Teach Like A Mom

When I had my first baby everyone gave the same advice.  Sleep when the baby sleeps.  Of course I did not listen right away.  She fell asleep, I tried to clean the bottles, empty the diaper genie and take a shower.  It didn't take long before I realized that I had to get some rest.  So the house got messier as I took naps or didn't wash clothes or dishes right away.  Then on the weekends when my husband was home, I'd go on a cleaning marathon.  To be honest I kept up that cycle after I returned to work.  I tried to create systems and schedules that would make it all easier or manageable. And sometimes it worked for a while.  But overtime I still became burned out and cranky! Last year when I decided to leave my job I thought for sure it would be so easy and I'd have lots of time to rest.  Stop laughing.  It didn't take long to find out the truth.  I have plenty to do even without a job.  Again, I made a system and a schedu...

  In our house the kids have to do their homework right away when they return from school.  For my third grader this means reading a few pages and answering about three questions.  For my fifth grader though, this can be an arduous process.  Offering help often adds to the frustration.  So, what can I do?   Nothing. The most helpful thing I can do when it comes to homework is nothing.  Ok, you're thinking I'm crazy or lazy or both.  Hear me out though.  The first thing I do is make sure I give the kids a tasty snack before they begin their homework.  They can eat it all first or nibble while they work.  Then I make sure they are sitting at a table.  Preferably in close proximity.  They start working and I do nothing.  I don't turn on the T. V. , or tidy they house.  I simply say "let me know if you need my help".  Then I sit close by,  looking on (in a not creepy way).   I do ask if they ...

  We've all been there.  The kids have a week off from school and they expect to spend the whole week playing video games and watching shows and Youtube.  That was the dilemma I was facing as Fall Break approached this year.  I knew there was no way to take away their electronics without a fight. I am so tired of fighting that battle.  So I stopped to think, what am I really trying to achieve when I limit or take away screen time from my kids?  Balance.  The simple answer was balance.  It's not that I don't want my kids to use electronics.  I know the value that being technologically savvy will have in their lives.   What I want is for them to balance out how they spend their time.  That means I am not the one planning out every minute of the day.  For me, it also means I don't have to tell them what to do or when to do it.  I've seen blogs about making a list of things they must to do before using their devices....