Simply Convivial: Organization & Mindset for Home & Homeschool

Season 9: Quick Ways to Organize Your Attitude It’s difficult but essential to notice that our perception of what’s going on is an interpretation, a story overlaid on the bare facts. Stripping the story away entirely so that we are unconnected, stoic observers of our lives is not desirable, but we also do not have to be stuck with the story that first and naturally pops into our minds. And by changing our thoughts, we can change the story we see ourselves acting. Read the original post here: Change the story.

Season 9: Real Life Homeschooling Tips This episode is an excerpt of an hour-long live video chat between Amy Roberts and Mystie Winckler in 2016. Amy Roberts is the mother of 10, who has children from 20 to 2 years old. She and her husband have homeschooled from the beginning and shares what she’s learned and how she does it. * Amy’s blog, Raising Arrows * Amy’s Instagram, Amy Raising Arrows * Large Family Homeschooling eBook * It’s Not a Season I’m In * Table Chores Listen: This is a partial transcript of the episode. Mystie: I really enjoyed your post awhile back about how the metaphor of seasons of life affected you and the metaphor you used instead. How we think about our life matters so much and changing the discouraging metaphors is so important. Can you tell us about that? Amy: I had someone tell me that when this season is over you can do x, y, z. And I just found that extremely discouraging because I have been in this season for 18 years, and I probably have another 18 or more left, so telling me this is just a season was sort of discouraging. I felt I was never going to get past this season. I really needed to see this a journey or a voyage, where I’m on it and living it right now. Instead of waiting to start my life, this is my life. Mystie: Even just realizing the metaphor you’ve been told or have been using is becoming a source of discouragement and finding a way to change that metaphor is key. It matters a lot and can help that mindset, attitude shift, a lot. So what does planning look like for you? Amy: It has looked different over the years. For a long time I was able to do our homeschooling planning every Sunday night. I would sit down and plan through the next week. I’m not a long-range planner. I do a little bit at a time, about a week at a time. And some things we have on auto-pilot, so it’s never really planned in our homeschool. Amy then explains her Traveler’s Journal planner method Amy: I’m simply writing down what we’ve done. If I write down what we’ve done, I’m way more productive. Amy then shares her current routine, how it’s changed, and what runs on auto-pilot in her home. Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 9: Quick Ways to Organize Your Attitude We only know what expectations are realistic when we evaluate our reality. We have to take that time to look back over that day we were at the end of our rope. What made us feel that way? What could we have done differently? How can we set things up to circumvent the frustration and prepare for what’s most likely to happen? Living life well is not about checking off as many tasks as possible. It’s about knowing and doing the right things. Read the original post here: Realistic Expectations

Season 9: Real Life Homeschooling Tips Listen: Mystie: Alright, so in this episode we’re going to talk about keeping track of what needs to be done. If you have multiple children and multiple subjects to teach (and that’s pretty much all of us) then we have a lot to keep track of and a lot to make happen. So, I thought that we’d talk about different methods and strategies for keeping track of all that stuff. So, how do you keep things straight in an average homeschool day? Virginia Lee: Well, I think my biggest battle in that is, honestly, just myself. I have a lot I want to get done in a day and a certain way I’d like it to happen by a certain time, and so, I really have to spend a lot of time just thinking about what are the underlying principles for my day and for these people that God’s gifted me with before I think about how to manage everything. Mystie: Yeah. Virginia Lee: So, I just spend a lot of time reminding myself that my children are born persons, being Charlotte Mason homeschoolers that is one of the key philosophies of Charlotte Mason and principles for our home, and so just whatever method I employ I have to remind myself am I respecting that fact that my children are born persons? It’s not about getting X number of things done by a certain time. Mystie: Right. Virginia Lee: And that just keeps me from steamrolling over everybody. Whatever you use to keep track of your daily stuff and make sure your daily things are going to happen we have to know what is our reason, what is our goal for doing all of this? We want our children to learn to care rightly about things, to serve their family, to be good stewards of their time, and to have a joyful personality through it all, so I think even when we’re thinking about what we’re going to use we have to be really aware of how am I modeling this and the things that I’m choosing to balance with is the stuff that’s me poking and prodding them through the day or rewarding them because they want marks and prizes, or am I allowing natural consequences of the good and the bad, that kind of thing. So, I guess that’s my biggest thing. I feel like there are a lot of different ways to manage how you’re going to juggle everything in a day for yourself and your kiddos but the most important part is to really think about what is my vision, what is my goal here, who are these eternal souls in my home, and what I choose to use, is it respecting that? Mystie: And even how I’m implementing it. Virginia Lee: Oh yes. See, here, I’m thinking about ‘OK, how am I going to organize this?’ Mystie: If you don’t know why you’re doing each of those things on the check list then you really don’t know how to prioritize. So, you really have to start from that why: why are you doing each thing? Why are the things prioritized the way that they are? And, why are keeping you track? Why are you managing the way that you’re managing? When you know those things I think it allows you to be flexible. Virginia Lee: Especially when you’re not having an average day because, I mean, let’s face it—that’s probably not the norm. Average is to not have an average day when you have multiple different ages and people. So, I feel like I can say this is what we do in our house but sometimes I worry about that because then I think that people think, ‘Oh well, let me see your checklist. Let me see what timers or if you’re using something like that. Those things are helpful to see of other people’s … Mystie: But that’s not really the best place to start. You can’t just adopt someone else’s strategies and methods and the way that they’re doing it, the little things that they’re doing and get the same results, because it’s really those underlying principles and the why. Virginia Lee: And the remembering who our children are. So, I think a big thing in my home,

