recipes, I’m not a food blogger. I can’t promise more posts like this in 2016. However, you can always find great crockpot recipes on my Pinterest board.
I honestly expected to get a lot of push back about sending my child to a public high school. I am a homeschool blogger after all. But instead, I heard from so many of you that you were relieved to hear my story. I’m so glad. Expect to hear more honest stories about my homeschooling life this year that I hope will encourage you.
I discovered this quarterly planning method by accident, but it has been a huge sanity saver for me. I hope it works for some of you, too. My readers are crazy about printables and I plan to provide more of them in 2016.
This post has three magic words in it: best, free, and grammar. I was honestly surprised by the quality of the grammar websites available. I will be linking to these and other free grammar resources when I publish my elementary language arts curriculum in 2016. Just a personal note that the curriculum has taken me longer than I expected to finish, but I’m committed to it. I believe it can help kids become excellent readers and writers and these are critical skills for homeschool success.
I have published other fitness articles like this one for moms that haven’t gotten the attention this one has. I think parents are really interested in keeping their kids active. Look for another post on this topic in 2016.
I wasn’t surprised that readers liked this post. It’s food, after all. And sandwiches and leftovers get boring. I won’t be sharing more lunch ideas in 2016, but definitely check my Pinterest board for more.
Kids who fight is a huge problem and there aren’t many good resources for dealing with it. I think this tool is a powerful one. I will definitely be sharing more on sibling rivalry as well as parenting in 2016.
Now it’s your turn: what do you plan to do more of next year? What do you plan to stop doing in 2016? Let me know how I can help this year.
You know what the hard way is. You wait until you absolutely have to get curriculum, ideas, and your homeschool space in order. You stay up late, get irritable, and feel like you’re behind before you even start.
Then once you make it past the back-to-school rush, you find yourself wondering how to get dinner on the table when it’s covered in school projects, how to stay connected with your kids as mom and not just as teacher, and how to get ready for the holidays when it’s all you can do to teach and keep up with the laundry. You even wonder if you’re cut out for homeschooling since you can’t seem to figure out how to balance it all.
You troll the Internet for answers, pinning things that seem like they could help, and downloading creative worksheets that you think will help your child finally grasp a concept you’ve been trying to teach. The problem is you have no idea what to do first and if you can even find the resources you need again when you decide.
That’s the hard way: last-minute, go-it-alone, willy-nilly.
There’s an Easier Way to Organize Your Homeschool Life
#1 Plan Ahead Instead of Waiting Until the Last Minute
Planning ahead is the best way to save time, money, and stress in your homeschool life.
You save time when you plan ahead. When you make a list of everything you need for science, you only have to make one trip to the grocery store. When you register for outside classes before there’s a waiting list, you don’t have to waste time trying to find other options. When you have the kids put their shoes by the door at night, you won’t be late for a morning appointment because someone couldn’t find theirs.
You save money when you plan ahead. You get school supplies, curriculum, and gifts at the best price. You don’t have to spend extra money on gas driving around looking for what you need because your regular store is sold out. You don’t have to pay extra for expedited shipping.
You save yourself stress when you plan ahead. You don’t have to worry that you’ll let everyone in your co-op down. You don’t have to worry that your child will be miserable because you didn’t register for the team in time. You don’t have to feel like a failure as a mother and teacher.
Planning ahead is the easy way to organize your homeschool life.
#2 Get Advice Instead of Going it Alone
Getting advice is the best way to find what works for you, what works for your children, and to be encouraged.
You find what works for you. The main reason we don’t ask for advice is because we think we have to make our own way. We think we’re unique and we need a custom solution to organizing our lives. The truth is we’re not that unique. Other homeschooling moms like you have been down this parenting, homeschooling, homemaking road and have discovered solutions to the problems you’re experiencing. It may take you years to figure out answers on your own. Ask for advice!
You find what works for your children. We have the same view of our kids. It’s true that there’s no one else exactly like your son or daughter, but there are plenty of other kids who are strong-willed, anxious, or dyslexic. We can read books, see professionals, and Google, or we can get help that’s much more likely to work for our child by getting advice.
