Rise and Shine Everybody!

Hey everybody! I hope you’re all well and settling into the end of summer and early fall routine.  We are geared up for football and hoping for some fall-like temperatures.  

I want to share some more information with you about how educating Marshall at home looks in our family, farm and business as well as our daily and weekly schedules and homeschool in general. I’ve gotten lots of calls, emails, texts and social media messages with questions asking for lots of information since my last blog and video on YouTube so I figured it would be the easiest to answer as many inquiries here as possible.  Ready? Here you go!

If I choose to homeschool how do I write my curriculum?  

The great news is you DON’T write your curriculum! There are amazing companies out there who exist solely for curriculum. They supply every homeschool family across the land with curriculum in every subject and for every level and learning style. So don’t stress about that aspect.  It’s taken care of. I would suggest asking your friends who are already educating at home and then researching for yourself what options exist.  There are TONS.  I have my own favorites.  For math I use Saxon https://www.rainbowresource.com/category/2074/Saxon-Math.html, for history and geography I love Winter Promise www.winter promise.com, Write Shop for writing and grammar www.writeshop.com and Apologia for science www.apologia.com.

How do you monitor online learning and personal computer use, especially in a closed room like many teachers are recommending? 

Umm we don’t use computers or search the internet in a closed room.  I have a 13 year old son.  I trust him and he is a GOOD KID. But I’ve lived through adolescence and I’m not naive.  And online pornography is always just 1 click away.  My kid isn’t allowed to use his computer in a closed room without supervision (or at least the capability of supervision).  But that’s a rule his dad and I follow, too.  When we’re online its in a “community atmosphere” – a place where you can’t hide. So even if someone told me my child had to be in a room with a door shut that wouldn’t work in my home.  
Online learning – how does that work in your house?  We honestly don’t do a lot of online learning.  I believe, and research backs me up on this, that everyone learns more efficiently and effectively with printed words and interaction (https://www.parentmap.com/article/how-effective-online-learning-schools).  We have real, printed textbooks and workbooks and paper on which to write. Occasionally of course we do online lessons and video tutorials but mostly we are a print-based school here at Bales Farms.

What does your daily routine look like?

 Okay, here’s my basic routine.

6:30 – up and at ‘em

6:30-7:30 – work out and Bible study – I alternate between running, walking, yoga, aerobics and bicep curls with coffee cups for resistance

7:30-8:30 – coffee, news, email, social media correspondence 

8:30-9:30 – rest of house wakes up, morning chores and breakfast

9:45-2:30 – SCHOOL

9:45-10:05 – Bible

10:05-10:45 – History

10:45-11:30 – Math

11:30-12:00 – Writing/Grammar

12:00-12:45 – lunch

12:45-1:00 – geography

1:00-1:45 – Science and Lab work

1:45-2:30 – reading

2:30-3:00 – farm administrative work (emails, orders/delivery status, scheduling)

3:00-5:00 – general house and farm work

5:00-6:00 – prepare supper

6:00-7:00 – supper and clean up 

7:00-7:30 – evening chores

8:00-10:00 – family time

10:00 – BEDTIME 


 Is each day the same for your school and business? 

The easy answer is no. Basically,

Mondays – those are my co-op school days so I’m off farm most of the day. I also do all my errands, grocery shopping and town activities that day. It’s also the day I organize the week. Deliveries get scheduled, orders pulled and organized, inventories go out to chefs and grocery stores, etc.

Tuesdays – those are my “inside chores” day – changing bed linens, doing laundry, deep cleaning the kitchens and bathrooms, vacuuming the house, dusting and mopping.

Wednesdays – I deliver for the farm to Knoxville that day so I am out of the house by 9:00 and we flip the day to do school in the afternoon with youth at night.

Thursdays – more “inside” chores – laundry, vacuum, cleaning the kitchen as well as local deliveries

Fridays – general farm work (landscaping, raised beds, gardening) and Johnson City deliveries

Saturdays – those are my days for a long run and laundry, vacuuming, etc

Sundays – we do attempt to create more of a Sabbath atmosphere on Sunday.  A day to rest and take off from as much farm work as possible

By breaking chores and duties down and working a bit throughout the week everything stays mostly manageable and maintained.  I have found that by doing laundry every other day I can get by with 2 loads at a time and it doesn’t take as long to fold and/or iron.

Well, I hope that helps some! If there are questions I didn’t answer or didn’t cover as thoroughly as you’d hoped, please just yell at me.  You’ve got all my contact so feel free to call, text, DM me on facebook or instagram or email me!

Thanks for your time!

Aliceson