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I've been overwhelmed lately and the girls have had a lot of stuff to do as well. We had that period of beautiful weather where the girls spent all day outside, so we didn't do much schooling then. Then that beautiful weather went away and was replaced by rain, rain and more rain so we got more schooling done but then came a couple of weeks where we had activities planned out of the home every day, so it fell to the back burner again.
I keep reminding myself that the girls are only 2 and 4, they don't need any official schooling yet...and that going outside to play, and participating in activities with friends is part of what homeschooling is all about. But I feel bad because the Mermaid is really into having "learning time" and so, at the end of the day when we've been running around like crazy and I'm exhausted because I'm still in the adjustment period for my paper route, she asks for learning time and I just don't have the energy.
My goal for the next month is to have more down time. Going out for playdates and activities is a blast and is important, but doing it every day for seven days straight is a little exhausting. The Guppy got sick yesterday and I wonder if that was her trying to slow us down a little, to just take at least one day a week and stay home and just chill.
I'm not sure why I feel pressured to get out of the house all the time, whether it's because I am doubting myself or I am trying to show the sceptics in our family how much socialization you can do while homeschooling, I don't know. I just know that it's been overwhelming and now the Mermaid is acting up and I am starting to yell again.
I hate it when I yell.
So, next week I plan to spend at least 3 days just staying home and having some down time. I'd like to flip through How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk again, as that book has definitely been a life saver in this house and I really need a refresher. I'm looking forward to it for my own reasons as well; studying for my CBE certification has really fallen to the back burner this month and I am ready to open up those books again.
To other homeschoolers out there, please give me some tips and advice on how to balance out of the home activities and down time while homeschooling. I would love to hear what works for your family!
And, if you are a family who lives in MA, I'm over at MassMoms today with a list of homeschooling resources.
3 comments:
Balance is a tough one, and something that all of us homeschooling moms face!
We do need to get out of the house to see other people, but I don't think that has to be done everyday if your home is a comfortable place to be (when my kids were little and we lived in a small apartment I took them out everyday)!
But you should be going out to make your family feel more peaceful and fulfilled, not overwhelming you. So I think you've got some good ideas! And don't feel like you're depriving your kids if you take it easy a few days a week!
Visit To Love, Honor and Vacuum today!
Your daughters are so young, it sounds like you're being far too hard on yourself.
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen... is a great book. I think I should read this again soon too :)
I loved How to Talk So Kids Will Listen... but I have also found another, similar book that has been very helpful called Loving Your Child is Not Enough, by Nancy Samalin. It was like How to Talk plus additional information, all with real conversations that the author had recorded between parents and children. You can even get it as an audiobook (and quite inexpensively for audiobooks - I think it was about $12-13).
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