Do you find it hard to keep our focus with all you have going on around you? Raising children and teaching them at home changes the dynamics of your life. You have lots of things going on in your home at one time.

Using a timer and a list will help you with your focus. The timer will bring you back to reality when you have been interrupted. If you have a child who loses focus, a time will help that child, too. Children who dawdle over school work often respond well to a timer.

I have a few boys who are easily distracted. I used a timer for math when they would drag it out too long. I would assign a certain number of problems and tell them to see how many they could do in 15 minutes. There were times when long division or fractions caused a lot of angst with my children, and the timer was a welcome relief when they were mastering these new skills.

If you have a child who does not enjoy reading or writing, you can use the timer for those subjects, too. Set the timer for 15 minutes and assign their reading. Many times, they will get immersed in the story and want to finish it after the timer goes off. What the timer does is gives them incentive.

If your children are at an age where they have a lot of paperwork for school, using the timer can help you alternate sit-down work and activities that get them out of their seats. The movement time helps them process what they are learning.

The timer can help you and your children with focus. If you are not using one daily, try it today.

Your Zone Mission for today is to declutter 1 shelf in the fridge.

Your Home Blessing for today is to declutter paper and magazines.

My menu plan for Thursday is stir fry chicken and veggies.

Have a wonderful day!