Simply Convivial: Organization & Mindset for Home & Homeschool

Season 5: Why Convivial? When the Bible says things like “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” God means it. It’s true. It’s what we are to strive to attain, and what we need to confess when we fall short. There are no excuses, only repentance. There are times it’s more difficult, for sure, but then again, God’s promises are there for us: “[God’s] grace is made perfect in weakness.” and “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” The dare to not speak anything that isn’t for edification? It’s from God. Read the original post: Convivial Home: The Dare Recommended Reading: Simple Sanity Saver: Homeschool Checklists for Kids Checklist tasks can’t be vague, especially for kids. So often, we know what we mean when we write “practice piano” or “complete math page” – but what exactly must be done before it can be checked off turns out to be a more of a mystery to the kids than reasonable. The more clear and specific you can be on the checklists, the better. Don’t use shorthand or vague tasks unless you are also prepared to follow them up before and after with clear guidance daily – and doesn’t that partially negate the benefit of giving them checklists in the first place? Before hand a checklist to a child, make sure and go over everything with them and clarify and ask for questions. Then do watch and clarify the first week and periodically after that. What you thought was clear might not be for your kids. Or, they might have strong differing opinions about what done looks like, or they might love to negotiate and think everything is always up for debate. Be aware of those tendencies in your kids and follow up more often with them. Some kids will take that checklist and follow it to a tee – but those types are rarer than the others. Check out my free reference with 5 tips for using checklists in your homeschool below, but you might also want to check out the personality resources that I have to determine what approach will best help you with each of your children. Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 5: Attitude Organization What happens when we organize something? It gets messed up. Inevitably. We catch up on the laundry, but more clothes hit the hamper within hours. We wash the dishes and clear the counters, then dinner is over and the kitchen is in ruins, with stacks of dirty dishes. We put the kids’ closets in order, but by the end of the week the neat stacks are in shambles. We put our own closets in order, but then comes a busy day, and it all falls apart. We clean out the fridge, and then the next day a big spill happens. It is so tempting to think that our work is undone, a waste of our time, useless, futile. But it isn’t. I promise. Our work isn’t meant to accomplish a static state. Our work is ongoing maintenance, regular service. Recommended Reading: Read the original post here: Organize life with realistic expectations.

Season 5: Why Convivial? I don’t feel guilty for not doing the things that I have to do, I feel persecuted that I have things to do. The pesky homekeeping tasks should just all evaporate and leave me be, leave me to do whatever I want, whatever I feel like, all day. Stupid housework. Down with housework! Up with play! Housework is boring. How can I harp on my kids when I do the same thing with my own work? Read the original post: Choosing Conviviality or Perpetuating a Pity Party? Recommended Reading: Simple Sanity Saver: Homeschool Checklists for Kids You need to check your kids’ checklists. Bad News: Not only will the checklists not magically make your kids independent, but you still need to check not only their work, but also their checklists. Don’t expect what you don’t inspect. It’s alarming, but true. I go through this cycle myself, even though I know better. First, I’m on top of it, checking the kids’ work as well as their checklists. Then, they get used to the work and we seem to be doing quite well. So, I stop checking regularly. Then I stop checking at all. After awhile, I get suspicious and look into those checklists and realize – things have been checked off without being done, things that were done aren’t checked off, and the kids’ definition of “done” and my definition of “done” are not matching up. Sure, the kids should know better, but so should I. As the mom and the teacher and the administrator, checking up and monitoring is my job – when I have to turn that cycle back to the beginning again, I am the one who apologizes, while making sure the backlog of work is done. After all we can’t expect the kids to become responsible if we do not show them what taking responsibility and being the one responsible looks like. Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 5: Attitude Organization My new tagline is “organize your attitude,” because I think our own mindset as moms is crucial in our homes. Charlotte Mason said that fully 1/3 of our children’s curriculum is atmosphere, and though candles and art on the wall are nice touches, I believe that it is our own attitudes as we go about our business that creates the atmosphere our kids grow up in. Mom sets the tone, whether we like it or not. We must organize our attitudes, for our children’s sakes. Here’s how. Recommended Reading: Read the original post here: Three Keys to An Organized Attitude

