School Days Term 1

So, an update on the boys at school!  The eldest has had issues with personal organisation.  I got him a binder with 2 pockets, one for things going to school and the other for things coming home.  It has helped a lot to avoid the whole crumpled papers in the bag buried under yesterday's lunch box problem, but he really needs to remember to check the pockets fully when he can't find his homework book. :-(

His desk is also a mess and it seems he may holding up the class at times while he tries to find papers or books for the next lesson.  I suggested a basket similar to what I use at home with books behind a divider and loose papers in front.  His teacher has approved it, although he did express concerns at Jackson being different to everyone else and possibly getting teased.  I had asked Jackson before spending any money if he had more concerns about being teased or about being behind all the time.  He is getting teased anyway for the mess he has his desk in so he figures teasing for being different is worth the risk.  The teacher is going to make space for the basket on his shelf near his desk and will change where Jackson sits so he can get to his books and papers more easily.  Also the teacher joked that at least he will see more of him than just the top of his head all the time as he digs around under his desk looking for books or papers.  :-)

My younger one is doing well in his class I think.  I will be seeing his teacher next week to just chat, see what he is doing.  I think he has surprised her sometimes.  He was asking/telling her about negative numbers the other day and she said that he won't do them until high school.  Well, I tested him and he can do simple addition and subtractions with negative numbers like -2+5 and -5+2.  Hmm, fun!!  I certainly haven't taught them although apparently dh has had a discussion or two with him about them.

I would love to have the boys home again but we are all learning from this experience at the moment.  My teen at home is learning that he Can Do his work if he just focuses, and he will get rewarded.  I am learning from the teachers at school how to occupy kids who finish quickly and how to deal with disorganised students.  I hadn't realised that these issues were part of our problems at home so this has been really helpful.

Otherwise the whole experience has been good.  Expensive, but good!  I would rather spend $300 on books than school uniforms and shoes but that is me (and probably most other homeschool mums!).

Best wishes
Jen

DriGlo towel bites the dust after....

a long time.  

I bought some DriGlo hand towels on a clearance table at Myer 23 years ago.  I am sad to say that today after many years of good use that one of them has torn when I was stretching it out to straighten the decorative stitching section.

These hand towels are still thick and fluffy after 23 years and I am quite happy to know that I got my money's worth all those years ago.

I even emailed the company to say so. 

Best wishes
Jen

Decisions, Responsibility and Burnout

I wonder if part of the reason homeschool mums get burnt out is due to the constant pressure.  I know it isn't huge, but it does take a lot more personal strength to go against the flow of society around us. 

As a homeschool mother I have a lot more freedom but with that freedom also comes more responsibility.  As a homeschool mother I choose what we do each day, I choose how our time is spent for every moment.  There are constant decisions to be made and the occasional overload and stress from all that responsibility that goes with the decisions can drag me under.

We are different to the rest of the population in more ways than how we spend our days.  In a big generalisation a "normal" person doesn't have to make as many decisions as we do.  They choose their job, but their boss chooses their hours, their workplace and the way and materials for doing their job.  And at the end of the day if something goes wrong the boss has to figure out a solution or wear the cost.  This way of living starts in school, where again, all the decisions are premade by others. 

If we fit into the school system well as a child and got trained by it well then we are more used to the concept of not having so many decisions or so much responsibility.  To then become a mother and a homeschooling mother we have to change.  We rebel against the norm and we take responsibility for all the decisions. 

It can be draining, not only because we may find ourselves feeling very isolated but also because we have the same responsibility as a boss for our children.  Only with us the responsibility covers a lot more areas of life and the repercussions of those decisions are ours and our childrens.  We can't hire and fire different employees to help our "business" run better.  We are It. 

Some days I just want someone else to make the decisions.  But by putting my kids in school and maybe getting a part time job I am still making decisions, aren't I?  I still have to decide what is the best way to do things according to my values.

You know what!?  I just want to do a huge dummy spit!  Is it okay for a 40 something year old woman with 4 children to throw a tanty and say I don't wanna?

 
Ahh well, back to the grindstone.

Best wishes
Jen

How to Annoy Your Kids

There are some things that are just fun to do to your kids.  One of mine is to chant in cheerleader fashion the quietest kid's name and dance around too.  He blushes and smiles indulgently at his silly mum.  Another way is to give squeezy hugs. The bad bit there is that they are starting to return them.  :-)

Recently my school kids have been leaving lunches uneaten and don't seem to be even drinking much water while at school.  I have threatened them with a CD of me educating (nagging?) them about all the good things that are in their lunch boxes and why they need to eat them.  I figure I can play it on the way to and from school.

This morning the older of the 2 school going kids checked out if I could really do it.  I proved I could by telling him the process I would use to get my talking onto a CD.  He was a bit concerned.  :-)  Good!

Jo, over at All the Blue Day, posted this link about big family rules in the last few days.  I think this mother could be a mum after my own heart.  Very funny!