Season 9: Quick Ways to Organize Your Attitude This episode is a conversation between Mystie and Virginia Lee Rogers, who helps with member support. Mystie: So, welcome to the first episode of 2018. So, we’re going to be kicking off the season again with a conversation about brain dumps with Simplified Organization’s Customer Support Assistant, Virginia Lee Rogers. Thanks for joining me, Virginia Lee. Virginia Lee: Hi, Mystie, hi everyone. Mystie: Do you want to start with a brief introduction for those who may not know you yet? Virginia Lee: Sure, I can do that. I live in northern Colorado with my husband. We’ve been married for 17 years and we have five kiddos. Our oldest is 12 and our youngest is 16 months already (oh, it went so fast!). And then, we’re Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, and I guess if you want to know more than the brief introduction you can find me on Instagram. I don’t keep a blog or anything like that but I am on Instagram in quite a few places; I’m one of the nine curators for Charlotte Mason In Real Life on Instagram and I also run an Instagram bookstore called “The Jolly Reader”. Mystie: So, I like to say that all organization projects should begin with a brain dump. So, I thought that the best place to start would be to talk briefly about what a brain dump is and then we can start talking about tips and hacks and troubleshooting and what works for us and that sort of thing. A brain dump is basically sitting down with a pen and paper and just writing down everything that’s in your head, either everything everything or just everything about a particular problem or a project, maybe, that’s driving you crazy. So, when you get it down and onto paper it really clears your head of the details and lets you look at what’s going on more objectively, it gives you a little perspective. David Allen, author of GTD (Getting Things Done) says that when you use paper to hold the information and the details then your mind is free for creative thinking and problem solving. So, it’s kind of like decluttering your brain. Virginia Lee: Which we could all use. Mystie: Especially with Christmas over and the New Year, it’s time to declutter. Virginia Lee: Most definitely. Well, I have a question for you about that. Mystie: OK. Virginia Lee: With brain dumps do you feel like it’s really important to do it on paper or can a brain dump be done in an electronic version or way? I’ve always been curious about that. Mystie: I’ve done it both ways. It’s kind of depended on what I’m brain dumping about because sometimes I just need to make a list. If my mind is really working fast I can type faster than I can write so then I’ll just open up something in Evernote and just start typing. I think it really depends on the person and the way you think and process. If I’m going to be writing sentences at all then I probably want to be typing because I’ll write better sentences, I’ll think through what I’m thinking about better if I’m typing, fingers move faster, but if I am not sure of the idea, like I’m trying to figure something out and brainstorm, maybe I want this thing over here and then I want to put something over here and make it a little more visual then writing it down is the better way to sort those ideas. And then, also, there’s just sometimes I’ve just had a notebook on the counter with a pen so that just here and there I can add a little bit. Virginia Lee: That makes sense because on paper you can do things like draw arrows and circle things and sometimes,

Season 8: Organize Homeschool Stuff I’ve created a few iterations of a chore board over the last year and a half. First it was a poster board frame, and I wrote directly on the hard plastic frame. That worked well, because I could tuck it away quickly and easily when I didn’t want our schedule, consequences, and school assignments on display. Then, my 3-year-old used it as a slide (which means he was climbing up it). The frame and plastic cracked. I tried to salvage it by simply sticking printed pages on it, but that simply didn’t work as well nor look as good. So I explained the situation to my husband, asking for his diy-expertise to solve all my chore-board-issues. He is the brains and brawn behind this perfect solution. Read the original post: Organizing Homeschool Stuff: Schedule & Chore Board Listen: Simple Sanity Saver: Memory Work Tips The final thing to do is to put it all together so it’s convenient. Organization is about being prepared not about being perfect. Pull everything you need for your Morning Time into one place where you can grab and go as smoothly as possible. Print or write your memory work and songs for the system you choose in Step 1. Gather the books and your memory work and make them a home; a shelf, a container, a box. Print or write out your agenda and make it handy and durable. You can use a clipboard, page protectors, or laminate a page. It’s one thing to buy the books and supplies, to make a plan, to create a chart, and quite another to actually pull it off in a typical day. Days never go exactly as imagined but it’s worth it to take the time and imagine the day even so. The more practice in imagining the day and planning for contingencies before the heat of the moment the better you’ll become at rolling with the punches of a real life homeschool day in a household bustling with people. [thrive_2step id=’16483′][/thrive_2step] [thrive_2step id=’16483′][/thrive_2step] Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 8: Grocery Shopping Tips There’s more than one way to menu plan, and your personality will predict which one is most likely to work for you. So let’s break it down and see why that is and what might work for you that doesn’t work for me or your best friend – and why!     Read the original post here: The Best Menu Planning Method for Each Personality Type Need help getting dinner on the table quickly, without stress? Download the free menu plan printable that will help you navigate three meals a day, every week. Download          

