Who has stopped trying to make everything fun?

[5LittleMonkeys]

I want to know that I am not alone.

 

Last year I worked tirelessly trying to make almost everything into a game, project, experience, craft, etc. Just basically trying to make everything fun. The dc had a lot of fun but boy, it took twice as long to get anything done. However, by the end of the year the dc (especially the two oldest) started asking to skip the fun and just get to the meat of the lesson. I was tired of the idea that I had to make everything fun in order to get them to enjoy it. I started wondering what was wrong with requiring that they learn certain information so that they don't become ignorant adults even if they don't enjoy it.

 

So, this year I told them at our first meeting that we (especially the older two) were not going to be doing very many history or science projects, and that I was going to be limiting the amount of fun stuff (games, crafts etc.) that I tied to different subjects. They were absolutely fine with it. I was relieved. Even dd7 was fine with not doing as many history projects. She said they took too much time and that they cut into her play time. :tongue_smilie:

Well, we are 9 weeks into our new school year and I have to say it has been nice not having to worry about the fun factor. I still try to instill a little fun into the little ones lessons. Such as writing on the windows, mirrors, doing a few flashcard games, silly songs, etc. But no major projects and pre-planning games and experiences to go with the lessons.

So far we have only done one science project and were really able to spend more time on it because we didn't have another project looming on the calendar. The only history project we started was making an illumination and only my artist finished hers. Everyone else lost interest.

 

So, who else has started out like I did and has come to the realization that sometimes less is more and has given up on the idea that all learning has to be fun. I guess I'm just looking for some company in my new opinions because although this way is so much easier I can't help feeling that maybe I'm causing my dc to miss out on something.

[snickelfritz]

I prefer to do school quick and dirty and let them go do fun stuff the way they want.

 

We do some hands on things (right start math games, science experiments) but they would rather paint the way they wanted than to paint a paper plate fish because they are learning the letter f.

[dhudson]

I'm pretty sure I never tried to make everything fun - too much work!:001_smile: I do try to make one thing fun a day whether it's answering history questions and getting m&m's for correct answers or doing a fun art project or running around while chanting latin.

[Verity]

My kids really want to just get through school for the most part. They do enjoy a good science project but the rest is just something in the way to their playing. For the most part we do the minimum of history related crafts/games - maybe a coloring sheet (for the younger) and the occasional drawing (for the older) and when we do a game it will not be necessarily directly related to schoolwork.

 

One of the benefits that they both see to homeschooling is getting done earlier in the day and no homework so that they can play with each other, read books they choose and so forth. I like to keep it simple too, this frees up more time for the things that I need and want to do. But I do try for lightheartedness during the lessons when I can.

[....]

We do a lot of CLE and that is no where near the definition of fun...:glare:

[Hedgehog]

Quite honestly.. about a year ago when we started the classical method!

 

I actually think it's just as important for a child to have time for self-directed play as it is for them to do "fun projects". My dc don't always think the projects and activities that I plan for them are fun anyway, so I'm apt to give them some options and let them choose. Sometimes they don't want to do them, that's fine. Other times something catches their interest, and they run with it. I'm very hands off when it comes to my kids doing activities. My everlasting memory of any kind of creativity at home was of my parents directing it and ending up doing it for me :001_huh: because my efforts were too messy/didn't look like what it was supposed to/took too long etc.

 

I really don't think your dc are going to miss out on anything, provided they have the opportunity to play freely and also to do activities and projects if they want to. Besides, it rather sounds like your dc were quite happy with your new ideas anyway!

[MaMa2005]

I am the sit down and get it done gal. We have a lot of curriculum to get through and fun and games just does not get it done. DS takes enrichment classes and has lots of fun during that time so I do not feel bad at all.

[MamaHappy]

LOL, the title of your thread made me laugh for some reason. :) To answer your question, I'm not there yet, but it's coming....oh, is it ever coming......

[KrissiK]

"Fun" is never fun for us. Fun is... me ending up getting mad at DS1 because he gets all worked up and startes hitting his brother and then brother whines and I send everyone to their room. And then, it's not fun anymore. I try to make school "pleasant and interesting". They have fun outside when school is out. Actually, we like school much better when it's not fun.

