Here and There

There are many reasons homeschooling can overwhelm you. There are many reasons it has overwhelmed me. After eight years and six children, I thought I had it down. But when the work outgrew the time allotted in my day, my homeschool split the seams of my life wide open. To say I was overwhelmed was an understatement. Maybe you’ve been there too.

After a week of panic (followed closely by prayer), I took a deep breath and remembered that God is in control. It was obvious I wasn’t. I was reminded of the verse the Lord had impressed on my heart my first year of homeschooling.

“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”   Isaiah 28:10

Those final words, “here a little, there a little,” echoed in my heart. It was only in this way that I could teach my children. It was the little bits that would add up over time to be the progress I wanted to see.

So I set about to find little ways to tweak our days. I looked for nooks and crannies of time to squeeze subjects into. Instead of working only within typical school times, I opened our day wide with possibility. Here are some things worth trying that helped us fit more into our days. When you get creative, you’ll be amazed at all the little opportunities you’ll uncover.

Layer Your Day
Take a look at your day and see where you can piggyback tasks. We all have places in our days where routine has been established, even if it’s just mealtimes. Start by adding on a learning task with this activity. Whether its before, during or after, add in just one thing you want to work on with a child. Maybe it’s math facts or sight words. I have my emerging reader sound out words while I’m peddling on my exercise bike. Multitasking at its best!

Learning Links
This is something I’ve started recently, specifically for my eight to twelve year olds who have email addresses. I send them an email a day with a link to an online learning game (or I try to send a week’s worth at once). I hone in on a skill they need to practice, like learning the continents or dividing words into syllables. There are tons of great learning sites out there. My kids think they’ve gotten a get-out-of-school-free card, but I know they’re shoring up some weak spots in their learning while they’re having fun.

Go Multi Sensory
When things aren’t sticking for whatever reason, it can be helpful to set aside the resources you’re using and come back at the subject through another one of the five senses. Find an audio CD to teach math facts or grammar. Grab a lapbook kit to teach about the Egyptians. We sculpted a flower out of clay to teach those tricky botany terms. Get some more senses involved and see what sticks.

Tweak Your Curriculum
There is no perfect curriculum. Sometimes a good program can be a great match with a little fine tuning. You don’t have to do everything the teacher’s manual recommends. Skip the parts that don’t appeal to you. If it’s too much busy work, assign just the even numbered problems. Or stretch the program over two years. Nix the spelling portion of your language arts package if you need something more suited to your learner. The curriculum police won’t come knocking at your door to check that you did it ‘right.’ Feel free to get out a big, black marker and cross out what doesn’t work for your family.

Play Games
Find a game to achieve your goals. Whatever skill or subject needs mastery, there’s bound to be a game for it. Let the kids play in the evening with dad or for a break after lunch. Siblings can play together while you tend to laundry (or any of the 88 things on your to-do list). Not only are games great for learning, but they’re relationship and character building. Sounds like a triple training opportunity to me.

Kitchen Tutoring
While you’re fixing a meal, invite a child into the kitchen for some one-on-one instruction. Work on this week’s spelling list with magnetic letters on the fridge. Quiz them on science vocabulary. Recite Bible verses or poetry you’re memorizing. Hang a map on the pantry door or inside a cupboard for a quick geography review. I’ve used the microwave keypad for practicing numbers with my youngest ones.

Delegate
If you have extended family who want to help, consider that a gift. If not, get older siblings to help with younger. They can give spelling tests, listen to reading, quiz on math facts or just keep the baby busy while you work with another child. If dad wants to get more involved, let him do the read aloud right before bedtime or conduct the science experiments on Saturday. Make it part of their routine and regular help, even just a little help, will become the norm around your house.

Tweak Your Week
You don’t have to do every subject every day. We only do science on Monday and Wednesday. We’re learning Latin and Greek roots, but we only spend 10 minutes two or three times a week on it. Geography can be taught once a week or for five minutes daily. If you’re trying to squeeze in some art appreciation, pick an artist for one month and hang prints of their work from an old calendar. The next month, pick a composer and play music while you’re cleaning or during dinnertime. Just touching on it here and there throughout your week will do more than you think. You’d be amazed as the results build up over the years.

Every family has their own set of challenges that change from year to year, but managing time is usually a constant struggle. Take heart, that’s just what happens when home meets school. The two are forever mixed into one big blend of challenging opportunities. Get creative in how and where you accomplish your learning and little by little you’ll reach your goals–here a little and there a little.

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” Zechariah 4:10

Melissa Morgner is a happy wife of 16 years to her college sweetheart and mother to six loud, but lovable children ranging in age from twelve to one. After eight years of homeschooling and sampling way too much curriculum, she takes an eclectic approach in their little schoolroom, choosing resources that best suit the children and the teacher. Her busy household puts her gifts of juggling and winging it to the test each day. She steals moments here and there to write on her blog, Day In Day Out, about the lessons she’s learning from the Lord in the routine but privileged tasks of mothering and homeschooling.

Tags: Creative Day Planning, Egyptians, Encouragement, homeschooling, Homeschooling Stress, lapbooks, Multi-Sensory Schooling, Online Learning Games, overwhelmed, Scripture

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