The first three weeks of our homeschooling have been a bit rough this year. The first week was a blur of trying to get used to new teachers (we use A Beka’s dvds, I heart them.) The second week we battled a bad head cold that hit each of us on different days. The third week began with the death of a furry family member.
Back to that cell phone alarm. I have never had a phone where I could set several alarms at one time and schedule whether they were daily, M-F, or just a one time thing. In the past 6 years in the Philippines I had what was equivalent to a track phone here in the states, one alarm at a time. This new phone has all kinds of options!! WoooHoooo!!
Desperate to make a schedule we could actually stick to, I planned out a school schedule complete with how long each subject would take, added a morning break after Arithmetic class, set a time for lunch, and most importantly… a time to BE DONE. (Last year it seemed the kids dragged everything out and we would still be studying at dinner time!) I set my cell phone alarm to sound when we should be starting school, when we would take our morning break (and when that break was over), when we would eat lunch, when their free time after lunch ended, and most importantly when they should be done!!
They have happily stuck to their schedules now for almost a week and WOW! WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! Everybody knows what is expected. Everybody is happy! Everybody is finishing ON TIME! They finally understand that when school is completed on a regular basis we can do things like this:
And it seems like all it took was a schedule and a little alarm sounding. I am thankful that I can set many little alarms through out the day to help make time for a bit of fun.
I am linking up to Chatting at the Sky for a bit of linky fun, celebrating Tuesdays Unwrapped! Unwrap your self a blessing today!
