Today on Instagram I asked y'all to throw some questions my way. Questions ranging from motherhood, home school, homemaking, time management, and more came streaming in. I thought it would be fun to dedicate an entire blog post to answer some of those questions. I'll be answering what y'all were wondering below and also linking any blog posts that I may have that cover that specific topic in more detail. So grab something to sip on and lets dive in.
Home School Questions
What curriculum do you use?
I actually have a post on the blog covering this years curriculum, I'll link that HERE, but in short, Abeka, MasterBooks, and Saxon for our main subjects.
What is Tea Time or Morning Basket?
I also have some blog posts on these subjects so I'll link them HERE. I personally really enjoy spending time each day to slow down. We use Tea Time for Bible study, history, science, music, art, read a-louds and things along those lines. It's a great way to cover multiple subjects with varying ages. This is, I'm sure, especially helpful to those with larger families.
When homeschooling, how do you stay patient?
Oh golly, I don't always. I'm human and imperfect, but praise God I serve the One who is perfect and who is able to provide all my needs. Day by day and moment by moment God provides the grace, the strength...the patience I need when I'm faced with challenges. He is gracious and loving and He wants me to humbly go to Him for help and I can trust that He will help me in my need. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. Cast your cares upon Him go to Him in prayer.
How long should I take for homeschool each day?
I think this varies from family to family, the needs of your children, etc. Generally I think most families probably spend at least 4 hours a day doing school [if you're counting] I believe there are so many teachable moments throughout the day and we can always be learning. We listen to books in the car, we go on nature walks, my boys will help me in the kitchen. All of those things are moments that we can use to teach and train. Of course there are things I must teach them, like grammar, phonics, arithmetic and those require time and worksheets, but I wouldn't worry so much about a set amount of hours, but rather take some time each day to focus on each subject.
Was I homeschooled?
Nope, but I did actually ask my mom many times if she would let me be. Not for any particular reason. I always did well in school. I had friends and got along great with others. I wasn't bullied or anything. I actually liked school for the most part. I never had any memorable troubles. I just sort of love home and I also really like personal space and working at my own pace. Those are sort of the reasons that come to mind as I look back.
Do you do each subject every day?
Each day we have a math lesson, language [grammar, phonics, spelling] lesson. We read and do Bible study...these are a must....Then I usually have a few history and science lessons sprinkled in throughout the week. We also have co-op once a week and there we focus on science, history and art. Because we have tea time I'll include music and, art, character study things of that nature in our daily tea time.
Questions About Home
What are the paint colors you used?
Always a common question. I have a blog post dedicated to answer it HERE.
Where did you get your sofa?
Our blue sofa is from England Furniture I'll link their website HERE. We purchased from a small local furniture store so offering the name won't help you because they don't have a website, haha. They are old school and we like supporting small and local. Anyhoo it's the Collegedale Style in the color Cornflower. Our other sofa was also purchased locally, its by a company called Hallagan I'll link their website HERE. Its the tight-back, but it was custom and I don't remember the fabric. I'll have to dig around for that paperwork. We LOOOOOOOOVE our Hallagan sofa, so well made and great quality. More than the England one, but we do really like that one too.
Suggestions on how to get housework done with small children?
Have a rhythm and routine in place. Before kids I was the type of woman who would clean her whole entire house on a Saturday morning/afternoon. After kids I realized I just couldn't do that anymore. It just didn't work within the flow of our days. For this reason I began cleaning in zones. Each day I would focus on a different "zone" bedrooms one day, bathrooms and kitchen another and living spaces another. All the while being intentional about keeping up with simple daily tasks. My best advice is. Get your house in order. De-clutter. Get rid of the excess, otherwise your cleaning and wasting energy on junk. Keep what you need and love then let go of everything else. Have a home for everything, be intentional about putting it away and then teach your kids to do the same. A home for everything and everything in its home. I'll link a post I wrote HERE about eliminating clutter. Lastly work on the bigger things when they rest. I worked at getting my boys on the same schedule so I had time each afternoon to get some tasks done. The rest of the time, I'd take them along with me. Set your littles up in each space you're in. I'd have a basket of "cleaning toys" these were toys that were only brought out for those moments so they were exciting. They were able to play safely near me but also learn independent play. Lastly lastly....be gracious with them and yourself. Do the best you can with the time you have, but don't get so caught up in it. Pray for grace. God will give you all the grace you need in that moment and for each day.
