Part two shed light on one of our goals of homeschooling – family unity. In the midst of ‘doing’ school and life, we want to create stronger bonds, develop a spirit of unity, and magnify our Lord!
As we continue exploring the daily mommy vs teacher battle, notice how the teacher in me is starting to sound a bit repetitive…Yes, I can really be like that!
Battle #3
Teacher – “We can’t sacrifice any of our academics today.”
Mommy – ”We need to be able to develop more life skills
(chores, sewing, cooking, etc.)“
Truce #3
– Schedule 5 or 6 weeks of full school and then have 1 week for special projects like sewing, art, and cooking OR do 4 days of regular school and save one day a week to focus more on these skills.
(above: our 2nd grader taking a turn on the sewing machine
this fall during our first project week!)
– Establish a plan for daily and weekly chores, making sure to include meal preparation and clean up. We have attempted a couple different ways to implement chores – and often start strong. However, our chores always seem to gradually disappear from our radar as academics take full swing. I am taking a stand and we are starting them up again (especially those meal related chores)!
(above: from last school year…our 1st grader, 2 1/2 year old, 3rd grader, and PreK child excited to show off their chore cards!)
(above: what dinner clean up looks like currently
– Hopefully, we can do this consistently!)
– Allow some free time in the afternoons for children to pursue and develop their interests…drawing, painting, hand sewing, etc.
Education is not all about the academics. Children need the opportunity to develop skills that they will have to utilize the rest of their lives! Skills such as laundry, cooking, vacuuming, cleaning, organizing, sewing, etc. will be invaluable to the children as they grow into mature young adults. In the process, they learn the value of hard work, responsibility, being a contributing member of the family, and diligence.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. (Colossians 3: 23)
How do you incorporate life skill learning into your day?
Have you missed any parts of this series?
The Daily Mommy vs Teacher Battle
Part 1 ~ outside time
Part 2 ~ strengthening relationships
Part 3 ~ life skills (current post)
Part 4 ~ including the younger children
Part 5 ~ persevering
I’m really enjoying this series of posts! Thank you so much for what you’re sharing here.
I’m currently homeschooling my 5.5-year-old son (first grade) and 2.5-year-old daughter (a dabbling of pre-K 2’s and 3’s from your wonderful site). We have a 6-week-old daughter, too; and we just moved to a new town for my husband’s first job after finishing his General Surgery residency – so I’m still unpacking boxes, as well!
I’ve been feeling worn down, and just the other night had a tearful conversation with my husband about how I feel like I’m letting EVERYONE down. All my roles seem to be conflicting right now, instead of working together. We took about 7 weeks off from schoolwork surrounding the baby’s birth, but it felt like it was time to get back into it. So I’m schooling – but I’m more focused on my 1st grader’s academics, which means that my unoccupied 2 year old is getting.into.everything! The baby is, so far, one of those blissful newborns who sleeps well and nurses happily, so at least I feel like I’m meeting all her needs. But the laundry and housework are suffering…. so Wednesday morning I woke up and “just couldn’t take it anymore” – and tackled the house. But 4:00 pm rolled around and I had never gotten around to cracking a single book with my son! :(
I’m trying to remember that this phase I’m in is a VERY particularly tough phase, adapting to life with our third baby, having a tornado of a two-year-old, being new in town and missing my support system of friends from our last home. I know that in a year all of this will look different – I’m just not sure how to stay afloat for a whole year!
Wow, sorry for “venting my spleen” here – but again, thanks for the encouragement. Your website(s) are a breath of fresh air to a weary mom like me.
Michelle,
I am so thankful that you have been able to find some encouragement here! Yes, you are in a very challenging season with lots of little ones and a new place to call home – with things still in boxes and (I am assuming from having a 6 week old) not getting much sleep. I would like to encourage you to ease into the academics and to give yourself grace. I know that is easier said than done, since my own teacher side of me screams ‘academics, academics’ and piles on the guilt. However, I think the mommy side of me is starting to see more clearly the bigger picture and the long term goals. We slowed down after the birth of our fifth child and I think it ended up being good not only for me, but also for the older kids as they had more opportunities to bond with the new baby. Actually, we are back to the basics again this year as well due to preparing for missions – and it is OKAY! May you lean on the Lord and seek His strength each day…. “He tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. He gently leads those that have young.” (Isaiah 40:11)
With prayers,
Michelle
Thank you for this series-I enjoyed all the parts. I feel relieved to hear that other moms let the chore stuff slack too. I feel somedays like I have told them so many other things to do that they need to play and I just need to hear nothing for a few minutes. :) But each day is a new day to try again. Thanks for sharing.
Alicia B