Do I win Slacker Mom of the Year?

[momto2Cs]

We're definitely not going to finish (this year):

The Lord of the Rings. Heck, we haven't even finished The Hobbit (about halfway through)

or

Any real science or history program

And my house remains perpetually cluttered, a tad on the messy side, at least more so than I would really like.

I obviously need to re-prioritize a bit.

So I have a crazy idea (when don't I?). We're going camping this weekend, just a little jaunt to a nearby favorite park campground, and then when we come back, I am thinking we might:

Do just math, writing, and Hobbit reading every day (okay, 4-5 days a week) for the rest of March

and

spend the rest of "lesson" time getting the house actually organized. And clean. And uncluttered, meaning we've got to get rid of a bunch of stuff still. I have many books, homeschooling and otherwise, that we've never read, filling shelves I could otherwise use. And outgrown clothes that need to be donated. And a garage that needs a real overhaul. Garden beds to be put in. The list goes on, and on, and on..... And we have a sleepover to prepare for.

Then, April and May, and into June, we can hit the books a lot harder, because we'll be organized. (I can hear you saying "in your dreams!")

And I think we'll tackle The Lord of the Rings in the fall. DS and I are sort of drooling over this, (combined with British history) so that would be a good time to do so*. In the meantime, we may work in some of the "extra" books I wanted to tackle with a Tolkien study, books that influenced his writing. I'd also really like to actually finish reading A Little History of the World aloud for a general overview.

We're also working on more structured versus more unstructured plans for fall. With ds hitting high school, we are a wee bit indecisive about fall plans (gee, what a surprise!).

So yes, I am slacker mom extraordinaire. Wish me luck with my plans and hopes!

 

*IF we don't end up doing The Big History Project + lots of additional reading/reflecting

[desertflower]

 we've got to get rid of a bunch of stuff still. I have many books, homeschooling and otherwise, that we've never read, filling shelves I could otherwise use. And outgrown clothes that need to be donated. And a garage that needs a real overhaul. Garden beds to be put in. The list goes on, and on, and on..... And we have a sleepover to prepare for.

 

 

 

You are describing my house!  lol  I wish you were my neighbor, then I wouldn't feel so bad.  Especially my garage! 

It's so embarrassing when we ride bikes or the exterminator comes in and does his yearly thing. 

 

Good luck! 

[Minerva]

Can I recommend listening to the Hobbit on your camping trip (or on your way to your camping trip if listening isn't an option).  My dd had her headphones on, deep into the second book in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and it is hard to get her to return from Middle Earth. 

[Alte Veste Academy]

Is it slacker behavior or time management problems or the clutter or...? Why haven't you finished The Hobbit or science or history? If the problem isn't clutter, spending a month cleaning the house won't solve the problem. Even if clutter is the problem, what will happen when the house gets cluttered again?

 

Anyway, I vote for trudging on, having a meeting with the kids to talk about a new schedule, and then making it happen. And maybe take the weekend (or two or three) after camping to do a major clean/declutter. Or save it for summer. "Perpetually" can go on just a little longer, no? LOL

 

Sometimes it's helpful for me to remind myself I only really have to plan for and focus on tomorrow's work. Think Tortoise and the Hare. And we always get more done when I put on my Employee frame-of-mind and mentally leave the house for school.

[Alte Veste Academy]

My dd had her headphones on, deep into the second book in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and it is hard to get her to return from Middle Earth.

This is right where we are now, but I am reading it aloud. Treebeard did it for me. I couldn't stop reading, even if the kids would have let me!

[Tsuga]

The competition is pretty tough this year. I think you're going to have to actually eliminate math and reading as well, and go straight to paper plates at every meal to even get in the running.

[MrsWeasley]

I read the Lord of the Rings to my oldest as a bedtime book, and I have to say as much as I love the books, as readalouds they were agony. I'm seconding an audiobook for this for helping you get through it.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I'd say press on. Allocate four to five hours for school and make them sacred. Allocate two hours for cleaning and one hour for decluttering or other chores, and make them non-negotiable. That's a "work day" for all your responsibilities, and then you have the evenings and weekends for whatever you want.

 

Just try it. Get up early and have breakfast at 7, then take a walk, pour some coffee, and get to work.

 

8 hours for a good night's sleep

5 hours for school

3 hours for house

 

leaving (24 - 16 = 8) 8 whole hours per day for exercise, cooking and meals, tiddly winks, field trips, and Dr Who watching marathons.

 

You'd exert the same energy whether you organized your work day to include organizing your house, or if you just organized your house, but the former includes educating your children the way you'd like to.

