Tips on Time Management #hsreviews

As part of the TOS Crew review team I recently received a copy of Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms to review.  This wonderful book is from Apologia Educational Ministries.   We have used some of their materials before and love how they make us think and keep us engrossed.

This book is made for homeschool moms.  No matter your age, if you homeschool or wish to homeschool this is a great resource for you.  The book is written by Mary Jo Tate and can be purchased for $15.00 from the Apologia website.  Apologia is associated with high quality wonderful products and this book just reinforces this philosophy.  

Mary Jo Tate is a homeschool mother of four boys(that in and of itself qualifies her for writing this book) as well as a successful business woman.  She’s a book coach, an international editor, and an author of many books.  She also is the host of “Flourish at Home”, a show on the Ultimate Radio Network.  Now, I’ve never even heard of the Ultimate Radio Network so I’m going to have to be doing some checking on that.

 

The main reason I wanted to review this book is that it asks exhausted or overloaded.  The page tells you to stop enduring and start enjoying your homeschool journey.  I don’t know about you, but with 9 kids, lots of animals, a farm, a house, and a self employed husband, there are lots of different things to occupy my time.  I need all the tips on time management I can get!  

I love that this is a physical book.  Too many of this type of book are ebooks and I just love the feel of a real book in my hands that I can highlight and mark in.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I like ebooks too and have read several of them but there is just something about a real paper book that makes me happy!  

Lets reiterate here that this book is for moms.  It is for homeschooling moms.  But it is also for single moms, stay at home moms, working moms, well really, if you’re a mom you could probably get some great information out of this book.  There will be parts that are more directed specifically to homeschooling moms, but if they don’t apply you can skip them or simply read them and see if there is an area in your life you can implement them in.  Simple as can be!  As long as you know how to read.  And we’re hoping that by the time you’re a mom you can do that!  🙂

Now, some things about how I used the book.  I like to read.  Scratch that, I LOVE to read. I would read all the time if I could.  Unfortunately, it is getting harder for me to find time to read with all these lovely little kiddos wanting to spend time with me and have me read to them too.  So, I had to carve out some time to devote to reading this book.  I chose to add it to my morning routine.  I’m a good multitask-er.  So, I would read a chapter or so every morning with my devotional or while eating breakfast.  Or maybe while substituting an extra cup of coffee for said breakfast because I was up all night. . . .  .

At the end of each chapter in the book there is a reflect time.  A time to tie in what you’ve read with your life and find ways to implement them.  I like this.  I like that she gives us purposely a break instead of leading into the next chapter.  There are exercises(set out step by step) to help you implement and fully understand as well as questions.  I would suggest having a notebook or journal handy to jot down ideas and ways to help yourself in your life and school.  Unless of course you like writing in books, in which case pencil away!  Or pen away, I personally am more of a pen gal myself and yes the colored inks, no boring black for me.  Whoops off topic again!

There are 16 chapters in the book.  You’ll find them broken down more than that too, but the chapter are:

1. An Invitation to Flourish
2. Change Your Mind to Change Your Time
3. The FREEDOM Toolbox
4. Where Did My Time Go?
5. Aim High: Setting Goals
6. What Do I Do Next?  Seven Essential Planning Tools
7. We Interrupt This Program
8. It’s Time for An Attitude Adjustment
9. Oxygen Masks and Monkey Bread Days
10. Training Your Children
11. Making Memories
12. Managing Your Home
13. All of Life is Learning
14. Solo Act: Flourishing as a Single Mom
15. Home Business
16. Moving Ahead

There are some pretty powerful subjects covered above.  I’ve read the whole book, but I need to read it again and probably again after that to truly get all of the information covered.  You may think oh it’s only 16 chapters, that’s not that much.  Let me tell you, she packs a wallop in those chapters.  There is so much to think on and mull over in your brain.  It’s not something you can just read and move on.  This needs digested. It needs to be chewed on.  Take a bite and walk away before coming back for more.

I think the #1 thing from this that I need to remember is something that I already knew but tended to forget.  I determine how our day will go.  Ultimately, our attitude and our outlook determines the destiny of our day.  Yes somedays your child may just have a bad day, but if you as the mother and the teacher go into the day dreading what is ahead, so will your kids.  Now, I’m not saying you have to be bouncing off the walls happy and giddy all the time, but don’t go into the day grumbling and already ready to go back to bed.  Hey wait!  Maybe you should go back to bed if that is your attitude.  Go back to bed, determine to start again and do better, and then get back up!

Interested in learning more?  Make sure to follow the Flourish facebook page and the authors twitter account for great deals and insights.  If you’d like to hear what other Crew members thought of the book hop on over to the Main Crew Blog Post and click on the read more reviews button.  There are several of them and I’m sure we each took a different spin on the book.