Tonight was a whirlwind of rushing. After work, I raced to pick up Landon and get something to eat, then Andrea and I went to READY for Kindergarten class going on here for the Kennewick residents with children. This was awesome and something that I wished I would been active in before now. It is a program that you can be in from the time your child is born till they are 5 years old. During that time there are 3 meetings a year that you attend and it's kinda like a seminar, but instead you attend a program for the age of your child and then are given like 2-3 toys that are educational toys. These toys are awesome too. Not some dinky toy that your kid isn't interested in playing with because it's too educational and therefore boring. (I will have to take a picture of them and post it later.) I also receive a book a month for your child that is free. I learned a lot. I know where Landon is supposed to be now developmentally and socially, and what the requirements for Kindergarten are so that Landon will hopefully be there when he starts school.
I learned that you are supposed to spend 5 minutes a day just playing with your child. Whether it is dancing, building things, playing with toys, whatever you want to do to have fun together. You are also supposed to read to your child for 20 minutes a day. I pictured this as a straight 20 minutes in a row, but if you want to read in 2 minute segments or 4, it doesn't matter at all. Children around Landon's age learn a lot from fingerplay. This is what you do with the song, The Itsy Weensy Spider and Where is Thumbkin? and others. Anything that they use their fingers to sing along with. It was fun practicing some that I've never known before. I know that this all seems really basic, but it was nice as a refresher and I honestly haven't had time lately to read many parenting books so this was wonderful for me. I felt edified tonight.
Lately because I have been trying to juggle everything I think that I've sometimes lost focus of really spending that 5 minutes of just playing with Landon and having fun with him. I get up, get myself ready and then wake Landon up and get him ready. By that point we are headed to daycare and then I'm headed to work. After work I pick him up and then come home and cook dinner. Landon loves to watch me cook or tries to help me with it at times. After dinner it is time to take a bath and then play a little bit before we read books and Landon goes to bed. This is when I clean up the dinner mess and the house and then cram in some studying before I fall over from exhaustion. So tonight I have learned to take 5 minutes out of that schedule and show Landon that I love him by just having fun and take time just for him. I feel like I have really taken on a lot with this college class and then my full time job and it seems that being a mom sometimes has come last. But after this college class (which is the hardest of all the classes I have to take) hopefully things will die down a little bit... and I will be able to be the mom first and then everything else fall into place. Tonight at the READY for Kindergarten class I realized that I need to focus more quality time with Landon because right now there's not a whole lot of quantity.
- please don't judge me by this blog, this is just the honest truth from a single mom who works full time and is trying to make a better future for myself and Landon by getting my associates degree through going to college part time
4 comments:
You are not alone in trying to find 5 minute for your child. Life gets so busy that the day seems gone before it starts.
I've found with Nathan that if I give him a few minutes (even just the 5) of playtime just for him, he is ready to play by himself again and I can actually get more done. I really do enjoy the time with my babies but it really does take effort.
The class sounds wonderful. Free toys and books?? Cool!
Like you said, Kimber, I do play with Landon and am involved with him, but sometimes and more now than in the past, the day just seems to disappear before it starts and you don't feel like you've taken that extra time just for him. But I am vowing to do better starting yesterday. I am starting to make even driving to daycare and back a learning opportunity with Landon.
Autumn, you can feel good, because I'm not a single mom, I'm not going to school, and I don't have a full time job, and I still have days when I don't sit down and actually focus totally on Korben. Logan gets most of the attention because he requires it, and so Korben sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of life.
Don't beat yourself up too much. We are all trying to do our best and you are doing great. You have inspired me to focus more on quality time too. I'm in a different situation, that I have plenty of quantity of time with them, but I'm still not sure that it is always quality time, which is probably more important.
I want free books and toys! Those suckers are expensive. :D
I am so grateful for the reminder of the simple things that I can and should be doing with my little boy.
It is so difficult to do. I am so lucky to be able to work from home but even then sometimes I just feel like I am ignoring Max to get stuff done. Stuff that isn't as important as him, but still has to be done. I am constantly trying to find a balance.
The fact that you are going to classes and learning, not only how to be a better mom, but to better your lifestyle is amazing!
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