There’s something about starting a new school year that makes me want to try to make life easier each year. A few days leading up to the new school term, I began trying a new system to manage my time and get a little more done.
After years of going off and on Flylady with varying levels of success, I’ve started dedicating only two hours per day to cleaning the house. Flylady bangs on about doing fifteen minutes a day for all these different jobs, and I was always frustrated to find that before I knew it, I’d be cleaning all day if I followed her system. Really, that’s not how I want to live my life. Two hours per day is still more time than I usually spend anyway, so it seems to be accomplishing more.
What I do, is I pick out the most disastrous looking areas of the house first, and start with those. As time goes on, the house looks a little bit better everyday, and I’m finding it easier to keep on top of things. Here’s yesterday’s disaster I found after Missy 10 trotted off to school:
Yep, it’s our very own dumping ground, *blush*. That’s where the bills and school notes were getting plonked, then lost. When we needed a bill or note, we had buckley’s of finding it on time. Not to mention how difficult it was to open the microwave, clean it or let the vents on the sides breathe. I thought this was a perfect place to start, as I knew my daughter would be bringing notes home, and I wanted to start out the year having a proper place for them.
Here, I’ve decluttered the area, and created a yellow folder. In the folder, Missy 10 has been instructed that this is where all of her school notes will be placed as soon as she gets home from school. Once they’re out of date, we’ll remove them. We already have an expanding folder for our bills, so it was a matter of just putting them in the right place. All the other clutter simply needed to be put back in its place or thrown out. You can just imagine how much time we wasted with all this junk piling up when we were looking for something, or trying to use the microwave.
Now, obviously, this wasn’t the only job I got done in an hour, but I thought this was a great example of a starting point to better organisation in the new school year.
I’ll be sticking with this system, because I’m amazed at what I can get done in two hours. Once the two hours are finished, I stop for the day. I either let the two younger kids help me as I go, or give them a play activity, or they play together with their own made-up game. The first day I tried doing just two hours a day of cleaning, I got the lounge room floor vacuumed, the kitchen floor swept and mopped, four loads of laundry washed and in varying stages of drying, lots of forgotten laundry put away and a heap of decluttering. By focusing on the jobs in most desperate need of being done, it means that everyone in the house is much calmer. Things are being dealt with that need to be, and our living space is feeling more pleasant again.
And now I want the dirt from you guys: where is YOUR disaster area, that you dump all your crap on? Spill!
Number 6, which happens to be Caz! Congratulations, I hope you find your prize helpful. Thanks so much to everyone for so many amazing back to school money-saving tips! I was blown away by all the great ideas, and it’s great to know this year, there’s an excellent resource for aussie parents just in the comment section alone! Mums and Dads all win, when we band together and help each other with tips like these. So well done, everyone, for making this giveaway so much fun. Also, stay tuned, because there will be more giveaways very soon. Caz, I’ll be in touch soon.
Who’s about to start back to school shopping, huh? I’ve written in the past about budget back to school ideas, and was getting prepared for this year’s onslaught, when a lovely package of school supplies turned up in the mail from K-Mart. So, it looks like it’s giveaway time!
I have on offer, for one lucky Aussie reader, the following:
1 pack of 18 Faber Castell Connector Pens (incidentally, these are my favourite type of texta, as they are the longest lasting that I know of. I usually stock up on these during back to school sales). These are currently $4 at K-Mart. A 64-page exercise book. I don’t know how much these cost at K-Mart, but I do know that the 48 page ones are only fifty cents.
Correction tape, which is currently selling at K-Mart for one dollar.
A calculator, which can be picked up at K-Mart for just a dollar.
Refillable display books. K-Mart is selling these in a pack of 3 for two dollars, and one of these packs are being given away.
Pencil, eraser and pencil sharpener pack, which is selling at K-Mart at the moment for one dollar.
A Glue Stick pack of 3, which are only two dollars at K-Mart.
Then, I’m also giving away the 5 in 1 backpack from K-Mart which sells for $8. It includes the backpack (of course!) a lunch cooler bag, pencil case, mesh bag and ruler, which is in a purple theme. There is also a cute lunchbox that K-Mart is selling for two dollars and a two dollar drink bottle which is also BPA free. (I can’t tell if the lunch box is BPA free or not, my apologies).
- Become a subscriber to Hear Mum Roar’s feed. (In case you weren’t aware, this is a different action entirely to subscribing to the email updates I mentioned above).