 

 

[Chelli]

Trust me. You come in a distant, far distant, like the other side of the galaxy, from the slacker mom of the year award. Just read the thread I started on the Chat Board. You'll feel much better about yourself.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I just glanced at your blog, which is awesome. No trophy for you this year! My advice still stands, though, because you hit the right word for the problem: BALANCE.

 

We can be in the running for Top 100 Best and Most Fun Homeschoolers of the Year (I'd nominate you) but when we're not getting to the stuff we love because we're distracted by the stuff we either need to finish or scrap, the whole enterprise starts to slide. We get the overwhelms.

 

For me, treating my jobs here (especially hs'ing) as actual jobs (as AVA said upthread) and logging those hours is the only way back to consistent success at the things I want to do. Not the "shoulds" that everybody else wants for me but for my own wishes. Just daily showing up, over and over, until a new groove has been formed.

[Chelli]

I'd say press on. Allocate four to five hours for school and make them sacred. Allocate two hours for cleaning and one hour for decluttering or other chores, and make them non-negotiable. That's a "work day" for all your responsibilities, and then you have the evenings and weekends for whatever you want.

 

Just try it. Get up early and have breakfast at 7, then take a walk, pour some coffee, and get to work.

 

8 hours for a good night's sleep

5 hours for school

3 hours for house

 

leaving (24 - 16 = 8) 8 whole hours per day for exercise, cooking and meals, tiddly winks, field trips, and Dr Who watching marathons.

 

You'd exert the same energy whether you organized your work day to include organizing your house, or if you just organized your house, but the former includes educating your children the way you'd like to.

 

I love the way you broke this down Tibbie.

 

I'm going to use it for myself.

[MomOfABunch]

I'd say press on. Allocate four to five hours for school and make them sacred. Allocate two hours for cleaning and one hour for decluttering or other chores, and make them non-negotiable. That's a "work day" for all your responsibilities, and then you have the evenings and weekends for whatever you want.

 

Just try it. Get up early and have breakfast at 7, then take a walk, pour some coffee, and get to work.

 

8 hours for a good night's sleep

5 hours for school

3 hours for house

 

leaving (24 - 16 = 8) 8 whole hours per day for exercise, cooking and meals, tiddly winks, field trips, and Dr Who watching marathons.

 

You'd exert the same energy whether you organized your work day to include organizing your house, or if you just organized your house, but the former includes educating your children the way you'd like to.

This is great advice. Can you have a chat with my baby about the sleeping part of the schedule?

[Lang Syne Boardie]

This is great advice. Can you have a chat with my baby about the sleeping part of the schedule?

 

LOL! The OP's kids aren't babies. I'd have had something different to say for a household that didn't include just two half grown kids.

 

No, I can't do anything about baby sleep styles, but I can tell you that I did my years of co-sleeping and slingwearing and it really didn't last forever. Even for the one who didn't sleep well, or alone, until he was 3.5 (which is also when he weaned)...he did outgrow it. We just worked around him and forged ahead.

 

I kept my homeschool planner from my youngest's first year of life as a keepsake; sort of a testimony to what homeschool moms do when the baby comes! In case the Smithsonian ever wants to study homeschoolers and what we were like, long after our species is outlawed or extinct.

 

It is splattered with coffee, pages torn out, new plans taped over the old ones I never got to, and covered with scribbles to myself that I can't even read now. It was obviously kept by a crazy person who had a baby on her hip and didn't sleep at all, ever. But the other three boys were educated somehow, every school day. I have proof. LOL

[Chrysalis Academy]

I'm having a kind of a hard time right now too.  This happens to me every spring - my work schedule gets really hectic, the outside is crying out for maintenance and upkeep, the weather is beautiful, and juggling just gets so . . . hard!  Wah!  And this year, I still haven't even thought about doing my taxes yet and the house is falling down around our ears - literally.  Pieces of it are falling off.  Something has got to give, and I am trying *so* hard to not have it be the kids' schoolwork.  Shannon is ok, she can do a day's work on her own, even if it's not ideal, but I don't have a good option for Morgan when I'm not available for her.  Yeah, I can give her a page of math problems and some copywork and assign some flashcards or worksheets, but it's just not the same.  I'm so tired of having another job on top of homeschooling!! I really, really wish this could be my main/only job.  I'm good at it!! When I'm not having to do 12 other things every week, too.

 

Ok, annual pity-party under way, this too shall pass.  But, I can relate to feeling the blahs at the moment!

