More MOTH Reviews

Robin, who “Thought it couldn’t be done”

Just wanted to share something that made me smile today. I was reorganizing my hs notebook and found a journal entry: “As I start out this 3rd year of hs’ing, a couple of observations are worth writing down. It’s impossible to keep a schedule– to ‘do school’ every day at a certain time. For me to plan and prepare every day will burn me out. I just don’t have time. With young children there are just too many distractions and interruptions.”

Well, I’m happy to report that in this 5th year of hs’ing, God, the Maxwell’s and I, proved myself wrong! I’ve been working on and implementing our family schedule since December and it’s been a blessing. I thought I was a night person. I am now rising regularly at 5:30 for my quiet time! I thought a baby should be fed on demand. My baby is now happily, with no fuss, on a schedule. (What was I thinking???)

I thought I would be a tyrant and drill sergeant on a schedule. I don’t have to yell or force the kids on the schedule at all. Gentle leading has been working very well. I used to meet my dh at the door in tears of frustration because of my out of control house, kids and life. Dh now comes home to be greeted by a happy, “on time” wife. I honestly didn’t think I could ever do it, but with much prayer (very much prayer!) it has been working. So, another testimony to the power of God and the schedule! Thanks so much to the Maxwells for spending the time to put it all together and share it.
Robin in MN

Kathleen’s Review

I was one of the test mothers for this book, and I just want to give it an extra plug here. It will revolutionize your life if you let it. I am a beginning homeschooler with five children, the youngest a rather fussy 2 month old. We have accomplished more since being on the schedule, in spite of adding a baby and homeschooling, than I was ever getting done before. I am no longer frightened of unannounced visitors, my children are learning to work, and I feel calmer. I am also enjoying (almost) daily time with the Lord, something that hasn’t happened for years. And I am not getting up at 5 am to do all this…that wouldn’t work for me! The schedule is a servant, made to fit YOU as an individual. Go for it!

Laureen’s Initial Response

Dear Teri,

I’m on my third read-through! The first was a quick dash through the whole book, the second was to digest it all, and this third time you’d think I was back in school–at my desk, highlighter in hand…This time I’m praying as I read…God has touched my life greatly through this book and I’m excited because I’m not even to the “official” schedule yet!!

I have written out the activity pages for myself and my older children–grades 9, 6, and 3. My husband and I will go over them as soon as he has time–I hope this weekend–and I’ll move on from there.

Praying as I do this is the “key”…God has opened my eyes to (at least!) two stumbling blocks that I have in my habits–First, I gather information (articles by Godly women, great household organizational how-to books, etc.) but don’t follow-through to implement them as I should. (On your mark, get set…get set…get set…) With our recent move, God allowed me to see “that” fault clearly! Your step-by-step approach is so logical.

Second, I don’t “do the next thing” naturally. I get immersed in an activity and soon it has taken a substantial block of time–and I never thought anything of it because it was a “productive” activity! (cooking, unpacking, laundry, computer time, sewing, or even a school topic the children were especially enjoying) Then I’d wonder why I had fallen behind on other chores. Viewing my day as a series of segments has opened up so many possibilities. There is much I’ll accomplish when I’ve planned to work at something for 15/30/45/60 minutes and then wait for the next day! Suddenly there seems to be MUCH time in 24 hours! That must seem silly to you, but it’s a revelation to me!!

I can also understand the MOMYS who say they feared a schedule would make their families joyless and rigid. I think I was picturing a military academy… I’ve tried scheduling before and failed because I greatly over planned…it was awful and we were off almost immediately! Your approach puts the horse before the cart. My approach was more horse–a wheel–another horse–a few more wheels–a buggy seat…Not a pretty sight…So I’ve felt more and more like a failure. But I’ve realized that God has called me to this and wants me to let His grace let me succeed.

Including the comments, letters, and schedules from your test MOMYS has been wonderful!! I can’t think of many people whose schedules I’ve had glimpses of, and only one has a family larger than ours. Count me in as your newest convert! Please pray that I don’t rush this prayerful preparation phase.

Well, I’m wearing out my exclamation mark key…Thank you again for this wonderful book!