If you make extra entries, please mention what you did in a comment below, so I can keep an eye out.
This giveaway will be drawn on January 17th, 2011. Good luck, people!
As the title suggests, Missy 9 has been having the best week ever. And it’s only Wednesday.
Although her birthday is next week (turning ten! How can it be?), we knew she wanted a present relating to animals. My fiance and I have been itching to get a second puppy when the right offer came along anyway, so we thought we’d get one that Missy 9 could call her very own.
We got this beautiful Staffy pup that you see in the photo above whilst Missy 9 was at school. All day we didn’t know what to call her! I told Mr 4 that we were planning to hide the puppy in Missy 9′s room and he wasn’t allowed to tell her about the puppy as it was to be a surprise.
‘But I have to tell her!’ he told me. Oh. Crap. So I decided to hide with the two little ones in her room so as not to have anybody let the cat (or dog) out of the bag. Meanwhile, my fearless fiance picked her up from school. As she got in the car, he thrust a book about dogs onto her lap, and casually said, ‘this is your birthday present, you’re getting it early’.
She raved about how great it was and she was excited, because she could learn more about how to look after Daisy. ‘Yep,’ was the stony reply from my man. She couldn’t believe her luck when she found this little Staffy pup in her bedroom. ‘Cute puppy,’ she said, and later she told me she thought either a), we were pup-sitting, or b) it was Daisy and she didn’t remember her being that small!
We told her it was her puppy, and she just froze in disbelief. She cuddled her, and cuddled her and kept saying she was worried it was a dream. She told me she’s worried when she wakes up tomorrow, it’ll all be untrue. Aw… She stressed and stressed about naming her, then came up with the best name for her pet: Daffodil.
Remember these daffodils? These were her favourite flowers, as they sat right outside of her bedroom window. She was really upset when some nasty person ripped them out and took them. So now she has her very own Daffodil that no-one can take away. Daffy the Staffy.
As if this weren’t enough excitement for her, she was also selected with one boy from our school to go to finals for a spelling bee (which was held yesterday). When we first arrived at this new school this year, we were surprised to be told by her teacher that she is spelling at the level of a fifteen year old. We knew she could spell well, but this was astounding! I don’t like to talk too much about her abilities on here, because I find if a parent has a smart child, they then become accused of being a liar and/or pushing their children too hard. But stuff it. I’m proud, and just for today, I’m shouting it from the rooftops!
We praised her, forgot all about it and got on with our little lives. So, yesterday at 7am, we packed up the three kids and high-tailed it to Wagga Wagga. How nerve-wracking for this mum was it? Oh my god. The session started with one girl vomitting all over her grandmother, and a bunch of terrified-looking school kids. I prayed that Missy 9 would at least not get eliminated on the first round, not because of competitive reasons, but simply because I didn’t want her to feel bad. It turns out I had little to worry about, as she found it fun, and made it to the second last round before being eliminated. I’m not sure, but I think there were 3-4 kids left by this stage? Missy 9 believes it was 3.
I was so proud of her, not just because she made it to this final, or that she did well, or that she put in such a big effort. I was most proud of her for her excellent sportsmanship even though she didn’t win, and for not snickering at the other kids making mistakes, unlike many of the parents in the audience. I’m so proud of her sweet nature, her sense of fun, and her gratitude in the tiniest things.
Tomorrow is her last day of term, and she’ll have the pleasure of handing out her birthday party invitations. This is the first party she’s had thrown for her since she was two! Most years, we couldn’t manage a party for her living in Sydney, as we paid the outrageous rent, fed and clothed our kids, then if we were lucky, paid some bills. We did plan a party for her when she was five, but she missed out. She was going through the ‘kindergarten know-it-all’ phase, and felt she didn’t need to listen to her idiot parents anymore. I warned her if she didn’t improve her attitude and behaviour that she wouldn’t have her party. She learned the hard way that we meant business! A year later, she told me that she had learned her lesson and didn’t act like that anymore because of it. So this party will be special. We’re so blessed to have moved out of the city and into a tiny country town where the cost of living is fantastic.
I’m so grateful also for my fiance being able to come along to her spelling bee, since two hours is far too long to expect two and four year old siblings to sit quietly! So while Missy 9 spelt her little heart out, Missy 2 and Mr 4 did this with Dad:
Now, you know around this blog I generally like to keep it real, but I can honestly and unashamedly state, that this was the perfect day. Perfect week, even.
