Tag Archives: organization

Organizing your Homeschool {Blog Hop}

homeschooling

When I first began homeschooling, the most challenging thing for me was figuring out how I was going to do “that” on top of all my other household responsibilities. I saw all those “other moms” who looked like that had it all together—and I felt less than qualified. After all, I didn’t bake my own bread from wheat that I grew and ground into flour.  I didn’t have the uniform. And I didn’t speak the language.

I soon figured out that I was right to be a little nervous.  Homeschoolers, as it turns out, DO have a language all their own.  The trick, though, is to learn to speak your language. And that takes time.

Last month, after much reluctance, I wrote a series on homeschooling. I was reluctant, because I’ve learned that homeschool moms like me are easily guilted into thinking we’re doing it wrong. I don’t want to share our strategies and them have them become someone else’s burden (if that makes any sense.) Truthfully, we’ve tried just about every method and schedule out there from year to year.  Why? Because things move at the speed of life.  And you’ve got to be flexible and move with them if you’re going to stay in the game long term.

Homeschooling is a marathon, not a sprint. You wouldn’t just sign up for a marathon without training and planning, would you? Homeschooling is the same way. It requires some up front planning and thought, but once you get the hang of what generally works for you, you’ll just change it up and essentially repeat the process the next year.

Don’t be afraid to try new things. Don’t worry about failure. Keep trying until you find a rhythm that works for you and your family.  Here are my five “essentials” to getting organized for a new year of homeschooling.  Click on the image to read the entire post.

Five Essentials

Need more encouragement and ideas?  You might like:

You can do this!
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Read all of the posts “Organizing Your Homeschooling” on these blogs! And read all about the Blog Hop going on HERE!

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Heidi St John Guide to Daylight

Organizing Your Meals {Blog Hop}

meals

I used to dread dinnertime. For me, around 4pm is the hour that I want to throw in the towel and just quit being a mom.  Unfortunately, it’s also the time my kids start asking for dinner.  Why do they want dinner every.single.night? So, like all good moms, I check Facebook and see all the great dinners that all those “other” moms are making for their families.  And then, I feel inadequate.  Can you relate?

dinner

Lucky for my family, I’ve become a huge fan of slow cooking.  I use it all summer, too, for things like pulled pork and slow cooked mac-n-cheese.   I’m not much for menu planning but I will say this: when I do it, I’m so glad!  It makes my life so much easier!  Menus really only take about half and hour to put together, and VOILA! Your brain is free to do other things, like remember to take the toddler to the bathroom on the hour.

So, here are my three top tips for organizing your meals:

  1. Have a plan.
  2. Use your slow cooker.
  3. Enlist your children to help.  (See my chores post from yesterday.)

A few of my favorite recipes for slow cooked meals are:

Chalupa
Chicken Curry (Made Simple!)
15 Bean Soup (pressure cooker version)
Split Pea Soup

LUNCH:

If your kids are home for lunch like mine are, keep simple things around to make simple, healthy lunches.  We almost always have leftover dinner for lunch, so I like to make sure we have extra at dinnertime. Here are some ideas for easy lunches:

  • Quesadillas
  • Sandwiches
  • Grilled cheese and canned tomato soup
  • Leftovers!
  • Mini-pizzas on english muffins (a favorite at our house)
  • Anything pre-made from Costco (our kids like corn-dogs, which are not very healthy but great in a hurry)

Try making a menu and see if it makes a difference in your stress level.  Need a menu planner?  Download mine if you’d like and remember, keep it simple!  Find a few meals that you enjoy making and use them frequently if you’d like.  If you can make it and the family enjoys it, who cares if every Tuesday is TACO TUESDAY?

MenuPlanner

Download your free printable menu below—be patient, it might take a minute to load 🙂

tbm-mug-button-download

 

You’ve Got This,
signature-heidi

 

Read all of the posts “Organizing Your Spiritual Life Posts” on these blogs! And read all about the Blog Hop going on HERE!

deliveringgrace   lisa_blog hop piccie  raisingarrows    raisingmightyarrows   OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Heidi St John Guide to Daylight