Are you desperate to establish some order in your home? Here are a few thoughts for you:
1. Take some time to sit down and think about your home and how you want it to be (maybe this evening when the children are in bed). Write down your vision. Write down your plan to make it happen. Think of a schedule for the day. You don't have to be too rigid, but you do have to have a plan of action. If you don't, nothing will happen and you'll keep going the way you are. My constant affirmation is: Nothing just happens; you have to make it happen!
2. Some things you need to think about. All children need to be up and dressed (and if old enough), beds made by breakfast time. This enables you to be ready to have Family Devotions together after breakfast. It will never happen if you don’t organize it to happen!
Appoint duties for each member of the family to clean up the kitchen and get laundry started for the day. All children need to be involved from the youngest to the oldest. Make sure everything is cleaned up before you start homeschooling. This is just to get you started. You can think about the rest of your day. But make sure you also think about how you will prepare your evening meal and what time you will get into the kitchen to get it going.
3. Share the plan with your husband and ask him for any changes or better ideas. Pray over it together.
4. Gather the family together at a suitable time. Share with the family that you can't keep going the way you are. A family must run smoothly and so you have got a great plan to make it happen and you are all going to be involved. Then share the plan with the family and tell them their appointed tasks. You can also print it and pin it up where all can see it.
5. Be excited about it and let the children catch the vision. When you start your tasks in the morning, aim for a time to have them finished. No dawdling allowed! Teach your children to work hard and fast. You are training them for the future! You are training them to be successful employees, or better still, employers! You are training them how to run their home when they get married. They must know how to work hard, fast, and joyfully!
If tasks are done by a certain time, put a star on the fridge. At the end of the week, if there are a certain number of stars, plan a celebration. Go out for ice-cream. Have a special meal, or purchase a little gift for each of the children who played their part. Incentive is great. There is nothing wrong with giving incentives.
Blessings to you today,
Nancy Campbell