How do you stay cheerful amidst endless housework?
I can't say I'm always cheerful necessarily, I certainly have my moments. Stress, tiredness, feelings of overwhelm. However, I do genuinely enjoy keeping my home. It brings me joy serving my family. I do remind myself often that the work God has called me to is good and when I'm obedient and cheerful in that work, when I serve my family with joy it glorifies the Lord.
How is your husband involved in the maintenance of your home?
My husband's primary role is provider and I care for the home, but I'm thankful he's always willing to lend a hand if I need his help. While I mow the grass for most of the season, he does the majority of all the outside maintenance and the heavy lifting. He definitely takes on the bulk of the bigger projects, handy man type stuff, remodeling etc. My husband is very involved in the decision making when it comes to our home and likes to offer his suggestions and insights. He is a carpenter by trade so he definitely has an opinion when it comes to our home.
Do I get the children involved in the cleaning?
Yes, I do. I want them to respect their home and things and show gratitude for them. I also want them to learn life skills. For this reason they are expected to keep after their things, pick up toys, set and clear the table, put their laundry away. Tasks like that. I actually have a blog post I'll link HERE all about training our kids to be helpers in the home.
Do you thrift for your home?
Yes, I do. I love thrifting and filling our home with found and collected little treasures. Actually most of our marriage we've had secondhand/thrifted furniture, and we have finally been saving up and buying new quality furniture that will hopefully last us years and years to come.
Do you use sponges or dish clothes? How often do you sterilize?
I use both, I typically make my own dish cloths. I crochet them using cotton yarn and I like those best. I just throw them in with my towels every couple days. I also like using wooden scrub brushes and I'll occasionally use sponges. I like the Sponge Daddy and Sponge Mommy and I just throw them in the dishwasher to sterilize.
Random Questions
How long have I been blogging and what have you learned along the way?
I honestly can't remember exactly when. I'm going to say maybe 6-7 years. I really just started as a creative outlet. I guess the thing I learned is to just stick to being authentic. Talk and share on subjects that I love and have a deep interest in. Trying to share things that are trendy or talk about things for the sake of talking can just feel like a chore.
Were you raised in a Christian home?
No, I wasn't. I knew of God. I had heard of the name Jesus but He wasn't the center of our home. He wasn't our focus. He wasn't Savior or Lord of my life. Jesus saved me at the age of 21. I was sort of blindsided, not expecting the Lord to take hold of me. But by golly, each day I'm in awe of what He's done.
When do you exercise?
This fluctuates with the season of life we are in. I use to do it first thing in the morning, but over the past couple years have shifted to afternoon and evening because it just works best that way for now. I use a streaming service and exercise for about 30-40 minutes a day 5 days a week.
How do you feel about Christians having tattoos?
Well I'll start with this. I am a Christian and I have tattoos, though all of mine I did get before I was saved. I personally would not get a tattoo now and a part of me does wish I didn't have any at all. That's my personal conviction. My two cents for a Christian considering getting a tattoo would be this...What does the Bible say? Pray and search your motives...Why do you want one? Would this tattoo honor and glorify God?
There were a few questions that I am not going to answer this evening. One in regards to balancing rest and work another about finding motivation when everything feels monotonous and one about how to get into a homemaking rhythm. I think those would be good topics to dedicate separate blog posts for with some scripture to help us along. So look out for those in the coming weeks. Thanks for stopping by today, I really enjoyed this style of post. If you liked it too, let me know and we'll try it again sometime!
Blessings,
Bree
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