The One Minute Mother

Summer has started!

I have been looking forward to summer this year. About 2-3 weeks ago Samantha and Jacob had to come home early from school (they had fevers and stomach aches). I thought it was gong to be a long afternoon, but it was such a relaxing day everyone playing together and as I sat reading a book I remember thinking “this is how our summer will be.” I guess I didn’t take into account the sickness factor.

Life this last week has been anything but peaceful, I would say it was more of a wild ride, but I have survived. Before, my schedule these last few months with the 3 younger boys has been open and flexible. Basically Alex would get a morning nap, we would eat lunch in the middle and then he would get another nap before the older two got home. But I knew that type of routine wouldn’t work for the summer. Specifically Samantha requires a lot more structure. When she gets board I would like to say she follows me like a little lost puppy, but the best animal to describe her as would be a very loud whinny cow. In order to prevent this unpleasant animal from visiting often this summer I set up a fun summer schedule to keep us all busy.

Everyone has adapted well to the new summer schedule except for me. AHHH! The kids are happy, Alex is still napping, everyone is well entertained, we have had lots of friends over, lots of swimming time, the jobs are getting done, Samantha and Jacob are practicing the piano, Samantha is learning the violin, and the twins are trying to read. So what is the problem? Five kids is a lot to juggle. Surprise, surprise, I know. I am just glad Samantha never noticed that we didn’t do the craft time/cooking time that I had penciled in.

In the morning following breakfast we do jobs, then we have what I like to call centers. Jacob has reminded me multiple times that this is not how they did centers in kindergarten, but that is the best name for it. Basically there are 4 different stations, and they are supposed to rotate every 15-20 minutes. Three of the centers are suppose to be independent activities and then one center is a lesson time where I can focus on that child (Jacob piano, Samantha violin, the twins writing/reading). However since some children require a little more attention than others, it hasn’t worked out that way yet.

For example, I put Josh in front of the computer by himself and he just sat there for 15 minutes calling me to come help him. Apparently over the last few months Matthew has dominated the computer when I have let the twins play preschool computer games. Then, I gave Matthew a work page and came back 15 minutes later and he was playing on the floor and only scribbled a little bit on his paper. I was running back and forth and upstairs so much one day that I never found time to spend with Samantha at all, who just did everything independently. Luckily over the week I have worked out the kinks, Josh can at least move the computer mouse now and clicks randomly, I have simplified what is required of the twins, and Jacob gets a little more time at the computer than the others since he thinks he could just stay there all day.

I guess I went a little overboard with the schedule, but most importantly I forgot to schedule in some time for me. I need a good quiet time where I can get things done on the computer, read a book, or just take a nap if I want too. I just assumed I would do all those things during Alexander’s afternoon nap, but I haven’t gotten my stuff done. I went almost three days without checking email, and it was good no bills were due this week. At least there is nothing good on TV so I have used the night time to catch up.
I am always in awe of mom’s who home school, and now that I have tried to implement a curriculum for this summer I have even more respect for moms that make this their job to take on the enormous responsibility of teaching their children exclusively. I haven’t even mentioned my attempts of teaching my kids swimming lessons-- that is another story. I read a book a few months ago called the One-Minute Mother and I took from it that I really need to look into the faces of my children and give them one minute of my time and let them know that I love them and that I want what is best for them.

I know I made this past week sound like chaos and it really was, but I think it was a good. Once things become more routine, it will just flow together. Last summer I was on bed rest before Alex was born, and although I got a lot of scrapbooking done, I wasn’t able to do much for my kids. I still think this is going to be a great summer, even if it hasn’t been as peaceful as what I imagined a few weeks ago. And as a final note, Samantha didn’t say she was bored once this week.