[Guest]

Kids are very different in the intensity and amount of their desire for fun; I think it peaks in the early elementary years. In the later elementary and junior high years I noticed kids at the co-op I taught transitioning between wanting "fun" stuff to wanting learning to be engaging and absorbing -- this can look quite different depending on the kid. Some still thrived with hands-on projects while others were beginning to just want to get through it and go on to other things. Also, doing projects is so different with a larger group of kids (say at a co-op or outside class) than with a few at home; there's a group dynamic that kicks in and makes the whole experience different -- not better or worse, but merely different.

[regentrude]

My kids are absolutely not interested in any of the so-called "hands on " stuff. They do not wish to make cell models from jello and candy, mummify chickens, create models of castles, do experiments. If I suggest anything along those lines they groan and ask: "Can't we read about it in a book?"

 

I was the same way. "Projects" drove me nuts and I found them a waste of time - I'd much rather have read about it to get to the core of the information.

 

I would not say that we are not having fun! DD thinks it is tremendous fun to read Herodotus and Homer or to do geometry. It is absolutely possible to have fun with books!

[patchfire]

"Fun" and "hands-on" and associated words are strictly reserved for after the basic schoolwork is completed. We work hard & we play hard, but rarely do they meet. :)

[robsiew]

How about never started trying in the first place! :seeya: That would be me! Sometimes I look at others' blogs and wish we did more "fun" stuff, but really... it's a lot of work! I am trying to get one history project in every 1-2 weeks this year if I see one that jumps out at me. Also, I'm trying more videos to accent our history/science. Other than that... we're pretty much get-er-dun here! Try not to feel guilty... I have to remember my kids have TONS of fun on their own the rest of the day we aren't doing school! And... the best part is their evenings are free to, what? HAVE FUN because they aren't doing homework!! :D

[robsiew]

Oh ya, gave that up years ago! Welcome to the "No-Fun-Mom's-Club". Your official membership card should be coming in the mail any day now.;) Our motto is "Because I told you to".

 

:rofl::rofl:

 

Can I get mine too?

[poodlemama]

Spent the first year trying to force everyone to have fun! It was no fun! We gave up the illusion of fun 3 years ago and school is much more enjoyable now (and much quicker too) Occasionally we have fun, but mostly it's just get it done!

 

Lindsey

[5LittleMonkeys]

 

I actually think it's just as important for a child to have time for self-directed play as it is for them to do "fun projects".

 

Yes! I need to keep remembering this. Last week my dd11 wrote a play for my dd7 to star in. They have been making props and my oldest even composed something on the piano to go with the play. They are putting on the production this weekend. This week they have set up several crime scenes and dd12 printed out suspect lists, evidence forms, case reports and made files for each crime so they could investigate them. (I think the stuffed horse that's been lurking in the office has been up to some nefarious activities.:tongue_smilie:) They keep popping into the office asking dh all kinds of DNA and crime scene etiquette questions. What they are doing on their own is invaluable.

 

Now, if I had made doing all of that an assignment they would have complained and not wanted to do it!

 

Thanks so far for all of the responses. I feel better.:D

[5LittleMonkeys]

Oh ya, gave that up years ago! Welcome to the "No-Fun-Mom's-Club". Your official membership card should be coming in the mail any day now.;) Our motto is "Because I told you to".

 

Oh Yah! Is the above printed on the card? I could just had them the card...that would save time too!:lol:

[Mommy22alyns]

Me. All that crafting, hands on stuff got very old very fast. :glare:

[Kim in Appalachia]

I had a year, when my now 8 year old was a toddler, where I tried hard to make everything hands on and more fun for my kids. 2 were doing school full time, and I had 1 just starting. It was so stressful. The kids hated every fun thing I tried. Every hands on project brought tears. I couldn't take it. I gave up. I tried again a couple years later with the same result. Now we do our work and get done. The kids want time to play. When the girls were little, it was time to play dress up and play with their dolls. The boys want to set up their playmobile, play Legos, or K'nex.

 

We still read lots of books, they still learn, but I cut out the extras. They didn't want it or need it.

[siloam]

That boat sailed with my 2nd dd. My oldest pretty much loved everything academic. Saved my sanity in the early days, but my 2nd dd is an Eeyore. She is kind hearted, but even at 3 when I asked her if she had a good time at Chuck E Cheese she answered no. :confused1: Why I asked why it wasn't fun she told me because we had to leave. :D I think the younger two caught the attitude from her (vs. hers being nature), well I just gave up a LONG time ago.