Blessings,
Laureen

Laureen, Several Weeks Later

Dear Teri,

To be brief about the scheduling, your book has been one of the biggest blessings I’ve ever had. We have developed our schedule and are concentrating on perfecting the morning segment. It is a month of daily play practice for my two olders, grandparents visiting, and lots more–so it is a trial by fire!

There is so much more time in my day!!! I was wasting so much time before by being undirected–and I can see back clearly now that I know better! I now have the luxury of finishing what I start and my home is beginning to reflect that. My children and husband are proud of me and I LOVE it! We are a more peaceful family now.

God bless you,
Laureen

Quiverfull Digests’ Moderator: Beth

I just got Teri’s book last week and it’s wonderful! It’s the only book I’ve read that really applies to a large, homeschooling family. So many of the books out there are written to the typical 1.7 child family and do nothing but frustrate me.

Although we’ve had informal scheduling in our home (regular routines and habits) for some time, I still found nuggets of wisdom to spur us on to do a better job. For me the best part was the kit for the “hands-on” planning of your schedule. Truly ingenious! 🙂 I highly recommend the book/kit for all moms with growing quivers. As Teri says in the book, even though couples may be committed to allowing God to plan their family, at times they may feel overwhelmed at the thought of a new baby. Some couples even chose to reject God’s blessings because they feel they can’t “handle” another. The guidance Teri gives in this book could be life-changing for some families, restoring their hope and vision for their “quivers.”

Give it a try!!!
Beth – Quiverfull Digest Moderator

Janet’s Feedback

Hi Teri! I bought your book a couple of weeks ago, and I’m just about ready to get our schedule off the paper and into our lives. Meanwhile I’ve been experimenting with your ideas regarding crowd control and baby scheduling, so far so good! I’ve been gradually adding more schedule to our lives–we have the morning routine down and the supper to bed routine. It’s great–looking forward to getting the whole plan implemented next week. Anyway, just wanted to let you know how pleased I am, and thanking God for His provision of this book (and inspiring you to write it!).

Also, wanted to send you a copy of an email I’m sending several of my friends who have small kids at home, or know other folks who do.

Blessings,
Janet

Hi Dear Friends, I’ve found buried treasure and I wanted to share it with you! The treasure? More time to do the things I want to do! No, I didn’t send anyone off to boarding school (although if they had one for 3 year-olds I might consider it! ) The secret is scheduling! This book is a wonderful guide to setting up a workable schedule that WILL work for you and your family. It has great ideas for bringing more order and peace to your home even if you have a 3 year old. It is well worth its $25 price tag.

If you feel like your household is slipping out of control, you NEED this book!

Feel free to pass this info along to anyone whom you might think could use it. I’m part of an email group (Mothers of Many Young Siblings–MOMYS) and one of the women (a homeschooling mom of 8) of the group wrote this book. Everyone who has tried her system is raving about it–free spirits and all. It works, and now I’m adding my raves.

May God bless you today and give you peace!

Joyfully,
Janet

What a blessing…

Teri & Steve,
I wanted to express to you what a blessing your book has been to me these past two weeks.

I am the mother of 8 children, ages 2 1/2 months to 13 years. I have tried all different kinds of scheduling methods through the years with varying degrees of success. Several years ago, I even made a chart in my computer very similar to yours. But I had too many missing pieces to make it work (or so I thought) and instead of continuing to work with it, I “threw the baby out with the bath water” and have been barely treading water ever since.

Two friends, living in different cities, told me about your book. I received it about 2 1/2 weeks ago and read it immediately. Since I had been messing around with schedules for so long, once I knew what to do, it didn’t take long to implement. I simplified my breakfast and lunch menus. Since I plan dinner menus and grocery shop only once each month, that was already taken care of for a few weeks.

A few days after receiving Managers of Their Homes, I received a phone call telling me that a good friend and sister in the Lord was very close to dying after a year and a half battle with breast cancer. Because of the practical simplicity of this method of time stewardship, our schedule was already up and running, and my 13-year old daughter was willing and able to keep it on track. This meant that, during the last week of her life, I was able to spend time with Sharon and not come home to a family in chaos. We were able to do school most days during this time, services (chores) were getting done, and when I was with Sharon, I wasn’t distracted from her, wondering what could be happening at home.

