I am a self proclaimed organizational nut! I probably drive my husband crazy but he is very tolerant. I love to be organized and know exactly where things are at any given moment... when I can't put my hands on what I want right away, I start pulling my hair out.
The last several months have been the hair-pulling kind. I have been so behind on organization that I almost forgot the joy that comes with knowing where things are. That is until I started cleaning out the homeschool room. Oh, yes. Now I remember! Do you feel that way as well? Having the house in a state of disaray causes an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach. And each day that goes by only magnifies the feeling. So here is my target list of what to do to stay in this nirvana of peace....
1. Clean up the classroom at the end of the day - may seem simple but having each of the kids at the end of the day clean up their desks and prepare for the next day is of vital importance. It says that we care about what we do during school and we will focus on being prepared for the next educational adventure.
2. Chores for the kids. My kids actually enjoy doing chores. But they need to know what is expected and when it is expected. That is why we do chorepacks. The kids are self sufficient but I know that I need to train them and then check their chores to make sure that they are completing to my expectations. Only doing half the job does not cut it. If they are willing to do the work, I need to take the time to check their efforts and train them with encouragement when it is not quite up to par. It is only fair.
3. Have a spot for everything. Please don't look in my garage! This is a work in progress. But the immediate home and classroom need to have a spot for things when we are done. This gives a sense of accomplishment when things can be put away and joy of what we have done together.
4. Clean out what you are not using. This is a hard one. I have inherited lots of wonderful curriculum and supplies from those who have gone before. But sometimes their style of teaching is different from mine and some things I have received I keep in the thought of "I might use this sometime..." This is especially difficult when you have little ones and you don't know how they might learn or what resource might be of benefit to them at any given time. But we need to have eyes for how we teach and what is enjoyable. If you know that you like to play games and spend one on one with a kindergartner, then probably holding on to all those Abeka workbooks are just space wasters. How freeing it is to finally clean out and sell/give to others the supplies that might actually work for them! Not to mention, providing wonderful space for the items that you may actually use!
Looking over my organized space makes me feel like I am capable of teaching these children. I know it is really not a gauge of my ability to teach but the grounding I feel in a clean home and classroom is an encouragement. I feel like it is one less area that I need to worry about and gives me the freedom just to teach (and to learn!) Praise God!
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