Every waking hour this week, it seems, is filled with planning...if I'm not planning schedules and deadlines and reading lists and subject matter and learning objectives, I'm planning chores and menues and errands...or just planning what to plan. In other words, I'm in full scale strategic planning mode.
I'm operating under several assumptions:
1. I need to get more organized. That's sort of the story of my life, and a constant refrain of mine, but I'm returning to some of the time management and organizational habits/techniques that have worked for me...after a fashion...in the past.
2. I can't rely on my memory as much as I used to. There is just too much to remember, and I'm getting too old! This means I've decided I need to go back to using a planner/organizer.
3. Unschooling and relaxed schooling and all that doesn't work for everyone. Some of us need more structure, more discipline, more goals, more...
Because of the above, I've been spending my time putting "systems" into place. The planner/organizer is one such system. Because of our busy household, with more of us coming and going, I've put together a simple "communication center" for us to leave notes, phone messages, etc. We now have a new system in place for menu planning and shopping lists. Etc....
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Monday, August 23, 2004
Countdown
Although the local schools are, horrific as it seems to me, starting today, we have the good sense not to have our first official day of school during the summer. Scripture may be silent on the subject, but you can't convince me that there isn't something sinful---if not downright criminal---about making children go back to school before Labor Day.
Even September 7 seems early to me, but that's our target date.
Last week, we had the cousins visiting, and we enjoyed beach and martial arts adventures with them, along with just hanging out and playing. This week is a quasi-vacation. My husband and I had all sorts of wonderful plans of 20th Anniversary getaways...but said schemes will have to wait for later anniversaries. It seems that one of the downfalls of having more than the socially acceptable number of children is that relatives aren't exactly beating a path to our door in order to have the glorious privilege of running our household for a few days while we go off and frolic. Even though the older kids are perfectly capable of doing most of the work, the task of watching SO MANY CHILDREN is enough to make normally brave relatives tremble and make comments about how they would feel as if they were in a prison. Or was it an insane asylum?
Perhaps it's because our relatives fear, not so much the children, but that our home and property has become a scene out of that famous Hitchcock horror film, "The Birds".
Somehow the cousins and their mother managed to brave an entire week with us, and with the birds, and seem to have survived with most of their health and sanity intact.
In the meantime, we're going to hang around close to home, watch the kids and birds ourselves, and reflect that since we've never really had an anniversary sans kids (our oldest was born 8 days before our first anniversary) why should we start now?
Next Monday, I'll begin the daunting task of exerting all sorts of self-discipline and---gasp!---sticking to a dreaded SCHEDULE! I've worked out said schedule with much thought, reflection, self-study, and gritted teeth. So, a week from now I'll give it a practice run. The theory behind that is that, when September 7 rolls around, the schedule/routine will be old hat...one week old, to be exact. Of course, in the dry run week, I won't actually be doing school, I'll just be using that time for school prep and various household projects. We'll see how it goes.
Even September 7 seems early to me, but that's our target date.
Last week, we had the cousins visiting, and we enjoyed beach and martial arts adventures with them, along with just hanging out and playing. This week is a quasi-vacation. My husband and I had all sorts of wonderful plans of 20th Anniversary getaways...but said schemes will have to wait for later anniversaries. It seems that one of the downfalls of having more than the socially acceptable number of children is that relatives aren't exactly beating a path to our door in order to have the glorious privilege of running our household for a few days while we go off and frolic. Even though the older kids are perfectly capable of doing most of the work, the task of watching SO MANY CHILDREN is enough to make normally brave relatives tremble and make comments about how they would feel as if they were in a prison. Or was it an insane asylum?
Perhaps it's because our relatives fear, not so much the children, but that our home and property has become a scene out of that famous Hitchcock horror film, "The Birds".
Somehow the cousins and their mother managed to brave an entire week with us, and with the birds, and seem to have survived with most of their health and sanity intact.
In the meantime, we're going to hang around close to home, watch the kids and birds ourselves, and reflect that since we've never really had an anniversary sans kids (our oldest was born 8 days before our first anniversary) why should we start now?
Next Monday, I'll begin the daunting task of exerting all sorts of self-discipline and---gasp!---sticking to a dreaded SCHEDULE! I've worked out said schedule with much thought, reflection, self-study, and gritted teeth. So, a week from now I'll give it a practice run. The theory behind that is that, when September 7 rolls around, the schedule/routine will be old hat...one week old, to be exact. Of course, in the dry run week, I won't actually be doing school, I'll just be using that time for school prep and various household projects. We'll see how it goes.
Sunday, August 08, 2004
More school prep
My planning for the upcoming school year is in full swing, and I'm being filled with enthusiasm and anticipation. This afternoon, Isaac and I did some online research into falconry, which has been an interest of his for a while. One of his major projects for this year is to go through the process of getting his falconry license, in order to become an apprentice falconer. I'm probably going to turn this into an ongoing unit study for him. So, to that end, I've been perusing Amazon.com and elsewhere on the web for books on falconry and related subjects.
Yesterday, at the Mid-State Fair, Isaac spent quite some time hanging out at the "Hawk Walk" and watching the birds of prey that "Zoo to You" had on display. We even met a falconer who had some good suggestions to get us started.
In the meantime, I've been working on a liveable schedule for our school days, and doing a lot of mental organizing, as well as tackling some much needed organizational projects around the house.
Yesterday, at the Mid-State Fair, Isaac spent quite some time hanging out at the "Hawk Walk" and watching the birds of prey that "Zoo to You" had on display. We even met a falconer who had some good suggestions to get us started.
In the meantime, I've been working on a liveable schedule for our school days, and doing a lot of mental organizing, as well as tackling some much needed organizational projects around the house.
Monday, August 02, 2004
Busy, busy, busy
Today was a hectic day. I had all sorts of things planned that I wanted to accomplish, but most of it came to naught. Too many errands ate up too much time.
But, this afternoon, as I took care of a few things around the house, I became aware of a buzz of activity in our cluttered upstairs schoolroom/birdroom/playroom. Finally one of the boys came downstairs and announced, "You should come up and see the schoolroom. We messed it up the best we could."
Amazing...the Lego mess had vanished, except for a few creations on top of desks. The floor was completely uncluttered...well, except for some boxes of books I need to sort through. The bird cages and our rollaway shelf unit were rearranged. The room looked spacious and inviting.
And I didn't have to tell anyone to do all this!
But, this afternoon, as I took care of a few things around the house, I became aware of a buzz of activity in our cluttered upstairs schoolroom/birdroom/playroom. Finally one of the boys came downstairs and announced, "You should come up and see the schoolroom. We messed it up the best we could."
Amazing...the Lego mess had vanished, except for a few creations on top of desks. The floor was completely uncluttered...well, except for some boxes of books I need to sort through. The bird cages and our rollaway shelf unit were rearranged. The room looked spacious and inviting.
And I didn't have to tell anyone to do all this!
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