[MomOfABunch]

I'm having a kind of a hard time right now too. This happens to me every spring - my work schedule gets really hectic, the outside is crying out for maintenance and upkeep, the weather is beautiful, and juggling just gets so . . . hard! Wah! And this year, I still haven't even thought about doing my taxes yet and the house is falling down around our ears - literally. Pieces of it are falling off. Something has got to give, and I am trying *so* hard to not have it be the kids' schoolwork. Shannon is ok, she can do a day's work on her own, even if it's not ideal, but I don't have a good option for Morgan when I'm not available for her. Yeah, I can give her a page of math problems and some copywork and assign some flashcards or worksheets, but it's just not the same. I'm so tired of having another job on top of homeschooling!! I really, really wish this could be my main/only job. I'm good at it!! When I'm not having to do 12 other things every week, too.

 

Ok, annual pity-party under way, this too shall pass. But, I can relate to feeling the blahs at the moment!

This is the story of my life.

[ErinE]

I would continue with all the subjects. At your children's ages, I think it's important to keep up with content as well as skill.

 

I have the same issue with mess and clutter. To give me time to do housework in the afternoon, I have the kids get up and start school by a specific hour. I sit with them as they work on reading, writing, and math. Independent work I leave to the afternoon so I can supervise but not need to sit right next to them.

 

To begin the process, I walked through the house and listed all the projects I wanted to work on, grouped by room. Each morning (or the night before), I pick a task to work on and place it on my daily to-do list. I commit 30 minutes to that decluttering/organization task. I've found that I often end up doing more than 30 minutes of decluttering, but on the days I really don't want to do anything, the idea of only 30 minutes helps me to get through the task.

[Alte Veste Academy]

Can you pay your kids chore money to clean/straighten/organize some of it in the mornings while you are at work? And have them cull and clean their own rooms?

[Five More Minutes]

I'm having a kind of a hard time right now too.  This happens to me every spring - my work schedule gets really hectic, the outside is crying out for maintenance and upkeep, the weather is beautiful, and juggling just gets so . . . hard!  Wah!  And this year, I still haven't even thought about doing my taxes yet and the house is falling down around our ears - literally.  Pieces of it are falling off.  Something has got to give, and I am trying *so* hard to not have it be the kids' schoolwork.  Shannon is ok, she can do a day's work on her own, even if it's not ideal, but I don't have a good option for Morgan when I'm not available for her.  Yeah, I can give her a page of math problems and some copywork and assign some flashcards or worksheets, but it's just not the same.  I'm so tired of having another job on top of homeschooling!! I really, really wish this could be my main/only job.  I'm good at it!! When I'm not having to do 12 other things every week, too.

 

Ok, annual pity-party under way, this too shall pass.  But, I can relate to feeling the blahs at the moment!

 

You just described my life, including the falling-apart house (yes, whole chunks of it) and taxes not started and the busiest time for me with the work that I get paid to do. I was just thinking today how very, very tired I am of having another job apart from homeschooling. Thanks for sharing this -- I feel so much better now, because I'm just a little bit in awe of all that you accomplish with homeschooling!

[Chrysalis Academy]

Even when things get busy/crazy, I can't quite bring myself to abandon all studies.  I try to think about it in terms of seasonal ebbs and flows:  for us, summer is a season filled with extracurriculars - swimming, camps, etc.  Not too much schoolwork happens, but tons of important learning.  The fall, when school starts in town, and the weather is nasty and sweltering, is a good time to hit the books hard.  This usually last until November, when things lighten up a bit due to holidays, etc.  Then, we get another good stretch of work in the dead of winter.  Spring is hopeless, there is too much else going on, we just do the best we can.  Layered on top of the seasonal stuff is the theater season - two months of intense, lengthy practices several times a year, interspersed with periods of no activity.   Load it up when the schedule isn't intense, then relax a bit when the practice schedule gets crazy.  So, it's more about going with the ebbs and flows - of the seasons, of life.  We never totally stop - you never stop learning - but it definitely ebbs and flows.  I'm trying to learn to be patient, and kind to myself, at this time of year when other demands are particularly intense, and to trust that we will make up for it in the seasons when other demands are minimal.  It's true, but hard to trust when you are in the midst of the intensity.

[Chrysalis Academy]

AND!  Earlier this year, we read The Hobbit, and discussed it, and wrote about it.  We started LOTR as a formal study, but it just . . . fizzled.  It became a drag, not an inspiration.  Letting that go, and not feeling like we had to "do" the trilogy, right here right now, was such a good choice for us.  Maybe we'll do it later.  Maybe those books will just be fun pleasure reads.  Maybe we'll read them aloud when little dd is older (she doesn't want to hear them now).  But if something is dragging, maybe it's a message that the time isn't right?  It's ok to let it go for now.

