Can a rebel use MOTH successfully?

[Trivium Academy]

I know myself, I'm not very good at following someone else's plan. Is Managers of Their Homes something that will feel like a noose around my neck or can I customize it to fit us?

Is this something I can do on my own and the MOTH program is just a help? I'd hate to buy it only to discover it's nothing new and I could have done it myself. (flush...money down the drain)

I'm contemplating making a 2 child chore chart which for ds3 would be picture based and for dd7 would be text based- one for each day of the week

Monday

Ds3 Dd7
MORNING
Eat Breakfast Make Bed
Get Dressed Get Dressed
Brush Teeth Brush Teeth

AFTERNOON
and EVENING

Obviously I can do this myself, after I hunt down the clipart for ds3. My idea is to laminate them and use a dry-erase marker to put a star or whatever they want drawn to show they completed the task. These would be hung on the refrigerator.

So...do my own and leave MOTH alone or has MOTH really made a HUGE difference in your life that I should invest $25?

[partyof5]

Well, I know I couldn't do it!:D

I've spent more $$ on books like this, only to find myself much more successful when I make my own chore charts. We have successfully used charts as you describe. Cheap, easy, and I don't have to what I'm told! Bonus!! :tongue_smilie:

As an aside, I am a former old-board-lurker who feels obliged to come out in the open here and say THANKS for all the great ideas/advice/encouragement you've given to others. You've provided lots of insight, especially when I was first pulling my dd out of ps. That's when I found the WTM boards. Anyway, just wanted you to know... :001_smile:

[Trivium Academy]

Okay, I'll do it on my own and then if that fails I will succumb to some type of system someone else created. I'm horrible at accepting compliments so instead of saying something stupid, I'll just say thank you. :)

Blushing

[Hen Jen]

I'm a MOTH drop-out...

I've done better just making my own up with word, the little 15 minute boxes just made me nervous or something...

I have decided I am my worst enemy, and that in reality, the person who doesn't want to do a schedule or have to be pinned down to commit to do anything at a certain time is..me.

ugh.

I'm starting my schedule-journey again,

right there with you, Jessica

[Another Lynn]

I have MOTH and will probably try it again some time, but I'm a bit of a rebel against schedules and such. Are you talking about MOTH or their chore pack? I have never bought the chore pack book (only the original scheduling book), but a friend of mine has it. The chore pack has (I think) a plastic pouch on a string the kids can where around their neck that holds the chore cards. So I don't know if that method appeals to you over a chart, but I guess it's more mobile and less likely to get set down and forgotten.

Let us know what works for you. Your experience and insights are always helpful!

[Trivium Academy]

Like an albatross around the neck! In a way that does appeal but I think I'll save the money for now and see if we can come up with something on our own. I'm GREAT at organizing on paper but to apply it to life, well- I'm not so good. I won't mention the three piles of books around me...:001_huh:

Thanks Lynn

[Cadam]

It sounds like you really want a chore system and although I haven't used it the MOTH people make a chore system that is picture or text based. MOTH gave me great ideas but everyday in my house is different so I would need a different schedule for everyday of the week!

[Beth in Central TX]

MOTH made a huge difference this year, but I've had the book since 2004. After an encouraging Maxwell conference this past January, I broke back out my schedules for the boys, and now that they are 10 and 11, they follow them on their own. I have chores and school work on 3 separate Excel spreadsheets designed specifically for each boy; my youngest insisted on having one too. I have a spreadsheet too, but I don't follow mine as well. I do follow the school schedule I have laid out, but I rarely follow the free time activities I have scheduled each week. I really enjoy scheduling, but it's mostly the challenge of making the schedule and giving it to other people that I like the best...go figure.

Based on your blog and other posts I have seen you make over the years, I don't think you need the MOTH book. It's encouraging. If you have no idea where to start or how to use Excel, it's very good. It has good suggestions too. I like the idea of color coding each child on my schedule. But I took her spreadsheet ideas and modified them for our homeschool. I'm sure you would do the same.

Jean in Wisc had some schedules on her Shades of White blog. Those would provide a good template for you to start. Then you can modify them to suit your family.

HTH!

[Calming Tea]

totally customizable but it's not a chore chart at all. It's a time management system in which you schedule people to do certain tasks at certain times. If you need help with chores, it'll do nothing for you.

Personally with two kids I found MOTH to be totally unnecessary. I think you need to have a minimum of three kids for this to be useful.

The whole point of it is that everyone has blocks of time, and mama has blocks of time, and you schedule what everyone is doing into a block of time and schedule you to be with each child in a particular block of time.

So it's not that it's not flexible, but that it's just not what I think you're looking for.

With two kids, it's just not necessary to buy this product because it's so easy to know where they're supposed to be, and where you're supposed to be.

