Plant Organization….Reap Anarchy!

 

 

Categorically speaking I do not like organization.

I prefer pick-up, playground sports to “organized” parent-dominated youth sports.

In some ways I prefer smaller churches and “home churches” to organized religion.

And of course as a passionate homeschooler I much prefer ANYTHING to institutionalized, inflexible, organized schooling.

HOWEVER…

I do strongly believe in discipline, achievement, and RESULTS.

And so there is an element of organization required that I can’t escape from.

Organization to me is mostly about managing time – not toys, books, LEGOs, or colored pencils. Although maybe if I was blessed with 7 or 8 kids like many other homeschool families I’d be more interested in workbox systems, name-engraved cubbies, and whatnot!

In fact I think the ONLY GOOD THING ABOUT SCHOOL is the imposed discipline of ringing bells, compulsory attendance, and time dedicated to individual subjects. Relax, it’s the ONLY little thing I like about school….and homeschooling families can certainly incorporate such a regimen for their children but with better teacher-student ratios, much better subjects, more proven learning methods, less wasted time, no toxic peer-based culture, etc.

Mostly I’m trying to carve out time for our priorities and for the work that needs to be done on a consistent basis. Of course this varies from child to child and over time. But I think for most people the important stuff to get done each day, each week, all year long are math, musical instrument practice, some writing, and maybe foreign language practice.

Everything else is less critical from a momentum standpoint and can get filled in more easily and less stressfully.

As we get more veteran with our homeschooling we’ve gotten better at scheduling and planning out our time.

In fact my wife just mapped out a lot of our kids’ assignments for the fall before summer even started!

I say we are more organized now because we are more experienced but maybe it’s just because we have SO MUCH unused curricula that if it doesn’t get pulled out and assigned….our kids will out-grow it as they have other books and products that got buried. (Many of y’all know what I’m talking about!)

So, you homeschool….how do you know what to study?

 

What a joke, right!

We have so many things we WANT to study….it’s just a question of trying to get it all in without suffocating ourselves.

And that’s where a little organization, a little planning, and a moderate amount of discipline comes in.

As a math teacher I’m constantly working with parents and children who are struggling with if not totally frustrated by math.

One of my strong stances is this:

If you are going to do math, you may as well go hard – long sessions, 365 days a year because it’s actually EASIER to go hard.

In other words, if you go slowly with 20-40 minute sessions here and there, it is HARDER because of the lack of momentum and focus. It’s the difference from having to do math for 6 years or for 12+ years.

And this applies to our larger homeschooling agenda. I want to get the MUSTS out of the way early in the day and in the early years.

Get through phonics and math so your kids can do the awesome stuff like: debate, Photoshop, computer programming, video production, etc.

Get through the hard stuff each morning so that your kids (and you!) can be free to enjoy the rest of the day.

It’s probably wrong to call our unstructured time/afternoons “ANARCHY” – although that’s how it may look to the uninformed outsider.

Whatever it is, it’s a bountiful harvest to be sure – one that wouldn’t even exist, no less be savored, without a little planning and dreaded organization.

 

[Dan1]