Flexible Scheduling Can Work for You!

In “Flexible Scheduling Can Work for You!,” Episode, #141, Meredith Curtis can help you if you feel overwhelmed by trying to get it all done. Is there a way to schedule that is flexible enough to deal with the interruptions every day brings? Can a free spirit live a scheduled life? Yes! If it’s flexible. Flexible scheduling brings order to the chaos while still leaving room to be spontaneous and fun!

Powerline Productions, Inc.

Bringing Homeschool Joy to Families Everywhere!

Show Notes

I sat down with another homeschool mom who confessed her kids hadn’t gotten any schoolwork done the whole year (it was November), the house was a constant mess, and she had all these homeschool dreams, but she was giving up.

She needed help!

We can be led by the moment or derailed by the interruptions of our day. It is hard to direct children who want to do their own thing when you are up all night with a sick baby.

Yet, you look at rigid moms who run a tight ship and you think, “That’s not me.”

Or you were on a rigid schedule at one time in your life and now it is IMPOSSIBLE to stay on a schedule. What can  you do?

I have help for everyone! A schedule is your servant, not your master, but it is a great servant.

Change the Template

Instead of thinking in hours (from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.), I have learned to think in blocks of time (between breakfast and lunch). It makes more sense as a mom.

Our days have these blocks of time:

• Before Breakfast
• Breakfast (short for some and long for others)
• Between Breakfast and Lunch
• Lunch
• Between Lunch and Dinner
• Dinner
• After Dinner
• Bedtime Ritual.

These things happened in your house every day. Your bedtime ritual might be a nightmareish showdown, but you have one. Breakfast may be on the run dashing to homeschool co-op, but your kids eat it.

Reality Check!

When we don’t have a plan, things fall into chaos.

When we don’t give direction to our children for the day, they slide into neutral, the easiest thing for their brains—TV, videos, internet, napping, eating.

If I am led by my “heart” I will eat candy and watch old TV shows or talk on the phone all day. Poof! The day is gone.

Psalm 90 verse 12 addresses this:

So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

What Really Matters

I like to step back and thing about what really matters to me.

• What do I want to run my days and weeks to look like?
• What do I want to accomplish each week (chores, school work, free time, reading time)?
• I want Jesus to be Lord of my homeschool. But what does that look like?

Ask yourself questions like these so you can determine what you want the days/weeks to look like. Be practical and realistic, not idealistic here.

Then examine yourself, your husband, and your children. What factors will play into this plan?

When my children were little, I discovered that we all worked best in the morning.

In addition, my parents raised me to work first, play second.

Now everyone will come up with their own values and priorities. What’s important is that you know what truly matters to you because if  you don’t take that into account, it will derail your plans.

Planning Blocks of Time

• Think about when your family members get up and when you eat breakfast on average. How much time is there?
• Think about eating breakfast. Is there time to read the Bible during breakfast and pray together afterward? Will that work or not?
• Think about mornings. About how much time do you normally have between breakfast and lunch? Remember the real not ideal.
• Lunch time. Does everyone talk? Is everyone on their phone? Can the phones be turned in and read poetry together or listen to audios during lunch? Or does everyone need that time to just eat and visit?
• How long is there normally between lunch and dinner? When thinking about time, exclude time you need to prepare dinner?
• After dinner. We are unable to commit to any schoolwork or chores after dinner, but some families are just revving up. What is your family like after dinner?

Now plug in subjects, chores, reading time, play time, screen time, and free time into the schedule.

Example from out house:

• For us, we’ve always done math first thing five days a week. It’s like a good brain stretch.
• My children do their “5 things” (brush teeth/hair; get dressed; make bed; straighten room; personal Quiet Time) before breakfast.
• We like to read quietly after lunch while babies nap.
• We do history and science all together, but everyone does spelling and grammar on their own.

Here is a sample weekly (M-F) schedule using Flexible Scheduling.

Reality Check!

One thing I had to constantly remind myself was that to HOMEschool, I had to be at home quite a bit. I often overscheduled.

Moving Blocks of Time

That’s why I always schedule free time in. Then when things come up, I can move my schedule around.

Reality Check!

When the kids were older, there was a family schedule and then each teen had a schedule. I helped them make it, but really they made it. We would make a schedule at the beginning of the year and then tweak it after 3-4 weeks.

Tweaking Schedules

I cannot tell you how many schedules I have made that were unrealistic. No, I just can’t seem to get up at 5 a.m. for the spin class at the Y. No, I can’t get math work check in 20 minutes per day. No, I can’t fit ballet lessons, piano lessons, and tennis lessons. One or things will have to go.

Posting Schedules

I would always give each child a copy of the family schedule and their own personal one. Next, I hung all the schedules on the homeschool cabinet door. It made it easy to remember what they were working on. High school schedules were super complicated as they added co-op classes, sports, and ministry at church.

You can see some of our schedules below.

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Resources

How-to-Homeschool Books if you want to learn more about homeschooling or plan to homeschool 😊

The following books give detailed instructions so you can have your own History Parties.

These are just a few of our many resources that work well for all ages together!

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Learn Geography in the Kitchen!

In “Learn Geography in the Kitchen!” Episode, #140, Meredith Curtis introduces you to global cuisine that your children can cook, bake, and eat. Learning is more fun in the kitchen and that’s true of geography, too. You can travel from continent to continent learning about popular foods and places to visit. A springboard to a unit study or delight-directed rabbit trail is always a possibility!

Powerline Productions, Inc.

Bringing Homeschool Joy to Families Everywhere!

