I disappeared for longer than a traditional winter break, huh?
Things are kind of up in the air here. I'm in a period of reevaluation for our homeschooling in the short term.
I now have a 9 month old who has three non-crying states -- attached to Mommy, into anything he can reach, or attached to Mommy AND into everything he can reach. His naps are unpredictable and short. All this to say that sitting down for dedicated school time with Nugget just isn't happening, not even considering the preparation time that goes into it. I'm feeling a fair amount of guilt about it.
So here's what I'm doing:
1. I'm working on telling myself that it's just a season, that soon enough he'll be in a place to spend more one-on-one time with Daddy or to participate without destruction.
2. I'm working on changing my curriculum perspective -- instead of thinking about all those things I think Nugget could handle at this point (landforms, bank game, etc), I'm thinking instead about what things I feel are important for a 3 year old to know. Those are more whole-person things -- playing outside, lots of free time with craft materials, early chapter books, lots of exposure to navigating the adult world (post office, grocery store, etc), and -- of course -- trying my best to patiently answer the endless endless questions.
3. I'm temporarily switching from Montessori lessons to being Montessori-inspired. For instance, the Sensorial materials are away, but I try to incorporate the three-part lesson in daily life.
4. I'm trying out some more pre-packaged curriculum options. I have to fight my nature to tweak and change -- but I need to recognize that an imperfect solution that's easy enough to implement that we actually DO it is better than a perfect one that overwhelms me and we can never use. This week we're trying out Five in a Row. Each day for 5 days you read a classic storybook (we're doing "Owl Moon") and do suggested activities for one of the focus areas -- social studies, language, art, math, science.
Writing all this out makes me feel a bit better. I still feel like a slacker, but I'm pretty convinced that I'm not damaging Nugget for life. :)
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I have a 9 week old and a 3 year old, and I can so relate to this post! I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves as homeschooling-minded moms. It sounds like you have a great approach.
ReplyDeleteWonderful Post! Enjoy your time with Nugget because it just goes so fast and with the baby even faster. I feel like I missed a lot with my son after Bella was born because Bella took so much time. I stayed at home with the kids but just did regular things like you are talking about. No formal schooling. Just playing, life, crafts, playing outside, lots and lots of play dates and reading.
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