Marathon’s sister recently sent me an article of homeschooling tips by homeschooling pioneer Mary Pride. The 2 most helpful to me were the following.

  • Do housekeeping/chores first. Assign chores to the kids and have them complete them before they begin any academic work. The kids are learning valuable work habits and the ins-and-outs of cleaning. The “dirty” work for the day gets behind you and leaves mom feeling happy rather than frustrated. With the Flylady system, this translates into doing the zone work and home blessing before school times begins.
  • Spend time “schooling” with the toddlers before the older kids. I’ve found that spending time reading (or wrestling, as Marathon does) with Doodle fills his tank in a way that most other activities do not. Carman and Sudoku can start on school work that doesn’t require my help/attention. Once Doodle’s tank is full (usually 4-6 books), he’s happy to play by himself while I help Carman & Sudoku with their work. (Rosebud is not an issue at all at this point. She’s either sleeping, nursing, in my lap, or on a pallet.)