I remember those Sunday school prize-givings! And funnily enough, I also remember receiving a book about a hamster who goes to live with a certain family. "Haffertee Hamster Diamond", I believe it was called. Was yours also a Haffertee book?
With 4 kids, participation is HARD a lot of the time. My eldest son was acting a bit strange recently, not wanting to go to school, suddenly feeling sick in the mornings, etc. He managed to get off at least 2 days of school before I finally received The Call. It turns out he had a history project 2 weeks overdue and hadn't even started doing it! A meeting with a couple of his teachers revealed that he simply hadn't been doing ANY homework for two weeks. This made me feel really bad because I should have been checking. But I chose to trust him when he told me that everything was fine and his homework was done.
The lesson learned here (and one I'm sure many of us will learn and re-learn and be reminded of often as our children grow) is that my participation in daily activities like homework is a non-negotiable.
This means that my life is that much more hectic as I try to squeeze life and kids and being my own boss (and actually surviving at the same time!) into every day. But having caught up the outstanding homework and project, my son is himself again and there is no question that my participation is needed.
That said, my husband and I REALLY need some time out from work and kids, just to be with each other. I bought him a voucher for a couple's VIP spa day for Christmas and we've booked for a Saturday morning at the end of this month. Yes, we're probably going to miss the kids the whole time we're there. But I can't wait!
MeeA
With 4 kids, participation is HARD a lot of the time. My eldest son was acting a bit strange recently, not wanting to go to school, suddenly feeling sick in the mornings, etc. He managed to get off at least 2 days of school before I finally received The Call. It turns out he had a history project 2 weeks overdue and hadn't even started doing it! A meeting with a couple of his teachers revealed that he simply hadn't been doing ANY homework for two weeks. This made me feel really bad because I should have been checking. But I chose to trust him when he told me that everything was fine and his homework was done.
The lesson learned here (and one I'm sure many of us will learn and re-learn and be reminded of often as our children grow) is that my participation in daily activities like homework is a non-negotiable.
This means that my life is that much more hectic as I try to squeeze life and kids and being my own boss (and actually surviving at the same time!) into every day. But having caught up the outstanding homework and project, my son is himself again and there is no question that my participation is needed.
That said, my husband and I REALLY need some time out from work and kids, just to be with each other. I bought him a voucher for a couple's VIP spa day for Christmas and we've booked for a Saturday morning at the end of this month. Yes, we're probably going to miss the kids the whole time we're there. But I can't wait!
MeeA