We have been scheduling our babies for seven years now, but because Melody is sleeping through the night, I was able to take a night shift to help care for Sharon. The Lord blessed me with a precious last night with my friend.

Because I’m not squandering my mental and emotional energy making constant decisions about which child was supposed to to what, when, and with whom, I have the emotional energy to deal with this loss. Most importantly, I’ve had time to draw strength from my Heavenly Father.

I didn’t mean for this to be so long. I just wanted you to know how the Lord is using you in the lives of His people.

Thank you and God bless you,
Lynne

Margaret’s Comments

I ordered your book in December and implemented the schedule when we started school again in early January. What a difference the schedule has made! I am still tweaking things a bit but I almost feel like a new person, much less frustrated and actually enjoying home and school more. I had gotten to a bad place, feeling very discouraged and lonely.I had been asking God for a “Titus 2”, someone to guide me and counsel me with my home and family and school.

He led me to a website and imagine my excitement when I saw a link to Titus2.com! I was even more excited when I went to your website and started reading. Oh thank You, Lord! I knew this was from Him in an answer to my prayers. Your book has been so helpful to me and it was a joy to read. It was very encouraging to read the test MOMYS comments as well as your teaching.

The biggest help to me was the idea of breaking my day up into 1/2 hour “chunks”. You are so right about not making decisions all day long. Once I read that I realized I had that problem. By the end of the day I didn’t want anyone to ask me anything else! That stress is gone now. My three year old daughter loves the schedule and looks forward to Mondays so we can be back on it. My two older sons have adjusted very well and even the baby seems to be more calm. Your book has been an answer to my prayers and I thank God for you, your family and your ministry.
Margaret

Kristen

I have tried and failed many times when it comes to organizing my home. Babies came one after another and I just seemed to fall farther and farther behind. I can indentify with the mom who said, “It takes great talent to become a whole month behind in only one day!” Sadly, I have that talent.

Your book, MOTH, has literally been a God-send. After praying for help, the Lord sent information about MOTH through a digest to which I had just subscribed. Implementing the schedule was not as difficult as I thought it would be. My children are clothed and in their right minds. My laundry no longer resembles Mt. Everest. And, most importantly, I have time scheduled for devotions and prayer. Thank you so much for the great amount of time and effort you gave to bring us this resource. God bless you and your family.
Kristen S.

Kelly’s Review

From: Kelly
To: “Charlotte Mason’s home schooling method”
Subject: [c-mason] Re: scheduling and getting it all done

Well, just my .02 worth on scheduling. I found a wonderful book that addresses the area of scheduling for homeschooling families. It’s the first I’ve seen specifically for homeschoolers. Managers of Their Homes by Steve and Teri Maxwell (parents of 8 children) teaches the importance of scheduling and walks you through the steps of developing and implementing a schedule in your home.

In doing this you can be as rigid or as flexible as you want (having a 2 hour “school time” or changing activities every 30 minutes). The reason I think it is so great is because of how easily I can get caught up in the “tyranny of the urgent” and do only the things that COME UP during the day, rather than the priorities in my life. So often I spend my day thinking, “As soon as I change this load of laundry I’ll read with Josh,” or “As soon as I wash these dishes I’ll play with Melissa,” or “I’ll turn off the TV tomorrow.” Before I know it the whole day is gone and I haven’t done anything I really wanted to do. By scheduling my days I can plan times to do the important things (reading, math, play time with babies, etc.) and also schedule in the “have- tos” (chore time, organizing, planning, etc.) The book is so clear and helpful. It also includes a scheduling kit which walks you through everything the book has described. For more info. check out Titus2.com.

Sorry this is so long!! 🙂

:), Kelly
p.s. The cost of the book is $25 plus s&h–and it’s worth EVERY penny!!

Alana’s Feedback

Hi,

We just completed our first day with our new schedule and it went really well! I was pleasantly surprised to find that my boys felt very encouraged by seeing their day in “living color.” <G> They felt motivated to get their work accomplished–maybe the structure helped them even though I have tried similar schedules in the past. I think they like seeing how they fit in with the whole of what is going on in the home; and the younger ones in particular liked knowing exactly when to do what. Again, I’ve tried that before but I think having the colorful, centrally-located, LARGE schedule made a difference for them.

