NOT.
I forgot about Benjamin. Just as I'm scrambling to get the boys ready, Benjamin climbs up to the table, so I run and find him a colouring book and some crayons. I try to get Colin going first, but Caleb is waiting so I change my mind and start with Caleb, but then Benjamin isn't interested in colouring on his own page and would rather colour in Colin's homework book. Then Colin starts printing on the handout that is for brainstorming, and clearly won't hold the paragraphs he has crafted in his mind, so I switch out the handout for his book. But Caleb is still waiting for instructions, so I turn and explain what his booklet is about, while Colin is asking how to spell the first word he wants to write. Then Benjamin, fed up with being ignored, starts climbing on the table. I sit him back but he's in this stage where he wants to be in my arms 24/7. I try to sit down with him to colour, showing him how to scribble, but he is really not interested.
It takes 45 minutes to get these two simple tasks done. By the end, it's 5:15 and I have yet to start dinner (although I did do the prep during the boys' episode of The Magic School Bus - yay foresight!) and I have the beginnings of a headache and I'm wiped.
I have visions of what homeschooling would be like, and this is definitely not it! More proof that I need to wait a little longer before considering such a journey. I don't know how other moms do this with all the younger kids demanding every second of their attention! Honestly, I look at my day and there is not 5 minutes I could carve out without Benjamin in order to work effectively with Colin. Maybe it's just my kids' personality mix - I don't seem to have a "quiet" one!
1 comment:
It will be much easier to homeschool when Colin is in grade four - by then, Benjamin will be five years old and hopefully much less clingy. You could always try, WHEN James is home at dinner time, doing Colin's homework then and let James deal with Benjamin.
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