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Homeschool Ideas & Tips >
Homeschool Ideas & Tips Newsletter Aug. 2003
HOMESCHOOL IDEAS & TIPS NEWSLETTER AUGUST, 2003 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** HELLO FROM CHARMAINE *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Readers, I hope this finds you well and enjoying all the fun activities of summer. We had a wonderful time at the Great Fur Trade Rendezvous at Old Fort William in Thunder Bay, Ontario. We also attended a local Fur Trade Rendezvous at Forts Folle Avoine near Webster, Wisconsin. What a fantastic way to learn, first hand, about history. I’ve posted some pictures on my website if you’d like to take a peek at our "living history" adventure. Just go to: www.victorycoaching.citymax.com Scroll down the left side of the page and click on “Photo Album” Enjoy! Please email me if you’d like any information on how your family can become involved in this type of exciting learning opportunity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** IDEA *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So, it’s time to think about getting back to the school year routine. Remembering back to last year, you may be hoping that this year will be better organized and run more smoothly. Here are some ideas to get you started in your organization and planning. ROUTINE is a key word here! Homeschoolers can get by with a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants agenda for only so long. Take the time to PLAN a routine, write it down and then do your best to stick to it. In your planning try to include the following: *Schedule the housework for the first part of the day.* But please, DON’T do it all yourself! Make out a chore chart and have every child who is old enough do several chores each morning. I only have 2 children, but between the 2 of them my entire house gets cleaned thoroughly once a week. I also record the time spent on chores as part of the school day. I put it under the category of “Domestic Skills”. For free chore charts see: www.tipztime.com/chorecharts/freechorecharts.html *Know what you want to accomplish every day.* Set up a schedule of some sort, whether it be simple or complex, of what each child should be doing and at what time it should be done. For many excellent tools for scheduling visit Donna Young’s wonderful website: www.donnayoung.org *Prioritize your time.* Schedule the most important things first and everything else will fall into place. Once your schedule is full, it’s imperative that you start saying “no” to further activities. In order to say “yes” to what’s important you must say “no” to what is not. It’s that simple. Take time to use a rating scale. Try dividing your activities into categories. Within each category, give each item a priority rating. For instance, you’re A Category items would be those that are most important: God, spouse, children. Daily time with God would be A1, your spouse A2, your children A3. Housework and school would fall into the B category. Community involvement, extended family and friends could be in the C category. By putting it on paper, you will be able to see where your priorities are and adjust your schedule accordingly. For 13 tips on personal time management visit: http://stress.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ianr.unl.edu%2Fpubs%2Fhomemgt%2Fnf172.htm *Get connected with like-minded homeschoolers.* We all need encouragement to stick to a routine. Find a supportive friend or support group. Or, hire a personal coach ( that would be me!*grin*) to help you think it all through, make a plan and stick to it. For a nice on-line support group check out: Organize-to-Homeschool Yahoo! egroup http://groups.yahoo.com/group/organize-to-homeschool/ OR join our FREE "Let's Get Back to School" Telegroup(see more info below) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** TIP *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I MUST have a visual that I can easily glance at throughout the day so that I don’t miss anyone’s appointments and activities. So, I purchased a large whiteboard and then, with a permanent magic marker, I made a vertical column for each day of the week and then gave each family member a horizontal section that intersects the days of the week. On Sunday night I site down with my calendar and my Coaching Appointment Book and I write in the appointments and activities for each of us (using wipe-off markers). I have the whiteboard in a prominent place so that I can check it throughout the day to make sure that I am not forgetting something important. This simple tool has made a HUGE difference in my peace of mind (I am not nearly as likely to forget anything) and my ability to make all of our appointments and commitments. