… for this Fall-like Spring to shift, transform, live up to its name…
I’m trying to be as positive as possible but, although the sun is shining this morning, it was a few degrees above freezing when my husband left on his bike (my strong determined man) and I will say it, the “lack-of-a-season is starting to get to me. In 2 days May will be here and we have nothing in the ground. I’m starting to worry about what our gardening season will look like. We produce a larger chunk of our own food every year and I always get nervous when Spring isn’t optimal. But the next week “should” be (they keep promising) very warm so we are hoping to catch up on some of our lateness.
We are also waiting for our new rhythm to fall into place. This week is our first of Little Miss being home and we have had a few unexpected effects. First, I thought for sure that she would be the one asking for much of my attention, being used to having preschool teachers directing much of her days but no. She’s been pretty easy to manage, listening to me, helping me out, being patient when Little Man needs some time. Because believe it or not, that is the biggest adjustment : Little Man not having mama all to himself anymore. He has been moody, clingy, in need of constant reassurance. He has been reverting to a lot more baby-ish behaviors like insisting on being fed, throwing food on the floor or trying to pull off his diaper. I know for the most part, he is loving having the company, but his quality time with mom has suffered and that will be a very new experience for him.
Another thing I wasn’t expecting is for our daughter to be weary of us concerning her staying home from school. She keeps asking for confirmation that we will not be sending her back to school until KG in September. Like if she doesn’t quite believe yet that this is a permanent situation. It’s quite comical actually, she gets up and dresses and asks if she needs to wear her big boots to school. I remind her she,s not going to school and there is a look of doubt, then giddiness. Like she wins a little battle every day! LOL!
The last thing I’ve been kind of surprised at is Little Miss’s need for sleep. We were used to her having lengthy naps on the week-ends. Weeks were filled with so much that her playing catch-up on Saturdays and Sundays felt normal. But she has been sleeping 10-11 hour nights ever since stopping preschool. Add to that 2 hour naps mid day, she has been averaging 13 hours of sleep a day and that just reinforces my belief that taking her out of preschool for a rest before school starts was the right thing to do. To have her live at her own pace for the next 4 months, to let her listen to her body, her mind, her heart… She will start school refreshed, ready. She is so excited, she asks about it everyday. September is so abstract of a concept. She just knows it’s coming. Exciting times!
But in the meantime, we are learning to be in our new way. I won’t lie, one of my most hefty challenges right now is to find a way to put together activities that will be appealing to both, regardless of the age difference (almost 3 years). I won’t lie, I was kind of banking of being outside almost all the time by now, but most days, it’s still not possible.
To all my homeschooling mamas : How do you manage a wide age-spread in your home? Would you have any suggestions of activities that toddlers and preschoolers can enjoy together? I would LOVE if you would share some of your wisdom.
I hope all of you are having a wonderful week. I hope that Spring is much more forgiving where you are and that warmth has found you.
Family, Faith, Food and Fabric 
Hopefully real spring will find its way to you soon. 10-13 hours of sleep? Gosh, it’s good to be a child! 🙂 Mommy is so great Little Man doesn’t want to share her! 🙂
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It should be much warmer the next few days, it will be lovely!
Yeah… I think he got spoiled all these last 2 years. It’s so nice to have both my kiddos home with me. I have plenty of love and hugs to go around! ❤
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How great to be able to watch her go with her natural rhythm for the next few months. It’s one of my favorite things to give my girls, except that mine are night owls! I’m glad you are already seeing the benefit.
Sending Spring your way. 🙂
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Oh my, my kids are early birds usually up before 6 am) so I think that is why they always need a nap right around lunch. Both my husband and I are early risers as well so it fits our life well.
Thank you for the warm vibes… it’s supposed to be much nicer the next week.
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I sure hope spring finds you soon, we have been enjoying beautiful weather, sunshine and 20 degrees the last few days. It should be on its way to you soon.
I am sure it will be a difficult adjustment for your little man, it is hard when you have mama all to yourself and now you have to share her. It will take a little bit, but then he will realize just how much fun it is having his big sis around.
And finding your new rhythm, that will take time too. I am sure once you can spend hours and hours outside, as we have been doing, it will all fall into place.