You’re encouraged. When we keep our difficulties to ourselves, they loom large. They take on nasty personas that tell us we aren’t cut out for this–that other moms are doing it better. We think our kids may be better off if we quit. But tell a homeschooling veteran what you’re insecure about and I’m willing to bet she will laugh and hug you and say she’s been there. She’ll say that if she can do it, so can you. You’ll have the encouragement you need to keep doing what you do.
Getting advice is the easy way to organize your homeschool life.
#3 Follow a Sensible Plan Instead of Working Willy-Nilly
Following a sensible plan is the best way to achieve your goals, find balance, and maintain organization.
You achieve your goals. Without a step-by-step plan, we won’t get what we hope for from our homeschooling lifestyle. We can end up spending lots of time on subjects we and our children hate that aren’t even required because we saw a great lesson plan on Pinterest. Or we can fail to adequately prepare our students for college entrance exams when college is extremely important to our family. A reasonable plan that fits your priorities will help you get what you dream of in your homeschooling life.
You find balance. A huge list of ideas for enriching your studies of history doesn’t take into account your schedule, your marriage relationship, or your budget. The best homeschooling plan is worth nothing if it runs you ragged, causes conflict in your marriage, or puts you in debt. In contrast, a sensible plan will help you keep homeschooling in its proper place. You’ll thrive in the other areas of your life as well.
You maintain organization. Binge organizing sessions whenever the mood strikes are very unlikely to result in lasting change. Instead, you need to develop good organizing habits that will maintain the order and peace you crave. Habits are borne of small, consistent steps. A sensible plan will outline potential steps so you don’t have to wonder what to do.
Following a sensible plan is the easy way to organize your homeschool life.
The Easiest Way I’ve Found for Organizing My Homeschool Life
I’ve struggled to organize all the aspects of my homeschool life and keep them that way over the years because I waited until the last minute, went it alone, and worked willy-nilly. But I had finally had enough. I needed a sensible plan that incorporated other homeschooling moms’ advice and allowed me to plan ahead. But I couldn’t find one. I found organizing calendars that were created for housekeeping, but nothing that was specifically designed for a homeschooling mother’s needs. So I created my own.
The Organized Homeschool Life is an easy-to-follow plan that will help you develop lasting organizing habits 15 minutes at a time. It’s a plan that reminds you to plan for homeschool tasks, holidays, and seasons well in advance. It is the result of the advice of many homeschool moms who’ve solved the problems we struggle with. And it’s available now. I will be using it all year to organize my homeschool life the easy way. I would love for you to join me.
You spent so much time organizing the books, supplies, and notebooks at back-to-school time and now…they’re a mess.
The kids can’t find their notebook, binder, or workbox that you knew would solve all your organizing problems. And for that matter, they can’t even find a pencil!
Your toddler has gotten into the art supplies because your older child left the cabinet unlocked. To top it off, your preschooler has mixed up all the pieces for those 40 great learning kits you created.
Or maybe that was just me. I would tell myself that I’d find the hacks I needed to fix everything over Christmas break, when I would have so much extra time. Ha ha ha. I don’t have to tell you how that worked out, do I? As winter turned into spring, I would give myself the same pep talk. Come summer, I would figure out how to get and keep my homeschool organized. No matter how determined I was, the cycle kept repeating.
If you’ve struggled to get your homeschool organized and keep it that way, one explanation is because you think organizing is a once-a-year event. After 16 years of homeschooling, I’ve learned that it isn’t. In fact, I’ve learned that the best homeschool hack is to organize all year. Here are three reasons why:
1. You’re Not Just Organizing Your Homeschool; You’re Organizing Your Life
As a homeschooling mother, you know you’re more than a teacher. You’re the cook, janitor, technology director, homeroom mom, field trip chaperone, and much, much more. Yet we often approach organizing our homeschools as though we were only a teacher. Once the classroom and lesson plans are organized, we think we’re done. Wrong!
In order to have the peaceful, organized homeschool we desire, we have to organize our entire homeschool life: meal planning, housekeeping, computers, parties, and trips.There is more to do than you could possibly finish in a summer organizing session.