Show Notes

Your children can cook, bake, and eat their way across the world. Learning is more fun in the kitchen and that’s true of geography, too. You can travel from continent to continent learning about popular foods and places to visit.

Start by looking at a map of the continent and talking about some of the foods that are native to the region.

I also like to explore places that are beautiful and interesting. You can do all of this with Travel God’s World Cookbook: maps, flags, info about each continent, places to visit list, foods to try list, and recipes!

North America

Canada and the USA are huge countries that take up all the space in the third largest continent. Though Central America is considered part of North America, I’m going to talk about Central America separately.

Places to Visit

• Niagara Falls
• Rockies (in US and Canada)
• Nortre-Dame Basilica
• Grand Canyon
• Pike’s Peak
• Yellowstone National Park
• Mount Rushmore
• Kennedy Space Center

Foods to Try:

• Maple Syrup
• Tourtiere (beef and meat pie)
• Poutine (fries covered in gravey and cheese curds)
• Grits
• Hamburgers
• Fried Chicken
• Apple Pie

Central America

Mexico, El Salvadore, Panama, Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras, Guatamala, and Nicaragua make up Central America.

Beautiful beaches, hot deserts, and majestic mountains make it a lovely place to explore.

Places to Visit:

• Totihuacan (pyramids)
• Guanajuato
• Acapulco
• Ruta de las Flores
• Lake Ilopango (lake in a volcano crater)
• Tazumal (Mayan ruins)
• Snorkle off Caye Caulker Island
• Rio Celeste Waterfall

Foods to Try:

• Tamales
• Tostados
• Enchiladas
• Pupasas
• Yuca Frita
• Tres Leches Cake

Caribbean

The Caribbean is filled with tropical islands like St. Lucia, Curacao, Bahamas, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Aruba, Barbados, Grenada, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

Places to Visit:

• The Beaches
• Historic Churches
• Gardens
• Plantation Museums

Foods to Try:

• Conch
• Mango Chutney
• Coconut Rice
• Breadfruit
• Plantains
• Sugar cakes
• Pina Colada

South America

Twelve nations make up South America and each has its own flavor and food.

Places to Visit:

• Angels Falls
• Igauzu Falls
• Christ the Redeemer Statue overlooking Rio De Janeiro
• Amazon Rainforest
• Cathedrals
• Monestaries
• Colonial Towns
• Cachu Picchu (Inca ruins)
• Galapogos Islands
• Atacama Desert

Food to Try:

• Black Beans
• Arroz con Pollo
• Cuy (Guinea Pig)
• Alpaca
• Cheesy Potatoes
• Flan
• Coffee

Europe

The second-smallest continent is jam-packed with countries! There is a so much to see and taste.

Places to Visit:

• Big Ben
• Westminster Cathedral
• Eiffel Tower
• Notre Dame
• Charles Bridge/Prague Castle
• Venice
• Assisi
• Neuschwanstein Castle
• Swiss Alps
• Vatican
• Cologne Cathedral
• Alhambra

Foods to Try:

• Fish and Chips
• Paella
• Coq au Vin
• Ratatouille
• Corned Beef and Cabbage
• Rye Bread
• Fondue
• Schnitzel
• Gelato

Sponsor

Travel God’s World Cookbook from Powerline Productions

Africa

Exotic Africa is home to 54 countries! Wow! From deserts to savannahs to jungles, this continent has it all including majestic mountains.

Places to Visit:

• Pyramids
• Victoria Falls
• Mouont Kilimanjara
• Safari Animals at Maasai Mara National Reserve
• Gorillas & Chimpanzees at Virunga National Park
• Kalahari Desert
• Zanzibar
• Madagascar
• Mauritius

Food to Try:

• Akara Balls
• Kushari
• Chicken Tagine
• Bobotie
• Curried Cabbage
• Red Lentils with Yams
• Tahini Dip
• Puff Puff
• Honey Cakes

Asia

Asia is BIG! From the    Hialayan Mountains to the tropical rainforests of Vietnam to the deserts of the Middle East, Asia is unique in its cultures and peoples.

Places to Visit:

• Great Wall of China
• Forbidden City
• Mount Fuji
• Taj Mahal
• The Grand Palace Bangkok
• Singapore
• Dead Sea
• Sea of Gallilee
• Temple Mount in Jerusalem
• Ephesus
• Cappadocia

Foods to Try:

• Hummus
• Spicy Edamame
• Chop Suey
• Mongolian Beef
• Boba Tea
• Pineapple Cakes

Australia & Oceania

From the glaciers of New Zealand to the tropical rainforests of the Polynesia, Oceania is full of wonder and beauty. Australia is the smallest continent with New Zealand nearby. Oceania is made up of many tropical island nations.

Places to Visit:

• Lake Wakatipu
• Waitomo Caves
• Sydney Opera House
• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
• Bondi Beach
• Outback
• Kangeroo Island
• Fiji
• Sopoaga Waterfall, Samoa
• Faarumai Waterfalls, Tahiti
• Varirate National Park, Papua New Guinea

Foods to Try:

• Kiwi Dip
• Cheese & Bacon Roll
• Dagwood Dog (similar to corn dogs)
• Chicken Fafa
• Emu
• Crocodile
• Kangeroo
• Green Chicken Curry Pie
• Kokoda (raw fish with citrus and coconut milk)
• Mumu (leafy greens, root vegetables, meat, fruit, coconut milk cooked in a banana leaf-lined pit)
• Palusami (taro leaves & onions in coconut milk)
• Fairy Bread
• Lamingtons

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