Hang in there mama, hugs. xo
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I’m thinking we will be getting your temps starting tomorrow afternoon and into the week-end (between 15 and 19’C forecast). It will feel nice. I want my hands in the dirt so badly my skin itches!
Thank you for the words of encouragement. I know it will work itself out. They have never really been together full time. Quite a transition!
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Love and hugs to you! An unwilling season and a big change at home. Hopefully that spring weather will come your way soon. Lots of outside time does make life so much easier.
When it comes to activities, I actually don’t worry too much about finding activities that will meet everyone. Instead I pick activities that will meet each specific child and sort of rotate. Usually everyone wants to do it on some level, and the child who really benefits really benefits. So for example, our oldest son has some tactile sensitivities so I’ll pick something for him, but everyone enjoys it. Then, when I pick something for our daughter, the youngest, the boys love to help her and show her how to do it. It means more work from me sometimes–supervising an activity designed for a five year old being performed by a frustrated two year old, but it usually pays off.
We’re behind on our garden this year. Not because of weather, just because of life, so I feel you on being behind. It usually works out though, doesn’t it? That’s what I keep telling myself!
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That is what I was trying as well… have them kind of feed off each other. But my son shows very little interest i my daughter’s chosen activities (arts and crafts mostly) and she is not a very physical person so running around endlessly is not something she enjoys. Ah well! I’m sure they will find their groove. But like Kim said, all we need is the warmer outdoors and everyone can have fun with whatever they want without stepping on each other’s toes. 🙂
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Oh fingers crossed for some sunshine for you soon! It’s been cooler here this week but we’re definitely on the run up to summer and yesterday we cleared one of our veg beds and planted our seeds for this season (phew!). As for activities I have a four and two year old as well as baby Pip and our favourites are making biscuits (cookies), I roll the dough and they cut them out with varying degrees of success, playing Duplo, and rubber stamping. I’m sure you’ll find something you all love as you settle into your new rhythm!
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Ooooh! You just gave me a great idea : stamping! If I use natural materials and homemade paints, it wouldn’t be so bad if he ate them. LOL! I may have to try making cookies too. We’ve tried rolling dinner rolls, but that wasn’t such a success with him (as most of the buns ended up on the floor) and he seemed to dislike the texture. But that was a few months ago. Might be worth a try again. 🙂 Thank you!
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I thought spring had arrived here but we have been back to just above freezing temperatures this week too! I rarely have anything in the ground until early June anyway.
Your children sound like their differences are similar to mine, except my arty, crafty child is the one that likes to run around! If we do and did an activity together round the table we would all be doing something different. What was most important to my children was that I was with them and present with them. I might have been writing, sewing or knitting. My eldest would often be drawing and when a bit older knitting, sewing or weaving. My youngest painting, drawing or cutting things with scissors. Now that they are a bit older (almost 6 and 10) the gap seems so much smaller in many ways but in other ways it is huge. I still need to consider their individual needs when planning some of our day.
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Oh how I wish my children were just happy with me sitting with them. LOL! But I know what you mean. I tend to have that going on in the house (to each their fancy) but it would be so nice to find a nice middle ground. I’m really hoping that spending the summer together will create a kind of bond that is truly lacking right now, There is a lot of love, but not a lot of “chemistry” if that makes any sense. Thank you for sharing your experience!
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I hope some warmer weather finds its way to you soon too! It hasn’t been as warm as a typical April down here either so I totally understand how you feel! We might have a couple of days of warm weather but then we are back to it being chilly (today). Mother Nature just doesn’t seem sure that she wants to unleash spring in her fullest yet though I do hear that warmer weather may be on its way to us next week!
As for activities, just choose things that you think will be fun. Bake, cook, paint, play dough, walks, trips etc and let it unfold for each as it should. Our days are really free flowing. We have a rhythm for sure (and it always take awhile to shift into a new one) but on the whole I would just put out paint and let them go. We have an easel a friend passed to us a few years ago and sometimes I’ll just put the paints and brushes there and wait to see what happens. If you don’t have a double sided easel and spill proof cups I highly recommend that!
It does not surprise me that she is sleeping more! My girls still sleep about 10-12 hours (at eight and a half and seven years old)!
