Some of the best advice I’ve gotten regarding homeschooling is to STOP homeschooling. Yes, you read that right! My real-life friend, Nicki, once told me when there is a character issue with one of her children she stops schooling until the issue is resolved. Now that doesn’t mean just turning the TV on & hoping the issue will magically go away on its own. It means putting school off to focus on more important issues – your child’s heart. Yeah, that is more important than history or science! I hate to admit this, but up until recently, we stopped schooling (well, never really started back after Tara) because Truman was so wild.
The Bible instructs us to TRAIN our children. And I’ve came to the realization that my wild little 2 year old was in major need of baby boot-camp! I have been completely blessed with wonderful babies. Then. They turn 1. Yes, 1. Not 2. Truman, however, was pretty sick from 1 to 2, so his badness was in full force. Yes, I know all the “experts” warn against referring to your children as bad. But I am just calling it like it is. My Lil’ Buckaroo was driving me coo-coo!! Actually, he was driving us all CrAzY!!!! He is absolutely adorable, sweet, & a lot of fun. But on the flip side – he is loud, whinny, disobedient, disruptive, destructive, & a Lil’ TERROR!!! You know, when I started this blog Tucker & Trevor were about Truman’s age & I referred to them as my Mustangs because they were so wild. On a movie I saw the grandmother told her 2 grandsons who were in trouble, “I’ll break you like a wild mustang!” Which is where I got the title “Mustangs.” It was time I began training. I’m gonna break him like a wild mustang!!
School has been a huge challenge this year & we STILL aren’t back in the full swing of things, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Here was my plan of attack (in addition to the added tot-to-preschool activities I’ve been sharing) :
1. I really really really needed to establish a schedule for Truman alone. Up until recently, our schedule revolved around the bigger kids & he just kinda fell in. But it was very obvious that wasn’t workin’ out for us!
*Bed Time – Truman was the last one down & the first one up. He doesn’t take a nap, he doesn’t have quiet time, & if he does fall asleep he is seriously up until 11pm (no matter what). My goal was to get this boy in bed by 8:30pm every.single.night. It doesn’t happen every night, but bed time is MUCH easier! He is even sleeping most nights in his own bed now :)
2. Whinning – He has the loudest cry of distress EVAR!!! So, let me introduce you to my little friend, “Quiet Spray” Yes, ma’am. I had a little spray bottle of water & I squirted him. I started out on the wide soft spray, & was prepared that he would push me to turn that bad boy full-force, but this tool didn’t last long. His brothers abused this technique & Truman broke the bottle. It was worth a try though. As his vocabulary expands, this is becoming less & less of an issue. THANK GOODNESS!
3. Meal times – were a MAJOR part of the problem. Because he was chronically ill for a year he developed a terrible “Helen Keller” behavior at meals. Each time he refused to sit & eat we excused him to his bedroom until he was ready to try again. This took a lot of consistency, but in the long run paid off BIG TIME!
I really think our HOME issues are the most important, but we do homeSCHOOL, as we find our new groove - in an attempt to school in peace, I make an effort to start school with Truman. Its nothing new in terms of schooling with little ones. Everyone recommends starting with the tots first, then moving to the other children. This is easier said than done for me. Especially when I want to finish school BEFORE dinner time. But it is necessary.
Prayers. Prayers for me. Prayers for him. Prayers for all of us.
