The Bins

Each child in our family has a plastic bin.  This bin is either in their closet or under their bed.  These bins when used properly can be the answer to decluttering a bedroom and home!

My kids collect stuff and stuff just seems to find them.  A trip to the dentist will bring in array of novelties like spinning tops, parachute men, stickers, and more.  A birthday party hat or noisemaker might be just too much fun to throw away.  The mail brings circulars with pictures of doughnuts, ice cream, and other treats that should but cut out and gazed upon every few days.  Yes, my son carried around an advertisement for doughnuts for over a year!

So how can we find a home for all these amusements?  The bins have been the solution for our family.  Each child has their own plastic bin.  It is soley their property to place all the gadgets, papers, and important stuff that is not ready to be thrown away.  If it fits in the bin then it can be saved.  We have one simple rule:  no food or beverage is allowed to enter the bins.

About every six weeks we have a review time so the kids can go through the bins on their own and part with those items that have lost their fancy and make room for new items.  I will admit that on the days when everyone is reviewing the contents of their bins some trading does occur.  The spinning top may have lost its appeal to the 9 year old, but is now a wonder of revolution to the 5 year old.

Why the Kids Like the Bins

They don't have to throw away that special craft or trinket until they are ready.

It holds all the treasures that are individually special to them.

They know exactly where to find that special something that brings them a little enjoyment.

Why Mom Likes the Bins

It reduces the amount of clutter I see around the house.

I don't feel like a meanie making them get rid of something that is meaningless to me, but meaningful to them.

I have a place to direct them to put there stuff away when they find new treasures to behold.

Many families have started a new school year with all things running smoothly.  Some families are wondering about the preschoolers.  Should they have a plan?  Do they need a plan?  The answer can vary from day to day and be different for each child in your preschool age group.  We have developed a plan for our little ones that we use when needed.  Sometimes the little ones are content with their toys and have a great play day during the school day.  Other times they come asking for "twin time".

TWIN TIME

We call it twin time (named after our twin daughters) but the name really doesn't matter.  I'll explain how we use it in our home and then you take the parts you like along with your own inspirations and develop something that works for your family.  We've been doing twin time for several years and have used a variety of subjects such as:  music, craft, religion, storytime, learning, outside play, playtime, and you can add more.  I then assign each of my older children to a subject.  In our family there are usually about 4 or 5 older kids ready to have a fun time during their twin time.  We rotate the subjects among the older kids about every 2 months because all the big kids usually want a turn to do craft time, plus it keeps fresh ideas and approaches to utilize during that special subject time.

So what happens during twin time?  My older child takes a timer and sets it for 25 minutes.  During that time they have fun with the little ones focusing on the appointed subject.  During craft time for example they might do some painting, make something out of popsicle sticks and construction paper, or use yarn, glue, glitter, foam, colored tape, and other supplies to make a mask, puppet, or decoration.  When the timer beeps, the timer is reset for 5 minutes which is clean up time.

The older kids get a break from school and spend some sibling time with the littler kids and the little kids have fun.  Some days all the subjects are covered, other days the little kids are playing with their toys and then will decide they would like to have some twin time.  Usually if one of my older kids is done with their school work or almost finished I will let them take the first turn, other times an older child simply would like a break and volunteers. 

One of the key points is preparedness.  Before anyone leaves with a timer they have an idea about what they will be doing.  We make boxes that are filled with ideas for each subject and add to these boxes throught the year as we come across clearance items, gifts, or ideas in magazines or newspapers.  This time can be very simple or can get very enlivened.  My big kids thought it would be fun to have weekly themes.  So they made a list of themes for each week of our school year and focused their twin time around that theme. 

For example "At the Beach" could consist of reading books about characters that take trips to the beach for storytime.  During craft time the little kids can make clear bottles become a beautiful table centerpiece with layers of colored sand.  At playtime they can pretend they are packing for a beach trip by getting their gear together.  They then put on sunglasses and lay out their beach towel and play games with an inflatatable beach ball.  What about religion?  The mercy of Jesus is usually described as an ocean.  Talk about the ocean, show pictures from books and show how much water is on the earth with the use of maps and globes then do an experiment.  Fill a container with water and get an eyedropper and take a drop from your container and put it into an empty container.  The little kids will delight it doing something with their hands and getting a turn to put drop after drop into the unfilled container.  After a while they will get the idea that God's mercy is very great and more than we can imagine.

What I like best.  The little kids are learning and having fun and developing strong bonds with their older siblings.  My older children are loving their younger siblings and learning how to teach and have patience.  We do have a simple rule that the little kids must listen and follow directions or they can be excluded from that twin time activity.  It happened in the beginning a few times that a little one was sitting upstairs doing nothing while mom graded papers or helped another child.  My little ones quickly learned that they would rather mind than miss out on the activity.

What about Mom?  Well I don't have an official twin time.  I am usually the first stop in the showing off of the craft, color page, or getting to hear the exciting activity that just occurred.  And when your a mom time with your little ones can really be called anytime.  

EXTRA TIPS for very young ones:

Put your little ones in the high chair for craft time.  This helps your older child keep things under control since they can easily remove finger paint or other messy substances easily and not worry about it getting everywhere.

We also have a set of small old t-shirts we use as smocks that can get messy so their daily wear doesn't get stained.