Alana

Becky’s Comments

Love the book! I am a changed woman! We’ve been doing the schedule now for two weeks. My home is cleaner, I have more time to do “my own things” ie, scrapbooking, in the evening because the children are in bed at the same time. My husband is so impressed with the changes we’ve made around here. Thank you for this book!

Becky

Robin’s Feedback

Teri and Steve,

Had so much free time this afternoon after being on schedule until 2pm that I had to visit your website and send you my encouragement! This is such a marvelous ministry. I came to the CHEL meeting and was inspired by your workshop to start making some changes in our routine. The first week we all had breakfast at the same time. This may not sound like a big deal, especially for a family with only 3 children, but not ‘wasting’ time fixing three separate breakfasts plus my own meant school could start promptly. That tiny good beginning had a very positive ‘domino’ effect on the rest of the morning!

The second week I made a schedule for each of the children and myself up to 10am Bible time (seems a popular time for Bible study :>). Last week (after purchasing the book!) I scheduled through 12 noon lunch. I cannot believe how much more we are getting done in less time! Little Hannah (3) just beams when I tell her it is time to be with her sister/read with Mommy/play on the computer, etc. Grace (8) enjoys breaking up her school work with a play time with Hannah. Thomas (12) who was skeptical when I first began talking about scheduling (something about the mention of daily chore times), is now finishing his school and piano practice a couple of hours earlier than before and told me today in his best Jimmy Stewart voice, “It’s a wonderful life!”

I guess I never realized how much emotional and physical energy was going into making constant decisions about what the four of us should each be doing! Mom’s stress level is way down as well as bickering between the older two. I don’t find myself at the end of the day feeling guilty over having ignored the preschooler. The house is cleaner and I am starting to work on possible afternoon/dinner prep schedules. Do I even have to say that Rob is thrilled to be coming home to a happier family in a better managed home? What husband wouldn’t be! We have reaped so many benefits already that I am anxious to sit down and work on a full-blown master schedule. I finished reading the book a couple of days ago and have been sharing pieces with Rob (he has read the first chapter and the one for dads).

I have thanked God in my prayer time for inspiring you to write this book. You have blessed our family and so many more with your wise and godly counsel. Our ‘old’ Bethel teachers (you know who) would say that you are ‘Blessed to be a blessing’ ! With love and appreciation in Christ Jesus, Robin

Denise’s Feedback

Hi Mrs. Maxwell,

I wanted to thank you for your book, Managers of Their Homes. It has been a God-send for me. We have been using our schedule for a couple of days now and it is great. Now my ten year old son doesn’t need to ask me anymore ” When is school going to be done?”. I was really tired of hearing that. But it wasn’t my son’s fault. It was mine. I had the schedule in my mind. But he needed to know it too.

Plus, I was able to figure out a time when my son could work independently so I could spend time with my five year old daughter doing her speech therapy and physical therapy. That tended to get left until the afternoon or evening and then I was so tired sometimes it just didn’t get done and I would feel guilty about it. Now it is done in the morning when we are both fresh.

My son was looking over the schedule and was excited about spending special “fun” time with me every week. He also liked the idea of being a “dinner helper” so he could learn how to cook. He even said he wants to cook all by himself one night a week! I’ve been wanting to teach him how to cook and now with the schedule it will get done.

I had to laugh when my son was looking at my personal schedule and exclaimed, “Mom, you do chores?” I don’t know what he thought I did all day. But I know it made him feel better to know he wasn’t the only one doing them. From looking at other mom’s schedules I got some more ideas for chores that my five year old daughter could do. My son liked that too.

I have told my homeschooling friends about your book. I hope they get it. I know it would help them as much as it has helped me.

God bless you,

Denise

Single Parent Testimonial

Teri,

I told you I would mail you how the schedule went for me (I’m a single parent), also have behaviorally challenged kids (2 with fetal alcohol syndrome). It works great, they need the structure to stay in control, I need the structure to know there is an end in sight from activity (I don’t finish something if we’re out of time).

Cathy