What this woman does is have about 10-15 blocks of time, 7 kids, and she schedules herself to spend half an hour with each kid, and then schedules kids ages 5 and up each taking a turn to babysit the baby and toddler, so that the baby and toddler are with someone specifically watching them all day long. The older kids responible for babysitting the baby/toddler all get to really enjoy their job and they come up with lots of neat ideas for enjoying that time, and the baby/toddler feel really loved because someone is specifically loving on/watching them all day. The mom schedules in blocks of time for her own excersize and personal devotions and then the half hour she has with each older kid, is spent on either a hard concept in their textbook homeschooling, or some prayer and guidance. The kids work on pre-planned textbook curricula, for the most part, though non textbook moms could still use and make this program work for them.

It's a fantastic book but I found it just annoyed me and stifled me, because I really didn't need to schedule a family with two kids so much.

[Trivium Academy]

THANK you Tea! Exactly what I needed to know, whether this would be a tool for us or not. I'm about done with our planning pages and I'm pretty happy. I think I'll actually USE this, I just need to get in the habit. I need a notebook so I'm not on the computer. Sigh.

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

MOTH is totally customizable so no you would not be following someone else's plan, but your OWN. I love my MOTH book and read it each year before school begins. It inspires me, Teri is a great author....and even if you don't use a moth schedule, her ideas and encouragement are great. :)

I do not use my MOTH in the 30 min increments but rather a more block of time manner. My MOTH schedule is more similar to a 'routine' though so that is why it does work for 'me'. I have used it with 2 kids and I have used it with 5 kids. My kids love it, and my ADHD'er thrives on a routine with a 'checklist' just for him.

I would not say that we are on a MOTH schedule, but I would say that I use MOTH to help me to work us into a good routine.

[Kristen in NC]

MOTH is totally your own schedule. I didn't use her kit, but made my own on EXCEL. The greatest benefit I gained from reading the book was the emphasis on priorities and thinking why I'm doing things. Also her idea of scheduling older children to play with younger ones was helpful to me. I haven't done well at actually following the schedule though. I need to redo it now that the baby is older.

[one l michele]

I looked at the samples and did similar but found it way too structured.

[yslek]

I don't use MOTH, so can't comment there, but wanted to mention a kid chore system that works for those of us who can't/don't like to stick to a strict schedule. It can be found here:
http://www.triggermemorysystem.com/Zone.html
I bought this a while back and started using it with my dc. I love how it breaks everything into managable tasks. We moved a few months back, and I need to start this again. :D
That said, if you know what kind of chart you want and how to make it that would probalby be the cheapest/best approach.:thumbup:
Kelsy

[Hen Jen]

Jessica,

your albatross mention made me laugh, my MOTH chart became my albatross, hanging on my refrigerator! I came to hate looking at it, since it was glaring proof of my failure to follow a schedule. I finally took it down.

I was actually helped by your nobility chart you posted on your blog...I think that was you...I made one similar for my kids to go along with the new homeschool routine chart I've made..it's simple, in word.

so saying, MOTH did help me plan to have the olders help or play with the youngers for a time slot, very helpful.

good luck with your schedule, Jessica!

[Audrey]

:thumbdown:Save your money, Jessica. The program is basically a bunch of forms with little squares to fill in. I've seen your schedules and such. You already make prettier, more functional things than that!

The book portion of it just tells you how to schedule stuff. I think you can do that just fine, right? ;) The book does have quite a number scriptural references and anecdotes that may or not inspire you -- you've probably already read and heard the exact same things before.

Just my two-cents. :001_smile:

ETA: Personally, I'm not so good at making nice looking schedules, but I am very good at implementing them and making them work. My trick is to start small and add on to it when each thing becomes a habit. If I dump a whole new routine on my family (or myself!) all at once, it's way too overwhelming. So, I take the two or three most important parts and start those first. Once we're all in the groove, I can add new things. We end up doing this a few times a year -- when seeding starts, it can get wild and out of control around here; when summer comes, we switch gears again; then back to crazy time for harvest; then the long winter cosy time.

[Carol in Cal.]

If you want a schedule, MOTH might be for you; although I think that it shines best in families with more children.

But if you want a routine--more like Flylady, with things that you always do in order at more or less the same time of the day, than MOTH is not very helpful. I am a routine person myself, and although I have looked at MOTH many times, I know that it is just not for me. I do not want a program telling me what time to eat breakfast. Even if I set that time my own self, I would feel really, really annoyed. What I do best with is an ORDER in which things are done. Ex. Breakfast first, then exercise, then Bible, then math, then grammar, etc.

[Colleen in SEVA]

Jessica -- I don't think MOTH would be a good fit for your family.

Have you looked at Accountable Kids? I don't use this, but I know others who have and it seems like something you would like.

Accountable Kids (http://www.accountablekids.com/)