Season 5: Why Convivial? Sometimes “purposeful” and “intentional” can turn into “taking oneself too seriously.” Anything that doesn’t go as planned (and isn’t that usually most things?) is a temptation to discouragement or at least to the laser-eye of analysis. Instead, it might just be a reminder that God is in charge and we are not, and we need to be willing to laugh at ourselves. To create a convivial home, we must lighten up. Read the original post: Making a Convivial Home: Lighten Up Recommended Reading: Simple Sanity Saver: Homeschool Checklists for Kids Reality check: Checklists don’t magically make kids independent. Becoming independent takes time and training, for some more than others – it’s a personality thing. But even though giving your kids a checklist doesn’t turn them into independent learners overnight, it does start the process and it does empower them to take ownership, gradually, of their work. Instead of being the source of all answers, including “What’s next?”, you are the guide, pointing them back to the source. If they ask a question about history, you point them to the encyclopedia or their timeline. If they ask a question about grammar or math, you look it up in the teacher manual. Just so, with checklists, you walk them over to the list and talk over what it tells you both – what is next? Let’s choose something. One way this saves your sanity is that you get to stop being Mommy-Bossy-Pants, controlling and micromanaging every detail. A student checklist allows you to offload some of that authoritarian tone to the impersonal paper. You’re less of the bad guy and more of the help alongside. Sure, you made the list, but once it’s outside your head and on paper in front of you together, it’s something you’re tackling together instead of something you’re pulling off the top of your head and insisting on. If you feel like you’re pulling teeth and dragging everyone along all day long, try independent work checklists – not so much because they’ll suddenly be independent, but because it changes the relational dynamic of the school day. Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 5: Attitude Organization I do not have a system that will make life easy, because that’s not the goal in life. God’s goal for our lives is our sanctification. That’s not an easy road. But it is a good one. And if our eyes and our aims are fixed on growth rather than checkmarks, on building rather than on success, then our attitudes will be aligned with reality, the reality that God doesn’t let us control our outcomes. But He does call us to faithful obedience and stewardship. Therefore, our purpose in learning to make better plans and work them out more effectively is to serve well, not to prove ourselves. The reason we care about planning at all is that we want to fulfill the responsibilities God has given us. We want to be ready and willing to meet the good works God has laid out for us to do, and then, as Paul writes, do so more and more. We really must begin with organizing our attitude before we organize anything else. Recommended Reading: Read the original post here: Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good.

Season 5: Why Convivial? I wanted answers, a formula, a guarantee. Do this. That works. This will guarantee results. I thought it was a dichotomy. Either what I do as a parent will guarantee certain results or how I parent doesn’t matter, is inconsequential. It was either find the Right Answers or give up. The answer I got instead was, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto thee.” But what does this mean? What does it look like? It means God’s providence in our stories — ours and our children’s — doesn’t always (usually does’t?) end up neat and tidy. It means He doesn’t guarantee things like early marriage, good kids, or good jobs. But He does guarantee sanctification. He guarantees His faithfulness and love and mercy and forgiveness. He promises to use means, to use us, to bless others, including our children. We should parent in reliance and in faithfulness to God’s call on our lives, being as consistent as we can with His model of Fatherhood, praying to be a blessing to our children, who are individuals under God’s care in their own right and not through us. God will use our children to sanctify us, and God will use us in the sanctification of our children. But it is God’s work and not our own. We can be free to enjoy our children and our life when our trust is placed in God’s faithfulness rather than our own. Read the original post: A Convivial Home: Enjoying Life, Children, and God Recommended Reading: Simple Sanity Saver: Homeschool Checklists for Kids You should give your kids a checklist. Why? Because it reduces decision-fatigue. Not only have you already decided what each child should do, but they pester you for the next task – or wander off aimlessly because you aren’t next to them – less often. A checklist reduces the number of times the children come and ask, “What’s next?” Even if you know, being asked 217 times a day is exhausting in and of itself. With a checklist they can use, you will only be asked about 178 times, but you’ll have 1 answer: What’s left on your list? Redirecting them to consult their list trains the habit and discipline of independent work, even though it takes years – yes, years – of pointing them back to it. Even if they still ask you questions, you have a single, go-to answer, so your sanity is saved for other minor daily crises. Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Many of us are task-driven. We want to see things done, accomplished, finished. This is what the world tells us is productivity. However, our life at home is not the kind of world where things are often finished. You might check off “laundry” for the day, but before the day is out, there will be more dirty laundry in the hamper. You might check off “make dinner,” but dinner will have to be made again tomorrow. Not only that, but because you made dinner today, there are now dishes in the sink to wash. Perhaps there is actually glory in repetition, if we had the eyes to see it. Get the attitude organization freebie at Simplified Organization

