Thursday Morning

Thursday Morning

Like most homeschooling mums I often worry that we are not doing ‘enough’.  Our work can come in fits and starts, often at odd times of the day, and certainly doesn’t fit anything that would be recognisable in a school room setting.  Is it possible that we are really achieving?

To add to the worry I’ve decided to pull Neirin out of preschool for a month.  There is nothing wrong with the school or the programme, they are lovely and run a really great programme, but it is a co-operative and so requires a lot of parent support and time.  To put it simply I just don’t have the extra energy right now.  Though it may seem counter intuitive (isn’t it easier without the little one running around causing havoc?) I’m finding right now that getting us to and from preschool, as well as the additional duty days, fund raising activities and extra bits and pieces is a bit too exhausting.

So for the month of April I have two boys in my school room, two different needs to meet.  Whereas Huwyl welcomes quiet reading and long stories, Neirin is in the doing phase, active and, well, a bit pesky.  It will be a challenge to keep all the balls juggling but for right now it feels like what we all need.  Less driving, less in and out of the house and, hopefully, a bit less mummy exhaustion.

But can I give Huwyl enough?  That nagging doubt lingers.  But then I look at some of the photos I’ve snapped of our morning, of all that we’ve fit in between breakfast and lunch and I am reassured.  History, music, art and art history, handwriting, phonics, all of these have been touched upon at some point.  Some for longer than others, but all have been included.

Our day has certainly been different with Neirin in the mix, he is a force of nature not to be ignored!  I’ve been realistic about when we can include him and when we can’t and I think I’ll be orienting our morning more towards activities that can include everyone, leaving our reading for bedtime which Huwyl actually loves.  The one thing I wasn’t willing to compromise on was the All About Spelling lesson, so Neirin had some Starfall and a bit of tv while I worked with Huwyl.  That in itself creates challenges but we are working on it, I’m confident we’ll find our way.

I’m viewing this month as something of a trial run, seeing how it can work with Neirin very fully in the mix.  Can we give Huwyl the 1-1 he needs with a demanding little brother?  Is Neirin going to end up bored and frustrated with my attempts at giving him some ‘preschool’ work to do?  Only time will tell.  I’ve committed to the year with the preschool so he’ll return for May and June; we have family support then so it will be less difficult and hopefully more fun for him too.  But whether he’ll return in September is still up for debate, we’ll see how our time goes over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, he’s definitely livening things up around here,

My own little kitty cat boy.

6 thoughts on “Thursday Morning

  1. Oh that little Neirin is sure some kitty cat boy…I know that ‘naughty’ look, I have the same at home!! 😉
    Just to say, I don’t homeschool but I share some of your questions/concerns, namely, do I/how to give enough attention to (each of) my kids, in relation with their respective needs and demands? It’s tricky, isn’t it, to do some reading/maths or whatever with the eldest, when the younger one(s) is/are frolicking around…And then think, well, did I spend too much time with my oldest cutie pie and how do I squueze time to meet the demands of my younger cuties so that everything’s fair and balanced? Tough life, isn’t it? 😉

    1. Sounds like we are juggling all of the same things! It is a bit of a balancing act but I have to admit the teaching part is the favourite part of my day : )

  2. I did not get to homeschool mine. But I did consider it for a while, and did some reading. I remember one book talked about school kids spend about three hours a day on task. The rest of the time is transport, recess, administrative work by the teacher, lunch, changing classes for the big kids. And you would not believe the number of times a year my kids came home and said “We just watched movies today.” In other words, you will be fine with this. And preschool, well, learning to sit still, be patient, and listen is a HUGE task to master, then the basics of ABCs, numbers, colors. I think the biggest challenge in home schooling would be seeing to the needs of the teacher, so she doesn’t burn out!

    1. I agree with all you said! From my own research and my own teaching experience I know how much time is taken up with ‘admin’, even just getting off coats etc takes a chunk out of lessons. It was a huge shock to me when I first starting teaching how little time there was to teach! There are also many things that would be an issue in the classroom that are not a problem at home, we have a lot more flexibility which I really enjoy. But you are right, trying not to burn out is a big preoccupation for me right now!

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