Homeschool Archives - Page 7 of 8

Over the last few years I’ve spent a bit more time listening to podcasts…they were great when riding back and forth to Albany for doctors appointments (2 hours one way). I’ve had a lot less time lately to listen to them, which has been kind of sad. One in particular I’ve made a concerted effort to listen to Sarah Werner’s Write Now Podcast, because I love it!

I don’t remember when or who I started listening to with Podcasts…I think maybe it was Kat Lee’s How They Blog, which I’m not even sure it exists anymore. I do know that she does Inspired to Action, which is another great blog. Anyways. It went from there to God Centered Mom and a whole bunch of other ones, a lot of them radio shows that I just never caught on the radio.

Then came the day that I just declared podcast bankruptcy because I couldn’t handle looking at the number of unplayed podcasts. In November I was looking for podcasts specifically about writing, which is when I found Sarah’s awesome podcast, which is what got me back into the whole listening to podcasts thing and wanting to BE a podcaster {I love them, I’d love to do one, I’d love to be on one…no idea what or who I would talk to}.

The thing I love about podcasts is how my mind can be engaged in something, while doing mindless stuff. I can learn something new, be entertained, inspired, or just about anything else while listening to a podcast and it doesn’t take away from my ability to perform any of the myriad of mindless activities that I need to do on a regular basis.

Just recently I started cleaning our church on a weekly basis which gives me a couple of hours of quiet time to listen to podcasts! Score! Until I got caught up on every podcast episode…now I am in need of some new material…WHICH IS WHERE YOU COME IN! What are your favorite podcasts? Why? Do you listen to every episode or pick and choose? And, if you DON’T listen to podcasts…why not?

What do I listen to?

I love Write Now Podcast, which I mentioned above. She does two different types, the more frequent ones are interviews, referred to as Coffee Breaks, and then there is the more technical/inspirational being a writer ones {which are my favorite!}. I have yet to listen to a Coffee Break, just because…my time was limited, but with cleaning I’m planning on delving more into them.

I also started listening to Modern Mrs. Darcy’s What Should I Read Next? The premise of the podcast is interviews and matchmaking between writers/readers and what they have been reading and what they should read next. It’s really a rather fascinating idea. I’ve been toying with the idea of doing something similar once a month on here.

I’ve already mentioned God Centered Mom and Inspired to Action, both of which I really enjoy. I just starte
d listening to Sorta Awesome with Megan Tietz, which is great, as is Tsh Oxenreider’s The simple Show. I do also enjoy listening to ProBlogger‘s podcast, but it’s more on the if-the-topic-interests-me basis, the same for Focus on the Family‘s daily broadcast.

I’ve really been looking for a family radio theater kind of podcast…either Lamplighter or something similar, but haven’t come across one. We love the Family Hour on Family Life Network, but it goes too late for our crew {they’re in bed by 7:30}.

What are your suggestions? What podcasts do you love? or maybe one that you listened to that you’re definitely not tuning in to again. Maybe you don’t even listen to podcasts. I want to hear from YOU!

Over the past few weeks I’ve shared about HOW we homeschool and WHAT we use, now I’m going to share a bit about how I handle homeschooling so I don’t lose my mind. I don’t let homeschooling rule our life, which may or may not be a good thing. We get the work done, but it’s not the focus of everything.

There’s a school of thought, 1 Child – 1 Activity, created to help parents keep their kids activities from ruling the family. I’m very much a proponent of this {we do have 5 kids and it could get crazy as they get older} in all aspects of life. We need to be able to function as a family, not as caterers to everyone’s interests {that doesn’t mean that if our kids are interested in something we won’t let them do it, it’s a matter of priority}.

I shared our schedule a few weeks ago. We try to get the sit-down work of school done first thing in the morning. It’s the best time for all of us. I can check it off my to do list, the kids are usually otherwise interested and can be on their own, and Peter naps. We spend between 1 and 2 hours and then it’s done. Getting that done first thing in the morning is a HUGE thing off of my shoulders. After that I feel like we still have the day ahead of us and I don’t have to dread trying to corral everyone.

The single most helpful thing for me, besides a set schedule, is a planner. I’m a planner girl. I like writing things down and checking them off. This year I went with HEDUA’s Well-Planned Day. It was the ONLY planner that allowed me the space and functionality that I needed. That said, it is a bit limited. I’m hoping, if we continue next year, to put together my own planner for next year that will work much the same way, but allow me a bit more space where I need it.

After our last lesson of the week, Avelyn is free to go play and I sit down with all of the instructor guides for everything and spend 20 minutes charting out next week and deciding what I need to pull together. I love this time! I love the quiet {because the kids are all ecstatic that she’s done for the week}! I love sitting down and writing lists and filling out a planner! {Psst…This has quickly become my favorite spot and one of the highlights of my week!} I know this is not for everyone, but for us me taking the time to plan ahead is imperative for me not losing Avelyn’s attention when we do sit down to do school.

The other thing that has helped me manage homeschooling is meal planning and freezing! I know those dreadful words are always popping up all over the internet. Honestly though, it’s a huge help for me. I can take out dinner in the morning and let it thaw. If we have a busy day I can pull a freezer meal out, if I have time to cook I at least don’t have to guess what to cook.

We only do school 4 days a week. This allows us a catch-up day, whether that be schoolwork, housekeeping, outside activities or anything else. Pushing all our work into 4 days helps me know that we only have a certain amount of time, but frees me up to know that we can get the house back in order before the weekend or do things beyond school.

I keep everything together. In our dining room I have a couple of shelves for all of our school books, but I only keep the things we are using right now in the kitchen {where we school}. I have two large tote bags that contain all of the books we are using, my planner, and a pencil box with anything we made need for school {pens, pencils, crayons, markers, scissors, glue, post its, etc}. It saves so much time when I don’t have to go looking for things that we need.

Our method is working for me so far. I’m able to accomplish schoolwork, and still have time to get the other things that we need to be done…done.

What tips do you have from your own schooling experience?

Jessica M. White

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Tag Archives: Homeschool

Do you listen to podcasts?

How I Manage Homeschooling {for myself}