Time management is not about finding the ultimate planning notebook or a calendar with stickers or adopting yet another list of to-do’s to get you caught up. Time management is about identifying what is important to you and then ordering your days to reflect those priorities in such a way that you can accomplish what God has for you for today.

There are lots of great resources to help you develop routines and systems that will work for your individual needs; a partial list follows. I surely don’t need to re-invent the wheel; even if I did, it would be my wheel, not yours. And time management is something you have to tailor to your own unique personality and family, not fit into my cookie-cutter calendar (although that certainly won’t stop me from giving you samples throughout the site).

Our goal is to give you some practical ideas for starters and to give you encouragement that you can do this!

Margin is the distance between where you are and your personal limit (emotional, physical, financial, time, etc.). This will be different for everyone (for more on this topic, read Margin by Richard Swenson). Just as...

Dear Moms and Dads,

This month marks the midpoint of summer--already! We hope you are using these summer months to plan your upcoming school year to include academics, extracurricular activities, volunteer opportunities, possible jobs for your teens, and...are you feeling overwhelmed? Well, please don't be. Let's look at ways to include these areas during your year in a manageable, non-stressful way.

Beginning in high school and then continuing throughout adulthood, your child will need to juggle many responsibilities. Time management will help him to be more effective in achieving his goals, to improve performance in academics and activities, and to move from the structured environment of home to one where she will have to manage a variety of schedules and commitments. Learning this skill will also reduce anxiety and build confidence to meet deadlines as your teen looks forward to graduation and beyond.

HELPFUL TIME MANAGEMENT TOOLS

You may agree that this is exactly what you need to do,...

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year! And welcome back from what we hope was a joyous and memorable Christmas break. Can you relate when we confide that it's a bit difficult for us to get re-engaged into the real world of responsibilities after the holidays? Or, are we the only two sluggards we know?

A new year always brings fresh resolutions and goals, so we want to suggest that you consider reviewing and reevaluating your goals for the rest of the school year. The overarching question to ask is: "Am I homeschooling responsibly?" We'd like to help you honestly assess how well you are managing your high school homeschooling responsibilities.

The word "responsibility" rightly carries with it the idea of being accountable to somebody or for something. Often accountability is viewed in a negative or discouraging way. But as we look at homeschooling responsibly, we want to emphasize the positives. You may discover ways you need to change or to do things differently, but if the end result improves your...

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year 2009! The dawn of a new year is a wonderful opportunity to start afresh with a blank slate. If 2008 ended on a high note for you and your teen, praise the Lord. On the other hand, if 2008 was a year you would like to forget, we pray that the Lord helped you to grow in endurance, faith and hope. In either case, let's all launch into 2009 with great anticipation of seeing the Lord's hand in all we do.

January may be a good month for you to evaluate your progress for this school year. Adjustments may need to be made to your yearly plan--a course may have already been completed or is not coming along as anticipated. One of the benefits of homeschooling your teen is the opportunity to alter or re-customize not only your high school plan, but also to adjust the rate of speed with which you cover individual course material. Deciding the course of action you should pursue will depend on your teen's abilities and maturity level. Here are some items to keep in mind.

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Dear Friends,

We hope this edition of the Homeschooling Thru High School newsletter finds you gearing up for a November filled with thanksgiving and joy. In the midst of homeschooling your high schooler and the busyness of your days, we encourage you to do a little extra math: count your many blessings! Remember that blessings come in the form of both joys and trials, but all are sent to increase our faith, boost our perseverance, and mold our character.

As you seek to provide a quality education to your teens, we suggest you include time to improve your teen's study skills. Many times, parents think that good study skills are naturally acquired, but that's often not the case. Study skills such as note-taking, outlining, pacing your time, organizing study materials and schoolwork, increasing reading speed, and maintaining motivation for studying are, for the majority of teens, learned skills that must be taught. The high school years--or earlier--provide an opportune time to polish up these areas of competency.

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Dear Friends,

For many of you, the school year is winding down, and your teens are finishing those last few assignments. Do you think they know that you look forward to summer as much as they do? As you enjoy a brief break from your teaching routine, the summer months may be a good time to think about life skills to teach your teens in preparation for adulthood.

Although many of our newsletters focus on academic skills, we'd like to branch out and suggest areas that go beyond the schoolwork. No matter what avenue your teens plan to travel, teaching these skills during the high school years will be useful.

Home and Car Maintenance

Both young men and young ladies will benefit from learning the basics. Simple meal planning and cooking, grocery shopping, sorting laundry, ironing, sewing on a button, as well as lawn care and changing furnace filters are among the many skills that can be taught.

If your teen is headed off to college in the future and will live off campus, learning about renter...