Managers of Their Homes
by Steven and Teri Maxwell
Reviewed by Dawn
Purchase details: Managers of Their Homes "A Practical Guide to Daily Scheduling for Christian Home-School Families" by Steven and Teri Maxwell. Spiral bound, $25. Published by Titus 2. Please support HomeschoolChristian.com by buying this program from our Amazon affiliate link. **Caution on purchasing MOTH used: Your newly purchased MOTH book can be registered with the Maxwell's, which allows you, personally, to copy parts and order additional kits. If you purchase a used book, you will lose out on the registration benefits and possibly the kit which is vital to its success.
Based on 1 Timothy 5:14 and a desire to keep her growing, home-schooling family organized and functional, Teri Maxwell began scheduling her days. She found routine, along with a written schedule for herself and her children a necessity to accomplish all that God wanted for her. As she seemed to be doing it "all," people began to ask for specifics on how she managed so well. After copying her own schedule and trying to tell others the ins and outs of how it came about, the idea of MOTH began. A book, or program, that spoke to the unique needs of home-school families and provided the step-by-step process of developing each family's personalized schedule.
MOTH contains a spiral bound manual with scheduling kit tucked inside the back pocket. Also included is the wonderful sticky tack that makes putting your master schedule together a breeze! The book and scheduling kit are designed to work together. Neither is complete without the other. You will read through the book the Biblical call to organization and the whys of scheduling; the specifics of scheduling children, school, babies, your kitchen duties, and priorities in your life; planning your school year and summer schedules. Also addressed are the challenges you may face and interruptions you may encounter. Then using the scheduling kit, which includes worksheets, forms and charts, you begin to actually put your schedule together and put it into practice in your own home.
Along the way, you will read real-life accounts of those who have put MOTH into practice in their own lives. This brings MOTH alive and shows that each family is unique and has put the principles found in these pages to work for them in the way God led them.
What impressed me the most about MOTH was how God and prayer were put first and foremost. You literally pray your way through the process. As you set you and your families priorities, you begin to see where God is leading you on this path. Placing those important things foremost, puts the nonessential to the back. You will begin to see where all your time goes; how long it really takes you to complete a task; what your children do, or don't do, all day. Visibly seeing you are trying to put 36 hours in a 24-hour day, you will begin to see what needs to go, and how. On the other hand, you may find that you really do have time to do it "all" and then some! Amazing what we put off because we "don't have the time," but in reality we just have not planned our time appropriately.
It is made very clear that not everyone is designed to be put in a rigid schedule, nor should one be held to another's schedule. They must use their own circumstances and how God leads to determine how their day will run. For myself, personally, we have allowed a variety of flex time in our schedule, we do not feel completely held to the numbers on the clock, yet the routine in our lives has been very beneficial to us. It has brought uniformity to our days and the consistency my children greatly desired. Discipline issues have lessened and relationships have grown. Our home is neat and orderly and we can welcome company at any time. School work is done efficiently and with a happy heart. The constant questions of who does what, when have subsided and we are now able to see clearly on our master schedule our entire day. Our activities are planned and executed instead of just being a fleeting thought.
I think that you will find MOTH a resource that is very useful and timely for any home-school family of any size.
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