Friday, August 7, 2009

Well, schedules...

Man, Sara over at Blessed Simplicity is simply kickin' my backside good and proper lately.

First it's that Home Challenge thing. Organizing, purging, cleaning. It's been a rough time here at this homestead, let me tell you. We have pretty much gone through the rooms now -- although I tell you the clothung beast that lives in the children's rooms is just not going down without prisoners! It needs another complete go-through to purge again.

We have moved outside. The front porch, the yard, the barn...they each require as much, if not more, work than the house really. We have a chicken run to enclose, barn stalls to clean and rework, a neglected wet yard slowly beginning to look like a jungle trail. Always something.

Then she started that Crochet A-Long and while I set off at a good clip, I just blew steam and slowed down. I have been working on blocks galore for the ladies group, and honestly, my heart wasn't ready for my own block stash. Besides, I've been working at keeping up with the block a day/week thing I started, putting together at least 1 quilt block every day. Yeah, ok, it hasn't always been daily, but I do end up with more than 7 each week so all in all I. Keeping up there. We need quilts on beds this year so I guess I'm motivated.

And that special project in the works, too.

I didn't forego the crocheting for home and hearth totally, though. I started (rather spur of the moment) capes and poncho's for fall for the girls. Again, it's just always something needing done, isn't it?

Well, just to be consistent, Sara went and shared her heart on the state of her home and schooling routine.

Now, I could totally ignore the truth of it all and just say that gal is a thorn in my world right now...but man, has she been peeking in my windows lately or what?!
She is walking a path The Lord has impressed upon her, but she's just plain sharing too much now. I'm getting stepped-on toes...shoot, my whole FOOT is being trampled on and offended with conviction :o(

I don't know how many of you -- if any of you at all -- followed me here from HomesteadBlogger, but if you did, you already know I'm living the life of a Class A hypocrit.

I know how well a schedule and routine works.

I know how well children thrive under routine. Whether choring or schooling, or even playing, routine works perfectly with children...and their moms.

I know from long experience (way too long to be coming forth telling you all this now, that's for sure!) that children without the guidance and direction a well-thought routine suffer, and so does mom. Those children are left in the midst of a free-for-all, left to guide and direct themselves with limited oversight. It just doesn't work. It doesn't produce fruit worth keeping.

I'm not talking all that "unschooling" stuff. There is direction and guidance there enough. I'm talking just plain left to their own devices child rearing techniques. Need to see what they produce? Just look around any shopping mall, any school yard, and far too many homes these days. A whole ME generation of 'adult' children. All raised under a buddy-system. A constant diet of junk TV and video games being used as baby-sitter and teacher. A lacking cohesive family structure. Computer nannies.

I've done way more of that lately than I've done in YEARS. I have plenty of excuses for it all, too. We use the computer for school projects, Live Classes, educational free-time. I lack in-flesh fellowship, so I lock in with a few friends online in just a couple groups, and here on my blog. They are my spiritual sisterhood. They offer me support, encouragement, even motivation.

And videos...gee, that's just a relaxation, wind-down time. It's all good -- Daniel Boone, Christy, select Little House watching. It's not like we're whiling away the hours with episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond, or Lost. It's good, clean, family viewing.

Wanna know what else it is? It's Mom not being Mom. It's a house falling to disarray with maybe the vare essentials done weekly. It's a lack of the family meal table at the ending of the day. It's slow choring, if any. It's a list of incomplete school work, and a constant changing of 'the plan' to accommodate the lack and absorb it so folks don't think me lazy.

Good grief, it's a 7 and 9 year old still struggling to read on level :o(

All for the lack of routine and scheduling. And as I am the heart of my family, that title of lackful guide falls squarely on my shoulders and sits ther soundly without movement.
I can voice a hundred well enough excuses -- hey now, I was just dumped into single parenthood for a year, you know. What can you expect from a mom of many under those unplanned-for conditions? Cut me some slack.

But at the end of the day -- at the end of EVERY SINGLE DAY -- it all boils down to my lacking, period. A lack of Faith. A lack of Trust. A lack of Committment and truthful Conviction. A lack of Vision.
It's not a lack of blessings -- I am at home raising my children ONLY through God's Grace upon this family. I am given this time as I believe all mothers have been called to, by a Father who knows full well my level of skill and experience. There is nothing more here than what I can handle. /od doesn't do that. satan will steal that level of coping from you, but not God. He gave them to you, He walked you into your day to day lifestyle, He planned all these well ordered steps a long, long time ago.

Then came your time-stealers. Your computer buddy groups, your educational zones, your online spiritual guidance officers. It's all good, then one day God steps back in from that neat little corner you've asked Him to wait in and you start seeing things in your life as they really are. And satan sneaks in, not one to miss this prime opportunity to make you feel inadequate, lacking, unskilled. You look around and there's someone else doing the same thing...scratching their head wondering how they too let their own things move so far out of proper alignment.

