Keeping Organized with Schedules – Part 1

I cannot function very well without a schedule.  Oh, I manage to squeak by but inside I feel like I have nothing together.  I do whatever task or distraction is at hand rather than doing what may be a higher priority.  By the end of the day when I look back on what I have accomplished it amounts to very little. 

Did I do a load of  laundry?  Yes, but somehow I never did find the time to put it in the dryer, never-mind it being folded.  The baskets start to overflow and the ironing piles up.  The family eats well (most days) but what about the dishes that need to be hand-washed?  “Oh, I am too tired to face them.  I’ll get them tomorrow.”  Schoolwork needs to be checked and on and on. 

Homemaking is a full-time job besidestrying to homeschool.  And if you have a family business (which we do) that takes even more time.  Time is irretrievable; when it’s gone it cannot be taken back for us to reuse in a different way.  As I read somewhere, we all have 24 hours in our day.  No one is given any more and no one is given any less.  We have to decide what we will do with it.  

For me this means a schedule, especially if I’m homeschooling.  For cleaning your home  I love Flylady .  She has done a wonderful job of splitting up the areas of your home into Zones and giving you lists of what needs to be cleaned in that area.  I’m still trying to understand if she thinks you should do everything on the list once a month or little by little through the year.  Here’s a link to her lists.  For me, it’s little by little and sometimes not at all – depending on what’s happening at our home.  Be sure to check out Flylady’s Kelly’s Mission for the Day, too. 

I spent a good portion of my Saturday a few weeks ago figuring out schedules for the upcoming school term. I’m always on the look-out for new and improved methods so trying to find better ways to organize my kids’ school schedule’s fits right in there.  Besides I’m a lover of charts and lists so it’s of fun for me, too.  Mostly. 🙂

My new schedule for school was inspired by my dear sister of 7 children who was inspired by Lindafay of Higher Up and Further In.  Lindafay has been a great scource of inspiration to me and so many others – a lady who seems to have wisdom in how she implements a Charlotte Mason education.  I highly recommend her blog.  View Lindafay’s 12 week schedule for one of her daughters.

The beauty of this schedule is that everything is planned for 12 weeks.  You don’t have to think about what your kids assignments are for 3 months.  There is also a daily checklist you can give your child with the 12 weeks broken down as to what they do each day.

I’m a total novice when it comes to working with Microsoft Excel but I’ve learned a few things and that is where I typed up my own 12 week schedule.  We’re currently doing a unit study on the Middle Ages and so I’m finding it quite helpful to have everything laid out for me.  I can see at a glance everything that I’ll need to do with the children for our unit study.  There are some areas I still need to fill in but this is pretty well completed. 

I don’t know of a better way to show an example of how I did our schedule; hopefully, you will be able to get the general idea.

What do you use to organize your children’s schoolwork?