I really do think "annoying" our kids is one very good way to release tension yet still have a good laugh.  Creative parenting maybe?!

Best wishes
Jen

Public School Update after Week 5

I am having to learn a whole new language it seems with school.  Even though the kids started back midweek the weeks are counted as 5 even though it was really only 4 and 2 days.

Jack, the almost 11 year old, still doesn't like going to school.  It isn't tears, more just a question asked in a hopeful tone, "Can I be homeschooled again?".  I know this year will be "hard" for him but as long as I see him learning how to cope and not collapsing into a heap of tears or other symptoms of stress, he will be continuing on with this year of school.

His teacher says that he has troubles organising himself and doesn't cope well when he doesn't understand what needs to be done.  I have also noticed that papers tend to get lost in his bag and things missed.  I have purchased a ring binder with two pockets to put in it, one for "Things to go Home" and one for "Things to go to School".  I have also included a calendar for the rest of term and a homework checklist.  I am hoping that by working with his teacher on this that we may be able to help him be more organised.

The teacher has been quite good.  At first I didn't think he would be approachable but he is easy to talk to and we are commiserating together and also talking about solutions.  The other day in the school yard when picking the boys up he commented on some of the troubles that Jack has been having, sounding quite concerned, and I told him that I have bad allergies to grass and have basically been laid out for 2 weeks with infected sinuses.  I said that a bad day at school was better than nothing done at home due to me being sick.  He smiled.  He is an older gentleman, sort of serious most of the time, so that surprised me. 

Harry, the now 8 year old (sob!), is going well.  At least it appears that way.  He gets to talk to me a lot at home, explaining his thought processes.  He doesn't get to do that at school and I wonder if it is making him a little sad.  It is hard to tell as he is a quiet introvert type.  I think I need to catch up with his teacher soon, even if only by email.

I volunteered at the canteen/tuck shop today.  (Why does each state in Australia call it something different?)  I got asked for my Anzac biscuit recipe.  It was busy but I thought I did well.  I will probably never "fit in" but I was like that anyway even before I became a homeschooler.  I just have to be myself.  If I say so myself I am not too hard to get along with, I just don't cope well with big groups.  Apparently they don't "fire" anyone so even if I make mistakes I will still be back for another Friday morning in 2 weeks time.  :-)

Well, off to do my junk mail job.  Photos of the birthday boy to come!  (Yes Mum, I will do it this weekend!)

Best wishes
Jen

Sinus Update

So, I ran out of those pills for my sinuses, and I am now taking them again.  But while I am waiting for them to take effect I am paying attention to my allergy symptoms more.

The other day after a day of fogginess and a sharp headache that didn't let me move far I had finally gotten the headache down to a slight dull ache in the top of my headache.  I was ready to get moving again when we had a short light shower of rain.  Not much, hardly enough to wet the car or the grass, but it was enough of a change in humidity for all the recently mown lawns to react in some way.  In the space of five minutes I went from feeling fairly normal, able to breathe, move and see to blocked sinuses, gasping for breath, a splitting headache and puffed up eyes streaming with tears.

I get it now!  If that is the severity of reaction to grass allergies that I have been living with for the past 15-20 years then it is no wonder that days have passed in a fog with nothing worthwhile done.

This year I will be working on my health.  It seems to have been the biggest factor in my "failure" to do the things I have wanted to do.  At least I am partway to a solution with these pills.

Best wishes
Jen

Factors in Failure for Me

I have been thinking (or overthinking as some would call it) about the past 10 years of not doing as much as I would like.

It seems to me that there have been 3 major factors to blame. 

1. Grass allergies - more serious than I had thought.  I hadn't realised until this last week just how often I have been sick and/or tired due to the symptoms of my grass allergies.  About a week ago I ran out of some herbal allergy tablets I had been taking.  As the budget was a little tight I didn't replace them immediately.  I have now got one doozy of a sinus headache and probably an infection as I have had a fever too.  My eldest tells me I was tired and "duh" a lot before so that can explain a lot of missed opportunities.
2.  Irregular habits - I am not the best at going to bed at a set time each night or getting up at the same time each day.  After tracking my sleep times on an Android app called SleepBot I have also realised I would be lucky to make 7 hours sleep a night (and that doesn't take into account all those years of baby interruptions as well).  Meal times are also a bit wobbly depending on how I feel (see above) or what I choose to cook.  I think that having this framework to my day would have helped me to be healthier and less tired and to be able to place other actions in "their time slot".
3. Guilt - On the good days in between the bad days caused by the above factors I would have guilt overload from all the things I felt behind on.  I could get some work done when I wasn't sick and/or tired but I couldn't ever feel like I was even reasonably close to "caught up".

 So, I am not a person to wallow in the problem once I am aware of it.  My solutions are to never, ever, never run out of my herbal allergy pills again and I am going to set myself a bedtime and wake time like I had as a child and stick to them. 

Hopefully the guilt will ease as I am able to function better and I will get things done, with better expectations of what "caught up" means to me.

Best wishes
Jen