There is a saying, "If
Mama is happy, everybody’s happy. If Mama ain’t happy, nobody’s
happy." How often this is true! God has placed a desire in each mother’s
heart to have a smooth-running, peaceful household.
Through the years, I have
observed many home-schooling mothers and families. The moms who seem the
most content can manage their families and homes. On the other hand, some
of the most unhappy mothers I have known are the ones who can never keep
up with their workload. A mother who is unorganized with her time is often
burdened and discouraged.
There are things that discourage
me. And, I occasionally feel overwhelmed by what I have to do. But, in
general, I am able to keep up with the priorities and tasks I believe
God has given to me. This is due to the fact that as my family began to
grow, I saw the necessity of scheduling our time.
It began with baby naps.
They had to be at the right time and length so the baby would go back
to sleep at night. Next, we moved into scheduling schooltime. Why did
three children choose to use the computer at the same time? Who wanted
to have to deal with conflicts over the computer’s usage each day?
The solution was simple: schedule who could be on the computer at what
time! This eventually led to the whole school day being scheduled. Mom
no longer had to run through a checklist when one of the children said,
"I’m finished with school," to make sure they had completed
each assignment. They had scheduled times for every school subject, and
when the school day was over, they were free—providing they had done
their work during that assigned time.
With more years and more
children, it became evident that we needed schedules to help us get up
at a consistent time and to have dinner ready when Daddy was available
to eat. Not only did Mom need the schedule for herself, but the children
needed theirs too. They did not come to me and say, "Mom, I’m
ready to do my chores now." It had to be a part of their routine,
a habit which would not require constant prodding.
Several times over the past
few years I have been asked how my day runs. Instead of trying to explain,
I found it easier to give a copy of my schedule to these friends. They
are not asking this question just because they are interested in what
happens at my house. They want to see if there is anything in how I set
up my day which will help them with theirs. The truth is that each family
will function differently. We do not all have to fit into the same mold
concerning how our time is spent. It is also true that seeing how another
arranges her day can help us with ideas on how to plan ours. Even seeing
a written schedule can be beneficial if scheduling is new to us.
I have seen many books on
organization and time management. But, I have never seen one that addresses
the unique needs of scheduling that a home-school family generates or
one that guides you through simple steps and worksheets to help you actually
set up your own personalized schedule.
When we were nearly finished
with the rough draft of this book, Steve and I discussed how beneficial
it would be to have a family read Managers of Their Homes and "test"
it. Through "Mothers of Many Young Siblings" (MOMYS), an e-mail
list of which I was a member, I briefly explained Managers of Their Homes and Scheduling Kit, putting out our request for a volunteer test family.
Within the next few days, we had not one volunteer family but twenty-four!
Seeking the Lord, as to whether
we should try to select one family or take all who had volunteered, we
decided the book could only benefit by a larger test group. Before accepting
a family, we asked them to commit to reading the book, making a schedule,
and implementing it. We asked that their husbands read our information
and agree to their wife’s participation. We still had twenty-four
test families.
From this group have come
almost all the comments you will find in the sidebars throughout the book.
The biographical sketches, with personal scheduling testimonials, at the
beginning of each chapter, are from these test families. The questions
and answers chapter developed out of questions individual moms would write
me and my responses to them. We shared these questions and answers with
the whole test group in those early weeks. The group appreciated this
so much that it was decided to turn them into a chapter of the book.
Each of these twenty-four
families also agreed to let us include a copy of their schedule in Managers
of Their Homes. All these real life sample schedules are found in the
Appendix. Most of them are large families; some have only young children.
I think when you see what these women have been able to accomplish with
their schedules, you too, will feel that it is possible for you. You will
gain valuable ideas by looking over their schedules.
We believe you will be encouraged,
as we have been, when you see how Managers of Their Homes has been used
and implemented by real mothers in real homes. We are very grateful to
each of these families for their participation in our test.
Managers of Their Homes is
a joint effort of the Steven Maxwell family, who began home schooling
in 1985. Our family is comprised of Dad (Steve), Mom (Teri) and eight
children: Nathan (1976), Christopher (1979), Sarah (1982), Joseph (1989),
John (1991), Anna (1992), Jesse (1994), and Mary (1996). Nathan helped
with initial style layout; Christopher designed the cover, did the layout
and design, along with copy editing; and Sarah was proofreader.
The Maxwell family delights
in serving Jesus Christ. We love to help others toward this same goal.
Therefore, our desire in writing this book has been to help free mothers
from any burden of discouragement they carry when they cannot keep up
with the demands on their time and to help them be better managers of
their homes, for the glory of God.
Teri
**
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