Simplified Organization Audio Blog: quick actions, organized attitudes

Season 8: Grocery Shopping I know it seems overwhelming. I know even just planning dinner sometimes seems overwhelming. But, seriously, who wants to wake up and decide in the pre-coffee fog what to feed the troops for breakfast? It has to be decided ahead of time. Read the original post here: You need to plan ALL THE MEALS

Season 8: Organize Homeschool Stuff We homeschool without a schoolroom. Like many homeschoolers, the kitchen table is where much of our work happens. We use our kitchen table, we use our dining room table, we use our couch, and we make due with the space we have. I could write up a great-sounding post about why we don’t have a school room on principle. Something about school blending in with real life and not being contained in a separate box. But the truth is that I’d rather have a playroom than a schoolroom, a place for the toddlers and preschoolers to freely set up a block city complete with railroad tracks, a place for the air hockey table we inherited, a place for the computers that are used both for work and for play. And our house layout doesn’t have the space for both a playroom and a schoolroom. Read the original post: Homeschooling Without a School Room Listen: Simple Sanity Saver: Morning Time Memorization Hacks The second thing you need to do for morning time memory is gather your memory work review material. What memory work have you already learned? What songs are already part of your family culture? Start a list. Morning Time doesn’t have to be long or complicated. We all start where we are and just take the next step. Even if you have no memory work at all under your belt just start with Psalm 1 and begin building. Whenever we set out to do something we should know what end we’re aiming for, what goal we are attempting, what point we want to make. I know when I think of memory work I’m tempted to envision my five children lined up in a row in perfect unison and cheerful voices reciting an entire Psalm. Of course, their shirts would even be clean at the same time and that just goes to show this is totally an imaginary scenario. But what I actually want is to be never done with a piece of memory work. What I want is for it to be planted within us, to grow and blossom in its time, for us to grow and love God’s Word and poetry and beautiful language more and more and more the more time we spend with it. If we desire to commit to memory whole thoughts, entire passages, whole chapters, we must commit to investing lots and lots of time. This is hard because in the short term we rarely have anything to show for it. With a handful of random verses memorized a child can stand up, recite them perfectly, earn a prize, and then empty his mind so he can learn the next set. Mom gets the moment of performance glory and the child gets some candy. But if we want to learn whole passages, if we want to learn the Creeds, the old hymns of the faith, and beautiful poetry, we will have to be content postponing seeing the fruits of our investments. It will take years, and not weeks, but it’s worth it to stick at that review and continue growing those seeds. It will be worth it. You can find my memory work binder tutorials here. Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 8: Grocery Shopping I think taking the kids with me on my grocery excursions is a valuable thing to do. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t exhausting. But, my kids are homeschooled, and they do need to get out just as much as I do. Plus, they are homeschooled, so they think going to the grocery store is a grand day out. Plus, I am a homeschooler, so I think it counts as a field trip and “real life learning.” Over the 12 years I’ve been grocery shopping with kids in tow, I’ve learned some tricks and techniques. Read the original post here: Tips for Taking Kids to the Grocery Store

Season 8: Organize Homeschool Stuff The real trick about having a tidy or organized house is for everything to have a home. Things without homes are clutter. Things with homes can be put away, leaving space for life to happen. Mid-day, the house might look chaotic, but by evening, if everything has a place to go, it can look decently in order again. Read the original post: Homeschooling Without a School Room: Shelves Listen: Simple Sanity Saver: Morning Time Memorization Hacks First, you have to start by picking your memory work organization method. How do you want to run your morning memory work time? Will you say a line and have the children repeat it back to you? Will you handwrite each piece on an index card or type it out and print them out? Would it work better if each student had his own binder? Could you set it all up in Evernote and avoid a bunch of papers? I use a binder and make a duplicate copy of each binder for each reading student. For some reason my children had a hard time repeating back after me when they were younger but they were early readers so we switched to this method and simply read aloud each passage that I wanted them to memorize daily having them follow along with their ears and mouth. Having this binder system also allowed us to continue morning time memorization routine when a baby started fussing or a toddler needed attention. The kids could just keep on trucking. You can find my memory work binder tutorials here. Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 8: Grocery Shopping How many grocery store trips feel like a random grab-bag and confused wandering? It happens to us all, but if feeding our people and keeping the shelves stocked is an important part of our service – and it is – then we need some better strategies for making the most of our grocery trips. We want to minimize the time they take, the brain power they require, and the mistakes and oversights we make. Here are five tips to help us do just that. Read the original post here: 5 Grocery Store Tips