 

I do try to tailor things to their needs and learning styles. I don't go out of my way to make it fun.

 

Heather

[Mom0012]

I want to know that I am not alone.

 

Last year I worked tirelessly trying to make almost everything into a game, project, experience, craft, etc. Just basically trying to make everything fun. The dc had a lot of fun but boy, it took twice as long to get anything done. However, by the end of the year the dc (especially the two oldest) started asking to skip the fun and just get to the meat of the lesson. I was tired of the idea that I had to make everything fun in order to get them to enjoy it. I started wondering what was wrong with requiring that they learn certain information so that they don't become ignorant adults even if they don't enjoy it.

 

So, this year I told them at our first meeting that we (especially the older two) were not going to be doing very many history or science projects, and that I was going to be limiting the amount of fun stuff (games, crafts etc.) that I tied to different subjects. They were absolutely fine with it. I was relieved. Even dd7 was fine with not doing as many history projects. She said they took too much time and that they cut into her play time. :tongue_smilie:

Well, we are 9 weeks into our new school year and I have to say it has been nice not having to worry about the fun factor. I still try to instill a little fun into the little ones lessons. Such as writing on the windows, mirrors, doing a few flashcard games, silly songs, etc. But no major projects and pre-planning games and experiences to go with the lessons.

So far we have only done one science project and were really able to spend more time on it because we didn't have another project looming on the calendar. The only history project we started was making an illumination and only my artist finished hers. Everyone else lost interest.

 

So, who else has started out like I did and has come to the realization that sometimes less is more and has given up on the idea that all learning has to be fun. I guess I'm just looking for some company in my new opinions because although this way is so much easier I can't help feeling that maybe I'm causing my dc to miss out on something.

 

I can't say that I was every the fun mom that did tons of crafts, lapbooks, games, etc., but I used to feel guilty about not doing that stuff. I finally came to the realization that if we added in a lot of things like that, my children wouldn't have any free time. The "fun school" will be their free time instead of self-directed play. So, I do a very small amount of fun and then just get the job done for the most part and that works well for us.

 

Lisa

[Snickerdoodle]

How about never started trying in the first place! :seeya: That would be me!

 

Yep.

 

 

I was very cynical as a child whenever some adult came up with a "fun" project. Usually their idea of fun did not match up with my idea of fun. I let my kids make up their own fun projects after the nitty gritty work is done.

[GVD22]

Great thread! I was just thinking about this recently. My kids do like some fun stuff but would rather just get their work done. Projects are a waste of time IMO, unless they want to do them. I never liked having to do a project in school. Blah!

[guateangel]

What a relief! I am so happy to know I am not alone in the 'getterdone' department. My dd would rather get school over with so she can go to the park, ride her bike, nature walk, swim, watch a movie, etc. I do not have a creative bone in my body, so I prefer it this way.

[Jennay]

I just have to say that all of you are making me feel much better about our lack pf projects here at home. They do 99% of them at co-op with somebody else.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I don't know about fun.... I try to keep things interesting, but I don't necessarily think that is the same as fun.

 

There are some things that need to be learned, and there's no getting around it. Phonics practice isn't always fun, and let's face it, it isn't always interesting either... but you have to learn to read. And even more, DD WANTS to learn to read, she just doesn't always want to do the work to get there.

[crazyforlatin]

I'm not into projects and I don't try at all to make any subject fun :lol:. I'm beginning to do a few crafts here and there, but it's not my priority. What DD really wants to do is sit by herself and read or make her own toys using discarded materials, so I try to get all the basics done and let her have as much free time to do what she wants - and apparently that is now reading every book in the series Secrets of the Droon...several times :glare:. Also, not injecting "fun" doesn't mean DD doesn't love learning.

 

That said, I did make her King Narmer's crown because she begged me (I know, I'm a bad teacher - it takes begging around here) and when she wore it to Costco, people looked at us in an odd way. It doesn't look like a "crown," right? I don't think most people know much about Ancient Egypt as I told DD.

[mommyofthree]

Me. I'm just not a crafty, projects type of teacher. I believe in getting to the meat of the work sooner rather than later and so do my kids.

[SamanthaBea]

"Fun" is a relative thing!

 

Fun for my ds is getting his school done as quickly as possible. I promised him at the beginning of the school year that I would do my best to not waste his time. Crafty "fun" lessons tend to take a looooong time to prepare for and complete.

 

The occasional fun video or project is OK. Besides, it's not special if you're doing it all the time!

[Embassy]

Interesting discussion... It is nice to hear a perspective from those who don't use hands-on activities. Learning styles are quite interesting. I can't imagine my children asking to skip hands-on activities to get done with school sooner, but hands-on activities totally fit with their learning style. And it suits my teaching style. I would be so bored teaching if we just did the basics.

[siloam]

Interesting discussion... It is nice to hear a perspective from those who don't use hands-on activities. Learning styles are quite interesting. I can't imagine my children asking to skip hands-on activities to get done with school sooner, but hands-on activities totally fit with their learning style. And it suits my teaching style. I would be so bored teaching if we just did the basics.

 

Agreed!

 

When I say that I don't try to make everything fun, I don't mean we skip hands on, all my kids are hands on learners. Our math program is extremely hands on, my older two dd's science is all hands on (WTM recommendation), and we do more for history...but not a lot for LA.

 

I just don't go out of my way to make cool stuff happen, because it is not appreciated. I can do it the simple way (paper dolls for history, a kit for science) and it will work just as well as pulling together a bunch of stuff that coordinates perfectly and then they really don't care, or they get board with something. :001_huh: Now they drive it, not I.

 

Heather

[Kebo]

I haven't given up on making things fun, but I have given up on trying to force my idea of fun onto my kids.

[Lori D.]

5 Little Monkeys -- you wised up a LOT faster than I did! I persevered with "fun" for the first 7 years of our homeschooling (partly due to a child with LDs, and thought it would help). Finally shelved the fun, went to textbooks with high school, and nobody even seemed to notice. ::sigh::

 

Although, I do have to add that JUST last week (AFTER 3 full years of me not bothering to add "fun" to school and nobody mentioning it), younger DS looked up from a textbook and said, "Gee, I kinda miss doing the games and fun stuff we used to do with school..."

[Lizzie in Ma]

I don't do crafts, glitter gives me hives, and why should I?

We have done occasional projects, occasional field trips and such but I don't believe school is about being "fun" per se.

At 14 and 10, they don't seem scarred for life. :D

[tinkgumby]

I felt too overwhelmed trying to fit everything in, so "fun" was the first to go. My compromise is to have a TON of stuff on hand at all times - craft books and supplies, games, kits, etc. - so that if the kids want to do something, they have many choices. I just don't add it in to our school schedule.

[TKDmom]

I've never tried to make anything fun. Too stressful. I get stressed, then I lose my temper, then no one is having fun. I try to allow them to do fun projects that they see in some of our Usborne books. I am starting to feel like I ought to collect up some of those supplies ahead of time to have on hand. But we only do *fun* if the kids initiate it (and if I take my little ball of stress out of the room...)

[LauraQ]

I quit when mine were about the same ages as yours, honestly. My dd was about 9 and ds was about 7. They had already done lots of little crafty and messy projects for history and science at that point and had kind of gotten it out of their systems and really outgrown most of the project ideas. At that point they still liked science lab work, but I had to limit it to one per week that required me, though they could do goose eggs or other experiments they found on their own as long as it (1) didn't require me and (2) they cleaned up afterwards. They were totally okay with this.

 

They still to this day do NOT like big projects like map work, timelines, etc. I kind of wish they were because I like the idea of them doing these things, but oy vay, you should have seen the near-mutiny last time I pulled out the timeline figures! LOL!

 

You are SO NOT alone in this. I think some kids like crafts and some don't. I still try to make things interesting, but in different ways. For both of them, mostly that means me being in the room (they are both mostly independent now) and discussing things with them, pre-reading most of their books so we can really *discuss* them rather than just do a scripted Q&A session. Now it is more about us relating to one another and not just big messy projects, and that has been a gradual shift in interest over the years. But they both still love most science experiments so even though they both use Apologia science, they also both also use Singapore science for their labs! LOL!

[brijen97]

I've got to be honest...that was never my first thought! How to make it fun. :0) Sometimes work is work and you just have to get it done so you can move on to the good stuff.

[homeschoolally]

Raising hand here!!!!

 

I've been no-nonsense for several years.

 

Now there is more time for free play and I'm less burnt out.

 

I think some of us just aren't cut out for the creative stuff--and it can actually make homeschooling less fun for everyone if you fake being the fun mom you aren't!

