I'm having a bad, bad day!

I wasn't looking forward to this.... the bad day.....

It really can come at almost any time.

I think I have narrowed down the three types of bad days.... the ones that you bring on yourself, the ones that happen to you, and the ones that involve someone else.

The ones that are brought on yourself are ones that include misbehavior, and well.... stupidity.

We have had a couple of these. There was talking in class. It kills my kids.... they are talkers! {they are their mother's child...} They are learning. But we have had bad days because of things that they have done. So far nothing to bad other than normal little kid stuff but I still like to try to end it quickly. We have talked about being respectful to teachers, and listening to others that are in charge. We have talked about attitude and how to not rub people the wrong way, and about proper tone in a voice when talking to people who are in charge. So far things have been small and only a little reprimanding has been needed. I hope that is as far as it goes.

Then you have the one that happen to you.... You dropped your sandwich on the floor, you were running and tripped and everyone saw, you studied so hard and still didn't do well on a test.

These ones are a little harder. There really isn't anything you can change. More than just 'pay more attention' For the boys I try to be a sounding board. There really isn't anything that needs to be fixed, they just need someone to listen to them, and be on their side. So I sit and I listen. I offer an opinion or suggestion when asked, and I usually try to follow these with a treat. On days like this I'm pretty sure a chocolate cookie will fix everything. If not I turn up the music and we have a dance party. That really is one way to get the boys to smile and laugh!

Then the hard one. The ones that involve someone else. With someone else being mean to your child.

So far we haven't had anything like this happen. So far the boys are making friends and loving school. But I worry for this day. I'm sure the Mama Bear in me will want to hunt the kid down that hurt my child and fix the problem. But well... we all know I won't. So again.... I think the best thing is being there to listen. Listen and to be on your child's side. Ask them what should be done and take their lead. Give them ways to feel empowered. Let them know they are loved. {and point out people who are not directly in the family.... because we all know that "my brothers are suppose to love me"} Check in often. I feel sometimes as a parent I want to fix what ever problem is going on and get past that. But I am learning that I need t step back and let the boys talk through the problem they are having and let them come up with solutions.  Sometimes when they say something I will repeat back to them what they have said and I get the look as "well that's clearly not going to work" {usually it involves a sword and some ninja skills they don't have} and then they are able to think it through again rationally.

Disclaimer:
Now please remember that my boys are young and do not have access to social media and right now their problems are small ones that are easy to work out. If your child is having a problem with bullies either in real life or online, go with your gut. You know what is best for your child, and while we may want to see them handle their own problems sometimes they get out of hand to quickly. Involve the police if necessary and even if it makes you and your child "uncool" never apologies for keeping your child safe!!

What are some ways you handle bad days???

No Preschool here

Here is B. He is 3 years old now. He is finally potty trained {at least enough to trust him in public}. He talks well, loves to play, can tell you all about dinosaurs, can count to "train" {I'm, serious.... 1,2,3,4,5,6, train...} loves to sing, and will sit and let you read books to him all day long.

He also is NOT in preschool.

He won't go to preschool.

I .....personally.... don't think it is necessary.

When my older two were 3 and 4 years old I put them into preschool. Honestly it was because everyone else said I should... they need to be socialized they said.... they need to know how to spell their name they said.... they need to get along with other kids they said.

So I did.

Now they are fine, and great kids so I don't have anything against preschool. I'm not here to bash the preschool program at all, I think the teachers are great and probably the best out there... I' mean really....15 three year olds is a lot to handle.

But the kids are THREE!! ... technically they don't have to even be registered fro school until 5 {or 6 in some states}

Why does society think that need to be in a school setting at three??

After taking a step back {and having a few years of homeschooling under me} I have realized a few things.

If you take your kid out of the house, at all.... to church... to the store... to a restaurant.... to the park.... they are being socialized. They are learning to deal with other people, they are learning what is acceptable in public, and they are learning manners as they mimic you and what you do.

Three year olds should be able to have the freedom to sleep in, run in the yard in there undies, make a mess with the crayons, paint, mud, and flour. They should have the freedom to explore the world in a way that they are comfortable with, without being forced to share that freedom with others if they are not ready.

Even "independent" and "social" three year olds can find what they need from a trip to the park.

If you are prepping them for preschool, of course they are going to seem ready. And they will most likely even enjoy it and want to go. But again they are three.

That child was a tiny infant just a mere three years ago, and was totally dependent on you for everything.

I'm pretty sure that if you wanted to you could carve out an hour of time and play some games and read some books and count some cars... dinosaurs... dolls... that you can do all that is needed to get them ready for school when the time comes with out having gone to a  formal preschool.

Spend the time with your three year old in your arms rather than rushing them out of the house and into a school... pretty soon that is where they will be and you can't get that time back.




{Little T never went to preschool. He played at my feet while I taught the others and most of the time he was building train tracks or playing in the dirt.... he started reading at 4 and writing sentences at 5 and now he is ahead a grade in reading and math in school}

Little Morning Reminders

We are working on mornings.... for the past 4 year I've let the boys sleep as long as they need... minus the occasional random day that we need to be somewhere or it's pushing 10:00 and they need to get moving....

