Balance!
This is something that we all need to find in life. How do we manage all the roles that we have... mothers, wives, sisters, friends, employees, students, etc. When I was a working mom, I had to balance raising children with a 10 hour chunk of my weekdays missing. I eventually found a balance - start work at 7, get off at 3:15... pick kids up from daycare or off the school bus, cook dinner, homework time, clean up, bath time, etc. Being a stay at home mom with two older kids and two young babies has led me to find another system that works for my day. It’s a trial and error process, and it evolves over time, but eventually, if we keep striving for it, we find balance.
New homeschool parents typically run their “school days” or times in a fashion like the institutional education they were brought up in. 5-8 hours of school, start early in the morning, etc. It takes a lot of effort to do things this way if you have younger children to take care of. I encourage parents to customize their education styles, hours, and days to what works best for their households.
For example, we do work on Sundays so that my husband can watch our babies while I work with the older children on tasks that I need to focus on. There have been times also when we work in the evenings when my husband is home from work because I need him to watch the younger children. We also are very flexible in the number of hours we do each day. Some days, we work 2-3 hours, while other days we work 5 hours, and some days we just focus on one subject for however long it takes. If my child seems to not be able to concentrate very well one day, I may even let him or her go and do some constructive activity that still stimulates their imagination without having to make them focus on fine levels of detailed learning.
We also start at hours that work for us. Some parents have school days that start at 7am. We, however, typically begin between 9am and 10am...
Balancing life can include bringing your children shopping. Have them help make grocery lists, and budget. It can include them learning how to wash and fold clothes, or how to clean. Doing chores can be a part of their education. Include them in each step of the day. Or find quiet activities they can do while you are busy with day to day duties.
Don’t put yourself in a box. Don’t make goals and schedules and start times that you cannot keep! Evaluate on a consistent basis what you are doing and the success that you are having. If it doesn’t work, don’t hesitate to make tweaks.
Most importantly: Pray for wisdom from YHWH on how to order your life. He is the creator of time. He can show you how to maximize it.
T.E.A. 2018
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