Today we answer a listener’s letter. An excerpt::
My kids craft. All. The. Time. They wake and craft. Hot glue and paper scraps everywhere. Markers and lost lids everywhere. Cardboard everywhere. Currently they’re making some kind of escape room with string strung everywhere like a spider's web.
I let them be and I read aloud for an hour or so, so that our morning starts fun. But then I can’t stop them. And the energy it takes me to try and get them to clean up and then refocus on some math or whatever drains me before I can even begin. I do short (no busywork) lessons but even that they balk at because they just wanna do their own thing that they are on a roll with. And they are ALWAYS on a roll!!
The mess stresses me out…I wonder if you have any caring ideas for the frazzled mom. I wish I loved artsy chaos. I am not my best self in it. I’m exhausted with the struggle of trying to keep some order and also do the lessons we need to do.
We’ve all been there: Trying to wrangle wild, messy children away from what they’re engrossed in and towards a small lesson or two that needs to be done. It can become a daily grind that frazzles and exhausts you, maybe even making you doubt yourself. Today we open the listener mailbag and respond to “Molly,” a mom who is experiencing this and looking for ideas to unfrazzle her life.
First, we talk big picture: Your needs as a mother matter. While you’re finding the balance between letting the children engage in curiosity-based learning and making sure they’re doing what they need to do in order to keep future doors open, don’t forget your own needs for a functional home and life. You matter.
Then we get into specifics. We go over tactics to manage physical space and materials. We cover how to plan and execute activity transitions. We discuss how to communicate, verbally and nonverbally, in order to help your children adjust to changes.
While it’s natural to feel frazzled sometimes, you shouldn’t have to live in a constant state of frazzlement. We hope our conversation today helps “Molly” and all the other homeschooling families out there.
Resources:
Connect with Julie:
Connect with Melissa:
Produced by NOVA Media
83. (S5E8) Cultivating Connection in a Large Family | with Jardel Manalo
82. (S5E7) Finding Balance in High School | with Karen Goldstein
81. (S5E6) Community is Self-Care | with Jennifer Hunter
80. (S5E5) When Learning Isn’t Fun | with Anne Trott
79. (S5E4) Checklist Lovers: Planning From Behind | with Jennifer Vetter
78. (S5E3) What About Technology? | with Lindsay McCarthy
77. (S5E2) Growing a Mind & Cultivating Curiosity | with Christa Gregg
76. (S5E1) Embracing Elements of Home | with Tammy Kim
75. (S4E32) The Same Page | with MacKenzie Koppa
73. (S4E31) Homeschooling High School: Real Talk about Teens, Writing, Wonder, and Weirdness
72. (S4E30) Making Money as a Parent & Homeschooler
71. (S4E29) How to Be Your Child's Partner in Writing
70. (S4E28) 6 Writing Myths Busted!
69. (S4E27) Modern Miss Mason | with Leah Boden
68. (S4E26) Breaking the Cycle of Homeschool Despair: Don’t Let ‘What if...’ Get You Off Track
67. (S4E25) Learning How to Learn | with Barbara Oakley
66. (S4E24) Unschool Undefined (& Other Home Education Philosophies)
65. (S4E23) The Top 10 Things to Have Done by the End of High School
64. (S4E22) Exploring Learning Differences: ADD, ADHD, Dysgraphia, Autism, Dyslexia
63. (S4E21) Are you one big happy family? Homeschool advice for the frazzled!
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Navigating Life After 40
Teaching Learning Leading K-12
Regenerative Skills
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast