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The Imperfect Homeschooler |
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It’s January: Do You Know Where Your Math Manipulatives Are?
Happy New Year! It’s time to take down the tree, send the Christmas decorations back into storage, and put the house back together. For those of us who homeschool, it’s also time to get ready for another year of homeschooling. Even though we tend to think of fall as the beginning of the school year, we still have that feeling of new beginnings that January brings. Others may resolve to lose weight or join a fitness center; we homeschoolers resolve to finally locate that terrific science book we bought at the curriculum fair last year, so we can start doing those experiments we promised the kids we’d do together. I used to put off plans for my children to study a certain subject because I couldn’t find the books and resources I needed to use with them. I remembered buying the items; I just couldn’t remember what I’d done with them once I brought them home. It was depressing to have to send out a search party every time we needed a specific resource. During our most hectic years, when I was homeschooling and still having babies, I was lucky to find time for even a quick search. My favorite phrase was, “It’s around here somewhere!”
Who’s Got Time to Get Organized?
Homeschooling families buy and use far more books, art supplies and educational toys than other families, but have less free time to organize them. When your children spend their days at home instead of at school, there’s rarely a time when they aren’t around. Either you get organized with your children underfoot, or it will never get done. Then there is the thought of how you’d stay organized if you ever got to that point. That’s the challenge we homeschoolers face: we live in our houses more than most people, and so do our kids. While other kids are away at school for seven or eight hours a day, ours are at home playing, reading, making art projects, and cooking. The evidence is everywhere. How can we keep on top of all the hustle and bustle?
Lost Opportunities
When you consider trying to get organized with the kids around, it’s tempting to stay in your rut and just muddle through, the way you always have. But think about how much time you spend looking for books or resources you need. How many projects do you have on the back burner because you haven’t found all the supplies? In the meantime, your children are growing and changing. If you wait too long to tackle a project, you may find that your child is no longer interested in the subject. A missed opportunity, and all because you couldn’t find what was needed, even though you know it is somewhere under your own roof.
Start Out Slowly
The thought of organizing the whole house is way too intimidating to think about. Instead, try starting small. Schedule an hour a day to work on one area that is sorely in need of help. If you’re consistent about doing it five days a week, you’ll make plenty of progress. Seeing your progress will increase your enthusiasm, and encourage you to keep at it. Don’t decide that your goal is to get the entire house into perfect shape. After all, there are people living in your house every single day. It’s not possible to keep it |
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completely organized because it’s a continually changing environment. Just work on the areas that bother you most, and have the most effect on your daily life. For example, while you may long to get your children’s baby pictures organized, and maybe even beautifully arranged in a scrapbook, this is not a pressing need. It’s more urgent that you find, wash and fold the baby clothes before your new baby arrives. It may depress you that there are boxes of old tax records scattered around your basement, but it’s more important that you find your algebra textbook (and the teacher key!) now that your 12-year-old seems ready to tackle algebra. Try to steer your efforts toward the areas that affect you and your family the most right now.
Establish Systems
As you get an area organized, train yourself, your spouse and your children to keep it that way. Choose specific places to store what you use every day. Make sure everyone knows where things go, and that they will be held accountable for putting the items they use back where they belong. For example, when someone finishes reading a book, it should be put back in the spot where it belongs. Manipulatives should be stored in a designated container in a specific spot; whoever uses them should be held responsible for putting them back properly. Over time, putting things back where they belong will become an ingrained habit in each member of your family, and your home will stay fairly organized.
Reaping the Results
Be persistent in your organizing efforts. If your family gets hit with the flu and you’re forced to give up your daily organizing hour, get back in the groove as soon as everyone is healthy. If the kids won’t let you throw out their old toys, send the older ones to watch the younger ones in another room, and then start pitching things quickly and quietly. If you are determined to get the job done, you will. The resulting small successes will buoy your spirits. Only those who are accustomed to spending days looking for their scissors can understand how good it feels to open the drawer and find them where they belong. If your enthusiasm for homeschooling has been flagging, this may bring it back. To be able to tackle new projects and finish old ones without wasting a lot of time searching for what you need is a wonderfully invigorating feeling. Make it your New Year’s resolution to experience it.
Need help getting started? Try the latest booklet from the Imperfect Homeschooler: “115 Organizing Tips for Homeschoolers.” It’s packed full of proven ideas you can use to get your home and your school running smoothly. Send $5 (cash or check, US funds only) and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Cardamom Publishers, PO Box 81, Dept. WS, Algonquin, IL 60102.
PLEASE NOTE: “115 Organizing Tips for Homeschoolers” is just one chapter of the eBook, “The Imperfect Homeschooler’s Guide to Homeschooling.” You can have the entire eBook within 24 hours by ordering at: http://www.cardamompublishers.com/imperfect-homeschooler_files/page0003.htm
© 2007 Cardamom Publishers/Barbara Frank
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Cardamom Publishers P.O. Box 81 Algonquin, IL 60102-0081 |