 

I'm fun, just not crafty fun. We goof off and laugh, but while doing no-fun schoolwork!

 

It has worked out fine for us.

[LauraQ]

*snicker* reading all these not-fun stories, and have to share one a friend told me years ago. She homeschools all 3 of hers from K-12, but sends them all to pre-school. This SHOCKED me and I asked her why! She said she has white carpet. As in, she wanted them to go away some place with linoleum floors so they could glue, cut, paste, glitter, paint, color, construct and play with mud & water. She looked long and hard for a preschool that was as messy as possible and did NOT teach "reading readiness" nonsense. "Teach them to read? Harumph, that's easy, and I'll do it myself. I just want you to let them be as messy as possible so they'll get it out of their systems because when they come home to MY white-carpet school there will be No More of That!" She loves Dostoyevsky and never would cringe at nuclear physics, but finger paints and glitter leave her shivering and wimpering.

[Corraleno]

I think one reason people burn out on "fun stuff" is because the crafts & activities that come with many packaged curricula are not very meaty or educational, and often are only very tangentially related to what's being learned. So in a sense the activities become "forced play" instead of "fun education." I looked and looked for decent lapbook projects for DD7, but everything I found was so basic and so lame I couldn't bring myself to waste time with it. OTOH, I've put together my own history and science curricula, which rely heavily on documentaries, experiments, and hands-on projects, and they are seriously meaty — no fluff — yet still very engaging and fun.

 

Jackie

[5LittleMonkeys]

 

I think some of us just aren't cut out for the creative stuff--and it can actually make homeschooling less fun for everyone if you fake being the fun mom you aren't!

 

 

That's part of the sad part for me...I am extremely creative. I love to paint and draw and do crafts. Just not for school anymore because I'm just met with too much resistance. My oldest hates anything that resembles a craft project in fact she gets cranky when I ask her to color a map. My other dd is extremely artistic but not within the confines of schoolwork. She hasn't learned yet how to mesh the two.

 

*snicker* reading all these not-fun stories, and have to share one a friend told me years ago. She homeschools all 3 of hers from K-12, but sends them all to pre-school. This SHOCKED me and I asked her why! She said she has white carpet. As in, she wanted them to go away some place with linoleum floors so they could glue, cut, paste, glitter, paint, color, construct and play with mud & water. She looked long and hard for a preschool that was as messy as possible and did NOT teach "reading readiness" nonsense. "Teach them to read? Harumph, that's easy, and I'll do it myself. I just want you to let them be as messy as possible so they'll get it out of their systems because when they come home to MY white-carpet school there will be No More of That!" She loves Dostoyevsky and never would cringe at nuclear physics, but finger paints and glitter leave her shivering and wimpering.

 

HEE HEE. That is funny. My oldest told me a few years ago that she was allergic to crayons.:lol:

 

I think one reason people burn out on "fun stuff" is because the crafts & activities that come with many packaged curricula are not very meaty or educational, and often are only very tangentially related to what's being learned. So in a sense the activities become "forced play" instead of "fun education." I looked and looked for decent lapbook projects for DD7, but everything I found was so basic and so lame I couldn't bring myself to waste time with it. OTOH, I've put together my own history and science curricula, which rely heavily on documentaries, experiments, and hands-on projects, and they are seriously meaty — no fluff — yet still very engaging and fun.

 

Jackie

 

I completely agree with the bolded above. We have lots of real art supplies, oils, pastels, acrylics, handmade papers, canvases, several types of clay, etc. So yeah, most of the stuff that comes with curricula is not very exciting to us. I have always come up with my own projects too but I guess my brain is just tired. Once my 20 month old started walking and my ds4 decided he wanted to learn how to read, my creative juices kind of dried up when it comes to linking creativity with school. I still paint and draw for relaxation, we still have "art" every Monday and we do a lot of artsy things in our free time so I still get my artistic fix.:001_smile: It's mostly the games, salt maps, paper mache whatevers, and school related what not that I'm tired of. The mummified chicken was a blast but I don't want to do another one for a loooonnnngggg time. Ds4 may have to get that one on his second time through the history rotation.;)

 

Okay, I just re-read that and it sounds completely contradictory. We (most of us) love artistic endeavors...just not related to school. Does that make sense to anyone else?

[m0mmaBuck]

Yes and no.

