Never Enough Time
Today was one of those days where I just felt like there was never enough time.
We had to get our grocery shopping done which is never fun with 3 boys in tow. Lately I just try to get through the trip as quickly as possible and ignore any possible life lessons.
The older two boys brought their color by number books with them in the car. They told me they were working on school work since coloring is part of art. They colored as we listened to more of our book on CD. We're really enjoying The Fast and the Furriest. It's such a silly book and the boys are laughing a lot.
Once home they all helped me carry in groceries and then sat down to eat a late breakfast. I needed to get all the groceries put away (which also meant separating all the meat products and cutting up the fruits and veggies so they'd be ready to snack on), switch the laundry around and start another load, eat, brush my teeth, pack lunches, and pack the car to head to my my sister's.
I really wanted the boys to get some schoolwork done too and I knew that it would most likely require my help.
Somehow we did manage to get it all done but it was a whirlwind of a morning that went something like this:
Once the boys were done eating they headed upstairs to brush teeth and both Alec and Ian stayed in their rooms reading. I have no idea what they were reading but I know they did not want to put their books down today.
Evan wanted to read too but complained that he needed me to help him. I had him drag a chair over to the kitchen counter and sit next to me while I worked and listened to him reading Biscuit and the Lost Teddy Bear. He did amazing and pointed out to me that he had read 29 pages.
By this time the older boys were back downstairs and they both wanted to do math on Khan Academy. I found myself running back and forth from the counter to each of the computers a lot! I set the timer for 20 minutes and they worked somewhat independently.
The computer Ian was using wasn't turning on and so by the time the timer went off he still hadn't done any work. Alec went off to play while Evan brought the computer over the counter and started on his 20 minutes of Khan while I made up a salad for dinner. Ian had his computer up and going and so I again set the timer for 20 minutes.
Evan needed help reading his questions but did a great job on the math part and was happy to watch his points accumulating. Ian still wasn't getting his computer to work well and so once Evan's timer went off Ian came and took over Evan's spot.
We worked together for 20 more minutes completing Ian's math. A few times we had to watch the videos together to jog my memory of the math and later in the day I realized how pointless it is to cover math topics that he'll probably never, ever, need again. Who needs to know that 8/9 x 6 ever equals??
With the schoolwork at least touched upon for the day we started packing up all our gear. My sister lives about an hour away and we were all going to go sledding. I needed everyone's outdoor gear, sleds, and lunches.
I was also going to be dropping the older two boys off at my husband's work at 4:30 for their karate graduations tonight so we also needed all of their karate gear.
I had also cleaned out all of Evan's drawers last week and knew that my nephew could probably use most of those outgrown clothes. It took us a long time to get everything out that we wanted to bring with us. I put each boy in charge of his own clothes, food and gear and asked them to pile everything together in the middle of the living room.
Once we had it all settled I started packing up the car.
We were excited about seeing my sister and her sons and about going sledding. We settled in for a nice long car ride and listened to a lot more of out book on CD. The boys had brought their Kindles in the car and also played Minecraft and various other games while listening to the book. They keep the Kindles on silence and manage to both listen to the story and play games. I know they listen because they often have me stop the story so they interject something or make a prediction. We arrived in what seemed like no time and eagerly headed inside.
The boys all visited for a bit playing with Legos and chasing each other around the house.
After a bit we all geared up and headed to a nearby park for sledding. It was cold but the kids didn't seem to care at all. The hill was busy with lots of kids and the boys dove right in; literally in some cases as they like to run and head first down the hill. My younger nephew and myself went sledding a lot and he was cracking me up by practicing bailing out of the sled. He also wanted to try going down the hill backwards and sideways too. The older boys all tried sledding by holding onto one another's sleds and they all took a turn going off the jump ramp too. We walked home cold, tired, and happy.