Season 8: Organize Homeschool Stuff Keeping track of what each student is supposed to be doing, and making sure they are doing it is one of the struggles of homeschooling moms everywhere. Here’s how we’re managing it with a free online (and mobile) app called Trello. Some people use spiral notebooks for a daily list; we use Trello for weekly lists. Here are the details and even some video tutorials to get you started! Giving the kids a checklist of their own cuts down on the amount of nagging reminding I have to do, which makes everyone happier. Read the original post: Weekly Homeschool Checklists in Trello Listen: Simple Sanity Saver: Morning Time Memorization Hacks The next thing to do to set up your Morning Time memorization is to make an agenda; list out everything that you want to do in your own Morning Time gathering. Ours usually involves listening to a chapter from Proverbs, prayer, singing, memory work, and sometimes we begin or end with a devotional reading or appreciation or a playlist of timeline or geography songs, but pick one. It’s also been fruitful for us to start with an overview of our day. Once you have your first draft of an agenda estimate generously how long each item will take. Then add them up. For your first year of starting Morning Time try to start with under 30 minutes. I always try to keep mine at less than 45 minutes and then block off about an hour for it because there will always be interruptions and issues. Our first years of Morning Time were like a refining fire that brought out all our impurities. No one could sit still, although they did it at dinner. Half of the time, at least half the participating (I use the word loosely) children and at that time half of them was equal to one were uncooperative and my oldest and I spent too much of the time vying for control of the situation and routine. It was clearly good for us. Because Kendra Fletcher and Cindy Rollins were saying it was the best thing ever, I did not give up easily and was determined to stick it out. It was so worth it. If you are in the midst of the Morning-Time-is-chaos phase be encouraged. It might take three years to overcome but it’s worth it. Those early years without older kids was just flat difficult. Change things up, problem solve, get creative, and persevere. Those little ones will be your leaders in just a few short years and your assets who will make maintaining consistency much easier in your next round of chaos. [thrive_2step id=’16483′][/thrive_2step] [thrive_2step id=’16483′][/thrive_2step] Spread the word! Leaving a review on iTunes will help other homeschooling moms discover this podcast!

Season 8: Grocery Shopping Tips Many factors go into the decision about how often you should grocery shop. But it will simplify life and greatly decrease the mental energy and stress involved if it is a decision rather than a haphazard, “Ack, we need milk today!” affair. There are three most common options: shopping weekly, every other week, and monthly. As always, there are advantages and disadvantages to each. Many families are likely to choose some combination of these strategies.     Read the original post here: How Often Should You Go Grocery Shopping? Download the free menu plan printable that will help you navigate three meals a day, every week. Download

Season 8: Organize Homeschool Stuff You know I love lists. And I also love books. So what could be better than a list of books? How about a list of my books? I won’t try to convince you that you need to catalog your books, because you probably don’t. But having a catalog of the books on my own shelves is something inherently appealing to me, and it might be to you, too. Read the original post: How I catalogued my personal library Listen: Simple Sanity Saver: Morning Time Memorization Hacks The next thing to do is to choose your new memory work. Here are some categories of memory work you might want to choose from: Scripture, Psalms, hymns and songs, Latin chants, poetry, catechism and creeds, historical speeches, mottos, maxims or quotes. Start with only 1-3 items; start with only 1-3 passages, or 1-3 new things per term. Build slowly but consistently and you’ll be amazed at your own index once you’ve been doing this for a few years. You can check out my memory work index here. Rather than pursuing perfect recitation that will likely not last beyond their childhood I’m seeking more to begin to set a deep foundation that would be continually and cyclically renewed and built upon throughout their lives. I want familiarity, language patterns and ideas to seep in. I’m not a meticulous person, I am more of a hack. We recite one passage and one Psalm daily for one term which is six weeks and whether it’s memorized in two weeks or not memorized perfectly yet by the end we move it to the review section and start a new one. After a week or two of saying it daily, however, usually the children can recite it by the end of the term. But because my goal is building a lifetime of familiarity rather than perfect rote memory the fact that they rarely say it perfectly no longer frustrates me. This is my own personal good-enough-and-works-for-us memory method because it keeps my priority on being simple, no pressure, and focused on exposure, familiarity, and whole ideas rather than perfection. If memory work has been a stressful thing in your family don’t give it up, just pare it back, remove the pressure and expectation, and remember that God’s Word is active and will bear fruit in time. 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 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 Download the free menu plan printable that will help you navigate three meals a day, every week. Download

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. [thrive_2step id=’16483′][/thrive_2step] [thrive_2step id=’16483′][/thrive_2step] 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           Download the free menu plan printable that will help you navigate three meals a day, every week. Download

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   Download the free menu plan printable that will help you navigate three meals a day, every week. Download