Laundry Everywhere!!!!

Throughout the summer, I have been trying so hard to get a routine down for myself and the kids.  When Dad is home, sometimes things get interrupted.  He's been so busy making our house a home and hopefully we'll be able to finish the showers and trim on the main level.  Super excited about that, but we'll see how well it goes.  With that, though, there are things that he needs help with, so "MOOOM" is a common name being called.

One of the things that I've fallen behind in was laundry.  Laundry, laundry, laundry, I could scream!  I NEEDED to find a new system.  Previously, I had a day for each person, but that amounted to several loads of laundry a day that needed to be done.  I quickly found that with Little Elf now in the picture, I need something quicker and more efficient.  So, I changed my game plan.

Monday- whites
Tuesday- Light Colors
Wednesday- Dark Colors
Thursday- Work clothes and Denim
Friday- Sheets and Towels
Saturday- anything else that needs to be done.

Some of these days also consist of diaper laundry.  We cloth diaper every day except Sunday when we go to church and the routine is a little different than the other days.  It gives me a little break and allows me to focus more on keeping the Sabbath day holy instead of worrying if the diapers are sitting a day too long.

I bought a whole bunch of these sorting hampers and I will hopefully get these kids trained to put the appropriate type of clothing into the matching hamper.

So far, it has worked immensely well.  I don't feel so burdened throughout the day to get laundry done!  It's one or two loads a day, we take a break from school or TV and fold laundry together.  That's the trick- family work (Thank you Donna Goff!)  I get my children to work with me, even the 2 year old!  We sort the clothes, fold the clothes, put the clothes away TOGETHER.  I just hope that some day, Curly Girly and Ferdinand learn that laundry isn't as hard as they make it out to be.  Haha!  For me, the stress is gone, the mountain of laundry is gone and it's a lot easier to maintain.  Of course, there are things that are going to need to be washed immediately, but that's the great thing about this system.  If that does ever happen, I just grab something else, like baby clothes, and throw them in the washer with the shirt with blood from a bloody nose on it, or the pillow case with drool spots all over.  I feel like this will continue to be a good thing for us... at least until the kids are big enough to do their own.  Wink, wink!

Lessons Learned From Horses

I think one of the things that you will find me saying over and over again, is that homeschooling is not just academics.  I always try to have the vision that I'm not just trying to raise "smart" children, but I'm also trying to raise children who know how to make good decisions.  Recently, Sir Lancelot and I got some new additions to our family.  Introducing Dakota and Tinker.

Dakota

For myself, these horses have become a huge motivation to get the things done to actually GET done.  Horses need time.  They need people to work with them.  They need care.  But as a mother and a homeschooler, I can't spend ALL my time with our horses.  The house needs to be cleaned, children need to be fed, clothed, loved, nurtured.  But as a family, it's been fun taking care of our horses.

Tinker

Since we've gotten the horses, it's been a little bit easier teaching that work needs to be done before play.  Yes, the kids can get distracted, bored, etc. but when I remind them that we can't do the fun stuff unless the hard stuff is done, then they get back to work pretty quickly.  I've also seen improvement in attitude- not just in the kids, but myself.  Working with our horses has taught me a little bit more about patience.  Dakota is a jumpy girl, and needs work.  Tinker is spirited, has been worked with a lot, but also hates being alone.  When you lead her, she usually tries to get you back to where she can be with Dakota, but if you get mad at a horse- it's never a good thing.  Horses need guidance and PATIENCE.  Children are the same way.  Often times they are not trying to be "naughty", they're being inquisitive, practical.... not naughty.  They need to be guided- and as a parent, I need to be patient.

Sometimes though, I need to face reality.  A lot of children's work is play.  This is Ferdinand working hard on his Math-U-See.  Haha.  Kids, especially this young, really just need to play and explore the world.  And, I have to say that I'm completely ok with that.

What planner do I use?

A Homeschool planner is essential in my opinion.  I need a planner to organize my thoughts and lesson plans for the week.  I found this really cute one on Etsy for super cheap.  A huge bonus is that you can use it over and over again.  The dates are not written in any of the months, you get to fill them in yourself.  It was TOTALLY worth the money I spent to use it, and this is the 3rd year I've used it.  LOVE IT!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/197141792/homeschool-planner-printable-set-sized

This etsy shop has so many things like weekly dockets, business planners, meals and recipes to name a few.  I love her shop and it's well worth your money!  So, if you need a planner of any kind, not just homeschool, check her out!

(No, I do not get any compensation for recommending her stuff, I just love it so much!)