Very small kids will not always stay still to hear a story or do an activity so train your big kids to go with the flow.  A storytime can turn into reading one page from 10 different books.  Sitting on the floor singing songs can turn into a parade singing around the room.

If you have a wider age span in preschoolers (an 18 month old and a 4 year old) consider having seperate fun times for each of them or have 2 older children assigned to the subject to help their partner at their age level.  There are many ways to work it out with your specific situation.  Even coming up with new subjects that appeal to both of them can be an option.  How about snack time?  (You can get fun and fancy with this one too!)

Remember to create something that works for your specific family and keep changing it as your family changes!

Is it that time already?

Spring Cleaning is in the air!  Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work?  Honestly, I don't think I'ver ever done "Spring Cleaning".  I think it is a great concept and works well for a lot of people.  It just hasn't been a good fit for me and my family. 

Why?  I just don't have the time or the energy to do an intense overhaul of my entire home.  Maybe I will some day but until then we live in a filthy house!  No, just kidding.  Our house is not immaculate with 11 people running all over it, but we do try to maintain cleanliness and orderliness.  Here is our method:

All Year Cleaning! 

I begin by making a list of all the rooms in the house including the linen closet, garage and outdoors. 

Then I combine the items on that list to end up with 12 numbered areas.  I usually combine the smaller spots together like linen closet and hall closet together and leave the big areas like the garage to stand alone. 

Once I have my list of 12, I assign a month to each number.  Months that are busier for us, like December tend to get the easier spots from the list of 12.  Months where the schedule is relaxed get the bigger jobs.

Each month I know which areas are going to get a complete overhaul and we have the whole month to get it done!  A complete overhaul means cleaning beyond the daily duties for us.  Washing the windows and window coverings, cleaning out light fixtures, taking everything out of drawers or cabinets and reviewing what to keep and get rid of, rearranging for efficiency, and so forth. 

This method has been so enjoyable because you feel a sense of accomplishment all year long!  It helps keep things from piling up that are not used or need replacing.  No worries about items collecting dust because they have been hidden in the back of drawers or closets for years.

Broken toys get fixed or tossed, items in good condition that are no longer needed can be donated, and space is opened up for a cleaner and more organized look that makes daily life easier!

If "Spring Cleaning" doesn't fit your family then maybe you need a year to get it done like us! 

One of my favorite features is the Bookshelf!  There are so many ways to use the Bookshelf that I get excited about all the possibilities.  My purpose is not to overwhelm anyone but keep things simple, so here are a few ways you can use it in your school.

I am responsible for adding the books to the Bookshelf that we check out from the public library.  I use the check out receipt from the public library to enter all the book information and I assign each book a reading level.  My students read through all the books during the month.  At the end of the month they are able to add the books they read to their reading logs.  They use the last day of the month for recording the date. 

Here are step by step instructions that you can print out or show your child so that they can learn to add to their reading log when the books are already on the Bookshelf.

1. click on student name
2. select "add from bookshelf"
3. when the pop up window appears, the reading level for that student is selected, leaving the Author and Title blank
4. click on search
5. a list now appears with all the books in that reading level
6. Click on "add" by all the books that have been read

The reading log is now updated!  You or your student have the option to visit the reading log and select the book to enter a date of completion or notes.

Want a nice print out for the next library trip? 

I have all reading levels.  I like knowing that once I've added a book to the Bookshelf it will remain on the shelf for future students to add to their logs.  I also have a nice list of Book Titles in a specific reading level that I can use or print out for future checkouts.  I don't have to remember all the great book titles that my older kids have enjoyed when the younger kids reach those reading levels!

1. Simply select Bookshelf in the brown Library section
2. Using SmartGrid click on "filter"
3. Select the desired reading level from your own classification system
4. SmartGrid buttons allow you to download into PDF or Excel for printing or data manipulation.

Now enjoy those books!

One of the challenges of homeschooling can be the balancing act between assisting your older children and entertaining the younger ones. Right now I have 5 with regular school assignments, 1 that wants some work on his own and playtime, 3 yr. old twins that want to have fun, and a nursing infant.

Here are some tips we have used to keep our little ones happy. Use what works until it doesn’t, modify it and make it your own.

1. Keep special items that are only played with during school time. Don’t put everything out, but rotate items weekly or monthly depending on your situation.

2. Plan some special “school time” with your younger kids first and then they are more apt to go off and play individually or with a sibling.

3. Depending on your older children’s ages have them sit and hold the baby or entertain the baby on the floor while you grade their work.

4. While your older children are working independently, bring the little ones with you on a chore errand. They will be happy to help you and it keeps them from distracting your hard workers.

5. Homeschool in the bathroom; let your little ones play in the tub. During this time you can quiz flash cards, announce spelling words, and listen to an oral report or reading lesson. Basically anything that you can comfortably do while still keeping an eye on your toddler(s) in the tub.

6. Hi-chairs are great for putting a toddler in to work on painting, clay sculpting, or another messy activity. You don’t have to worry about them running off with paint, glue, or sand while you assist your school kids with their work.

7. Use nap time to tackle the more intensive subjects that require detailed explanations, like upper level math.

8. Include them in as much as you can and in as much as they desire. Toddlers will be happy to recite a poem, even if they can only make grunting sounds. Giving an oral test? They will sit with a pencil and paper and scribble their own answers just like their big sisters.

On a future blog, I will post our present method for keeping the schoolwork and playtime coexisting.