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** WHAT’S NEW? *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Need some help with your Back-To-Homeschool Planning? Would you like to start out on the right foot this year with a solid idea of where you are going and a good plan to get there? I can help! As a Certified Personal Coach AND a veteran homeschooling mom, I can help you wade through the overwhelming choices of curriculum, establish routines to ease the stress of the day and get it all running smoothly so there’s time left over for YOU, the teacher! If you've been giving some thought to taking me up on my offer of a FREE SAMPLE COACHING SESSION, now is the time to act! For the rest of the month of August, I am offering a "Make the Most of the Summer" special. If you set up your sample session for anytime in the month of Aug, you may then have 2 more coaching sessions for the price of one! Just mention the “MAKE THE MOST OF THE SUMMER SPECIAL” when you contact me. Please email me to set up your FREE no-obligation TELEPHONE sample coaching session: Charmaine@victorycoaching.citymax.com You’ll be AMAZED at how much can be accomplished in just one session! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** COMING EVENTS *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Are you a new homeschool mom who would like to glean from the experience of seasoned homeschoolers? Would you like the fellowship of other moms who are also planning to get back to school soon? There’s wisdom in numbers so join us for: FREE “Let’s Get Back to School” Telephone Information and Discussion Group. We will meet by phone for a one hour session on: Tues., Aug 5 and Tues., Aug. 19 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time ( 8:00 p.m. CT, 7:00 MT, 6:00 p.m. PT) I will present some ideas and tips on scheduling, organization and curriculum choices. You will have a chance to ask questions and give your comments as we talk about the best ways to get organized and back to school. You must register for this free telegroup. Please email me with your request to register and I will then email you back with all necessary information. The only cost to you will be the long distance charges for the call. If you’ve never been on a conference call, the idea may seem a little strange and intimidating. Don’t let it scare you! I have taken many classes and been involved in several tele-groups and it’s actually quite easy and lots of fun. Join us! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** ABOUT ME *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Charmaine Wistad has homeschooled her own two children since birth. Now in their 12th year of homeschooling, she is turning her attention to helping other homeschool moms. Through personal coaching, Charmaine helps homeschooling moms create their unique style and design routines that include "recess time" for the teacher! You are invited to try a complimentary no-obligation telephone coaching session. You'll be amazed at how much can be accomplished in just one session! Simply send an email to: Charmaine@victorycoaching.citymax.com and ask for a FREE SAMPLE COACHING SESSION. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** TESTIMONY *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hi Friends, I need to brag on a lovely Christian woman by the name of Charmaine Wistad. I did a sample coach session with her and absolutely loved it! Charmaine is truly blessed with the sincere ability to reach out to another person and not only make them feel comfortable but help them discover the deeper side of themselves! I without hesitation would recommend Charmaine's coaching to all of you and all of my closest friends. I feel blessed to have crossed paths with Charmaine and look forward to a continued friendship with her over the coming years. Laura Daniels Independent Shaklee Rep. http://www.shaklee.net/joyfulblessing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** QUOTE OF THE MONTH *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I am not young enough to know everything." Oscar Wilde ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** THE SMALL PRINT *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you've enjoyed this newsletter, PLEASE FORWARD it to EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!! Thanks! HONORING YOUR PRIVACY Your privacy is completely and utterly protected. I will never, ever rent, sell or give away your name or email. You have my word on it! IF YOU NO LONGER WISH TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER: please send an email with the word ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line to: Charmaine@victorycoaching.citymax.com Homeschooling Ideas and Tips™ Copyright 2003, Victory Coaching www.victorycoaching.citymax.com All rights in all media reserved. The content of Homeschooling Ideas and Tips may be forwarded in full without special permission provided it is used for nonprofit purposes and full attribution and copyright notice are given. For other purposes, please contact Charmaine@victorycoaching.citymax.com I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! But please do not reply to this newsletter. It is sent out automatically and I will not receive your reply. Instead, send your COMMENTS, QUESTIONS AND IDEAS FOR FUTURE ISSUES TO: Charmaine@victorycoaching.citymax.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** IN OUR NEXT ISSUE *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How to plan, organize and enjoy some great field trips.
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