Tonight’s special for Homeschoolers
Our special guest tonight was a huge hit with everyone on the radio show. Cindy Rushton also mentioned some great resources you might want to check out. This is her recommended package:
Home Organization specifically for homeschool moms!
Setting Up Your Home to Learn!
Homeschooling? Thinking about Homeschooling? BUT…do you have to turn your home into a school? No, my dear friend, you do not need to turn your home into a school. Your home can still be a HOME. A home ready to learn! Ready?
Ready? This is EASY as ABC…
–> Find a good nook! It does not have to be huge. Certainly does not need to be expensive. All that is needed is a place that invites your children (and YOU!) to think, work through the studies (writing, reading, studying, proofreading, projects, experiments…). Ask yourself, “Where do they gravitate toward to read…to research…to write…to print?” Keep in mind that each and every student in your family will be very different during the learning process, but most will appreciate having all of the supplies and equipment in a safe, quiet, comfortable place to study. When deciding on a spot, make sure that the spot has good lighting and a good, solid, clean, work surface. Make sure it is a good spot to think AND work on lessons.” Set up the area with a nice table or desk with plenty of work area…comfortable chairs…limited distractions…shelves for books and notebooks…space for a computer and printer…convenient power supply…space for you to sit down and work with them during their lessons…and a specific spot for organizational bins that will hold supplies.
–> Get supplies together! You probably have supplies ALREADY in your home. Use our list to remind you of which supplies you will need to gather for homeschooling. Gather them and organize them so they will be ready to use when your children can snatch time to dig into their studies.
–> Give easy access to materials and supplies! Don’t just gather supplies, give your children easy access to those supplies! Nothing else can encourage your children to dig deeper into studies like having the materials needed to learn AND free reign to use them. Gather the supplies you will need and store them in clearly marked plastic bins and containers. There are SO many options available. Find what will work for you and your family. Get paper and printable pages together. I have always stored ours in our school materials so the children had their materials on hand as they needed it. A quick glance can remind me that we need more. I buy all of our paper, ink pens, pencils, 3-ring binders, etc in bulk at Sam’s Warehouse. During the school breaks, many stores have supplies and paper in bulk for better prices than all year round. That is when we also stock up. We store it on our school shelves and have what we need as we work.
–> Invest in the best tools! It may seem to be an added expense, however tools make all of the difference in the world! For example, you can buy a cheap stapler for under $5.00 OR you can buy a long-arm stapler for $29.95 at an office supply store. The difference? Well, we have bought SO MANY cheap staplers. They simply do not last. Plus, they are limited in what they can do. Now, contrast that with the long-arm stapler? They are built to last. You can use those for making any size booklet and for regular stapling. Just watch your most reluctant writer when they figure out ALL that they can do with one stapler! $29.95 will be the best investment ever! Buy the best you can. The investment is more than just for equipment, it is investing in your child’s education!
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Need MORE Help?
Check out Cindy’s New Organized Mom Super Set! It is full of great ebooks and audios that will help take you by the hand and plan the best homeschool year ever! Plus! When you purchase your set you get MORE help with record-keeping, organization, and setting up your home to learn–you also get access to Cindy’s Organization 911 Seminar Set and her newest Seminar Set, Let’s Get Organized for the New School Year.
Yep! Both! Complimentary! Grab your set here!
This is great Donna. May I add, I love that you stated “you do not need to turn your home into a school.” because it is not called School in the home! Our favorite “classroom” setting was on the bed in pj’s reading great books or sometimes on the floor reading with action figures and/or an artists pad. Homeschooling was such a blessing in our lives; we are now finished (as of Feb 3) and preparing our son for College next year. I wouldn’t have traded a day, not even the ones I was drawn to tears wondering why I was doing it. God always works everything to good for those whose hearts are turned toward him and called for his purpose. We are called to teach our children and train them in the ways of the Lord. Even to those that do not home school, there is a lot of teaching and training to be done by the parents (even more to undo some of the world views they will get in PS) Blessings to all of you HS’ers out there.
[...] Even if you can’t make it, you might want to check out Cindy’s Homeschool Training Material: http://www.donnapartow.org/home-organization-for-homeschoolers/ [...]
Thank you, Cindy and Donna, for your focus on home educating. I am blessed to be a part of a large, Christian network of homeschoolers in my area, but I really appreciated all you shared tonight. I am into my first year of high school with my daughter and I also work in my husband’s home-based business so I could relate to the challenges you shared about working around the kids’ schooling.
I agree with your focus on teaching our children to seek the Lord’s will for their lives and their futures rather than emphasizing the old “what do you want to be when you grow up?” My questions to my older children have been, “What talents and gifts has the Lord blessed you with? How will you use them to further the work of His kingdom?” Homeschooling is so different than my public education background, good in every way. The flexibility to meet the needs of my children where they are, to allow them to explore their gifts (I was glad to hear you say that tonight), and to involve them in more than just books and worksheets. We are huge fans of Sonlight for all the great books we get to read and the personalizing of history that they offer. One of our favorite homeschool days is the arrival of the box of books. How many private or public school kids would get excited over a box of books for school???
God blessed us with a later-in-life child and he presents a bit of a challenge to my homeschool/work routine, but my older kids have taken an active hand in helping me teach him and that’s paying big dividends for them as well as they learn to organize and manage him and some materials with him in mind. My daughter recently babysat for another homeschool mom who just needed a day to get some things done. I offered my daughter’s help with her homeschooling. My friend was so pleased and surprised to see that her kids would not miss a day of schooling for her to accomplish her tasks, that my daughter (age 14 by the way) was able to handle the many school assignments left for her. I believe helping me enabled her to be prepared to be such a good mother’s helper for the day.
I ramble on like this to further encourage anyone considering homeschooling to know that it can be done under all kinds of circumstances and in the face of many obstacles. If you are in the Lord’s will homeschooling, you will find a way to make it work – like we all do.
Homeschooling mom of 10 years
Ramble away! I sure enjoyed what you had to say. And THAT’s what the blogosphere is all about. Keep your great comments coming!
Hello Donna!
I wasn’t able to make the call last night (as I had other commitments) but I too appreciate how you’ve highlighted homeschooling as an option for women to prayerfully consider. It means a lot to know that you’ve been able to balance homeschooling and ministry, and for us, this area has blessed our family more than any other . . . but is hasn’t always been easy. My husband and I are nearing the end of our 18th homeschool year (we’ve got 7 kids, ages 8 to 22, with three graduates), with about 8-9 years to go, and all in the midst of international ministry and missions. I think that God has allowed this one area of my life to stretch and purify me more than any other.
Oh sister, you’re far too funny!!!
I’ve been wanting to be like Donna Partow!
Guess we’ll both just have to be completely satisfied with becoming the WOMAN GOD WANTS US TO BE!!!
Thank you all so much for your posts. I am in my first year of homeschooling my boys ages 7,8, and 10. Unfortunately I have so many medical problems and my husband is our senior pastor so he has very limited time. I have prayed all day today just telling our Lord how much I don’t think I can homeschool next year. In His perfect way, He has allowed me to have enough time to go to this site tonight because I was unable to hear the broadcast. He knew that it was today that I needed this encouragement. Thanks so much for allowing God to use you all to help me in this journey!
All I wanted to say is — I wish I still had school-age children — this approach and Cindy’s materials sound absolutely WONDERFUL! but wait! I was just blessed with my first grandson…hmmm… my brain cogs are turning! 
) thank you for all you do. So many blessings I am able to reap because of all you teach and all the encouragement you provide, Donna….!
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