Saturday, January 3, 2009

A New Year

Wow - it's 2009... Where does the time go?
Just many folks make their resolutions, this year I have decided to do the same. I usually don't bother, but this year I feel like this is a great time for a new start and fresh outlook. So, without further adieu, here are my plans for the new year...

Become and remain more organized. My biggest problem is that there are still things in my house that don't have a true "home". It's those very homeless items which clutter the house and get in the way of just about everything. We have been in this house for a year now, and there is still a storage room FULL of boxes and bags of "stuff". It is time to pull myself up by the bootstraps and muster up the courage to actually sort through the junk. We have already started the organizing process before xmas (with the simple stuff) and we all feel better for it, so now for the grand finale, we will tackle the "junk" room.
Also, with the house more organized, it generally is easier to keep tidy. One of the biggest obstacles in our homeschooling day has been to first have to clear off the table and tidy the room we are working in. If I have trouble focusing on our lessons when the room is a mess, then I can only guess the kids are equally distracted. It's time to end the constant struggle with clutter.

Less Pasta, more veggies and fruit. Pasta is such an easy and quick meal to toss together at the end of a long and busy day. We seem to have lots of those... I am working more and more veggies and fruit into our diet and the difference is already noticeable. We don't seem quite as sluggish throughout the day (and especially after dinner). Also, the kids are getting less picky as more veggies keep appearing on their plates. An added bonus! :)

Streamline our HS schedule. After reading Ruth Beechick's You can teach your child successfully, I came to realize that what I was doing previously basically amounted to doing "school at home". We tried to cover too many subjects at once and we never got into any real depth with each one - and we (I) were going nuts. I have finally found peace with the idea that "Less is more", especially when it comes to HSing. We are working more in depth with the basics (3 Rs) and adding in additional topics as we progress. I started this approach about a month or two ago, and it has really been working well for us - So we will continue.

I suppose that covers the primary personal goals have for myself this year. I'll keep you updated with our progress as time goes on.

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