Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

How busy is too busy? Today on Home School Heartbeat, Mike Smith talks about how balancing your family's schedule with your priorities can lead to a more fulfilling homeschool experience.

Mike Smith:
For homeschool families, choosing activities is not a science. But there is an underlying principle: when we invest our time and energy in specific activities that help us achieve meaningful goals, the results are much more satisfying than if we spread ourselves too thin over many unrelated projects. Those projects may be good in themselves, but rarely can we give each of them the attention they deserve—and as a result, we end up feeling frustrated and inadequate. In other words, it's not about how many things we do; it's about how purposeful those things are.

Homeschool moms, are you wondering how you can align your activities with your priorities? Try these suggestions:

Ensure that you have a daily quiet time. If you do not have room in your schedule to meditate on Scripture and pray, then you are definitely too busy.

Schedule uninterrupted school time. During those hours each day, resist the urge to answer the telephone, check your email, or do other things that distract you and your children from your main purpose: learning!

Finally, be savvy about extra activities. Try scheduling all the music lessons for one day a week. Trade play dates so that you and your fellow moms can take turns having an afternoon off. And don't feel bad about asking your older teenagers to help with driving!

And until next time, I'm Mike Smith.