We warmed up, visited some more and the boys go to try out some new games that their cousins' have. Evan and Ian tried playing Disney Infinity while Alec and my nephew huddled over his Nook playing Powder Game Viewer. Alec was quite taken with watching the various elements interact and react that he decided to go and get his Kindle out of the car and see if it was available for the Kindle. It was and he happily downloaded it.
Soon it was time to leave and I had to drop off the older boys, unpack/unload the car, make dinner, etc.
Lately I'm feeling more and more like I just don't have enough time in the day to do everything I'd like to do. Heck, most of the time I don't even feel like I have enough time in the day to do what I have to do.
I know that's part of life and I try to focus on the here and now; prioritizing what really has to get done and letting the rest slide by the wayside but I do wish I could clone myself at times.
It would be great to have someone to help pick up the slack so I never have to feel like I can't do it all, but I am human and I can't.
I started thinking a lot about that feeling of never getting enough done around the house and realized that more often than not I also let that spill over into our homeschooling. I often think about all the stuff that we don't cover in a day (or a year) and feel like I'm holding my kids back.
I constantly feel the need to do more, to do better, to push them more and teach them more.
Luckily, life often gets in the way and we can't do everything that I have planned or else I'd never get anything else done and the kids would be burnt out and hating homeschooling.
It's hard to let go of all the "should"s or "want to"s and focus on what we did do.
There are many days I'm struck by how much we covered even when I think we just went on a field trip, or just did math and reading; until I scrutinize our day and realize that they're learning even when I'm not purposefully teaching.
We've been to more places than my boys could ever have done if they were in school.
We've delved into topics they wouldn't have even been introduced to yet in schools and we've been able to thoroughly exhaust our curiosity in so many topics that would have been glossed over in school.
I have to stop worrying about all those things I don't have time to do and focus on the time I do have.
Linking Up With:
We had to get our grocery shopping done which is never fun with 3 boys in tow. Lately I just try to get through the trip as quickly as possible and ignore any possible life lessons.
The older two boys brought their color by number books with them in the car. They told me they were working on school work since coloring is part of art. They colored as we listened to more of our book on CD. We're really enjoying The Fast and the Furriest. It's such a silly book and the boys are laughing a lot.
 |
| Alec just started on his new one. |
I really wanted the boys to get some schoolwork done too and I knew that it would most likely require my help.
Somehow we did manage to get it all done but it was a whirlwind of a morning that went something like this:
Once the boys were done eating they headed upstairs to brush teeth and both Alec and Ian stayed in their rooms reading. I have no idea what they were reading but I know they did not want to put their books down today.
Evan wanted to read too but complained that he needed me to help him. I had him drag a chair over to the kitchen counter and sit next to me while I worked and listened to him reading Biscuit and the Lost Teddy Bear. He did amazing and pointed out to me that he had read 29 pages.
By this time the older boys were back downstairs and they both wanted to do math on Khan Academy. I found myself running back and forth from the counter to each of the computers a lot! I set the timer for 20 minutes and they worked somewhat independently.
The computer Ian was using wasn't turning on and so by the time the timer went off he still hadn't done any work. Alec went off to play while Evan brought the computer over the counter and started on his 20 minutes of Khan while I made up a salad for dinner. Ian had his computer up and going and so I again set the timer for 20 minutes.
Evan needed help reading his questions but did a great job on the math part and was happy to watch his points accumulating. Ian still wasn't getting his computer to work well and so once Evan's timer went off Ian came and took over Evan's spot.
We worked together for 20 more minutes completing Ian's math. A few times we had to watch the videos together to jog my memory of the math and later in the day I realized how pointless it is to cover math topics that he'll probably never, ever, need again. Who needs to know that 8/9 x 6 ever equals??
With the schoolwork at least touched upon for the day we started packing up all our gear. My sister lives about an hour away and we were all going to go sledding. I needed everyone's outdoor gear, sleds, and lunches.
I was also going to be dropping the older two boys off at my husband's work at 4:30 for their karate graduations tonight so we also needed all of their karate gear.
