I purchased this book in the hope of getting some scheduling ideas and found just what I hoped for and more. My kid's are 7 and under so I really didn't know if these ideas would work, but they're great. I love the idea of changing activities every 1/2 hour and assigning siblings to play together. It's amazing the difference in our household just by using the schedule. If we don't, we can see a huge (negative) difference in our day. (I'm planning to come up with a Saturday schedule so it's not so chaotic.)

I admit to not cutting out the paper pieces. Also, while I did pray as I read the book, I didn't pray extensively and I immediately worked on a schedule when I finished the book. (I was actually formulating it in my head as I was reading.) I work part-time and have a varied schedule (i.e., M & W one week, T & Th, the next- 1pm -5pm one day, 5:30-9pm another), but even with this wrinkle, I found using this book, and especially the worksheets included, extremely helpful. I just figured out a general schedule so that our 'meat' is accomplished by lunch time, and the rest will work out depending upon my schedule.

Along with the others, I disagree with scheduling breastfeeding, but since I will not be having any more children, I just skimmed over this section.

I have read several other books on organization and scheduling and truly feel this one speaks directly to the needs of the homeschooling family.

I came so close to not ordering this book because of the reviews. But this was a recommended book from a women's conference I'd gone to, and I really wanted to check it out, but I put it off.

After venturing to another's website (a woman I greatly admire who has lots of kids and homeschools), I noticed SHE used this system and again I thought, a try can't hurt...there's always resale, right?

I'm sooooo glad I bought this manual! It's been great so far! Very well written, easy to read, and downright practical! One of the BEST organizational books out there for homeschool families! (And I'm picky!)

I'll definitely put this book up there with my favorites, right next to my "FlyLady" collection--another great book for organization, even if you're NOT a homeschooler.

Really though, even if you're not a homeschooling family, this manual is great! Give it a try...as I mentioned earlier, if you don't like it, there's always resale!

I am a homeschooling mom of 4 [so far]and I got this book because I felt like our family would benefit from a schedule to help us get everything done we have to do in the average day.

There were some good ideas in the book. The idea to schedule the older children to have playtimes with the younger children while mom is making dinner or teaching another child is something I had never thought of but I think it might make a big difference. I also agreed with what the author said about order being important in running a Godly household. She has some good information on how to manage chores and teaching children how to handle their chores.

But there were some really bad ideas in the book too. Her ideas on infant training and only feeding a newborn baby every 3-4 hours [6 feeds a day she had scheduled] are just scary. She says she never had problems with supply or sick babies, but I work in a hospital in the mother/baby area and we see a lot of babies on a 3 hour schedule that come in with failure to thrive or even die. 4 hours between feeds for a 2 week old [which is what she does to try to encourage a longer afternoon nap!] is just plain dangerous - a lot of babies would literally die on that kind of schedule. I did like the idea of scheduling the baby's day and nap times and such, but the breastfeeding advice was scary in my opinion.

I also thought she was a little over the top on how to create the schedule - while I did [and do] pray about my schedule, I just couldn't imagine taking a week or two or three of just praying about it before I even start trying to do it. The idea of every single year spending an entire day away with my husband just to discuss the schedule also struck me as a little... um... odd. I want to get it done and jump in and then make changes as I need them.

I also did not enjoy the "tiny little pieces of paper" thing she includes where you are supposed to cut out little pieces of colored paper representing half hour time blocks for every moment of every family member's day... that made me feel neurotic just thinking of dealing with all those scraps of paper everywhere. :) Instead I got on my computer and used MS Word to come up with a schedule that I can change easily and update/revise as necessary without having to manage a zillion teeny papers everywhere. But maybe that's just me - a really visual person might find the little papers more helpful.

The other objection I have to this book is that it is relatively "lean" on content - its really a very short book that is heavily padded with dozens of pages of copies of other people's schedules and a running commentary from her test mothers going on and on through the whole book about how great the book is. [I get the point already ...sheesh!]. The actual "content" is less than 100 pages and those pages have huge margins filled with other people's comments and gushing about the book - not actual content. So, quiet honestly, for the hefty price tag attached to this book, I felt a bit ripped off. Its a paperback spiral bound with less than 100 pages of real content - for me, I would say that was worth something more like $9.99 or so - not the hefty price I paid for it.

Overall, this is a book with some good ideas and it is written with absolute good intentions on the author's part. But I think it is also lacking in several areas and light on content. I wish I'd borrowed it from a friend rather than buying it myself.

Managers of Their Homes by Steve and Teri Maxwell is a great resource for those trying to homeschool many children. There are really helpful ideas to keep younger children successfully occupied while older children are being taught by mom. The book also provides guidance for ways to keep the rest of the home (housekeeping, cooking, chores) running smoothly as well. Though I am the homeschooling mom of 5 children ages 8 and under, many of the ideas were new and helpful to me.The Maxwell's system does take prayer, time and commitment to implement. I suspect that those with one or two children or those who don't have a strong desire for a regular schedule would find this book less useful.

This book is a very easy read. It is full of a lot of useful knowledge for the homeschooling family with more than a few children. I found a lot of great ideas to implement in my day.

I liked the authors emphasis on making the study of the Word and prayer the most important part of your daily schedule. She points out that it is better to have a few minutes each day in study and prayer than to keep waiting until you have a free hour to do a real indepth study.

I also liked her instruction to parents to include the children in the daily tasks around the home. Even in homeschooling families I find this is a rare ocurrance and it is really a necessity. When children have chores they know they are a part of the family not just some guest who has come to be entertained by the parents.

My biggest problem with the book, and the reason I could not justify even four stars, is the idea of scheduling infants. This book is rather old and was written before a lot of evidence started to come out about how scheduling feeds can end up causing a child to have Failure to Thrive (FTT) and other problems so I will try to forgive her for her lack of knowledge in this area.

It is never a good idea to schedule an infant under the age of six months. (I have used a schedule with an infant before so I am not without knowledge of this or the "rationale" behind it.) The demand feeding of an infant does not require that much of the parent that the entire days work is interrupted because of it.

There has been a lot written lately on this subject due to the Ezzo's and their following. When I came to the chapter where this is discussed I expected her to be more reasonable than they but found that she adhered to a three to four hour scheduling even at two weeks of age.

If that chapter is skipped I think this book has a lot to offer.