Season 4: Classical Education Basics I like to talk about education philosophy and principles much more than methods, though I do have a soft spot for practical tips. However, unless we are grounded in our principles, we will be tossed to and fro by all the practical tips out there. Over the last year, I’ve written about classical education principles and how they affect not only our curriculum and our teaching, but also how we as mothers live out our lives in our homes with our families. Because principles don’t just shape how we school. They shape how we live. What your homeschool looks like, even as you try working toward classical education principles, depends on where you’ve been, and how and when you entered this path. Read the original posts: Why Are Classical Education Principles Important? and Classical Homeschooling in Our Home Listen: Recommended Books: Simple Sanity Saver: Morning Attitude Alignment Sheet If we strategize ways to jump-start our days, to pull ourselves out of our whining heads, and to just get started – and then do them – we’ll find we aren’t as lazy as we feared. We can consistently show up and do the work, and even consistently be excited about it. We simply have to turn our attention away from our in-the-moment desires and set our minds actively on what really, eternally matters. Then act on those truths. Using the morning attitude alignment sheet will help you do just that. By repeating to ourselves our priorities and vision, we can keep our sight on things above, on our goals and our purpose rather than on details and discouragements. It’s simple, straightforward, and crazy effective. The Art of Homeschooling is all about building in such streamlined practices to keep us clear and capable in our homeschool journey. Download your own free attitude alignment sheet below. Then use discount code podcast to get $10 off The Art of Homeschooling – you’ll love it, or I’ll give you your money back, right away. Get started with a free attitude alignment cheat sheet that will help keep you focused on what matters: Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 4: Brain Dump to the Rescue Brain dumping is such a helpful strategy, especially for moms at home. When we start holding a lot of things in our heads, trying to remember them is going to stress us out. It might just be a low-level stress we don’t even recognize, but when we get the details out onto paper, we will recognize the relief. So then, when you have that Brain Dump, especially that first BIG crazy spill onto paper, then what do you do with that? Really, that’s what Simplified Organization is all about – what you do after the brain dump. Watch the original Periscope video: Brain Dump Strategies for Moms! Recommended Reading:

