Do you ever wonder how to homeschool and get it all done?!

How to Do it All – Or Not…

To be honest Mama, I don’t and neither will you.  That sounds daunting and stressful, I know – I’ve been there (many, many times!)

Twenty-one years in and I can tell you that seasons change, your needs will change too.  I’m gonna share a few things with you that have helped me. Take them and make them your own.

Some Background 
Many years ago (or what feels like it now) I discovered a book called Large Family Logistics: The Art and Science of Managing the Large Family by by Kim Brenneman (now out of print and updated & now called Home Management: Plain and Simple). One of the tips in that book was to assign days to the kids.  That was easy for us since we have 5 kids, our oldest got Monday and the youngest got Friday – with the others in between. With such a big age range (12 years between oldest & youngest) obviously chores wouldn’t be divided evenly across the board but to the abilities of each.  I’m getting ahead of myself though. On each kids assigned day they would have certain chores and certain privileges. Because of the age differences, sometimes a younger sibling would be paired with an older sibling for chores. So, on Monday kid 1 would do his (& his brothers) laundry, do the dishes, help with meals, get the mail, and get to stay up late (whatever laundry or chores that didn’t get done that day would then be done on Thursday, his brothers day). On Tuesday, kid 2 would do the same things (laundry would be for her and her sisters, and again whatever didn’t get done Tuesday would be finished Wednesday or Friday).  I would do parent and baby laundry on Friday or Saturday.

The key to it all-customize it!
Implement systems for when to wash bedding; Boys on week 1, girls on week 2, parents on week 3, household blankets on week 4.

Ask your spouce what areas they need to have the cleanest to feel most relaxed, and ask if they can help out with those areas too – or with the areas that you need done most in order to feel at peace.

We would always try to do a quick pick up 15 minutes before we expected Daddy home from work – once he started working from home we would do a few more quick clean-ups throughout the day.

Have organizational systems that work for your family. If toy organization is stressing all of you out, change organizational items and / or get rid of toys.  Go through toys and clothes seasonally. Donate or sell the ones that you no longer want and / or need if still in good shape, otherwise I am giving you permission to throw out the broken & destroyed items.

Have systems set in place for cleaning your home. Marla Cilley, FlyLady, has some great systems you can use for this.  You can often find her books at the library, or check out her website. Break your home into zones and assign them days.  We would also break kids bedrooms into zones for cleaning, we would also takes before & after pics of their rooms for them to compare and see just how amazing they did.  On the before pics we would mark them up to show zones or just take pics of each zone so they could take and see before and after pics with each zone making it less intimidating!

What days & times are best for your family to go grocery shopping (or is delivery a better option for your family), doctors appointments, field trips?  Don’t plan a lot, or any, book work those days – do school in the car if you want, or just no “school” that day. Is a 3 or 4 day school week better for your family? Or 6 weeks on with one week off? Summers off or November, December & January off? What subjects need done daily, can others be done 2 days a week or once a week?

When you feel stuck
If you feel like you’re spinning your wheels, or drowning in in that ever elusive quicksand, take a step back and evaluate your family’s priorities and why you started homeschooling in the first place. Maybe hire an organizing professional (like joyfulspaces.co). Don’t forget that My Homeschool Hub offers a Mentor Mom program if you feel you need someone with more homeschooling experience to come alongside you in your journey.

Basically, you don’t do it all.  It’s just not possible.  Be flexible. Days, weeks, months, years will all differ. Be patient and forgiving with your kids, your spouce (if you have one), and yourself! 

Most of all, remember You.Got.This. and if you ever feel like you don’t, don’t wait to reach out! My Homeschool Hub and Statheros Academy exists to serve you in your homeschool! We never want you to feel overwhelmed or alone! 

I would love to help you with your homeschool!