With school starting they now have to get up... there is no sleeping in. So far the mornings have been pretty smooth. I get them up with plenty of time to do the things that need to be done, and even a little snuggle for each of them in the morning before they roll out of bed.

I would love to say that they boys remember every thing I ask them to do, but alas.... they are 9,8,6. And remembering is not their strongest suit....

So I made some reminders and other things to help our mornings.

I printed and then laminated a sign for each of the doors. The first is a reminder of what I want them to do first. I really think that the best way to start the day is with prayer. Talking to the Lord and asking him for help and guidance through out the day is a habit that I want them to get into.

Then it's just a quick run through of what else there is.

Are my kids the only ones that think that if nobody says to make the bed that it doesn't have to be made??? I've covered my bases here!

Here is something that I thought of one night.... The boys will get up in the morning and raid the cereal... and while I love that they are independent enough to manage by them self.... I also don't want them to have cereal every morning.... we go through it way to fast!

So... again with the laminating.... I have a "Today's Breakfast" sheet. I can use a dry erase marker and put what's on the menu for that day. It forces me to get up, and make them something... and they are not left wondering what is going on for breakfast... it's right there.

Also, I put a quote and a scripture on it. So while they are sitting and eating they are reading something worthwhile.

This quote is my Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley and it says.... "The Lord as mandated that his people get all the education they can. He has been very clear about this.... And I say unto you young men, rise up and discipline yourselves to take advantage of educational opportunities"

I haven't yet decided how often I'll change the quote and scripture.

And then lastly.... scripture reading. Sometimes the scriptures can be a daunting task to undertake. There are a lot of words and a lot of pages. Even for me I have to go back and reread a verse because I have no idea what it meant, or the what the lesson was.

I found over at The School of Abraham a great scripture help! This is what the boys have been using to read for about a year now. Everything is broken down so it's easy to read. Rather than read a whole chapter it breaks the scripture stories down to just verses.

The one pictured is for the Book of Mormon, but they also have the Old and New Testaments.

So when reading about Noah and the animals.... it's broken down and you just read the couple of verses of him actually gathering the animals.

It has a overview about what the reading is and then the verses.... I don't think any section is longer that 20 verses. This is nice in the morning because I know they are reading their scriptures but not feeling like they had to read a lot to get to the part they understand.

What are parts of your morning schedule??

Is scripture study important for you to have your children do in the morning?

Savvy School Days

I have a friend who has a blog that is 365 Days of Happy Homeschooling. {and her sister in law has a blog that is 365 Days of Positive Parenting}

Well, I use to be a homeschooler.... {maybe I will again someday} but for now the boys are in school and I am working on embracing this new stage in my life. Sometimes I'm not sure where the Lord will lead me but I know that I need to follow him, I do.... and I do my best.

So I though I would start 365 Days of Savvy Schooling.

Now I know that kids are not in school for 365 days, but we should be teaching them every day, sometimes they are at a "brick and mortar" school and the rest of the time they are being taught by us... or we are thinking about them going to school.

I will give ideas and helps to make the school days run smoother, and when the kids are home to have the home time be happier.

I don't claim to be perfect.... or have perfect children. But I am trying to be the best parent I can be and I have found things that have worked.... are working for our family. Maybe they will work for yours too.

Here are the boys....

J -  he's my 9 year old {4th grade}. I am so glad he is my oldest!!! He really is one of the most forgiving kids in the world! He is the perfect "test subject" as I try to figure out parenting. He plays the violin, loves to read, and listen to music. He loves science and history! Math is "not bad"  but he really doesn't like spelling. He doesn't really hate any subjects... just likes some more than others.

Big T -he is my 8 year old {3rd grade}. He is my smart one. I just found out that the spells on a seventh grad level!!! .... he's in third grade.... He loves games and is sneaky. He also loves to read and usually have to take the book away at night so he can sleep. He plays the piano and is really good at it. Big T has a gift of being good at everything he wants to do. I work daily to keep him in the right direction.

Little t - he is 7 years old {1st grade} This is the sweetest boy ever!! His blue eyes will melt your heart. He makes friends with everyone, from the very young, to the really old. When we were in Florida his favorite person to hang out with was "the old man across the street". He likes to read and loves the x-box. He will tell you that his favorite food is pizza, candy, and sushi.

B - 3 years old.... into everything!!!! This boys is high energy, and loves to take people for the ride with him. He is passionate about life and wants to experience it all. He likes to 'read' and count. He also loves to play board games... only his idea of playing is opening all the boxes and rearranging all the pieces.

S - 7months old. He is totally a mama's boy. I haven't ever had one before. So when he is not sleeping he is on my hip or wrapped up and I'm wearing him. He started crawling at 4 months and now is pulling himself up and practicing letting go.

So here we are.... this will be a ride to be sure, thanks for coming along with me.