I have been at this homeschooling thing for 5 years now and I have learned a little along the way. Here it is, I can tell you how I can totally wind up with a day that makes a mama wish she had made other educational choices, or maybe just a list of things that I try my best to avoid.
#1. Wake up late.
This may not be universally agreed upon but at least for me, this will wreck it. I find that on the days that I sleep a bit too long (I'm not talking till noon here, just even till 8 or a bit after when kids have all started to wake) I start off the day behind and I feel like I am playing catch-up for the rest of the day. I do so much better when I make myself get up, get my first cup of coffee, read my bible, blog, start a load of laundry and have a few moments to myself before our crazy whirlwind begins...I'm better for it and my kids find a much less frazzled mama.
#2 Don't have a dinner plan.
Ummm. As I type this I realize that I don't yet have a dinner plan for today. At our house with my crew, this is pretty crucial stuff. If I do not plan what to do at dinner time I end up at 4 o'clock tired, a bit frazzled and with no plan of action. We would then either end up eating cereal (hubby is not a fan of this- lol) or I would desire to grab something that would either cost more than I wanted to spend or something unhealthy...so excuse me while I throw something in the crockpot.
#3 Don't Get Dressed.
I am a firm believer in getting dressed whether I am actually planning on going somewhere or not. I also make my kids get dressed, its just me but I think we do better when we don't sit around in p.j's all day. That doesn't mean that in the dead of winter I don't allow for an occasional splurge of jammy time, but not on a regular basis. Oh, and for me, I make sure that by the time hubby gets home from work I have on makeup, hair has been brushed and at least pulled into a neat ponytail...I know he appreciates not coming home to a wife in yoga pants and a baby drool stained shirt.
#4 Spend the Day Wasting Time On Social Media
This can be a hard temtation especially with smart phones. I can find myself periodically checking emails or facebook status in between grading math problems and teaching science and lets face it, that can suck a gal in so I really try to limit this to only early a.m. before we start school and afternoon when littles are down for a nap and the rest of my crew is finishing up.
#5 Take Phone Calls and Texts
Most of my friends will tell you that I try not to take phone calls or answer very many texts during school hours because it gets me off track and trust me, my kids can tell when I am not fully present because I am distracted. For the most part (unless it is daddy calling) I do not answer the phone during the a.m. Not trying to be rude, I will call people back but I can't take the constant distractions. I gotta unplug.
#6 Run Around
I am part of some great mom's groups. I am also a part of some great homeschool groups. Truth be told there is always something super exciting and cool to be doing, a field trip, a cool outing, a class for this or that...but I find that if I do not stay put and work on school stuff for the majority of our schooling, it is way too easy to get sidetracked, I mean who wouldn't rather go to a museum one day, an art show the next, hiking another and maybe a cooking class too? ME! ME! ME! Again, I can get off track so we have such better fluidity when we stay home and only indulge occasionally in these things. Now, as I say this our current semester is jammed with 2 literature classes we go to on different days, karate, volleyball and a college class one of my children takes...whew! That is why we have had to forgo several other fun field trips to work on just "regular" school.
#7 Compare Myself to Other Mamas
This can be true for so many things. As it applies to homeschooling if I constantly compare where my kids are in school, how they are learning, what other moms do, I can begin to feel like a failure. I assure you that no one has my children's best interests at heart like I do, No one. That being said there is always some mama that looks like she is doing a better job at homeschooling, she is better organized, more creative, has more patience...etc.
There it is, That is how I can ruin my homeschool day. How about you? Do you have other things you would add to this list? Leave me a comment below...
#1. Wake up late.
This may not be universally agreed upon but at least for me, this will wreck it. I find that on the days that I sleep a bit too long (I'm not talking till noon here, just even till 8 or a bit after when kids have all started to wake) I start off the day behind and I feel like I am playing catch-up for the rest of the day. I do so much better when I make myself get up, get my first cup of coffee, read my bible, blog, start a load of laundry and have a few moments to myself before our crazy whirlwind begins...I'm better for it and my kids find a much less frazzled mama.
#2 Don't have a dinner plan.
Ummm. As I type this I realize that I don't yet have a dinner plan for today. At our house with my crew, this is pretty crucial stuff. If I do not plan what to do at dinner time I end up at 4 o'clock tired, a bit frazzled and with no plan of action. We would then either end up eating cereal (hubby is not a fan of this- lol) or I would desire to grab something that would either cost more than I wanted to spend or something unhealthy...so excuse me while I throw something in the crockpot.
#3 Don't Get Dressed.
I am a firm believer in getting dressed whether I am actually planning on going somewhere or not. I also make my kids get dressed, its just me but I think we do better when we don't sit around in p.j's all day. That doesn't mean that in the dead of winter I don't allow for an occasional splurge of jammy time, but not on a regular basis. Oh, and for me, I make sure that by the time hubby gets home from work I have on makeup, hair has been brushed and at least pulled into a neat ponytail...I know he appreciates not coming home to a wife in yoga pants and a baby drool stained shirt.
#4 Spend the Day Wasting Time On Social Media
This can be a hard temtation especially with smart phones. I can find myself periodically checking emails or facebook status in between grading math problems and teaching science and lets face it, that can suck a gal in so I really try to limit this to only early a.m. before we start school and afternoon when littles are down for a nap and the rest of my crew is finishing up.
#5 Take Phone Calls and Texts
Most of my friends will tell you that I try not to take phone calls or answer very many texts during school hours because it gets me off track and trust me, my kids can tell when I am not fully present because I am distracted. For the most part (unless it is daddy calling) I do not answer the phone during the a.m. Not trying to be rude, I will call people back but I can't take the constant distractions. I gotta unplug.
#6 Run Around
I am part of some great mom's groups. I am also a part of some great homeschool groups. Truth be told there is always something super exciting and cool to be doing, a field trip, a cool outing, a class for this or that...but I find that if I do not stay put and work on school stuff for the majority of our schooling, it is way too easy to get sidetracked, I mean who wouldn't rather go to a museum one day, an art show the next, hiking another and maybe a cooking class too? ME! ME! ME! Again, I can get off track so we have such better fluidity when we stay home and only indulge occasionally in these things. Now, as I say this our current semester is jammed with 2 literature classes we go to on different days, karate, volleyball and a college class one of my children takes...whew! That is why we have had to forgo several other fun field trips to work on just "regular" school.
#7 Compare Myself to Other Mamas
This can be true for so many things. As it applies to homeschooling if I constantly compare where my kids are in school, how they are learning, what other moms do, I can begin to feel like a failure. I assure you that no one has my children's best interests at heart like I do, No one. That being said there is always some mama that looks like she is doing a better job at homeschooling, she is better organized, more creative, has more patience...etc.
There it is, That is how I can ruin my homeschool day. How about you? Do you have other things you would add to this list? Leave me a comment below...
