As I read and respond to your emails, one common thing I see is that you have a hard time teaching your children life skills to help around the house and getting in the amount of school work you want to get in each day.One reason it is hard is that you may have made your routines a little complicated. If you have young children, you also have to factor in that it takes longer to teach them how to do something.

You need to allow some cushion time in your schedule to allow for your younger children helping you. This will help you keep from getting as frustrated. Yes, it will take you longer to swish and swipe or fold a load of laundry. But the positive side is that they are learning to do the task, and you are preventing them from making another mess while you are busy.

My morning schedule has time blocked off for our home blessing time before we start school. This is only 15 minutes. It does not really push my school day that much later. We all do something for 15 minutes to take care of our home.

The other thing that has helped me over the years in the mornings is to have the children pick up their toys before bedtime each night. This has to be a consistent thing in an evening routine, but it will pay off in the morning when we you are ready to do a household task. You will not spend extra time picking up or asking your children to pick up. It will be done already.

Once you have completed this home blessing time, then you can dive into your school day. If you have a complicated school routine, see if you can simplify it. There are lots of moving parts to a homeschool day. Keeping things moving smoothly makes everyone happy, especially mom.

Rewarding your children in the afternoon or evening with a game or playtime with you will help motivate them not to dawdle during the morning. If your children struggle through their lessons, evaluate how you can make it better. Use a timer to help move them along. Give them little breaks to move around and have water to drink.

Homeschooling does take a lot of time in your day, but I know it is possible to homeschool and take care of your home each day.

Your Zone Mission today is to declutter and wipe down the bathroom counter and sink area.

Your Home Blessing for today is to wash sheets.

My menu plan for Monday is hamburgers and a salad.