Organizing a Home Schooling Household
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Insanity has been lovingly defined as doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result.
Anyone who has had to run a household can attest to this. If all the clothes were washed on Monday, but the following Monday at least half of them would return. Organization can break the cycle of insanity, especially in a home schooling household.
The home has taken on new meaning in the past thirty years. It used to be that people ate and slept in their homes. Now, businesses are conducted from home and so is schooling. When you take that first long relaxing look outdoors, it could be eleven o’clock instead of 6 a.m. Household dynamics have changed, but one thing has not - organization is the key to running a tight ship.
The first thing to tackle is the setup of the school atmosphere. Just as with a home business, the idea is to create a separate room or area where only that particular activity is conducted. Confusing two spaces will confuse the children as well.
Pick an area with a table such as the dining room where all of the main work can be conducted. Use bookshelves, rolling containers, and other storage media to keep supplies organized and in one area. If you are home schooling children in different grade levels, separate their items into different containers so materials are easy to locate when you need them. This area will double as your grading and lesson plan area when class is not in session.
Decide how many hours a day will be devoted to school. This time can begin at eight o’clock or at ten o’clock. The schedule will work around the best time of day for you and the children. Sleepy children do not make good students.
With that issue taken care of, don’t forget chores. Design a master calendar or white board for a chore listing and one for class schedules. Each child will know when the school day begins, when and what chores they need to do each day, along with other activities. This will help your child to establish their own routines as well, by knowing where to start each day.
The house will not be neat as a pin all the time. There will be toys, books, clothes that need washing and the rest. A list of chores enlists the aid of the entire family to keep the house organized in light of the home school atmosphere. When you don’t have to tackle everything by yourself, the stress level goes down for you and the rest of the family.