Season 8: Organize Homeschool Stuff We are doing something new starting this season and that is kicking things off with a FAQ episode. Joining me to do this is Virginia Lee Rogers. Virginia Lee and I have known each other online for years and she is now helping me with customer support so if you send an email to Simplified Organization or Simply Convivial you might just get a reply back from Virginia Lee and I want you to get to know her as well because she is a great resource. She is the homeschooling mom of five children and also an ENTJ. So, we have a very similar approach which will be fun to talk about. Mystie: And so, Virginia Lee, you want to tell us a little bit more about you and where people can find you online? Virginia Lee: Yes, I’d love to. I live in Colorado and I’ve been married for 17 years. We have five kids and we are a Charlotte Mason homeschooling family. And just sort of all different personalities in our crew but I guess probably the best way to describe us is just joyfully chaotic, sort of organized chaos but lots of joy. It’s not quiet at our house. And online, I don’t keep a blog, but I am on Instagram quite a bit. You can find me on — I run an Instagram bookshop called “The Jolly Reader” sort of a play on “The Jolly Rogers” since that’s our family’s name. And then I am also one of the nine curators for Charlotte Mason in Real Life. That’s on Instagram at CMIRL, we share posts from the community that show how different families are implementing Charlotte Mason’s philosophies but in a practical, day to day life. It’s a really joyful community filled with a lot of encouragement but also just really showing how you can take Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and live it out practically day by day. * Jolly Reader on Instagram * CharlotteMasonIRL on Instagram Mystie: That’s fun. So this season, season 8 of the Simply Convivial podcast is going to be about organizing homeschool stuff. So I thought we’d just have a brief conversation about how stuff gets organized in our homes. I think it’s easy when you say “organized” to start thinking of the magazines or the Pinterest where organized means everything looks really pretty and looking pretty is nice especially if you’re a personality who’s good at that but I’m not. Really, being organized is about having a home for things and knowing where things go. So everything has a place so that then you can put it away because it has a place. So we’re going to talk about some of the ways that we give stuff homes in our homeschools. Virginia Lee, what kind of homes do you have in your homeschool? Virginia Lee: Well, I guess one of my biggest things is that I’m not a big stuff person so if I have the stuff in my house it has to have a home and if I can’t find a home for it, it probably means I don’t need it. So I guess that’s one of the biggest ways I look at stuff. In fact my kids give me a hard time, “Don’t throw this away, we’re going to put this here so mom can’t throw it away!” But the other big thing of what I think of when I’m going to organize stuff is I need it to be practical. I’m not very good, like you said, I’m not one of those personalities where everything is pretty and maybe always pleasing to the eye but with the way our crew works is that it needs to be practical, it needs to be sturdy, and it needs to be in places where we can actually use it. Mystie: Right. I think that’s key. Because we have a basement so I could reserve a shelf in the basement and put things away on the shelf downstairs where they’d be out of the way but if they’re too much out of the way I’ll end up not actually using them. Virginia Lee: Yes, we are the same way. We do school in all different locations in our home and so we don’t use a sc...