 

Of your either/or choices for next year, I'd pick Big History over the intense LOTR studies - but you already knew that, didn't you?  ;)  :D

[Corraleno]

Well, I'll be the odd man out and say that I think your plan makes sense. Since you're planning to continue math, reading, and writing, really all you're talking about is dropping the "interest-led history and science" for 3 weeks, till the end of the month, while you focus on cleaning and decluttering and getting organized. Your kids are only in middle school, right? Three weeks without history or science isn't going to hurt anyone. I have a hard time dealing with mess and clutter, too, so if I were in your shoes I would take the three weeks, get everything cleaned and organized and decluttered, and then put a system in place to keep it that way. Otherwise it can seem like a kind of Sisyphean task, where you're always trying to push the clutter back but never really getting on top of it. 

[momto2Cs]

The competition is pretty tough this year. I think you're going to have to actually eliminate math and reading as well, and go straight to paper plates at every meal to even get in the running.

 

Trust me. You come in a distant, far distant, like the other side of the galaxy, from the slacker mom of the year award. Just read the thread I started on the Chat Board. You'll feel much better about yourself.

 

Okay, I feel better now.

 

Can you pay your kids chore money to clean/straighten/organize some of it in the mornings while you are at work? And have them cull and clean their own rooms?

 

They are in charge of their own rooms, thankfully, and this week dd12 suddenly decided to completely clean hers! I am in the midst of getting them to do more around the house -- I leave them a list each day when I'm at work that they need to complete before I get home.

 

Well, I'll be the odd man out and say that I think your plan makes sense. Since you're planning to continue math, reading, and writing, really all you're talking about is dropping the "interest-led history and science" for 3 weeks, till the end of the month, while you focus on cleaning and decluttering and getting organized. Your kids are only in middle school, right? Three weeks without history or science isn't going to hurt anyone. I have a hard time dealing with mess and clutter, too, so if I were in your shoes I would take the three weeks, get everything cleaned and organized and decluttered, and then put a system in place to keep it that way. Otherwise it can seem like a kind of Sisyphean task, where you're always trying to push the clutter back but never really getting on top of it. 

 

Thanks. I too feel that since it is temporary, and they'll likely keep on with some of the stuff they are studying anyway, I could back off for a few weeks, and just focus primarily on getting organized. I have what I think is a good plan ready to go, as far as maintenance, I just need to declutter to get there! Thankfully our house isn't dirty or anything like that, just disorganized. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

Even when things get busy/crazy, I can't quite bring myself to abandon all studies.  I try to think about it in terms of seasonal ebbs and flows:  for us, summer is a season filled with extracurriculars - swimming, camps, etc.  Not too much schoolwork happens, but tons of important learning.  The fall, when school starts in town, and the weather is nasty and sweltering, is a good time to hit the books hard.  This usually last until November, when things lighten up a bit due to holidays, etc.  Then, we get another good stretch of work in the dead of winter.  Spring is hopeless, there is too much else going on, we just do the best we can.  Layered on top of the seasonal stuff is the theater season - two months of intense, lengthy practices several times a year, interspersed with periods of no activity.   Load it up when the schedule isn't intense, then relax a bit when the practice schedule gets crazy.  So, it's more about going with the ebbs and flows - of the seasons, of life.  We never totally stop - you never stop learning - but it definitely ebbs and flows.  I'm trying to learn to be patient, and kind to myself, at this time of year when other demands are particularly intense, and to trust that we will make up for it in the seasons when other demands are minimal.  It's true, but hard to trust when you are in the midst of the intensity.

 

And yes, I can see an ebb and flow. I need to keep that in mind! Like you, we just have a lot going on now, and so it could stand to lighten up for a couple of weeks or so, and then we can dive back in.

[Lecka]

I read The Hobbit to my oldest son for bedtime reading this school year.  I just read it -- that is all.  

 

My younger daughter I do not read to as much as I should.  I read to her 10 minutes on all kinds of nights, thinking I should read to her more, and then read to my son for 30+ minutes.  It is not the best.  

 

They are 3.5 years apart, but she does not listen along with his books yet.  

 

Just to encourage -- The Hobbit is really not too long -- you can do it -- at least you can read it.  It seems longer than it is.  

 

I am not tackling the rest of the Lord of the Rings for read-alouds, though.