I know I haven’t been posting much about homeschooling other than links on Facebook. I really just realized that. Chores and finding your routines are a big part of homeschooling. Chores get the kids ready for the real world. Routines, if you have them, help your kids stay on task or help them remember daily/weekly things that need to done. I don’t think I post much on homeschooling because we don’t do school at home. We learn through everyday events.
We are a real tech friendly family. A lot of homeschoolers, or anyone, may be put off or not agree with what our family does. That’s ok with me, not everyone agrees with other people’s choices. We do what works for our family. Before I turn this into a tech post let’s move forward. My kids have learned most of what they know from some sort of electronic device. When Parker started homeschooling at the age of 4 he used TimeForLearning because he already knew how to mostly navigate a computer. They all play games on the iPad, yes, even Ayden is beginning to sometimes. As they are young we try to stick to educational shows, but even shows that aren’t deemed as educational you end up learning something from. They do learn in other ways also. Playing board and card games teaches kids a lot. Some reading does go on here, not as much as I would like but let’s leave that for another day. Playing, hanging out with friends, and just talking to others helps the children learn also. Sometimes Delilah likes to do worksheets. When she was little she loved doing worksheets. When holidays come up we usually talk about them. If we don’t know much we will look to the internet to find out more. Sometimes I will be ready for the holiday and have some books handy if anyone wants to look at them or read together. So here is the post on homeschooling, there will be more covering some topics that I just skimmed over.
0 Comments
I am here to talk about schedules and routines. Lets just say that I am horrible at keeping schedules and routines! I have a whole weekly schedule I go off of to keep us on track with important chores and things that need to get done. Daily I put them on a dry erase board that the kids and I see throughout the day. When I write that list I think of the most important things that need to get done, because I know they will not all get done that day.
When it comes to cleaning, I am the worst procrastinator. My house is never fully clean unless there is a specific reason for it to be. If I know that we are having people over I will clean the house in one day, the day before, or even the morning of. That is just who I am. I would much rather be playing with my kids, taking time for myself, or looking up recipes to feed the family. Good thing my husband knew he wasn't marrying a housekeeper. I try to keep the house vacuumed, or at least the level that the dog is most of the time, which is much easier now that we have Frank(a Samsung robo-vac). The kids and I do enjoy vacuuming and playing video games at the same time! I have tried keeping schedules and routines for years. Researched different ways people keep schedules or set them up. I don't think I have kept a solid routine for more than a week and a half. The kids and I like to do different activities at different times. I usually like to get my chores done then move on to fun. Sometimes it's the other way around depending on my mood. The kids usually like to wait till last minute to get their chores done, they like their me time before boring chores. We are "in the moment" people and that is hard to keep routines and schedules, unless they are super important. Laundry usually gets washed on time, important things get put away and then I am left with baskets to put away when I get to it. The dishwasher gets emptied and filled, but those dishes that can't go in the dishwasher just sit there until I am sick of looking at them or I get real ambitious. The thing is I like to take time to hang out with my kids, take me time, go do something fun, or run to the store and not feel like there is something "better" to do or that I'm going to fall behind. One day the kids will be gone and I'll have plenty of time to clean the house, it will be easier too cuz their stuff won't be everywhere. I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that has a hard time keeping schedules and routines. I hope that at least one of you that reads this can breathe a sigh of relief because you are not alone in this situation. Please share with anyone that you think needs to read this. And I pray that any of you that find yourselves fretting over your schedules and routines will find your balance and peace. I am here to tell you how the “big” kids spend their week. I am going to write about them separately since they are on their own schedules.
First we will start with Delilah. On a typical day Delilah will make it downstairs for something to eat by 10 AM. Through out the day Delilah does mostly a mix of watching shows, drawing/coloring, playing with Legos, and playing with her dolls. She also loves to play and help out with Ayden. At least a few days a week her and I will play board and card games together. Usually on the game days we play them throughout the day, rather than just one a day. Now on to Parker’s day. His morning consists of me trying to get him out of bed, he is a sleeper, not a morning person. Usually he is out of bed by 11 AM, but sometimes I give up and he doesn’t get up until after noon. Once in a while he will surprise me and be up by 10 on his own. Parker goes downstairs when he is hungry during the day, not usually the same time every day. His days are usually filled with shows and video games. Once in a while Parker will join Delilah and/or I in a board/card game. He used to play board games a lot with me, but drifted away as he got older. Sometime during the day they do their chores, which change from day to day. We have a weekly and large chore charts that they can look at daily to figure out what they need to get done. I will dive in deeper about this another day. We all come together at dinner time. Sometimes the kids will help me, one at a time, to make dinner. After Parker eats he is usually off doing his own thing again. Delilah usually sticks around the dining room after dinner and plays with Ayden or hangs out with me. After Ayden goes to bed the “big” kids and I have a snack or ice cream together. During this time I try to talk to them about what is coming up the next day. Parker really needs to be reminded daily about things coming up, especially if we need to leave the house. Otherwise he does a little freak out when his “schedule” is thrown off. It may seem like I don’t do much with the “big” kids, but both of the kids like to hang out with me by just being in the same room. Not necessarily doing the same things, as long as I’m there for them to comment on something to. We have different likes and dislikes and sometimes it’s better that we are near each other rather than doing something together. Oh just another thing. I am not the best in grammar, so sorry to those that may be freaking out by the way I write. I write how I think and that may be a problem to some of you. Even Parker corrects me when I speak, it has never been a strong point in my life. |
About UsTake a step into the life of Auer (pronounced like our) homeschool. We are a family that likes to learn through life experiences. We would like to share our experiences so maybe we can make a difference in the lives of others. Don't forget to follow us on Facebook to get the smaller activities that go on that don't always make it to the blog. Archives
May 2019
This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of Cookies |