Season 4: Classical Education Basics So, what is education? What is it this task that I have signed up for? I’ve been collecting quotes on the topic for several years; when viewed together they paint an inspiring yet daunting picture. Here’s one of the quotes I’ve found. EDUCATION – Noah Webster’s Dictionary The bringing up, as of a child; instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and dorm the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give children a good education in manners arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties. Read the original post: Defining Education Listen: Recommended Books: Simple Sanity Saver: A Morning Attitude Alignment Sheet How do you set up an attitude alignment sheet? A morning attitude alignment sheet is an attitude focusing tool. It’s simple and straightforward, and might even seem silly. But I promise it’s crazy effective. Reading over carefully selected quotes slowly, repeatedly, and prayerfully is one concrete way we can anchor our conviction in truth and make choices aligned with the truth we know, because we’ve put that truth in our bones, deliberately and daily. Do you need my attitude alignment sheets? Not at all! In fact, setting up your own will likely be even more effective, especially if you already have a scattered collection of quotes that inspire you. It’s as simple as hand-copying some quotes and verses onto a journal page or typing them up and printing them out. Just keep them where they are easy to access and quick to review. Download your own free attitude alignment sheet below. Get started with a free attitude alignment cheat sheet that will help keep you focused on what matters: Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 4: Brain Dump to the Rescue You won’t remember – don’t try. When does the brilliant idea strike? When do you remember you’re desperately low on milk? It’s rarely when you’re actually sitting down, pen in hand, to make a relevant list. But if you don’t write it down right away, it’s gone. Hence, the need for ubiquitous capture. Ubiquitous capture is a term from David Allen’s Getting Things Done that basically means you should always have a way to write down, right away, any information you need to have rather than assuming you’ll remember it or remember to write it down later. You have to write it down, right away. Read the original post here: Ubiquitous Capture: Write It Down Right Away Recommended Reading:

When does the brilliant idea strike? When do you remember you’re desperately low on milk? It’s rarely when you’re actually sitting down, pen in hand, to make a relevant list. But if you don’t write it down right away, it’s gone. Hence, the need for ubiquitous capture. Ubiquitous capture is a term from David Allen’s Getting Things Done that basically means you should always have a way to write down, right away, any information you need to have rather than assuming you’ll remember it or remember to write it down later. Recommended Reading:

Season 4: Classical Education Basics Clark and Jain define a musical education not as one that is full of music or instruments, but as one that is rich with “the subjects inspired by the Muses.” Musical education is soul-craft: carried out properly, it tunes the soul and makes one receptive to truth and goodness. Read the original post: An education based on harmony Listen: Recommended Books: Simple Sanity Saver: Morning Attitude Alignment Sheet Why do you need an attitude alignment sheet? A morning attitude alignment sheet is an attitude focusing tool. It’s simple and straightforward, and might even seem silly. But I promise it’s crazy effective. I have found that a morning attitude alignment sheet helps me keep my eyes on the prize. It’s so easy in the midst of daily life to get caught up in the details and the duties and forget the big picture aims we’re working toward. Homeschooling is a game that has to be played with the long view. To keep us on the right track, moving forward however slowly, we need to keep our eyes on the goal we’re after. To have direction and be confident in the next step moving us in that direction, we have to know where we want to end up. The attitude alignment page consists of Scripture and quotes to focus us on where we’re going and what’s important. It is a way to purposefully set our minds on truth each day. We need to fill our minds with truth until it sinks into our hearts and then moves out our fingertips. Spend just 2-3 minutes before you begin your homeschooling day reading these selections slowly, meditatively, and prayerfully. You will then move forward with increased confidence and improved vision. The Art of Homeschooling is all about building both our confidence and our capacity as homeschool moms. Download your own free attitude alignment sheet below. Then use discount code podcast to get $10 off The Art of Homeschooling – you’ll love it, or I’ll give you your money back, right away. Get started with a free attitude alignment cheat sheet that will help keep you focused on what matters: Spread the word!

Season 4: Brain Dump to the Rescue So, you’ve done a thorough brain dump and you have sheets upon sheets of notes, tasks, and ideas. Before you start getting your brain dump into a trusted system, you need to have that trusted system set up – you need those places and lists before your brain dump items can go into them. To get the thorough instructions for creating the systems you need, walk step-by-step through the course. For a more cut-straight-to-the-chase approach, Paperless Home Organization is all about creating a digital version of a home management binder – a trusted system. That’s what you need before you can process your brain dump. But if you are getting anxious about what to do with that brain dump now that it’s all captured and out of your head, here’s a quick cheat to get you rolling. Recommended Reading: