I am apologizing for being MIA for the past three months. We’ll see if I can get this blog back up and running.
My first order of business is finding out what other SAHM’s do all week? I have a lot of friends that have their kids in 2-3 days of pre-school or mother’s day out. I also have several friends that have their kids enrolled in music class, ballet class, class that the zoo offers, and they do several play dates a week.
I definitely want my girls to be very well rounded and adjusted kids but I don’t want to overwhelm them at the same time. They are not in pre-school or mother’s day out. Since I taught kindergarten for five years I think I’m pretty good at teaching them the basic skills for kindergarten. Some think I’m crazy for doing this but I love having my girls home with me. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I have talked to some of you about this and it’s reassuring to know that you agree with me. I would love to hear from those that agree or disagree and get your reasoning for either.
Marlie will be starting her first dance class in two weeks! She is very excited about this. She will go once a week for 30 minutes. I definitely think we can both handle this schedule! It will give her the opportunity to be around other girls and listen to directions from someone other then me.
We do play dates as often as we can. Honestly, I love just being at home!! Again, is that crazy? We are so exhausted after days of going out and about that we only do it once or twice a week if at all. We are so blessed to have some wonderful neighbors that are also at home during the week so we only have to walk down the street to play with them or out into our driveway. Love that kind of play date :)
So, what do we do all day? Marlie usually wakes up around 7-7:30 and she and I enjoy breakfast together. We lounge on the couch and watch cartoons until Lyla wakes up around 8:30-9:30. After Lyla gets breakfast we usually head upstairs to the playroom. We play kitchen, farm set, trains, baby dolls, color and craft, do blocks, do puzzles, etc. I usually do a load or two of laundry during this time or clean one of the girls rooms. I am so thankful to have girls that play so well together (for now) and that are very good entertaining themselves. Some days I have a huge “to do list” and usually have no trouble getting it finished because the girls are so good! We eat lunch around noon. After I put Lyla down for her nap Marlie and I do pre-school. We work on letter identification, letter sounds, number identification, writing letters, coloring, and many other pre-k activities. I still have all my kindergarten files and we use those along with some fun workbooks. We usually do a craft of some sort and then she takes a “rest” for 45 minutes to an hour. Sometimes she sleeps but most of the time she plays in her room. Lyla usually naps from 1-4 and then we go outside, as long as it’s not too hot!! We cook dinner and eat when James gets home around 5:45-6. Our nightly routine is to play with James for a little while, take baths, eat snacks while watching sprout, read books, and have the girls in bed no later then 8. I love being at home with my girls!! I thank God every day for allowing me to stay home with them.
What do you do during the day? Would love to hear some feedback from all of you, including the SAHM’s that now have grown kids.
5 comments:
Hey Sarah! I also love being home with the kids =). My friends think I'm crazy (they put their kids in Mothers Day Out when they turned 1 and they didn't understand why I didn't). Emma is going to pre-school 3 days a week for 4 hours each time. I would not have sent her, but she really wanted to go to school, so we decided to send her. She really enjoys her Sun/Wed bible classes so I knew she'd do ok in school. So far she really loves school and she's learning a lot!
Your day sounds lovely! I kind of do the same things, with some work for Bradford Electric mixed in throughout the day--I also feel very blessed to be able to be home with the kids =). We want to do a dance class for Emma, too. I am also afraid of doing too much, so I like your once a week idea. Let us know how it works out =).
I think every household is different, Sarah. Preschool works really well for us (Hannah goes 2 mornings a week for 4 hours), but that definitely doesn't mean it's the best thing for every child. We don't have a lot of other kids her age for her to play with and she is VERY social, so she loves it. You're also great with the beginning learner things and I'm sure have super ideas for them to do at home. It's also been nice for me to have the one on one time with Hope while Hannah's at school and help her with some things that I don't usually get to do. Anyway, I think as a mom you just know what is right for your kids and you go with the instincts God has given you. I'm sure Marlie will love dance class and then you can judge whether that's something to look into more or not, especially when it comes to Layla in the future. Good luck!! :)
thanks, girls for the comments!! i knew there were some out there like me that liked being at home with the kiddos :)
and i completely agree that some kids need pre-school for socialization, etc. it's really hard to get into a "good" pre-school up here and they are so expensive. i also don't want marlie going 4 full days a week and that's what most of the 4 year old classes are like. sad!!
thanks again for the encouraging words!
i completely understand where you are coming from sarah. i literally cried when i signed colton up for preschool last spring and cried when i left him this fall. it is just 3 days a week for 2.5 hours. but, i felt like i had to do it for his sake. boys aren't as excited about school and i felt like he needed extra instruction from someone other than me. i think that marlie will probably be advanced having a mom for a teacher! but, it is weird to me how some people are giddy dropping their kids off. i guess that is where we are all different. wish we lived closer. keep up the good work! ----amanda
thanks for your comment, amanda!!! i wish we lived closer too. i think colt and marlie would be best buddies and of course claire and lyla would be too :) i'm glad to know that we have the same thoughts!! love you!!
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