How do you do it all?

Very simply.... I don't.

I'm often asked this question, particularly when people hear that we homeschool our three children.  There are three reasons I don't do it all.

The first is that everyone helps.  All five of us live in our house and all five of us care for it and for each other.  Everyone must contribute.

The second is that my husband takes an active role in our home.  He is the spiritual head, the protector, the provider... and the principal.

The third, and the focus of this particular post, is that we follow a schedule.  We stay home a lot.  We sign up for very little.  We do not feel that we're missing anything, nor do our children.  Our lives are rich and the time saved in not rushing here, there and everywhere allows us to more greatly enjoy God, and each other.

We weigh very carefully what is important to us and what helps us to accomplish our life goals and the goals we have for our children.

Those goals, I might add, have changed drastically in the last ten years.  The goals that once included picket fences and private colleges have been replaced.  Replaced with things such as servanthood and selflessness.

We have learned- we have had to learn- we are still learning, to delight in the simple, the everyday, the ordinary.  We have learned that having a schedule helps tremendously to accomplish that which does need doing.

The schedule is a guide that we do our best to follow, but contrary to popular belief it is not our master. Instead, it gives freedom in each day.  We accomplish far more with a schedule than without, and still have hours of the day left for play and for exploration.

Just today, our first day of school and two boys with fevers, our language arts lesson was interrupted by a flock of wild turkeys in the backyard.

Try as I might to discourage weapons, boys are born hunters.  The older sons ran to the yard - one wielding jack-knife and the other a trash can lid (yes, a trash can lid.  Apparently he was the designated protector, to protect brother-hunter in case the plan went awry).

They didn't do much but upset the flock and cause a ruffle of feathers.  They returned to their language arts lessons having blown off some steam, excitement building until lunch when they could fill me in on the details of their hunt, upset only that they'd failed to provide the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.

God is a God of order.  He is not a God of chaos or disorganization.  We have just completed our schedule for our school year, and today began it's implementation.  Even with a mid-morning backyard hunt, we were able to stay on task and school was done by noon, excepting reading (silent and read aloud) which we all prefer to do in the latter part of the day.

Our schedule is organized so that when appointments need to be made, I make them for just after lunch, whenever possible.  The window of free time each afternoon allows for grocery shopping, appointments, errands, visits to Grandma and Grandpa, excursions, adventures, and occasional play dates.

When we are home - which is most days- the boys can play, read, do nature study, ride bikes...  I can join them or catch up on house chores, computer work, or my own reading.

Our schedule will obviously not work for every family.  In fact, our schedule is ever-changing.  I imagine that by the end of the calendar year I will need to make a new one when Noah begins to take fewer and shorter naps.

Please use our schedule as a guide in making your own if you wish.  A schedule, for many reasons, helps drastically in making life more intentional.  You cannot live an intentional life if you're flying by the seat of your pants, living from moment to moment.  How does your daily routine reflect your end goal?  Where are you going?  What are you doing?  To where and how are you leading your children?

When used as a tool to make your daily actions reflect your priorities and point you in a direction toward accomplishing your goals, the Lord's goals, for your children, for your life, it's invaluable.

	Daniel	Lisa	Isaiah	Elijah	Noah
7:00 am		Laundry/ Shower	Clean Room Dress Teeth Clean and vacuum “J”	Clean Room Dress/ Teeth/ Family Room
7:30	Chore Check Shower	Noah Up/ Dishwasher/ Breakfast Prep.	Devotions/ Dishwasher/ Laundry/ Breakfast Helper	Devotions/ Set Table/ Read to Noah	Up and Dressed/ Read with Eli
8:00	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast
8:30		Kitchen Clean Up/ Clean Room/ Do Laundry	Kitchen Clean Up/ Daily Chore	Dining Room Clean Up/ Daily Chore	Play/ Water Helper
9:00		Bible Work with Eli	Bible First Task	Bible Work with Mom	Bible Preschool
9:30		Email Blog	Language Arts	Language Arts	Nap
10:00		Daily Chore	Math	Math	Nap
10:30		Spelling Geography	Spelling Geography	Spelling Geography	Nap
11:00		Science Desk Work	Science/Art	Science/Art	Nap
11:30		Lunch Prep.	11:40-11:50 Math Drill 11:50 Help Mom	11:40-11:50 Math Drill 11:50 Help Mom	Nap
12:00pm		Lunch	Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
12:30		Clean Up until 12:50	Kitchen Clean Up until 12:50	Dining Room Clean Up until 12:50	Help Eli Clean Up until 12:50
1:00		FREE	FREE	FREE	FREE
1:30		FREE	FREE	FREE	FREE
2:00		FREE	FREE	FREE	NAP
2:30		FREE	FREE	FREE	NAP
3:00		FREE	Math	FREE	NAP
3:30		Read Aloud	Read with Mom	Read with Mom	FREE
4:00	Settle/ Help Lisa	Dinner Prep	Book Basket	Book Basket	FREE
4:30	Help Lisa or Play with Boys	Dinner Prep	Dinner Helper/Set Table	Clean up Yard & Toys/Play with Noah	Clean up Yard & Toys/Play with Eli
5:00	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner
5:30	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner
6:00	Bath & Chore oversight	Dinner  Clean Up	Dinner  Clean Up/ Trash Out	Bath Put Away Laundry	Bath
6:30	6:45 Family Time	Laundry 6:45  Family time	Bath 6:45 Family Time	Clean Bathroom 6:45 Family time	Play 6:45 Family Time
7:00	Family Time/ Kids to Bed	Family Time/ Kids to Bed	Family Time/ Read	Family Time/ Bed	Family Time/ Bed
7:30	Last Minute Clean Up	Last Minute Clean Up	7:45 Bed

And What With All the Toys?

Toys, toys and more toys?  They accumulate.  Birthdays, Christmas, small surprises given here and there.
Where do you keep them all?  How do you keep order?

Our solution is simple.  We have two areas designated for toy storage.  If the toys don't fit in those areas, something needs to go.  Twice a year, usually in early December and early summer we sort through.  We weed out.  Four piles are made - to keep, to toss, to donate, and to store.

The most loved stay.  The broken or the ones missing parts get tossed.  The toys no one ever plays with, the ones they don't love, are donated so they may be used by someone who does.  The fourth is for those toys that were once loved, that are still in good condition that the older boys have outgrown.  This pile gets boxed up and put in the attic and these toys are gifted to the youngest brother for Christmas or birthdays when he grows into them.

There is a cedar closet in the hallway of our split level home.  It would be great to use it for it's intended purpose, but it's not necessary as the bedroom closet is sufficient for Dan and I to share.  The rule is that bedrooms are for clothing, for books and for sleeping.

Toys go in the hallway closet and in a corner of the garage that has been designated for toys.  By using this method, the kids bedrooms are always tidy as they are manageable for them each morning.  Our house is not strewn with toys to be tripped over and each of the older boys is assigned one of the toy areas to manage daily.

Three tall storage bins in the closet- the smaller two on wheels.  The one in front slides out easily for the kids to reach the larger bins in back.  We rotate toys too from time to time- switching them from the garage to the closet and the closet to the garage.

Of course it gets out of hand now and then and they need a bit of help to put it back together.  Usually in the fall and in the spring I help them reorganize, doing more training each time.  How to take everything out, and put it all back where it belongs.  W

e talk a lot on these days about stewardship.  About taking care of what they have.  About being thankful for these items that are fun and enjoyable, but are not a need or a right that they have them.  We talk about what is really necessary.  It serves as a reminder to me as well... though we strive to care well for the material blessings, very few are really necessary.  Elijah answered well this week, "Jesus is all we need".