19 March, 2011

The Organized Homeschooler, by Vicki Caruana

 









The Organized Homeschooler is written by veteran home educator, mother, and organizer Vicki Caruana to come alongside those of us who need help in this area as a friend would, encouraging us to get the job done while giving practical tips and direction. Although I love to sit and organize, I often find that it just doesn’t stay the way I’d like for it to. And although I can easily offer excuses (i.e., the four of us in a 1-bed apartment, two children under 17 months, my health, etc.) the real issue isn’t the obvious clutter. It is my lazy heart and my failure to see my need for organization from God’s point of view and how it hinders my effectiveness in serving my family – my ultimate ministry! So I appreciate how the author deals with the heart, and then moves into offering solutions for dealing with topics such as: Thoughts, Time, Space, Supplies and Materials, and Paperwork. I found her to be a huge fan of a filing system and she describes how that has worked for her family and their homeschooling “clutter.”

I think ultimately however, even though the need to be organized is universal, the method which will work best for a given family will definitely be quite varied! Admittedly, I was able to walk away from the book with several helpful tips, but I did find her filing system is just a bit too intricate for my personality and our individual family. I need it to be simple folks! :-) And even though I see her heart in admonishing the reader to really take a hard look and evaluate how they are spending their time, I think she took a bit too much liberty in stating what she believed would constitute or define the reader as having “too much free time” based on the little questionnaire found in the book. Overall though, I do feel this is a helpful book and worth taking a look at in a homemakers’ quest for a peaceful and organized home where the Lord can be most glorified and the family strengthened. 

*This book was gratefully received from Crossway Publishers at no cost in exchange for my agreement to post this review.

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