#69 Easy Homeschooling Eletter January 2006

Plan for Success for 2006!

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Lorraine Curry's
Easy Homeschooling Eletter
Issue #69 January 2006
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In this Issue

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Step Lists

...from Easy Homeschooling Techniques. See more easy to use ideas in this title. Click here for more info.

Make a separate list of your most important goals. For each of these goals you are going to make a list of the steps you need to take to reach that particular goal. Start with your short-term goals because short-term goals are often steps to long term goals. For instance, one of my short-term goals is to get organized, which is also a step toward my long term goal of running a successful business. One of my step lists looks like this:

Goal: Become and Stay Organized
Today's Date________
Date to be Accomplished_______

1) Get up earlier.
2) Stay up later.
3) Take a time inventory.
4) Make file folders as needed .
5) Sort and discard some clothing.
6) Put things back right after use.
7) Teach kids to do same.
8) Spend 10-15 minutes a day picking up.

Now list the steps that you will take to achieve each of your goals. The steps do not have to be in any particular order. At the left of each step write the date you begin to do it. Then when it becomes a habit or you have accomplished it, note that date on the right side and put one line through the step to cross it off. It is encouraging to go back and see what you have achieved. One line through the step leaves it readable. You should have one page for each goal. Each step may be simple or more complex-perhaps needing some steps of its own.

See Easy Homeschooling Techniques for another helpful tool: the monthly to-do list.

Easy Homeschooling Techniques 3rd edition

 


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Giftedness


...from Easy Homeschooling Companion. See more easy to use ideas in this title. Click here for more info.

I believe most of our children have been gifted by God with great intelligence. Homeschooling statistics prove this. We have the opportunity to enhance or demean that gift. With proper tools-such as habit, diligence, schedule, Bible, etc., the Christian child-who is highly favored by God-will be a high achiever.

Many of the following tips for teaching gifted children are similar to those I recommended in Easy Homeschooling Techniques and in this book. Other suggested activities are not new to the well-read parent.

Gifted children are those "who give evidence of high performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields."(USA Dept. of Ed. 1995)

Gifted children usually exhibit some of the following: creative expression, originality, fluent self-expression, good organizational skills, responsibility, affability, inventiveness, uniqueness, extensive vocabulary, ease of learning, ability to read at an early age, a keen sense of humor, reasoning skills and other similar qualities. Various tests access giftedness, including IQ testing and the Stanford-Binet. Some areas that can be tested are characteristics, verbal, nonverbal, math reasoning, short term memory, creative thinking and critical thinking. If one child in a family is gifted, all the children in that family are usually gifted (within ten IQ points of each other).(McGraw-Hill Parent Newsletter, April 2002)

All homeschoolers can apply the following ideas to avoid mediocrity and encourage excellence.

1) Read aloud, even if your child is capable of reading independently.
2) Get to know your gifted child well. Encourage his interests. Give strong support and positive feedback. Gifted children need praise and encouragement.
3) Maintain your cool. Gifted children respond better to explanations than brute force.
4) Give your child time to tackle new material. Some gifted children may seem to be underachievers in the early years.
5) Set high standards. Students thrive on challenge and become stagnant when excellence is not required.
6) Help your child recognize that some skills and knowledge are expected for success in day-to-day life. Do not neglect handwriting, math and proper response to authority.
7) Work your schedule diligently, yet allow enough time for rest and recreation. A flexible schedule may be in order so that the gifted child can take time to explore certain subjects in depth.
8) Be sure your student is kept accountable, so that they do not waste time on trifles. Although enforcing is fully the parent's job, with consistency, the schedule will become self-enforced.
9) Focus on strengths, not weaknesses.
10) Allow the child a say in planning.
11) Allow your child to progress at his own speed.
12) Don't give up on your child.
13) Be respectful of your child as a person.
14) Have reasonable rules and guidelines.
15) Accept limitations. Do not push.
16) Explore a foreign language, fine or applied arts, music or other areas of interest.
17) Some students become weary of school before they are finished. Allow a choice of programs for variety or acceleration, such as options for work-study, early GED testing or advanced placement courses.
18) Do not hold your child back. Avoid repetition, memorization or unnecessary work in concepts already known.

See Easy Homeschoooling Companion for more tip lists and easy ideas!

Easy Homeschooling Companion 1st edition

 

 

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Keeping a Homemaking Journal

By J. Black

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Throughout the ages (especially during the Victorian era) homemaking journals were commonly passed down through the generations from daughter-to-daughter and often given to daughter-in-laws as well.