I had also cleaned out all of Evan's drawers last week and knew that my nephew could probably use most of those outgrown clothes. It took us a long time to get everything out that we wanted to bring with us. I put each boy in charge of his own clothes, food and gear and asked them to pile everything together in the middle of the living room.
Once we had it all settled I started packing up the car.
We were excited about seeing my sister and her sons and about going sledding. We settled in for a nice long car ride and listened to a lot more of out book on CD. The boys had brought their Kindles in the car and also played Minecraft and various other games while listening to the book. They keep the Kindles on silence and manage to both listen to the story and play games. I know they listen because they often have me stop the story so they interject something or make a prediction. We arrived in what seemed like no time and eagerly headed inside.
The boys all visited for a bit playing with Legos and chasing each other around the house.
After a bit we all geared up and headed to a nearby park for sledding. It was cold but the kids didn't seem to care at all. The hill was busy with lots of kids and the boys dove right in; literally in some cases as they like to run and head first down the hill. My younger nephew and myself went sledding a lot and he was cracking me up by practicing bailing out of the sled. He also wanted to try going down the hill backwards and sideways too. The older boys all tried sledding by holding onto one another's sleds and they all took a turn going off the jump ramp too. We walked home cold, tired, and happy.
 |
 |
| The new sleds go really far on this hard packed snow! |
We warmed up, visited some more and the boys go to try out some new games that their cousins' have. Evan and Ian tried playing Disney Infinity while Alec and my nephew huddled over his Nook playing Powder Game Viewer. Alec was quite taken with watching the various elements interact and react that he decided to go and get his Kindle out of the car and see if it was available for the Kindle. It was and he happily downloaded it.
Soon it was time to leave and I had to drop off the older boys, unpack/unload the car, make dinner, etc.
Lately I'm feeling more and more like I just don't have enough time in the day to do everything I'd like to do. Heck, most of the time I don't even feel like I have enough time in the day to do what I have to do.
I know that's part of life and I try to focus on the here and now; prioritizing what really has to get done and letting the rest slide by the wayside but I do wish I could clone myself at times.
It would be great to have someone to help pick up the slack so I never have to feel like I can't do it all, but I am human and I can't.
I started thinking a lot about that feeling of never getting enough done around the house and realized that more often than not I also let that spill over into our homeschooling. I often think about all the stuff that we don't cover in a day (or a year) and feel like I'm holding my kids back.
I constantly feel the need to do more, to do better, to push them more and teach them more.
Luckily, life often gets in the way and we can't do everything that I have planned or else I'd never get anything else done and the kids would be burnt out and hating homeschooling.
It's hard to let go of all the "should"s or "want to"s and focus on what we did do.
There are many days I'm struck by how much we covered even when I think we just went on a field trip, or just did math and reading; until I scrutinize our day and realize that they're learning even when I'm not purposefully teaching.
We've been to more places than my boys could ever have done if they were in school.
We've delved into topics they wouldn't have even been introduced to yet in schools and we've been able to thoroughly exhaust our curiosity in so many topics that would have been glossed over in school.
I have to stop worrying about all those things I don't have time to do and focus on the time I do have.
Linking Up With:
I always say that it is better when the time passes quickly rather than sitting clock watching twiddling your thumbs #familyfun@_karendennis
ReplyDeleteThat is true! I do hate those days when time just seems to drag.
DeleteI feel the same! Never enough time! But also, just like you, knowing that our boy is experiencing so much more than he would have been if he was at school. I still need to find some better routines for us though... 🙂x
ReplyDelete#FamilyFunLinky
It sure is tough to juggle it all. I find that when we finally find a great routine something changes and we're left scrambling for a new one.
DeleteWow our days are often packed like this. They feel so worthwhile by the end of it. I don't plan on homeschooling and completely admire those that do. I'm making the most of my pre-school years with my kids giving them all I can to thrive. Great post and Thank you for linking up to the #familyfunlinky
ReplyDeleteThey do feel worthwhile by the end; don't they?
Delete