Season 8: Grocery Shopping Tips We’re doing something new this season. We’re going to be starting off each season with a FAQ episode about the season’s topic. This season is going to be about grocery shopping so I’m here with Virginia Lee Rogers who is helping me with customer support for Simplified Organization and we are going to talk about how to fit grocery shopping into our busy schedules. Transcript Mystie: So, hello, Virginia Lee. Virginia Lee: Hi, Mystie, thanks for having me. Mystie: Do you want to tell us a little bit about yourself? Virginia Lee: I’d love to. I live in Colorado and I am a homeschooling mom of five kiddos ages 12 and under and we are Charlotte Mason homeschoolers. To find me online I don’t keep a blog but I am on Instagram quite a bit, I run an Instagram book shop called “The Jolly Reader” sort of a play on words for “The Jolly Rogers” since Rogers is our last name and I’m also one of the nine ladies who curate Charlotte Mason In Real Life and that’s on Instagram at CMIRL, so that’s sort of a community where show what it looks like to take Charlotte Mason’s philosophies and live those out practically day by day. * Jolly Reader on Instagram * CharlotteMasonIRL on Instagram Mystie: Awesome. So, both of us are homeschooling and we have five kids and it turns out that these people need to eat. That means we need to go to the grocery store. Virginia Lee: Yes, yes, yes. Mystie: So I think one of the things that really makes a difference in the grocery store routine and getting it in there is how close they are because how much commuting time there is really makes a big difference in where it can fit in. Virginia Lee: Yes, most definitely. And especially, we live in Colorado so the weather six months out of the year is not always optimal. So that is a big thing to think of if you’re going to have to drive any sort of distance. Mystie: So how is the town where you are? Are the discount grocers close or do you … ? Virginia Lee: We have a bulk store in our town and we have a couple of chain grocery stores as well and the chain grocery stores that we have are definitely not discount stores they’re a little more expensive but they’re not bad if you want to find something specific and they always tend to have better produce, of course. But I am not one of those people who likes to shop at four or five different places… Mystie: No. Virginia Lee: … so I’d rather plan my menus around what I can get from the most convenient place to shop and I know some moms don’t mind at all, they enjoy it and they’ll go to a few different spots to get their groceries, but I’m just not really in that season of life right now. Mystie: Yeah. I used to but I think that was maybe it was baby number three where I stopped. Virginia Lee: Yes, yes. We’ve done grocery shopping a couple of different ways and I think you’re right it really does depend do you have a baby, do you have older kids going with you, you know, that kind of thing. For awhile we used to, at the bulk store that we have, you can put in online orders so you can just get online, choose every single thing you want, and place the order, and you do have to be prepared because you can’t do it the day you want to pick it up, I mean, you have to do it at least the day before, they need a day to get it and process it but what we used to do is I would stick that order in on Saturday because dad was home and so that allowed me a chunk of time to get online and have complete thoughts without interruptions, get that put in, and then we’d go to church on Sunday and then when church was out the bulk store was sort of near our church so we’d just go as a whole family over there,

Season 7: Mom As Atmosphere We recite mottos during our Morning Time. I think the first place I encountered the idea was when listening to ACCS teacher training audio (back before there were CiRCE conferences or podcasts). The elementary classes of Logos School, at least back in the old days, had mottos they recited daily that then the teacher could call to mind when they were relevant. As a family, we already had a few little sayings – ways to keep a frequent command familiar, memorable, and pithy. Over the years I’ve collected mottos, adding to and subtracting from our repertoire, but finally settling down on a select few for this year. This year, these mottos are behind the daily tab of our binder, and most days we go over them quickly. We alternate this selection with a selection of pithy Shakespearean proverbs each term. These mottos are not only reminders for the kids. They are reminders for myself, as well. Read the original post: Morning Time Mottos for Moms & Kids Listen: Recommended Reading: Simple Sanity Saver: Repent. Rejoice. Repeat. To learn and grow ourselves, we must repeat our lessons. Knowing is not the same as doing, isn’t that the truth? Learning is not simply knowing. It is acting in accordance to what we know. Every day. So, learning is not a once-and-done thing. It’s daily bringing our actions in line with our knowledge. Yes, to learn and grow we have to expand our knowledge, but we also have to grow our capacity for living out the knowledge we have. Application – continual, daily application – is a part of learning. So when you have to do the dishes again, teach a math lesson again, put on a smile again, repent again, rejoice again, sweep the floor again, don’t pine for time to read more, thinking that’s real learning. It is, but so is the living it out. So embrace the daily repetitions, the daily opportunities to put into practice what we know. Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 7: Habits We are often encouraged to set SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. It sounds great, and those goals do have a place. But when much of our lives is about developing people (ourselves and our children), we can’t put ourselves or others into such neat little boxes. We must treat people as people instead of as projects. So for many of our hopes for the future, we’d do better to focus on our processes – what we do today and tomorrow and the next day – rather than on reaching a particular outcome. Aim for the habits and the actions, not the outcome. Read the original post here: Humming Home Habits: Aim Recommended Reading

