Ideas for using time more wisely

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  • junkybird
    Participant

    Hi ladies, I have been pretty slack lately.  Actually, I’ve been slack for the past two years since I had twins 🙂  We have let go of art, music and nature study and mostly focused on the basics for the past two years.  Now that my twins are two, I feel like I am finally able to get things back under control!

    One of the first things that I have been convicted of is that I could be using our breakfast and lunches as times to sneak in things like our devotions, art study, poetry and the like.  What are some good ideas that you ladies already have in practice?  What subjects do/can you do during these times?  What are some good ways to get them done?

    We already do a “snack” in the afternoon around 3 ish, so that would also be a good time to get in our “afternoon tea” time.  Do any ladies on here do this?  I know a lot of AO people do, but I have never seen it talked about that much on here. My kids are ds9, dd5 and dd’s2.

    Thanks a bunch 🙂

     

    Kristen
    Participant

    Because I work full time and home school I am always looking for ways to be more efficient with my time. I am sure there will be some good ideas given here.

    I read our literature book during lunch most days. I am not home at night so cant do it at bedtime. You could do poetry or music appreciation during lunch or your tea time. I do picture study by purchasing year old calendars of famous artists for only a couple of dollars each at calendars.com and hang that on the wall and every Monday we change it to a new picture. At the start of each one I read a bit about the selected artist. Its very easy and one thing that doesnt take a lot of time and stress planning.

    I could really use some ideas for using time more wisely! I look forward to hearing lots of great ideas, but I will share a few things we do that may or may not be helpful.

    I often eat WHILE I’m making the kids’ breakfast and lunch, which frees me up to read during the meal. 🙂  I used to try to eat while they did too, but then I would end up snacking on garbage because I’m hungry, and then during the meal when I was eating my proper meal I was always trying not to talk with food in my mouth and that really cuts into the flow of the story! lol  So a history reading, family read aloud, biography for a composer or artist, really any subject that has a real aloud component could fit in there. I haven’t yet established an actual “rotation” for this but was just thinking that would be helpful, otherwise at every meal time I’m thinking, “Hmm…what should I grab to read?” lol 

    We stick pictures for art appreciation and the history related pics (like from SCM’s “Things They Left Behind”) in page protectors on the refrigerator. Your 9yo could have the job to write up a label with relevant info on it, and the younger two could put it up with magnets. For some reason my kids all like doing that. We do talk about the pic for a few minutes of course, but that’s where they go once they’ve been discussed. We have 4 items up pretty much all the time, in the middle section so it’s at the kids’ eye level.

    Tea times — love them! There have been some discussions on here, for sure. Maybe you could do a seach? We were much more consistent before Christmas, but my kids love them. They usually all bring a couple poems to share from whatever they want, and I share a few from the current poet we’re studying. 

    Music — we don’t usually play it in the car, but many families do. Usually I squeeze that in by either playing it during a time when they are working on art stuff, or sometimes during a meal if we’re not reading something aloud. I used to play it for background music during tea time and I still think that’s good for exposure, but I don’t want that to be the only time because we’re also focusing on the poetry at the same time, of course. 

    Read alouds in the car — It’s less than ideal, but we do listen to audio books (Librivox or a library one) for a current classic read aloud that we’re doing. This works really well when we do have those busy days. We like to talk in the car though, so we usually only listen to one chapter or for one direction of the car ride. 

    One thing I really struggle wiith is the balance between the kids and trying to get things done…getting those who can and should work more independently to do that without getting distracted or taking too long, while not just abandoning them either. Then there’s the youngest one who needs more “mom” time but the whole give-your-time-to-the-youngest-first philosophy doesn’t seem to make my day much smoother. lol Not to sidetrack the OP question, but just thought I’d throw that out there if someone wants to comment with ideas. 🙂

    cdm2kk
    Participant

    Here are some tips I have found that work for me….my ds is about to be 8 and my dd just turned 9. 

    We watch science DVD’s during lunch or I will put on an audio story… I have Jim Wiese’s collection from peace Hill press…love them 

    During breakfast, I will sometimes pull up math lesson videos from Kahn academy streaming through our wii U. I use these just as review of concepts already learned, but have also used for some new concepts too. 

    I use any car time to listen to Story of the World History audio that coordinates with our current history lesson just as a review. Jim Weise narrates this and my kids love him. 

    I use car time to listen to our music study as well. This year I bought the classical kids cds on Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi….love the vivaldi one, it made me cry like a baby. 

    I have my kids reading Aesop fables this year and instead of reading them and having them each narrate, I have had them both read it together, discuss, and then present the story to me as though I have never heard or seen it. So one or the other acts it out while the other tells the story. I use the time they are reading etc. to grade math or enter work into the organizer. LOL

    I have found it easier to pull out any individual work and group onto a clip board for each child, math worksheet, copy work, map work etc. Then when I get hung up doing something, they know to grab the board and work on those things without being told. 

    I have one child do their daily chores while I do Language arts with another and vice versa. 

    It is a standing rule in our house too that while one bathes the other straightens their room and vice versa. 

    Lay out your picture study at the dining room table and while eating lunch just have everyone eat quietly and study the picture then as each finishes their lunch start a discussion. 

     

    that is all I have for now…. as for your 2 year old twins…. I loved giving my two finger paints in the tub and letting them just be creative and then BAM wash them and the walls all clean at one time. 8-P

     

    HTH

    vikingkirken
    Participant

    We do devotions, memory verse practice, and hymn sing/study over breakfast. Then I play music by our current composer focus during table work and/or chores. Lunch is our time to reevaluate our day and see what we need to focus on during the afternoon. We try to do tea time at least three times a week (unless we’re out, basically). Once a week we do poetry during tea, the other days we do one of our chapter read-alouds (history or literature, etc). Sometimes I’ll sneak in a science chapter as well–we use God’s Design for Science which has short chapters. Tea time often leads naturally to more in-depth exploration of whatever we’ve read, beyond just narration. My kids love tea time and are always disappointed when it gets skipped! In nicer weather, I’ve also done read-alouds during outdoor time after lunch.

    You also mentioned nature study–for us, other than regular outdoor playtime, I found I needed to just schedule nature walks once a month. A few other families join us, and we get them in that way. If it wasn’t for having them on the calendar, I think they might fall by the wayside–and the littles REALLY benefit from downtime in nature!! (I have four kids under 8.)

    Benita
    Participant

    Lovely recommendations.  I echo it all.  Combine and conquer!

    Tea times are a wonderful way to get in poetry and literature.  My olders love it just as much as the youngers.

    We play our composer’s music in the backround in the mornings. Photo albums of artist works are on display. We also use the fridge for artists works and current maps

     We do our devotions and memory work and read from Mr. Pipes hymn book at breakfast.  Our together SCM Module work is done at the table just after breakfast and before independant work. 

    Each child has a clipboard with a spreadsheet with the assignments fo the week on them.

    I usually read from a read aloud at lunch and eat mine afterwards.

    We are going through SCM Goal Study once a week with daddy after supper.

    Hope these ideas help.  It is encouraging to see many mommas doing similar things.  We must be doing something right! God made us ladies good at multitasking,  So we can encorporate that gift into acheiving our goals in our schooling/home life.

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