Oasis Family Bookstore

PREPARE YOUR HOME

Your home is your castle, and now it's your children's school.  Keep it reasonably neat, organized and  maintained and it will be a joy to spend most of your time in.

1.  .A place for everything and everything in its place.

This motto can be posted in various places around the house as needed.  When everyone has adopted it, only gentle reminders are needed now and then.  It will save hours of annoying and wasted time searching for stuff.  Trust me, this one's a life saver.

2.  Enlist your assistant principle (usually dad) to do the dirty work -- clean the garage, the yard, storage areas, etc., and to look after the kids when you need to do some special housework.

3.  Enlist your children to do their share of the housework.  Pay them token amounts as necessary but consistently insist on help.  Daily chores should include at least:  clean your own room, make your bed, clean up after yourself -- playtime, meals, schoolwork, etc..  Certainly all grownups should clean up after themselves to be good examples for their children.

4.  If you're a neat-nik (like my husband and I are) but you don't want to spend hours scrubbing floors and bathrooms, etc., hire a maid once or twice a month.  The money you spend on this priceless person is like solid gold in your emotional bank.  When our maid scrubs our home twice a month, it shines for about 24 hours afterwards and encourages the whole family to be a bit neater in between scrubbings.

5.  Dedicate a space in your home close to the kitchen (or near whichever room you spend most of your homeschooling) as your homeschool supply space.  It can be a closet, cabinet, dresser or bookshelf with dedicated homeschool supplies, to be used only for homeschooling.  In some families this space needs to be kept out of reach of little hands.  You decide.

Up to age 9 to 11 years you will need to give your child the assignments and pull out the needed materials from the supply space -- workbooks, pencils, crayons, erasers, math manipulatives, etc..  After this age when the child is more independent, materials can be stored in a desk or space that is the child's choice and responsibility.

It's OK to have a general purpose arts and crafts box or shelf within the child's reach, but I have found that these items walk off, get misplaced and cause aggravation if you depend on certain things being where you want them.  Make sure these items are not critical homeschooling supplies.

6.  Dedicate a place in the home for each child's work area.  Let your child choose if necessary.  Older children over the age of 9 to 11 generally prefer more privacy.  Some children will want company while they work but do better when kept away from distractions - siblings, noise, pets, etc. -- while schooling.  Some children do fine in the midst of noise and chaos.  You'll eventually figure out what works best for your family as you gain more experience. 

Favorite work spaces include:  the kitchen table; the dining room table; a desk anywhere in the house; a bed, couch or easy chair.  It's important for each child to have a dedicated space with a consistent block of homeschool time which will encourage consistent and high quality work. 

Preparing the home may take weeks or even months, but it is time well spent to make your homeschool efficient and enjoyable.