Because you’re organizing your whole life, you will also have tasks that must be done in season. Holiday planning, outdoor activities, and purchasing items at their lowest price are examples of to-do’s that can’t be completed in one organizing session in the summer. Not being prepared for seasonal activities is a source of stress that none of us needs.
2. Organizing Isn’t a Skill; It’s a Habit
We say we didn’t get the organizing gift and we don’t know how to make our school rooms and homes look Pinterest-beautiful. But the pretty bins and baskets we ogle are primarily the result of the skill of decorating–not organizing.
We can definitely be overwhelmed and need help from an experienced homeschooler in scheduling our days, planning lessons, and arranging our space. But that skill (that honestly comes primarily from experience and not genetics) is a very small part of homeschool organization. Organization that lasts is because of the habits you have.
As a psychologist, I’ve been exposed to the let’s-analyze-why-you-don’t-have-good-habits philosophy and I can tell you it doesn’t get you the organization you want. Maybe your home was a very disorganized place and you didn’t learn good housekeeping habits. That doesn’t mean that you can’t learn them. Keep doing the same small things in exactly the same way every day (as I did with flossing my teeth) and in short order, you will have developed a habit. If we try to organize once a year, we will not develop the habit that will keep our homeschools and lives organized.
3. Organizing Isn’t Static; It’s Responsive
We started homeschooling in part because we wanted an education that fit our student’s needs. In fact, learning how to teach to our child’s strengths and interests can be one of the most rewarding aspects of homeschooling. It’s tempting to sigh with relief that we’ve found the curriculum, the environment, and the activities that work for our child. We got organized and now we’re done.
But then things change. A new baby is born. A learning challenge is uncovered. Puberty happens. Our homeschool has to respond to these changes. A once-a-year organizing session can’t address your family’s needs in a timely fashion. Waiting to address them can threaten your and your family’s commitment to continue homeschooling.
Static, once-a-year organizing can also lead to perfectionism and procrastination. We wait to address a problem until we have lots of time (summer?) and the perfect solution. Procrastination can lead to disappointment, frustration, and discouragement. In contrast, organizing all year means we find practical, if not perfect, solutions to the challenges we have in our homeschools and families now.
But How Can We Organize All Year Long?
Perhaps you agree with me that you should organize all year long so you can organize your whole life, develop the habit of organizing, and be responsive to your family’s changing needs. Your next question may be, “How do I do that?”
That was honestly my question. Over the years, I learned many of the things that I should do to make my homeschool and home more peaceful and effective, but I didn’t know where to start. So I started brainstorming. I made a list of everything I thought would lead to more sanity and put it on the calendar for the week it made sense to do it. I broke each of those organizing challenges into daily missions that took about 15 minutes. Then I looked for ideas and resources that would help me complete those challenges.
It made organizing all year long seem so simple! And it specifically addressed my unique needs as a homeschooler. But I didn’t want to be selfish with it. I knew this simplified approach to homeschool life organization could help other homeschoolers, whether they were new or experienced. So I put it in book form. The Organized Homeschool Life will take you to homeschool sanity week by week. You can have a more organized life no matter what time of year it is. It’s available now.
I’m all about sanity, especially when it comes to the Christmas season. I don’t make fancy food and guess what? People love my simple recipes.
My recipe for Oreo Truffles is no exception. I don’t make them as gifts because in a family of eight, they disappear almost as quickly as I make them. Whether you serve them to your family or wrap them up as gifts, they’re sure to be a hit.
Oreo Truffles Recipe
Ingredients
1 package of Oreos (or a generic brand of similar cookies to save money)
1 package of cream cheese, softened
2/3 package of chocolate almond bark
Directions
Process the entire package of Oreos in a food processor with the regular blade attachment until it’s crumbly. Add the cream cheese and process again until the mixture forms a ball. Put the mixture into the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. Melt almond bark in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring a few times before it’s completely melted. Form the chilled dough into quarter-sized balls. Drop into melted chocolate, rolling with a spoon until covered. Lift the truffle out with a spoon, tapping the spoon to remove excess chocolate. Roll truffle onto a wax-paper covered cookie sheet. Store completed truffles in the refrigerator. Use a knife to trim truffles to make them prettier…if they last long enough.
You can package them as a gift in boxes like these.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