Do you think you may decide to keep her home next year as well?
Enjoy my friend! I have no doubt that you will fall into a lovely rhythm soon! xo
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Hey Shel, thank you for the suggestions… Paint is a good one here. He likes it, even if it’s only for a few minutes. The problem with my son is that he seems to be very stubborn about being taught things. The moment you sit him down to show him how to do something, he will fight it and walk away. It can get very frustrating. We are finding our footing slowly but surely. I’m looking forward to finding a occupational therapist for him. I’m sure they will be very helpful. If you don’t mind, I’m gonna shoot you a quick email this week-end. I know you have a lot of experience with special ed, I was wondering if I could run a few things by you. 🙂
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OH! And no, I don’t think I’ll change my mind about school. I can tell she already misses the social nature of school. We have a daycare at the end of the street and we’ve been going to the park at the end of the day and she’s been playing with the kids there. That is all she’s ever known… Now him, if ever his developmental issues persist, I may consider keeping him home.
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We just hit an unseasonably high today with more to follow into next week…hope you’re following the same trend. Happy May Day and -hopefully- happy spring days to you soon! As for your question, having just one, I’m not of much help. But we were foster parents once and had a little girl for 2 years…I can sympathize on the challenges of 2 needy little ones. It was so challenging. I wish you all the blessings here!
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Wow, how wonderful to open your home to a child in need. That is such a beautiful thing. Spring was definitely there this week-end. It’s like we went from Winter to Early summer in a few short days. Hopefully it will be there to stay!
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Yes, it’s the same with our weather! Not a bud on the trees. Somehow I missed that you would be keeping your daughter home for a while…or is her preschool already over for the year? I was raised home schooled, along with my 10 siblings–I am one of the oldest, and our ages spanned 20 years. I just want you to know that as kids get older, the age difference in learning at home becomes easier to handle. As we grew, we mostly worked on our own, and the older ones helped teach the younger ones, which, of course, reinforces their own learning. It can be a bit difficult at first, when you are juggling babies who need attention and physical care more than anything with times of teaching and learning for slightly older ones. Both kids can feel a bit neglected, as if you care for the other one more, while you are doing your very best to help both! I think it helps to have a bit of preparation the night before, so in the morning the older one can sit right down and get started on something prepared for him/her while you start out caring for the younger one’s needs. But I’m sure all situations are unique, and you will find your groove. 🙂
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Wow! 10 kids, that is amazing… My daughter is home for the summer. We were suppose to sign her out of preschool in June, but we decided to bring her home earlier. It will be good for her to relax before school starts and it will be amazing for her little brother to have her around. He,s already much more interactive in just a few days. Thank you for the suggestion : I think I will try that, to have something ready for her in the morning. A little play & learn station so to speak. 🙂 ❤
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Hoping Spring is a little more with you now. So far May has not been good for us here. Have you looked back on your blog a year ago to see where you were with the garden then? It could be reassuring – or then again, it could confirm you fears! As for activities, my mind is not feeling too useful tonight so I will give it more thought, but the one thing that has popped into my head is how popular a large, heavy duty, plastic garden tray was – I used to have it on the kitchen floor and fill it with various different options – oats, rice, different types of tiny pasta or lentils etc.All things that were safe from choking worries and not terrible when put in the mouth, and the older one would do all sorts of pouring, sorting, tea parties etc, while the younger one just loved the tactile side of it and grabbing handfuls or cupfuls. It did get a bit messy at times but the tray was very wide and shallow, and it was easy to sweep up – in fact that was often part of the play. It was also great for water play with lots of old towels underneath and all around.
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It,s so funny you should mention this because I pulled out a large and shallow Rubbermade container and made them a tub for waterplay today. Outside, makes it easy to pick it up! 🙂 I would be curious to try a sensory bin again with Little Man. Last time, he just poured the whole thing out on the floor within 2 minutes. LOL! I know that he still liked pouring stuff out in the sand box, but maybe the different textures would be fun.
That is a really good idea, going back and checking my own blog. After all, the whole point of this blog is to have a journal. 🙂 I’ll do that right now! xox
I do hope May perks up for you.
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