Candace Crabtree

The Best Homeschooling Idea I’ve Ever Used

The title of this post might sound like an exaggeration, but truly, this idea (that I did NOT come up with on my own!) has been the BEST thing to happen to our home since sliced bread. {grin}

Here is where I first got wind of this fabulous idea: How I’m Using Spiral Notebooks to Simplify Homeschooling {But Sarah’s blog is amazing, so you should definitely click around awhile!} Also, after I had written this post, I listened to a podcast where Sarah talked about this notebook idea, among other things! Head over to The Simple Show episode 8 to hear all about it!

So, if you’ve been around these parts for awhile, you know that 2 years ago was a bad, very bad homeschooling year. Last year our kids attended a private school. And this year we are back to homeschooling even though I’m going into it a bit begrudgingly. I keep reminding myself that homeschooling is not about me.

This summer we also moved. So, we’ve had quite a lot happening around here. I knew I had to find some way to ward off the incoming bad attitudes that would appear with the start of school. I am farming out nearly every subject this year, so that will help with the whole dilemma of my kids not wanting to do their school work for me. I think that really was a benefit of school last year.

But what to do with the dog days of summer?

Spiral Notebooks saved my life!

It’s the truth. The long, hot, unproductive days of summer were GREAT before Minecraft was invented! Now my kids suddenly do not know what to do with themselves if they aren’t playing! Well, we can’t have that, now can we?

Enter the spiral notebook.

Along with wanting my kids to do just a few simple things each day, I also wanted to REMIND them of all the BLESSINGS they already have in their lives. I keep coming back to this post from Ann Voskamp in my mind. I know the statistics from her post are true and that grateful people really are more happy. My kids needed a BIG dose of remembering just how very blessed they are! {Scroll down to the bottom of this post where it says: 6 Reasons Why To Teach Children To Be Grateful}

So, at the top of each day’s assignments I put “I’m thankful for…” and some days I number to 5, some days I number to 3. My kids may not realize it, but they are learning a very powerful lesson in learning to count and name their blessings. I pray every time I read their lists that these truths and these moments of gratitude will sink down deep into their hearts.

What to List on the Spiral Notebook?

Well, truly, the options are endless! But some of my favorites are a thankful list, chores and looking up verses in the Bible. I also add in little bits of school work that they can do on their own as well.

Also, as Sarah mentions in her post, it really doesn’t take THAT long to make this list! I can usually write them for all 3 kids in 20 minutes or less. Sometimes I look up verses and spend more time finding things I want them to do, but overall it’s pretty quick!

Spiral notebooks have helped my kids to more willingly be productive each day. {Because they must complete their lists before getting on electronics or watching tv, etc.} This simple spiral notebook idea has brought PEACE to our home, believe it or not! Using these spiral notebooks ensures that I don’t forget these “little” things I want my kids to be doing. You can create a master list of your own with lists of things to choose from to add to your kids daily checklists. Sometimes those things go by the wayside, but they are important too! This idea with the spiral notebooks has helped our long summer days to be a lot more PLEASANT!

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