 

I try to use Math War and similar games a few times/wk instead of flash cards every day. He still has to spit out the facts, but it seems a bit less torturous to him.

 

I added Draw Write Now to our penmanship program to try to get him to focus more on control and fine motor skills in an attempt to approve his horrid handwriting.

 

Science and history I am making him do more reading and he is not happy about that.

[Guest]

I think one reason people burn out on "fun stuff" is because the crafts & activities that come with many packaged curricula are not very meaty or educational, and often are only very tangentially related to what's being learned. So in a sense the activities become "forced play" instead of "fun education."

Jackie

 

I've found it interesting reading through the responses to note how many people equate school "fun" with arts and crafts. For us, as for Jackie, that was not the operating definition. I think "engaging" is a better word for what so many of us are looking for -- ways to make learning meaningful, not something just to be gotten through; to foster curiosity and investigation; to move away from textbooks and workbooks; to lessen the separation between what constitutes school and a way of living that includes intellectual curiosity and play and work throughout the day.

 

Shifting the focus from "fun" to "engagement" or even intellectual excitement would perhaps allow us to think in larger terms than arts and crafts projects, opening up the possibilities of even elementary-aged kids interviewing people, designing, drawing, building, exploring, performing -- the kinds of things that kids themselves say they would love to be able to do in John Goodlad's classic A Place Called School.

 

This won't suit everybody, of course; but it would take the pressure off many people who feel responsible for creating fun. Engagement, on the other hand, requires set-up, but then the kids are the ones who are responsible after that.

Edited September 10, 2010 by Guest

[WishboneDawn]

I think the idea of fun in learning i sometimes a little skewed. My son and I sit down for Singapore math and Dancing Bears and we manage to have fun with it. Same with my daughter and her math, French, spelling etc. And it's all very traditional, sit-down, workbook stuff. We discuss what we're doing, go off on the odd tangent, sometimes do stuff orally or on the whiteboard instead of in the workbook but nothing radical and we generally end in a good mood with a smile on our faces. There's fun in the intellectual challenge of that kind of work, not just in the big art projects and such.

 

Took me awhile to appreciate it being the formal radical unschooler that I am but now there are lots of days Catherine and I can't wait to crack the Singapore text or Harry is laughing through a phonics lessons.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I never enjoyed projects or crafts or lapbook like work so it never occurred to me that my kids would like it either. We do have fun after school hiking,swimming, playing games or letting my dd do self directed art or ds building legos. I think these are tangentially educational but are not directly school work. In that I'm all about efficiency.

[mamalbh]

I prefer to do school quick and dirty and let them go do fun stuff the way they want.

 

We do some hands on things (right start math games, science experiments) but they would rather paint the way they wanted than to paint a paper plate fish because they are learning the letter f.

 

This is EXACTLY how my girls are - I've tried adding in 'fun stuff' and it irritates them that I'm taking away their time to do THEIR fun stuff. So, we do school 'quick & dirty' too :-)

[Hockey Mom]

We really only have one fun topic a day - Story of the World. Everything else is mainly worksheets. Which is why I decided to add SOTW to begin with. :) My boys are still so young, that if I didn't have at least one fun subject for them to do, I think I would feel guilty - like maybe they were missing out on something that their ps peers would be doing. I don't know if that makes sense or not.

[bbrandonsmom]

Well, ds is only 5.5 so I try to make it sort of fun. I keep telling myself he would be in K if we did regular school, and wouldn't be doing what I'm teaching. On the other hand, he wouldn't have much "play" time either, sadly. And I honestly feel like he would change-a lot.

I do math first thing. Ds has been asking me almost as soon as he gets up if he can do it, and I tell him he has to eat breakfast first. Unless he gets involved w/ his brother doing something, he'll ask every so often if it's time for school yet.

He loves writing/spelling, only because he's writing something in his little notebook any chance he gets basically. I look at it and there's a bunch of words, letters, pictures etc.

He loves to read, so to make history and science (not so much fun yet) more fun, I get books from the library that are more story and fun. And that ds2 might listen to as well.

 

I try to get it all done by 10:30/11 so then we have the rest of the day to do what ever.

[DarlaS]

I don't try to make anything fun ever--but they find plenty of fun in their day anyway. There is no effort from me required.

 

(I have four kids and TWO of them are my class clowns. I dare not add any more "fun" in there or it would be TOTAL mayhem.:tongue_smilie:)