In my particular case, at this moment in my current season, that's Sara. And her evaluation of scheduling and homekeeping. I'm a non-working SAHM and there are weeds a-plenty to prove it. I've foolishly allowed myself to be one of those displaced workers. I've given it over to those stupid things I mentioned above -- TV, videos and computer lives.

So, smack some sense back into me Sara dear. I have a schedule and while I know it will see some adjustments and alterations as we fine-tune it, it's here to be used nonetheless. It's currently a rough-draft. A sort of "first-time homeschooler" routine of school-at-home really, as any veteran will plainly see at a glance.

5:30 the olders wake, dress
I am up around 4:30 with Dewey now.

6:00 choring begins with olders -- animals, milking, baking needs, breakfast preps

7:00 all are up, dressed and heading for breakfast

8:00 we have our Bible lesson/story

9:00 Math -- text work, drills and flashcards, fun pages etc. Everyone's working math something-or-another

10:00 Reading -- text work for olders, lessons with the middles and phonics with the youngers

11:00 English, grammar, etc.
Lunch time and any mid-day choring that may be waiting.

1:00 Science (M-W-F)
History (T-Th-S)

2:00 Working with Words (olders) and Spelling (youngers)

8:00 baths cycle through and bedtimes work in by say 8:30. (A lofty goal, I know!)

We will alter this base plan, I already know that. Depending on the interest levels on any given topic, Science and history could bounce between read-aloud and hands-on projects a lot.

And we need an evening devotion time. Probably just after dinner while we're still handy at the table.

Go ahead -- pick my plan apart and advise me on obvious alterations you might see. Please...I need it and I'm opening myself for it :o). Come Sara -- you thumped me awake here...let's not leave me stranded :o)

4 comments:

MyBulletinBoard said...

Good heavens, Deanna. That sounds exhausting, Almost desperate. Are you sure you don't need to take a week off and just enjoy Dewey being home? A staycation? I've done this bear down and redouble the effort thing too many times myself, and it was usually a sign I was near burnout. And you have confessed being a type A . . . . . . . . .

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah -- In fact, I'm pretty sure I actually put THE A in Type A ;o)

Seriously though, that schedule won't play out in everyday life that way much at all. No one not even my olders, take an hour for any subject. Johanna alone has a goal of finishing her textbook schooling within the next 2 years so she knocks out a handful of lessons in her subjects in 3 hrs on the outside and that's with copywork and free reading thrown in.

In all reality, what will end up happening is school book work finished before lunch and afternoons left for the projects, the crafts and our read-alouds. Mornings will have laundry coming and going, baking for each day or week, meal preps for that day, barn tasks, mowing and trimming the yard, animal duties, etc.

They'd never stand for an hour of each subject -- unless it's with the crafts :o)

No, that schedule is mainly my core to start with and begin the re-framing of it all. We need to accomplish each of those daily. The timing listed mainly keeps me from missing something.

Keep me looking at reality, though! Don't give me a chance to lean toward burn-out. Good grief, can you imagine my posts then? *wink*

Deanna

Hearth said...

Yes to what the first poster said. You need to figure out what the priorities are to get done, do those daily, and make sure to get 8 hours sleep in every night!

If you perfection out you will fail - pick one thing up at a time, get it right and under your belt, then pick up the next when you're ready.

I don't homeschool or homestead, so I've no specific suggestions, but I've crashed and burned enough on my own over-enthusiasm to have learned to not take such big bites.

Greentwinsmummy said...

I am pretty organised here,I only have 2 smalls but its important to me that they have a secure upbringing,I believe if things like mealtimes & bath routines,bedtimes etc are pretty much the same all the time,it leaves the rest of the day to be enjoyed,by that I mean they relax knowing (whether very tiny ones are aware of it I dont know) that they will hav food & rest etc.Part of wonders if children raised in very willynilly way(& of course these can & are be just as lovng) are somehow tenser from a lack of even a basic routine.
Its hard to explain,hpe that makes sense!

I have relxaed as they have got older,if I dont have dinner done by a certain time now,its not the end of the day,stuff does happen which sometimes you have to work around & it has a knock on effect of makiing things take more time oh lol how that happens in a busy family lol! & sometimes its nice to have a day or weekend which has a different rhythmn to it.

But in alot of ways I am consistant with when & how things happen & as I said inbetween those we have fun & see how the day pans out,they might do drawing or colouring in the morning & then we go for a walk in the countryside in the afternoon,each day is different but mine are younger than yours I think.

Computers....sigh! oh what a double edged blade they are!they keep us in touch with people & are greatly enjoyable but they suck time. I used to have a computer free day,I have dropped it(am going to start it again I think) because I actually spend far less time on here than I did,but I find having a PC Free day is a really good idea as it takes it out of the equation for that day.

I think the thing is to have a good framework but then to remain flexible at the same time & it is nice to have a tme when you just let it all go lol!
GTM x x x

Jer.6:16

Jeremiah 6:16
Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.

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