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Stick in the Mud
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I feel like I am always a stick-in-the-mud!
I know I could never be a proper unschooler….
My son came to me with a childcraft book, showing a fort made out of cardboard boxes…. so I did let him find our boxes, and try to make one…
and I’m hating every moment of it.
I sometimes hate them playing board games because of the inevitable mess and missing pieces….
it just seems a lot of things that they want to do, that would even be good for them to do…. I just dread the whole hassle.
How do I get over this???
I can sooo relate! Painting, playdough, all of it — as good as it is, it seems like so much work to get it all out and then get it all cleaned up again afterwards. I think it stems from having such a small house. Every time something is taken out it instantly clutters the whole house (or appears that way anyway). And it all has to be put away before we can move on — challenging when I have nowhere to let paintings dry but the kitchen table.
Any suggestions would be well appreciated!
I think it stems from being a full time mom and being tired! Give yourself a break and keep exploring your options together, I bet there is some happy medium..Maybe a neighbour homeschooling who loves the chaotic freestyle side who would love to have someone do an organized ‘class’ with their kids?? (that would have been me)
Homeschooling is MESSY! You might like this ebook…this has really helped me focus on what’s important…loving my children and dying to my own selfish desires.
I had to figure out how to make it work for me.
For board games, if they get it out, they have to put it away. If it loses pieces, I throw it away.
For painting: Watercolor they are allowed to do by themselves at the kitchen or backyard tables. They may leave the pictures to dry but they must be put away before bed time or they are gone (I do warn them first).
Tempera painting: This is a rarity as I don’t like the mess. But when I do get in that rare mood, we do do it. Usually we do it outside so I can hose everything off if needed : ). They then leave their papers with a rock holding it down until dry and have to put them away.I would say that you need to figure out the best time of day for you (for me it’s usually late morning with lunch as an end time for art, mid-afternoon quiet time for games) and the best place. Give them limits-it gives them the chance to do the things they want and gives you a boundary so it doesn’t drive you crazy.
-Rebecca
I love watercolors OUTSIDE in the summer.
My girls came in tonight muddy all over their legs, dresses, and tennis and I wasn’t happy. Had to put them in the bath right away before we could eat supper. I’m hoping the mud comes out of their dresses!
I don’t get play doh out often and plan it around the day I need to vacuum the rugs anyway.
lolI guess I have to remember they are only this young once and one day I’ll miss having so much to clean up after!
Tara
I think some of us are more inclined to mess than others, and that can be a challenge, however as some have said, you only get this chance once, so maybe if you really cannot stand it, set aside a day a month that mess rules – as long as they help pick up at the end of the session. Then sit back and see what they make/do/come up with. You may find you begin to enjoy it after all and schedule messy day more often….Linda
This is the very reason I started doing a three weeks “on,” one week “off” school schedule. That fourth week was Project Week, and we saved all our time-consuming, messy stuff for that week when we didn’t have the pressure of getting everything else done. For some reason I found it easier to relax and allow the mess when I knew that’s all we had “scheduled” for that week. If the kids found a cool project during the three weeks “on,” I would make a note and we would set a day(s) during the upcoming project week for it.
I used to have real OCD issues when I was a new Mom. They still lurk around today but I keep in check until closet cleaning days! I was such a clean nut that my girlfriends would laugh that I was the house we could move a bed aside and eat off the floors. I did all the outdoor art, save it for weekends, etc. too. It was exhausting. I look back and think, good grief, what was that all about?! I had the small home too, but I realize now it wasn’t about the mess or the cleaning. It was me. I was unsettled in my own skin. A few life altering events, the wisdom that comes with growing older and a lot of prayer-filled thinking and I am much, much more inclined to see the fun in being messy and experiencing life and learning hands on. I have always instilled a good sense of “clean up” so my two are pretty great helpers in that way. If you come over and see something out of place in my home, you will probably also be overwhelmed by two gregarious, giggling children who want to tell you all about what they did, learned and made. Maybe that’s a good distraction method! If or when it gets too much I limit myself to a “Power Hour” and do what gives me the most for my time.
The rest can wait for winter!
Clair and Homeschoolscraper, thank you both for your thoughts. I know how frustrating mess can be but I do feel that the benefits of creativity far outweigh my perceived stress.
Yes, last night I did pick up approxamantly 300 little scraps of paper off the floor, had to help the kids sort the markers and glitter pens to get the proper lids back on and actually, several of the kids still have marker stained hands (and maybe bodies :o) this morning….the house is never perfect.
But! Just yesterday the kids created their own elaborate castle out of a cardboard box with no picture to work from or prodding from me, the two girls headed up the project but when I came into the room they had given both of their little brothers a section of the castle wall to decorate. The younger daughter 5 made a “doll” out of a paper towel tube, staples and construction paper and after she was done spent several hours making her clothes. My older daughter 6, designed a paper doll and then worked on the logistics of how to make clothes that would fit the paper doll……watching her test and try her ideas to problem solve was so rewarding.
So yes, I think it is so worth the mess. And this from someone who used to be described by my family growing up as a “control freak” , I still get frustrated sometimes….but I am learning to take a deep breath, smile and enjoy the process.
I do a lot of deep breathing too 🙂 but I do more reminding myself these children are God’s creation and full of his wonder, light and love. I see mess and work but what is really there is a gift for me if I am willing to ackowledge it and rejoice in it.
LOL! When it comes to crafts, I am just like that. Do it outside I say.
I remember the first homeschool bookfair I went to, I talked to a lady who was a rep for KONOS. The way she explained how it works sounded SO complicated! I said: You’re making it sound like a lot of work. Bring it down for me.
I finally realized that is how the curric works. For moms like me, it IS a lot of work. Yikes! lol
lol
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