How much is too much? How do you know when you're stretched too thin, and you need to cut back?
I'm not feeling that way, most of the time. This week was a very, very hectic week. Rachel has two scheduled activities now, and that's plenty. This week, she had three, I had two, the car had one, Carol had a doctor appointment (well child visit, and doing great), and by the end, we were just ragged. I suppose it's appropriate we visited the library and checked out a collection of Raggedy Ann stories!
So, it's making me look forward, and wonder about the balance of things. Is it a purely individual line? My husband is sure I'm an extrovert, but I really don't feel like it, most days. It's so hard to find the motivation to keep going out, when I'm comfortable at home.
What works for you?
Comments
Feb. 19, 2008 - LOL!
Posted by jugglingpaynes
You'll have to excuse my laughter. I'm in the middle of a crazy busy week. I know I should have written things down on my calendar and kept track of our activity level, but...
Over my 10+ years of homeschooling, I've seen us go in waves of busy and homebody. If no one is having problems (subject-wise or tantrums), I just go with the flow and try to keep at least one day per week activity free. Free time is just as important as scheduled time, after all. ;o)
Peace and Laughter,
Cristina
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Feb. 20, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by clargaespada
I can't survive without some type of schedule. I am learning to be more flexible on the days that need it. Check out my post on the schedule we put together recently at http://homeschoolingfour.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-new-schedule.html
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Feb. 23, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by MountainMommy
I have really struggled with this issue in the past. There are no homeschoolers in our family or most of our friends. And very few stay at home moms too. So when we first had kids, and then when we started homeschooling I felt all this pressure from everyone to be sure my kids did enough activities outside the home to get "socialized." I would sign up for too much stuff just to "prove" to everyone that my kids were social enough. But we were all miserable and rushed and frustrated a lot of the time.
Last year, in July, we moved to a new town. I had a 4 month old breastfeeding baby and two other young kids. So when "sign-up time" came for activites in August I was still barely catching my breath from the move. I said "We are not doing any outside activites this semester, I just can't do it." So we didn't. It was so great! When hubby got home from work the house was caught up, the kids were happy, and we could spend our evenings hanging out and playing as a family. There was no running around from event to event, AND, because I was home all day, there was no rush to catch up on chores in the evenings. We would give the kids baths, wrestle, play, etc. And we started reading chapter books as a family in the evenings. Life was so laid back and fun. And when an opportunity came up that we wanted to take (like 6 weeks of soccer on Saturday mornings), we had time and adding it to the schedule wasn't a big deal.
We have continued with this lifestyle because it has been so great for us. I love being "steadfast at home" (check out the website www.newharvesthomestead.com for more on that, and some great encouragement).
So, that's how our family deals with it now. I don't think there is anything wrong with being what some people would call a "homebody."
To see more about this lifestyle change for us you can read my Jan. 11th post "The Secret to my Contentment and Joy" at my blog!
I just encourage you to do what feels good for your family. And what leads you toward the goal that you ultimately have for your lives.
-Kat
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Feb. 25, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by atroyer
Thank you! That's exactly what I was worried about. I'll go read that post. :)
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