An Even Weirder Day

My kids headed up to Kenai with my husband early this morning to hang out with relatives for a day before having some fun skiing at Alyeska tomorrow. This left me a day without kids!

Whoa! When was the last time this happened?? Never this year! The silence was delightful; I got a lot done and could really focus on my tasks. This was what life was like before homeschooling. Now I cannot imagine having this kind of time to myself every day. Today was great, and tomorrow will be nice, but then I will be ready to have my kids back. Just as kids need a break from school and adults need vacations from jobs, I think parents need breaks from kids, especially the parent who does the bulk of the work when homeschooling. It can be hard, in a way, to take that. The level of commitment to the kids is high, and one doesn't always "feel" like they need a break. I didn't when I decided yesterday to stay home and let the rest of the family go play. But when a friend at church today mentioned that I looked very peaceful and relaxed, I realized that I needed it. Now I just have to coach myself not to feel guilty about it!

Sunshine and Play

One of the biggest concerns with homeschooling has been getting my kids outside to play. At school they had a 45 minute recess every day, and that was my daughter's "favorite" class. In fact, I could hardly ever get her to talk about what she was learning in school or her classes, but every day she would regale me with playground escapades with her friends. With only the two of them, going outside to play just isn't as fun, and I find myself having to make them. That is less of an issue for Denver, who doesn't have daily organized sports, but Aurora often has basketball practice followed by rock climbing followed by running around in the gym for an hour or two, so she doesn't need the exercise. Less light is definitely an issue, especially for my daughter. When the days start getting shorter and shorter I find her being sleepier and quieter and crabbier. This was true even when she was in school, so there is not a change there (if anything, she is less lethargic than when she was in school), but I still feel like the kids need to get OUTSIDE and play every day.

One decision we made in this regard was to not get a snowblower or plow. Shoveling snow seems like a good organized outdoor activity that can count as exercise, so now that we're getting more snow, I am hoping that will help with the outdoor part. And once my semester is over and I have fewer prescheduled commitments we'll be out hitting the ski trails often.