Tot School

I am a teacher.

Everyone is, really.

I never thought I would be a teacher, but I became a teacher. In middle school, I thought for sure that I would be a pilot in the Air Force because not many girls aspired to this dream. In high school, I decided that I would become a doctor. But, they have to go to school a long time. (I also fainted watching someone get a spinal tap.) So, I decided to become a physical therapist. It was predicted that there would be a shortage of therapist due to the rapidly aging Baby Boomers (sorry Mom and Dad). However, volunteering at the local physical therapy hospital wasn't exactly fun.

I went to college anyway. Thanks Mom and Dad! My education prepared me for the most important work of my life.

Well, Jesus happened and Chemistry didn't that freshman year of college. I left school jaded by a large school setting and looked forward to a bright future in accounting at a small college deeper in the Bible Belt.

But God had plans other than accounting for me. I read a book called, In His Steps by Charles Sheldon, which is the reason people wear those popular WWJD bracelets. I thought that it wouldn't hurt to ask God what I should do. The answer I got was, "Be a teacher." OK.

I am a teacher. I love to teach. Even though I thought I would be a High School teacher, God still had other plans. I taught Middle School. The crazy thing about this is that one of my students is now a close friend!

Then I took an even bigger leap. I taught kindergarten for 3 years. I think it may be the best age to teach.

At two years of age, Mr. Smackdown had a mommy that was already preparing for school. Now that he is 4, I am in heaven. We are almost to kindergarten! I am loving teaching him to read, think creatively, learn to write, and count.

However, there is another individual in our house who doesn't have quite the attention span, but wants to be like big brother. What makes it worse is that this Little Man (AKA Mr. Easy) is quite passionate about his desire to participate. Like his birthday, he gets fired up and hot like a firecracker to do school and then his attention fizzles out into thin air. The solution?

Tot School or Tot Time! It is great fun and I am so thankful for the idea from a fellow blogger of 1 + 1 + 1 = 1. Here is what Carisa has to say about the purpose of Tot School:

Tot School is nothing more than intentionally providing your tot with
age appropriate activities that are fun and engaging. By choosing specific
toys and activities, we expose our tots to a variety of early learning
skills. Mastery is not the goal, FUN is!

I think that Mr. Smackdown enjoys Tot Time even more than the Tot in our house! Most mornings, after quiet times, we come downstairs and have Tot School. Because Tot Time is short, we can usually do it while Mr. Smiley takes his morning nap or crawls around.

What does Tot Time look like? Well, here is what we did yesterday.

We read a story about a little boy who didn't obey his parents and subsequently fell into a manure pile (the boys enjoyed saying "poop," as did their Grandma). As a result the boy learns that children should obey their parents because God tells us to and it offers protection. Then they colored and glued on some textured items to the picture of the little boy. I don't know if they learned a lesson, but it was fun to talk about who poops.

Mr. Easy is very intent on using his pencil correctly.

Big Brother, Mr. Smackdown, enjoys getting to use markers for Tot Time.

Mr. Easy separated "squishy" and "hard" items.

The "Me Time" Myth

I have come to realize that the more time I have to myself the more time I want. My friend, Tona, pointed this truth out gently, as she, Laurel and I attempted adult conversation amidst 9 children several months ago. There are many times throughout my day and week that I have a thought pass through my head such as,

"I deserve some alone time."

"I wish I could just have a day to do whatever I want. Sleep in, read a book, sit and have coffee, stare at the clouds."

"When the Hot Hubby gets home, I am sneaking upstairs to take a bath (or sew)."

"The dishes can wait, I'm sitting on the couch."

"Why didn't God let men make Father's Milk?"

"I need a break. I'm not getting up again to get him some water."

It's 2 am and I hear pitter-patter, "Please let him walk to the Hot Hubby's side of the bed. Please!"

And the list of selfish thoughts go on and on.

When I have my "me time," I am so excited to be out. But often my "me time" consists of running errands. New underwear for Mr. Easy. I need to pick up toilet paper. Stickers for school. Packages to be mailed. The list can be endless.

By the time I sit down at Starbucks, there isn't enough time to rest and perhaps really drink something that would refresh and quench my thirst for meaning and purpose to my day.

On a day I was engaging in some extreme lamenting to my dog about my trials as a mother, which really aren't serious burdens, I received an email from http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/ in which I, along with other subscribers, were offered free WeE-Books in exchange for a written review of these books via a blog post or an email. In fact, if I review the downloaded books, I can enter to win free curriculum (as long as I use and write a review of my free items).

Always enticed by the word "free" I decided to check it out.

Enter Amy Roberts' WeE-Book, The "Me-time" Myth. I got to the second paragraph and knew that Amy must have been reading my journal. How did she know my very thoughts? How did she know my bizarre feelings of loving and hating my "me-time?" So many times I come home from "me-time" and I find my feelings of refreshment robbed from me in each unwashed dish in the sink, toy lying on the ground, pillow aimlessly tossed on the dog bed, blinking light on the answering machine, and emails screaming to be answered. I always question myself, "Was it really worth being gone?" (Disclaimer: this in NO WAY is a critique of the amazing family members that love on my precious children when I am away. Without you lovely people I would be surrounded by five foot high laundry piles! Bills would not be paid. Children would fail to be snuggled. And even if the house were spotless when I returned home (which it often is), my "me time" wouldn't be successful unless one thing happened--but I can't reveal that! You have to read the book, too.)

Amy Roberts nails my thoughts when she writes, "'Me time,' is a myth. It is an unattainable, always interruptible, never satisfying piece of junk psychology. 'Me time,' by its very name, suggests that who we are during the daily grind is not who we truly are. It begs us to search for fulfillment outside of the titles of 'wife' and 'mother'."

Ladies and Gentlemen, "me time" is a "monster that will swallow us if we neglect to feed it 'me time'." It really is somewhat selfish of us to expect or demand such time. Ouch.

It hurts, doesn't it. Yet, is there a solution? I know for a fact that I love alone time. I am recharged by being alone. Does this mean that I am being selfish? At times, I must admit that I feel if I don't have my alone time, my "me time," that I will snap. And of course, it won't be my fault for a lack of self control. It's because the kids didn't allow me to have "me time."

There is a solution. And Amy Roberts gently instructs how to slay the monster of "me." But if I told you how, you probably wouldn't read the book! Check out Amy Robert's book, The "Me Time" Myth. Better yet, become a subscriber of http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/ and be blessed by free WeE-Books!