I'm Calling It

This week was our first week of school. This will be our third year homeschooling, and I feel like a pro now. Haha! NOT!


We settled in very nicely, considering our ages & stages right now. Efton is in 3rd grade. Eliza is in 2nd grade. Our spunky 5 year old Elias is starting Kindergarten.  Then we're doing preschool with the ever-eager Miss Ester. Should be a great year, if we can get the 2 boys adjusted to a new routine! They're not real... Uh... Go-with-the-flow. 


So yeah, a great year... Except, am I forgetting someone? Oh that's right! Ezrah is 20 months. Enough said. Just, enough said. 


After day 1, I was not sure how we would be accomplishing anything. I have yet to homeschool with a toddler boy running around. Ess was a toddler when we started, but she's a girl. Anyone with both boys AND girls can tell you: THEY'RE DIFFERENT! She would color, or stack blocks, or let me feed her snacks for almost 2 hours in the mornings. Then, we would take a break and finish up the rest when she took her (very predictable) 3 hour nap. We would even have time to play a game or do a big kid craft before she woke up!


Well, let me tell ya it's not that way this year. My sweet Ezrah was my most peaceful, calm & content baby. He is obedient. He is sweet. He rarely cries or acts out of control. He's a very secure baby! Actually, that's the problem. He is no longer a baby. He is a busy toddler. 


By the end of day four, he had COMPLETELY disapproved of every single plan I'd had:
Sensory tubs? HAHAHA! He had launched the rice with measuring spoons. He had thrown beans at his sister. He had popped water beads. He had dumped almost an entire bin of rice. And all while smiling, saying "mommy, watch dis!" Sensory tubs + busy toddler boy = a mess. So much mess!
Then we tried busy bags. He's 100% uninterested. Can't peel stickers. Can't match much yet. Doesn't really care. 
I then pulled out toys from our garage shelves that I normally cycle in every few months. That was ok. Not great, but got us through about 30 minutes of math one day. 
So, then I thought maybe the pack-n-play was the solution. "New" toys inside & essentially a prison so he couldn't trash the rest of the house while I was reading history books. Wanna guess how long that lasted? Yep. 10 minutes! 


At one point he had colored on one child's worksheet as he stepped on another child's. They both yelled and he clapped. Then, I got very concerned a little while later. He had walked into the family room to get a train that rolled in there. He found a marker (like a dog who finds the bone he hid). By the time I found him, he looked like the toddler version of "LA Ink"!


Thursday afternoon I scoured the Internet. Surely some homeschooling mother somewhere in the world has figured this out. And guess what? They think they have... They haven't.
"Busy bags" they said. 
"Bring out different toys" they said.
"Sensory tubs saved my life" they said. 
You know what one mom said? I can't even believe this. She claims that she lays out a piece of fabric on the floor, puts a few books and toys out, and her 2 year old plays there. He might step to the edge, but he understands there is a line he cannot cross. Really? Really?! Your TWO YEAR OLD behaves better than most 6 year olds. Congratulations. 


So, I'm calling it! I'm calling BS on this whole idea of perfect, scripture-quoting-homeschooling with toddlers who also apparently wear angel wings! Do these children nap til they're 5 too? Oh man...


Here's the real deal. Toddlers are a handful. Homeschooling FOUR different grades, with 2 children that have special needs is hard. I've been up at 5:30am for the past week so I can get some quiet time with & a shower in before the kiddos get up... because once they're up, there is ZERO chance of any of those things happening. Guys. I'm exhausted. So lets not all act like its perfect & we love every second. 


I don't. I can't. There was a moment on Thursday when there was very little to enjoy about homeschooling. However, today was better. 


So, my lovely friends... lets drop the fake stuff & get real. And of course:
Here's to Monday!