Curriculum, Kids, and a Frazzled Homeschool Mama leads to Controlled Chaos!

I can not believe that January is almost finished and this fun Virtual Curriculum Fair being coordinated by Susan at Homeschooling Hearts & Minds is coming to a close.

We’ve shared:

Reading and Beyond: Language Arts in Our Homeschool

Learning Math Block by Block

Learning About The World Around Us

Fitting in the Arts When Homeschooling

Now we get to share about how it all fits together.

My ideal homeschooling experience would look very much like it did back in Maryland before J was born.  We were using workboxes with the boys and getting a LOT of work done.  While it took a bit of prep work for me, the rewards were worth it.  Not only did we get more school and ‘fun’ work done, I also had things graded and into Homeschool Tracker Plus right away.

Everything was so clean and organized after my sister spent time helping me get order out of chaos.

I’ve yet to get things as organized in our new house here in Alaska.  But, I’ve set up zones for work, which are visible in a post sharing a peek into our schoolroom.  Things are shifted around a bit, but I haven’t had a chance to take photos when the schoolroom is actually clean.  (‘Cause I know that people don’t want to see a messy schoolroom!)  Below you can see how we have the spelling board set up in the window well by the primary work table.

The problem is that the boys sometimes go into hypersensitive mode and take issue with hearing another brother breathe.  So, I have a current project in the works to create individual study carousels.  Once those are made, I’ll be sure to share.

I am not good at setting a fixed schedule for the boys (as I shared a while back in a post titled Spying on the O’s.)  Instead, I give them checklists of what work needs to be done.  Homeschool Tracker Plus makes it easy to do and I can have a week at a glance for them.  That way, they can play catch up as needed or maybe get a head start on something.

Here is what P’s main schoolwork checklist looks like for this week:

Our big challenge right now is keeping J from burning down the house or hurting himself while I attempt to work with his siblings.  Sadly, I have to admit that my more fluid schedule idea might need serious changing with each brother having a turn at doing ‘school’ with J.  I suspect he’s getting into so much trouble because he wants the attention and ability to do things alongside his big brothers.

Suggestions in how to solve our current ‘issues’ are most welcome via comments here or email!

**************************************************************************** This post is being linked up with other homeschoolers as part of the Virtual Curriculum Fair hosted at Homeschooling Hearts & Minds.

Visit other responders tackling the topic of The Nuts & Bolts: Pulling it all Together!

• Weekly Homeschooling Schedule by Julie @ HighHill Homeschool
• Virtual Curriculum Fair: Week 5: The Nuts & Bolts: Pulling it all Together by Leah @ The Courtney Six Homeschool
• Our Schedule’s Working! by Eunora @ All Things NoriLynn
• Homeschooling: How do I do it all? by Debbie @ Debbie’s Digest
• Virtual Curriculum Fair— Wrap-up Angie @ Petra School
• Virtual Curriculum Fair: 5 Ways to Use an iPad in Your Homeschool by Pam @ Everyday Snapshots
• A Peek Into Our School Day by Melissa @ Grace Christian Homeschool
• A Day in the Life… by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun
• Homeschool and Life: How we get it done by Jen @ Forever, For Always, No Matter What
• Homeschooling at My House by Jessica @ Modest Mama
• Getting a Grip on Things by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
• Making Home School a part of LIFE by Cindy @ For One Another
• Now Where’s That Pencil Again? by Beth @ Ozark Ramblings
• Something About Homeschooling I Really Didn’t See Coming by Letha @ justpitchingmytent
• The Virtual Curriculum Fair – Nuts and Bolts by Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset
• Staying on Top of Everything by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning