One of the challenges of homeschooling can be the balancing act between assisting your older children and entertaining the younger ones. Right now I have 5 with regular school assignments, 1 that wants some work on his own and playtime, 3 yr. old twins that want to have fun, and a nursing infant.

Here are some tips we have used to keep our little ones happy. Use what works until it doesn’t, modify it and make it your own.

1. Keep special items that are only played with during school time. Don’t put everything out, but rotate items weekly or monthly depending on your situation.

2. Plan some special “school time” with your younger kids first and then they are more apt to go off and play individually or with a sibling.

3. Depending on your older children’s ages have them sit and hold the baby or entertain the baby on the floor while you grade their work.

4. While your older children are working independently, bring the little ones with you on a chore errand. They will be happy to help you and it keeps them from distracting your hard workers.

5. Homeschool in the bathroom; let your little ones play in the tub. During this time you can quiz flash cards, announce spelling words, and listen to an oral report or reading lesson. Basically anything that you can comfortably do while still keeping an eye on your toddler(s) in the tub.

6. Hi-chairs are great for putting a toddler in to work on painting, clay sculpting, or another messy activity. You don’t have to worry about them running off with paint, glue, or sand while you assist your school kids with their work.

7. Use nap time to tackle the more intensive subjects that require detailed explanations, like upper level math.

8. Include them in as much as you can and in as much as they desire. Toddlers will be happy to recite a poem, even if they can only make grunting sounds. Giving an oral test? They will sit with a pencil and paper and scribble their own answers just like their big sisters.

On a future blog, I will post our present method for keeping the schoolwork and playtime coexisting.

One of the hardest feats to accomplish in my home is getting my kids full or at least satisfied. "I'm still hungry" is a daily chant coming from someone's mouth. I think a sandwich, raw veggies, a piece of fruit, and a glass of milk would be sufficient for me or my husband-but not the kids!

Well, I have one meal that is tasty, easy, filling, and quick to prepare (ready in less than 15 minutes)!

Hearty Fettuccini Alfredo

½ cup butter

8 oz cream cheese

2 tsp garlic powder

2 cups milk

6 oz grated parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp pepper

24-32 oz uncooked fettuccini

16 oz bag frozen peas

Optional: add in cooked shrimp, leftover chicken, or mushrooms

Yield: 6 servings

Cook noodles according to directions on bag. Add your frozen peas to the noodles while they are boiling a few minutes before noodles are done. Meanwhile in a separate medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stir with a whisk until it is smooth. Stir in milk a little at a time and make sure you break up any clumps. Stir in the parmesan and pepper. When the sauce is a nice consistency of thickness, remove it from the heat. Don’t overcook or it will be too thick. If you need to thin it, add milk. Drain your noodles and peas. Pour your sauce over the noodles and peas, toss to coat and then serve.

Enjoy!

I'm new to the world of blogging. In fact technology is changing so fast for me that some things that are already old news and out never made it to "in" for me. I guess in some ways I've been able to avoid some trendy stuff that wasn't worth the time or energy.

Being a homeschool mom takes a lot of time and energy and I just can't afford to be wasteful. At the same time, I think it's important to make room for personal growth and fulfillment or else we will be out of all the time and energy that we were trying to put to good use.

The question is always how to keep a balance between time wasting and simple rejuvenation? It actually takes a conscious effort to consider how we use our time and whether or not it was well spent. Only we can answer that question for our self in a honest way. If everything is crumbling around us and we are behind in our duties then get back on track and take control. If everything is crumbling around us and we are behind in our duties then maybe we need to take a break and regroup. See what I mean? It really boils down to taking a good honest look at ourselves and finding that balance.