To create a legacy of your home life, buy a journal designed for the purpose or alternatively use a spiral bound book, pages inserted into a ring binder or get creative and try your hand at scrap-booking to create some stunning pages that will allow your unique personality and creativity to shine through.

What do you put into your homemaking journal?

Many journals often include:

Copyright J Black. For home and garden ideas visit
http://www.netwrite-publish.com


jill_black00@hotmail.com

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Time Management
By Crystal Miller

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My husband said to me the other day, "I wish there were 26 hours in our day, then I could get everything accomplished!" I had to laugh because I myself had those thoughts; if we just had more time we could accomplish much more or at the very least we could actually get enough sleep!

Well since we have no chance to increase the hours in our day we have to evaluate the time we have and how well we are using it. We need to ask ourselves, are we being the best steward possible of our time? Are we valuing our hours as a vital resource and using them as wisely as possible?

With the 24 hours that we do have in a day we know that many of those hours are already claimed. We need to sleep, eat, shower, relax, spend time with family and husband etc. After these hours are subtracted what we have left is what we have to work with each day.

To make the most out of each day begin to view your time differently. More time won't suddenly appear but being conscious of how our time is used during the day will help us to streamline and make better decision. I will share a few of my time management tips that I use and maybe it will
help you in your goal towards better time management!

Become more efficient with your time. Take time to examine how you do things and your methods and see if they can be altered to be time friendly. Can you do more than one thing at one time? Can you combine trips and have only one or two days out of the house a week to run errands? Cook a double portion of a meal and freeze one for another day, wipe down your bathroom sink and counters at the same time in the morning that you are getting yourself dressed.

Train your children to help you. In the long run this will be one of the biggest time management helps to you. By the time my children are 10 to 12 years old they are completely responsible for their own rooms, their laundry, their sheets and they have regularly assigned chores to do each day. Keep everyone on a routine and hold them accountable for their daily jobs. Do your chores at the same time as they are working to help increase moral and make sure everyone is staying focused. Don't forget to turn on some music while you work! It does add to the enjoyment of what you are doing.

Be aware of things that rob your time. Over commitment to outside responsibilities is a biggie! Keep a list of some of the more important goals you have and refer to this when you are asked to participate in something. It may be a simple reminder to you of your priorities and it will allow you to see if a commitment made will be in keeping with these goals.

The telephone is another time robber. I don't have a message machine. The reason I don't have one is basically I don't have enough time to spend calling people back. If someone needs me they will have to spend the time calling me and catching me at home. Plus there is always email! Obviously that method won't work for everyone but it works well for me. Unplugging the phone is another way to not allow time on the phone to take up too much of your day.

Yet another time robber is too many activities for your children. I once had a key chain that referred to mom as the "taxi driver". After awhile I got rid of this key chain. I did not want to be a taxi driver for my children. I decided it was more important to help them learn to be content with more time at home.

Routines are my best time management tool. A routine helps keep your day on track. If you want to learn to manage your time effectively then a routine is a critical key to being able to follow through with your daily tasks. There is a difference between a strict schedule and a routine. A routine is a set daily habit of accomplishing your household tasks. Plan your daily routines to work for you. Don't compare how someone else manages their day. Work to find what will accommodate your life.

Have a minimum amount that must get done daily and train your children to know what this expectation is. My children know that before anyone goes to bed the dishes are to be done, the floors are swept, vacuumed and washed (that may be more than most people would do but living in the country with a houseful of kids means that our floors require a lot of attention), the bathroom is wiped down and in order, laundry is going each day, the clutter is picked up.

One last thought on managing your time is to be reasonable about how much can be accomplished in your life. Keep your priorities in order and remember that neither you nor I are super-moms! We are just women with a heart for our mission in life to love and care for our families. Don't take on more than you can handle, don't expect more from yourself than is reasonable. Work on those priorities that have the greatest importance in your life. There may be another time and season for other things you may desire to do or accomplish.

Obviously time management is a proactive work! The day will go by no matter what. The question to ask ourselves is; did we use the time as well as we should have? Is there room for improvement in the way we use our time? Are my expectations on myself to high for my season in life? Keep your priorities straight and make changes to your routine to help you use your time as wisely as possible.

Copyright: Crystal Miller, 2005

crystal@thefamilyhomestead.com


Crystal Miller is a mother of 8 children and enjoys her God given role as wife, homemaker and mother. She has a homemaking and country living web site called The Family Homestead and has a free monthly newsletter called Homestead Happenings. You will find sign up information on her website.

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com


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