Season 7: Mom As Atmosphere In the first episode of The Scholé Sisters Podcast we talk about how levity – lightheartedness, humor, cheerfulness – is a burnout prevention method. When we sink into seriousness, into get-it-all-done mode, into self-importance, we’re bound to be pulled down, lose our joy, and want to give up. To prevent burnout and also to recover from it, we need to shed our anxieties and pride – and we do that through laughter. Laughter comes from a humble heart, a heart not weighed down with burdens or full of itself. Read the original post: The Secret to Sanity at Home Listen: Recommended Reading: Simple Sanity Saver: Repent. Rejoice. Repeat. To teach our children, we must repeat ourselves. Did you catch that these three words are not only alliterative. They don’t just all begin with R, they all begin with re. They are all words that require repetition, doing again, over and over. Repenting and rejoicing are not once-and-done projects or tasks. They are to characterize all our lives, every day. If you find you have to repent again, even though you did yesterday, don’t get discouraged and disheartened, just do it. Then comes the ability to rejoice in God’s grace, not our own strength. If you find you have to tell your children the same thing again today that you did yesterday, don’t despair. Just repeat and remember to rejoice because God’s giving you a chance to exercise His patience, kindness, and steadfastness. Repetition is built into life. Don’t fight it. Just do it. Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 7: Habits What does being productive even mean? It’s not simply getting more done, but getting the right things done, done well, and done cheerfully. Whether or not you want to do more in 2016, I bet you want to do what you do better – whether that means more consistently, more joyfully, or more skillfully. Me, too. Just because I write about productivity and organization doesn’t mean I have it all together. It just means I’m always paying attention and trying to improve. I write what I need to hear myself as much as what I’ve learned and what I do. If we can hone in on these practices, we will become more effective in and more satisfied with our work. Mentioned in this episode: Watch the free Work the Plan video on making vocation goals Read the original post here: 5 Habits for a Productive Year Recommended Reading

Season 7: Mom As Atmosphere You’ve met her. Maybe you’ve been her. Maybe you are her. Some homeschool moms might scare you. Some homeschool moms scare their children. But I think we’ve all experienced another kind of scary homeschool mom: the one who scares herself. Are you scary? Who do you scare? Read the original post: The Scary Homeschool Mom Listen: Recommended Reading: Simple Sanity Saver: Repent. Rejoice. Repeat. To learn and grow ourselves, we must rejoice. Learning and growing is stifled by pride, anger, and bitterness. Rejoicing is not only the opposite of these vices, it is also the antidote. 
When we’re on our guard, resentful, tight-fisted, angry, proud, our minds and hearts close up and harden. When we rejoice, our minds and hearts are open, receptive, and soft. Of course, when we have closed ourselves off, we often cannot do the work of changing our heart. But God can and will if we ask and submit, giving up our bad attitudes for His good ones. Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 7: Habits Rather than grandiose goals for a new year, we should be focusing on small habits that we can build upon. These new year habits continue giving, because they become automatic. So we can gain their benefit without expending much energy to do so. A habit is an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary. Read the original post here: Start New Year Well: Keystone Habits Recommended Reading

Season 7: Mom As Atmosphere Sometimes it’s weather, sometimes it’s illness, sometimes it’s simply fatigue. If you’ve been homeschooling for awhile, you’re probably familiar with the feeling: homeschool morning blah. It’s normal; it’s natural; it’s bound to happen. But it’s also one of a homeschool mom’s most insidious enemies. No, I’m not exaggerating. Unless we learn how to overcoming homeschool morning blah, we will not have consistency and we will not be modeling the cheerful grit we want our students to have. Read the original post: My Secret Weapon for Beating a Bad Attitude in our Homeschool Listen: Recommended Reading: Simple Sanity Saver: Repent. Rejoice. Repeat. To teach our children, we must rejoice. Our tone and our mood as mothers and teachers matters immensely. Is this life of learning, this life of sanctification a good life or a bore? Is it a good life or a torture? 

Our demeanors teach our children about life. The good life isn’t the easy life. We shouldn’t think so and we don’t want our children to think so. How will they recognize the good life? By smiles, laughter, enjoyment, joy. If we do not have joy, we will not teach effectively the most important lessons. If we do not have joy, God can and will supply it when we ask – it is a fruit of the Spirit. It’s not something we have to gin up – it’s something that comes when we’re willing to forsake our sins, set aside our own agendas, and receive God’s grace, minute by minute. Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 7: Habits Why make my bed? It is not so much the made bed itself that is the goal, but the “easy win” factor. By making my bed in the morning I set the tone for the day. It is a victory of willpower (because I’m pathetic and require willpower to make my bed) that doesn’t tax my willpower much (not, like, breaking a habit of eating chocolate in the evening – for a purely theoretical example). Walking in upon a room with a made bed is a reminder throughout the day that I am in charge, I am making progress, I am becoming a more orderly person. Read the original post here: January Habit: Making My Bed Recommended Reading