Some of words we can use:

 “I’m sorry I got back later than I said I would.”  “I feel awful that I shouted at you this morning.”  “It was silly to get so upset about your messy room.”

Doing something:

Doing something special with our children can be more powerful than just saying we’re sorry. It shows that we really mean it.

Buying something:

Giving our time and attention to our children almost always means more to them than buying them something, but little surprises given along with a verbal apology shows we have given thought to what happened.

When Not to Apologize There are some dangers in apologizing too much. The problem is not with apology but with reason for frequency. When we find ourselves apologizing too much we might be showing our children our own uncertainty. Our children rely on our certainty about life. They rely on us for guidance. Instead of apologizing if we aren’t sure whether we have done right thing, it might be a good idea to feel sorry but say nothing. We need to use our own judgment to decide how much is too much.

What Happens When We Don’t Apologize? We all remember at some point in our lives when someone was clearly wrong and did not apologize for their behavior. It caused a lot of resentment when we felt we were unfairly treated. Our children have an acute sense of fairness. Resentment grows and eats away at good feelings and a barrier grows between our children and ourselves. We must not allow this. Remember this about apologies; if you want to hear them, you need to give them. Apologies make you feel better about yourself. They are a statement of honesty and wipe slate clean. And finally, it they are given, make sure you accept them.

Week 3 Cooking and Baking Week

Cook one day a month for meals to have on hand for your other weeks. (See Once-A-Month Cooking by Lagerborg and Wilson, Dinner's in Freezer! or Mega Cooking by Jill Bond for how-tos of freezer cooking.) This can be a great timesaving activity. Although you and your family will work very hard on cooking day, this system saves a lot of time on all other days. Another day bake several loaves of whole wheat bread, along with other breads such as muffins and bagels to accompany your freezer meals. This is week to make some extra-special meals and invite friends to dinner.

Week 4: Business Week (or other major focus area)

This is week you focus on your business if you have one. Read related books, work on marketing and those important extra projects you can't usually fit in. Your children will be doing independent study, helping with business or just enjoying their free time.

Week 5: Repeat cycle or go into another of your focus areas.

You may choose to alternate your weeks like this.

Week 1: Homeschooling Week 2: Cleaning and Cooking Week 3: Homeschooling Week 4: Extra Curricular for Mom (or business activities)

Many are already dividing their days into:

Morning: Homeschooling Afternoon: Business Evening: Cooking, Laundry, Cleanup

Or you could divide your week:

Monday: Homeschool Tuesday: Cleaning Wednesday: Homeschool Thursday: Shopping/Cooking Friday: Homeschool

No matter what focus of each week, never neglect responding to your children and their needs. With many responsibilities, it is even more important that we includes more prayer, Bible reading and meditation on Scriptures. I've found that when I do this my productivity goes way up. It can't be explained. It is a supernatural law.