Organization and Goals

Prayer plus planning equals progress. Most of us avoid planning. We're understandably anxious to dig into those teacher's manuals, buy that curriculum, order those books and start teaching. But before we start to build a homeschool, it is vital that we lay a solid foundation.

Knowing why you're homeschooling is a starting point, like an artist's rendering of the new building you want to begin. Planning gives you the blueprints. Do we ever have to change our plans? Of course. Blueprints are always being revised. But I wouldn't want to build (or live in) a house without one!

Organization
Getting organized is a homeschool prerequisite. As a homeschool Mom, you'll be overseeing several operations at once-mothering, teaching, homemaking-so you'll need to be organized in order to think clearly. And your children will need to learn organizational skills from you. What I'd like to do is help you get organized to have a smoothly run homeschool.

Reasons to be organized
It is useless to set goals that cannot be met. It will be very difficult to meet educational goals if your home is not organized, your materials are not organized, and your thoughts are not organized.

Organized households provide time for that which is important. If our households are organized, we will have many, many more hours of time for more important things like homeschooling.

Disorganization spells discomfort. Have you ever gone to the front door to meet an unannounced visitor and felt like you couldn't let them inside? That isn't how we want our children to feel when they're home with us for school. We want to enjoy visitors, to be able to allow people into our homes without embarrassment.

Organization is a catalyst for peace, order, and tranquillity in our homes. I remember a babysitter I once had for my young children. This babysitter was my children's favorite because she was so much fun. But when I'd come home, every game, every toy, every art supply would be out and nothing put away after being used.
One day I came home to a totaled house - a wreck. I felt peace leave as I walked into the room (my children were a little on the hyper side too.) Well, we have a saying in our house that there is a home for every object and sometimes we have to help things find their homes - so we did! Once that was done, peace returned. There was tranquillity again. We could enjoy life together.

A disorganized woman has low self-esteem. She can't be the person God has called her to be, because she is so burdened.

Academic benefits. An organized student has organized thinking and this pays off in all subject areas. Whether in math, reading comprehension, report writing or study skills, an organized student will have organized thinking. If your child can organize his closet, he can organize a paper. Next time your mother-in-law calls on a school day and you and the children are having a "tidy attack" organizing closets and she asks what you're doing - just tell her "I'm teaching writing skills."

Taking control of household chores
What are some ways we can minimize the time needed for basics such as housework so we'll have more time for the important things in life? Let's take another look at how to tackle those two villains that complicate our lives - material distractors and time distractors.

Eliminating Material Distractors
We need to take at least two weeks prior to the beginning of our school for de-cluttering.

Think: Fewer is best. Sort your children's clothing drawers. A child does not need to have 10 pairs of socks and 15 pairs of underwear, or 8 pairs of jeans and 10 shirts. Select a few of the best for your needs. Give the others away to someone who has a need. Five outfits is enough. Half-empty drawers stay more orderly. Young children can organize clothing if it is kept in small plastic baskets, one for each category. For example, all socks go into one basket, underwear in another, etc. Clean closets should be a prerequisite for starting homeschooling.

Clean and sort. Eliminate the extras. My first step in repentance after that kitchen counter experience was to thoroughly go through each area of the house. I had garbage bags filled with junk I didn't really need. When you do thin, be ruthless!

Hint: Would you like more money for homeschool materials? Gather all the things you haven't used in the last year. All the maternity clothes from years past. All the things that you will never use or that someone else could use if it weren't hidden in your closet. Then have a yard sale! (When I gathered together my junk, I had everything from ancient waffle irons to 6" ties from my husband's college days.)
No matter how much (or how little) money you make, you'll be glad you de-junked. Your time is valuable. The more you get rid of, the less time you have to spend maintaining what you have.
While you're at it, make the children's room work for them. For example, use low shelves and bars for hanging clothes that they can reach. Sort young children's folded clothing into baskets on a low shelf in a closet rather than in cumbersome drawers. Think about how your children can be responsible for everything that is theirs. (Part of homeschooling is teaching responsibility, right?)

Eliminating Time Distractors
Housework can be a great time distractor. While it is not a priority to be a fanatic about housekeeping, your home can be well maintained within reasonable time-constraints.

(If anything, your home will begin to look better when you start homeschooling. You will be forced to be more organized. You will be forced to start using your children's help with the house. And you will want to finish your housework early in the morning to be ready for homeschool.)

What are some specific things we can do to minimize time needed for housework?

At the beginning of the day, take time to care for yourself. Be sure your children know that once they wake up, they, too, should care for their personal needs. The children dress, their rooms are straight, their hair is brushed, their beds are made - all of this before they ever come to the kitchen for breakfast. If all your children are under five, this will take some time because they are still in training. If you have lots of children of mixed ages, pair an older child with a younger one for the morning routine. Young or untrained children will spend a good part of your first homeschool year assimilating these morning habits. Work on them and allow yourself the time in the morning to train your children. Training is a valid part of your homeschool day and will reap you hours later on.

For the home, plan and establish a daily routine of cleanliness. (Work this out, in pencil of course, on a copy of the Housekeeping Worksheet from Appendix C.) For example, each morning have a general pick-up time and eliminate all the excess baggage. Have daily, not just weekly, cleaning times.

If you clean daily, you will actually save time in the long run. So, decide how you want your house to look, how clean you want it to be and plan to maintain it daily. Daily chores might include sweeping, cleaning the bathroom, doing laundry, wiping countertops, preliminary dinner preparation. Think of maintenance cleaning as a daily routine rather than waiting for major massive cleaning days.

Look carefully at

how you walk!

Live purposefully,

as wise people;

making the most

of the time,

buying up each

opportunity, for

the days are evil.-

Eph. 5:15-16