Just the Basics, Ma’am

Posted by Tricia Hodges | 0 comments

Oh how we homeschool moms pour over curriculum. We make plans, pick up new pencils at the store. Mark dates on the calendar. But what about the basics? Those simple, necessary things we have to do every day as mothers? How about the basic routines and habits we’d like for our children to build – like brushing teeth and clearing their spot at the breakfast table?

When we start back to school I always anticipate a rough week. It’s just hard for everyone (mom included!) to get back into a routine. Knowing this ahead of time, I realize it is better to focus on just the basics, m’am. When I don’t have these basics down, we so easily get derailed.

Food. Make a menu plan so that you won’t have to figure out what to feed everyone in the thick of learning time. The weekend before back to school, boil a pan full of eggs for breakfast for the week. Double your pancake mix one easy-going Saturday morning. Tuck them in the freezer to zap. The key is to keep it simple.

Better yet, you can make supper at lunch. All that amounts to it putting your slow cooker to work. Or maybe cooking your spaghetti noodles in the pot while you have all the supplies out making sandwiches for lunch. How nice it is to have supper mostly ready and concentrate on learning!

A few subjects. Decide the first week back to school will just be Math. Or just be the three Rs. That way you know you will all feel accomplished. During our first week back, once we finish Math, we play in the pool!

Clothing. This may seem extreme but putting outfits together for the week and stacking them where a child can reach can do so much for avoiding the sidetrack.

Start right. Maybe for you that means getting up early for quiet time. Perhaps your family needs to gather around and start the day with prayer. For us, all of this is handled with Vicki Bentley’s These Things Should Be Done Before School. (And, yes, sometimes it’s a By 9:45 rather than By 8:45 but it has helped children build basic habits – even doing laundry!)

That’s it! Food, clothing, just a few subjects and most importantly, prayer.

Tricia gave up life in the drive thru lane for the joy-filled road home. She homeschools five children from preschool to middle school. You can find her facing that daily dose of chaos at Hodgepodge. There she writes about practical schooling strategies and shares how she is saving bucks and her sanity with the frugal recipes of her Southern roots. Tricia is also known as Hodgepodgemom.