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How I Got Rid of the Mess in my Life By Beverley Paine I wasn't always organised or tidy. I was one of those people who used to shove everything into the spare room and squeeze the door shut whenever we had visitors. The children's bedrooms looked much the same with piles of toys, clothes and boxes in dreadful disarray. The children slept on mattresses on the floor in our room for almost a year; such was the extent of the mess! What happened? We cheated! The five of us moved into a converted garage that measured 8m by 5m for four years while Robin built our lovely home. Space was at a premium, especially during winter. I quickly learned that it was impossible to live in a mess, let alone homeschool. Everything had to have a place and be returned to that place or we would be forever tripping over and breaking things, probably bones. As homeschoolers we were always creating and making and playing. Toys, games, puzzles, books, stationery, resources and junk had homes which could be easily accessed by all three children and which also encouraged them to put the items away after use. Because floor space was precious we lined our tiny home with shelves and used an assortment of plastic and cardboard trays. Colourful cubes and covered magazine boxes completed our shelving storage system. None of this would have worked without some basic rules. The children weren't allowed to play with another set of toys until they'd put away the first lot. The floor and table had to be clear at the end of the day. I labeled shelves and boxes with words and pictures to make it easier for the children to pack things away. The rules were fair and made sense: this made it easy to be firm. In no time the children had developed relatively tidy habits. Clear surfaces and swept floors make for a calm atmosphere at home. I found this essential at the end of the day before preparing the evening meal. It created a boundary between the busy day and a restful evening and set us in the right mood to wind down for bed. Lists were essential to organising my time and making sure that my daily and long term goals were achieved. I would have several lists going at once, often in different locations. Crossing something off the list was very satisfying! I'd transfer uncompleted items to a new list, making sure that my lists never really grew too long. I'd rather have five short lists than one huge one! Cutting back on commitments is something all homeschooling families gradually learn is essential: in our early days we tended to go out too much, cramming into every week many educational and social opportunities because we thought it was necessary. Instead, it just wore us out. We gradually learned to pace ourselves. As I learned to cut back on my expectations of what the children could learn and do in a week, I also stopped hoarding materials and resources. The house became less 'busy' and cluttered. It seemed to take forever to learn to relax and not feel compelled to turn every moment into an opportunity for learning! A seasoned home educating mum once said to me that the most important tip she could offer was simply, "Relax." We really don't need to make homeschooling as hard as we do! See also Letting Go of Possessions - Part of the Decluttering Process for more ideas from Beverley.
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education in Australia. State and Territory governments are responsible for regulating home education and have different requirements, however home educating families are able to develop curriculum and learning programs to suit the individual needs of their children.
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Pioneering members of the home education movement in Australia, Beverley and Robin Paine are passionate advocates of true educational choice for families. They began homeschooling their children in 1986 and three years later started the South Australian Home Based Learners network.
Beverley wrote Getting Started with Homeschooling in 1995-97 and since then continues to write books and booklets on home education. She balances spending time helping home educators with working in her garden and renovating her home, as well as continuing to build her collection of writing on a variety of homeschooling subjects. Beverley maintains an extensive collection of websites as well as several Yahoo groups supporting families teaching their children at home.
In 2007 Beverley joined the HEA and was a committee member for three years during which time she edited and produced the HEA Newsletter, Stepping Stones for Home Educators magazine, annual Resource Directory and other HEA publications.
If you'd like to keep in touch with what Beverley is up to her in her life, sign up for the Homeschool Australia Newsletter or visit her Homeschool Australia Facebook page.nor do they endorse or recommend products (other than their own) listed in contributed articles, pages, or advertisements.