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christian homeschoolers taking a stand

Christian Homeschoolers Taking a Stand…Link Up

Today I am answering the Homeschool Family Question of the Week for Christian Homeschoolers Taking a Stand.
This week’s question is, “How do you get everyone up, moving and motivated?”

My answer:

A consistent routine that becomes normal.

With just about 4 weeks compete of school already, I am happy to say that we have had the best start to our school year yet. No, we’re not perfect. There have been tantrums, messes, tears over fractions, whines, etc. But I can look past all that, because I can see how much we have gotten accomplished and the overall picture of our homeschool is looking great!

The main reasons for this are we have stuck to our schedule and have stuck to a routine.

At this point since we are in such a good routine, the kids know what to expect each day, and have fallen in the routine very nicely.

Every morning goes much more smoothly with a routine. Everyone knows what to expect. Now, I don’t stand over everyone with a whistle and point to my watch, but since our routine has become so normal, it just flows naturally.

Our mornings have gone from frazzled in pervious years, to very calm and actually my favorite part of the day. Here is why:

Everyone tends to wake around the same time. My alarm goes off at 6, but I pray and have quiet time until about 7-7:30. The kids generally wake around this time. They prepare their breakfast, get dressed, make beds, hygiene, chores, etc.

At 9 am, we start school. This has become such a habit that everyone knows at 9 am to get started. There’s no whining when we start, no questioning, “When are we starting?”

At this time do our Bible reading, a devotion, prayer time, and worship. It is my favorite time of the day. We have also been reading from “Little Pilgrim’s Progress” each day.

After this time we move on to our individual subjects, break for lunch, and then in the afternoon we have all of our together work.

Implementing this routine and sticking to it {the important part} has been so helpful this year. Each day {except Tuesday when we are out of the house for a local homeschool class day} is the same.
When everything stays the same, the natural flow of our day just falls into place. Everyone knows what to expect. And because we have stuck to it for a month now, it will make the inevitable crazy day that happens…that much easier to recover from.

Having a general flow and routine is a must to smoother and simpler homeschool days.

SimplyLivingforHim

September 29, 2011 by Karen DeBeus

christian homeschoolers taking a stand

Christian Homeschoolers Taking a Stand…Link Up

Today I am answering the Question of the Day over at Christian Homeschoolers Taking a Stand, where I also contribute.

Today’s question is:
“How do you as the mom and teacher keep your sanity on the really hard days?”

Ahh, the never ending question amongst homeschoolers. Well, I would say like anything else, whether you are a homeschooler or not, we need to turn to the Lord on our hard days.

He is waiting for us to reach out to Him instead of trying to do everything on our own. He wants to be THE center of our day, so when we take our eyes off of Him, our day can quickly spin out of control.

When we take our eyes off of Him, we sink:

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.

“You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

Just yesterday, as my daughter sat down to do her math with me (she has been struggling with fractions this week and had a few tears over it), I said to her,

“Now before we start, let’s decide we are not going to get upset quickly and frustrated. Let’s ask God to help us focus and give us the strength to get through. Let’s do this wholeheartedly for HIM. ”

And I prayed.

Our math lesson went more smoothly than any other day this week. She was focused and it took the focus off herself, and on giving her burdens to Him.

Just playing worship and praise songs in the background helps keep me focused on Him during my day. It’s really hard to yell or pout when “How Great is Our God” is calling me to sing praises!

I think no matter what we do, homeschool moms or not, we as Christians remember to do everything wholeheartedly working for the Lord and not men.

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men”

Colossians 3:23

And also:

“For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

1 John2:16-17

We are not called to be comfortable everyday, but live our lives as a sacrifice for HIM.

To Simply Live…For Him!

SimplyLivingforHim

September 22, 2011 by Karen DeBeus

Christian Homeschoolers Taking a Stand…Link Up

Have you checked out Christian Homeschoolers Taking a Stand yet? It’s a great resource full of reviews of curriculum from a Biblical perspective. I contribute over there as well!

Today is a link up with the question,

“How do you handle computer use in your homeschool with your children? Do you allow them to have non school related time on the computer? How much? What do they typically do? Also, What subjects do your children do on the computer? If it is a program, which one? Likes/dislikes.”

In our homeschool computers are a must, for the simple fact of the world we live in. We must be proficient in computers since the world relies on them so much.

In our homeschool we have used computers in various ways. Early on, it was for fun learning games such as pbskids.org and other free learning sites. We have moved on to SpellCity as well.

My son, 8, loves to use the computer for computer art. My husband is a graphic designer, so luckily we have a computer that is just for the kids to use loaded with all of the graphic design programs. I would love for him to learn coding and programming as he gets older.

We have also used the computer to create Power Point presentations in our homeschool. Both of my older children (10, 8) have learned to use this program and make some really fun presentations for science.

This year my daughter (10) is creating her own blog. It is private, so only those invited can see it, but it is another step in her learning all of the ways in which we can use computers. And it is a great way to develop her writing skills. It excites her to write knowing other people will read her blog.

The computer is definitely an indispensable resource in today’s homeschool. How do you use the computer in your homeschool?

Head over and link up at Christian Homeschoolers Taking a Stand!

SimplyLivingforHim

September 1, 2011 by Karen DeBeus

Karen DeBeus is a homeschooling mom learning to live more simply and keep God at the center of it all. She is the author of four best-selling homeschooling books and writes at Simply Living for Him. She speaks nationally and recently was a speaker at the Bible Family Conference in Washington, DC. Her passion is to help others clear the clutter from their lives, seek God first, and to encourage women and families to get in the Word every day. In 2020 she began the Simply Living for Him Online Women’s Community, a thriving community of over 1,200 women where she leads Bible studies and provides resources and encouragement for women to grow in their walk with the Lord. She enjoys life on her hobby farm with her husband and children. Together they are a work-at-home family pursuing a simple life with purpose and, above all, seeking to glorify God in all they do.