Picture of our new schedule

I was looking at the Titus2 website this morning and thought I would probably really benefit from the Managers of Their Homes book, but because of some other school and home resources I have purchased recently, I can't order it right now. I'm hoping someone at our local homeschool convention will have the Maxwell's products there so I can look and maybe purchase then, it's in early May. Anyway, it got me to thinking about the schedule we have now and how we aren't following it (at all)! So while in town this morning I ran by the dollar store and picked up a poster board and got busy making our new schedule. I got it all plotted out with names and times and little squares (I am wierd, I like doing that kind of thing) and then explained my plan to my children. I gave them a list of the things they had to accomplish during the day and how long to expect each task to take, either 1/2 an hour or a full hour. I also explained certain things needed to be done as a family and I wrote those in on the schedule. Also which ones needed done in the morning and which could be afternoon, etc. However, they were allowed to put each task at whatever time they wanted on the schedule. For instance, child A might put math at 8:00am while child B has it at 1:00pm. This was the part that was really different for us, always before I had made the schedule and just told them when they would get up and when they would do this and that. It's funny though because if I told them they had to get up at 7:00am they would squawk at me but they all chose that on this schedule!! They all really enjoyed mapping out their day and were excited to start it tomorrow. Several made comments that they thought this would work really well (can you see my smiling mama face:). They have never been excited about a schedule and were moaning when I told them we were going to be making a new one today, but then after realizing they had some control over their own day, they loved it. I cannot wait to see how it works and if it lasts for awhile, most of my new ideas flop rather quickly. I have high hopes for this one though. Here is a picture of it; it's hanging on the side of our fridge which is very open and visible to all.

The paper wasn't long enough for our entire day, so morning is on the left side of thick black line and afternoon is on the right side. The times are listed in the far left column. I have a column along with each child, it all fit perfectly. The colored tabs are just mini stick it notes so that we can rearrange if we see something isn't working. The squares that look blank actually have pencilled in things such as meals and clean up, Bible time and ball practice. Hopefully all of this made sense and you understand what I was trying to explain :)

I know that there are alot of tips and good advice I would get out of the Managers of Their Homes book, so I would still like to have a copy, but this might work until then.

Blessings,
Rashel

Training our children

My sweet dd is 8y.o. now and everyday I can look at her and see how much she is growing and changing. This morning she fixed herself an omelet, oh my how she is growing! I am so thankful that God is reminding me to enjoy these moments and to take time to really ponder how my children are growing. I have always known in my heart that I want to train my dd to be a keeper at home and to know the ways of taking care of a household and family, but it's nice to see that I actually have trained her in at least some areas. It is important to me that all of my children have at least a basic knowledge of how to take care of a home and keep it running, even my boys. So, all of my children have daily chores and my two oldest boys have been cooking basic dishes for some time now. Today is the first day my dd actually fixed herself eggs from start to finish without any help. Her brother caught on quick and as I type, she is fixing him an omelet! Ds2 loves to experiment with dishes and has his "own sandwich" that he loves to make. Sometimes it is so much faster and easier just to cook by ourselves and not include our children, but the benefits of taking the time to teach them and share the experience with them is priceless.

She is such a little helper girl, after fixing ds1 his omelet, she offered to fix one for her other brothers as well. I pray she keeps her helper/servant attitude. It is a wonderful quality to have.

Blessings,
Rashel

Children's kitchen duties

This is the most helpful thing I have ever come up with. It saves me so much time in the kitchen and teaches the children skills they will need as adults. The chores rotate daily.


Breakfast Duty
Help with dishes ds1
Put up clean dishes ds2
Put up food ds3
Wash dishes dd

Lunch Duty
Help mom dd
Plates & silverware ds1
Get out food ds2
Put up dishes ds3
Wash dishes dd
Wipe table/chairs ds1
Put up food ds2
Sweep liv rm/kit ds3

Dinner Duty
Help mom dd
Plates & silverware ds1
Get out food ds2
Put up dishes ds3
Wash dishes dd
Take out scraps ds1
Put up food/wipe table ds2
Help with dishes ds3


Blessings,
Rashel

Titus 2 - Our Children

Blessings ladies,
Titus 2 also tells us to love our children and two ways we are to love them is to train them up in the word of God and to discipline them according to the word of God. I have been reading a great deal lately about training up my children to be followers of Jesus and lovers of God. I will share a few of the books I am (have been) reading and give a link so you can read more about them. "Everyday Talk: Talking Freely and Naturally about God with your Children" by John A. Younts can be found here. "Season of Change: Parenting Your Middle Schooler with Passion and Purpose" by Rebecca Ingram Powell and "Don't Make Me Count to Three" by Ginger Plowman can both be found on this website. "Teach Them Diligently: How to Use the Scriptures in Child Training" by Lou Priolo I ordered from here, look under the clearance section! I have learned alot from all of them and would recommend any of them. Courtship Connection (the last link I gave you) has LOTS of wonderful resources, I highly encourage you to browse around their site.

It has been very heavy on my heart lately to consciously train my children in the word of God, not just discipline them and have them mind for the sake of not getting into trouble. I want them to learn how we are to behave as Christians and why. I want them to have a firm foundation to fall back on when they are tempted in some way and I am not there to tell them which road to take. I want them to live according to God's ways and His plan for their life and to do so because they love and honor Him. I encourage each of you to pray and ask God if you are training up your children or if you are just disciplining them. Ask Him what He would have you to do. I will post more on this later but for now, spend time seeking the Lord's will in this matter.

Blessings,
Rashel