Does your child have lots of homework? Do they breeze through, or loathe it? And what of our role as parents? Should we sit down at the table as they figure it out, or do we leave them to their own devices?
My opinion on the subject is to let the child work as independantly as possible, but to also keep aware of their progress and give help if and when it’s required. There is a healthy balance, and I have some suggestions on how encourage your child to act as an independant learner whilst offering an appropriate level of parental involvement.
Set a positive tone.
Here’s a rough idea of our after school routine:
- put away school bag and have 15 minutes of ‘flop’ time. Us oldies never liked being bombarded with demands as soon as we walk in the door from our job (in my case, back in the dinosaur ages!). Let’s give our kids the same courtesy and give them a minute to settle in before pulling out their school books.Flop time is a chance for our daughter to sit down, put her feet up, have a quick snack, a big drink of water and go to the toilet before getting stuck into it.
- broach the subject in a positive light. What would you prefer to be told? ‘Come on, we’ve got a lot to get through…’ or, ‘Ok, once this is done, you’ve got the rest of the afternoon to play’? Focus less on the fact that’s it a chore, and more on what the child has to look forward to.
- provide a study area that has enough space for your child to be comfortable and has few distractions. Distractions can vary depending on your child, but may include tv, or other noisy siblings. Mr Four when he was a toddler, used to climb all over my poor daughter and try to grab her pencils and papers! Missy Two was a baby at the time, and was quite noisy as well. I quickly learnt to occupy them at this time of day for Missy Nine’s sake. Sometimes I would get the two younger kids involved in an activity or encourage them to play in a different room, for example. Mr Four’s favourite way to be distracted was to be given his very own book to draw in, so he felt that he was doing just what his big sister was doing.
- Consider the simple things, such as adequate sleep and nutrition. These things also play an important part in a child’s ability to concentrate and learn new things. I find when my daughter has taken her fish oil, she can focus more easily and handle life’s stresses a little more easily.
Eliminate all excuses
I’ve talked before about planning ahead by keeping extra school supplies at home. If your child leaves their pencil case at school to try to weasel their way out of their responsibilities, it will backfire on them!
Ensure your child has been to the toilet, had a drink of water, basically done all the things that are usually used as excuses to procrastinate, beforehand.
Let your child attempt the task themselves.
Question: when you’re trying to concentrate on an important job, how well do you do with someone sitting close by, watching you, interrupting you, breathing down your neck? Not well, huh? It’s no different for kids. Let your child try to solve that maths problem on their own, apply trial and error, cause and effect. Give their brain a workout. Learning to problem-solve, research and be a critical thinker is something that comes from within. No amount of trying to do this for a child will help this process.
Be prepared to help if your child gets stuck.
If your child has attempted to answer a question on their sheet and is honestly stumped, let them know you are there to help. This is another skill that will encourage your child to become an active learner: to know when to reach out for guidance. The child simply may not understand the question being asked, and may need some clarification.
Ask questions that will help your child to find the answer themselves.
When it comes to helping with a problem, giving your child the answer is not helpful, and it robs them of an important learning opportunity. Give suggestions on another way to approach the problem.
‘Could you try doing it this way instead?’
‘Where else do you think you might find more information?’
If your child is still stuck, then it’s a good time to sit down with your child, and see if you can both work it out together. At times like these, a child benefits from seeing how others, particularly adults, go about finding answers.
If your child becomes distraught, give them a short break.
Sometimes, when a child gets an especially tough question and have been trying their little hearts out, they can get frustrated and stressed. Let your child walk away for 15 minutes, stop thinking about it, have a drink of water, and come back afresh.
Encourage your child to ask their teacher for further clarification.
Sometimes, us parents just don’t know the answers. It’s good at times like this for a child to ask their teacher for further guidance. Once, I remember my daughter hadn’t listened in class when her teacher was explaining how to do a specific task. She admitted to me she didn’t understand how to answer the maths question. On further probing, she admitted why. Now, call me a bad mother, but I refused to help her.
I told her to admit to her teacher she was talking, apologise and ask for her to explain it to her again. She did this, then on her next attempt to fill out the question, was able to do it. She also learnt the hard way, that it’s important to listen to her teachers! (She may also have overheard me tell her Dad that if she didn’t ask her teacher, then I’d ring the schooland do it for her. Hehe. But that’s beside the point)
Check your child’s progess at the end of each session.
This keeps your child accountable and honest. It’s also one way we can keep involved without interfering in their learning process. We can see what our child does well, and pick up things that might need more attention.
What if my child makes a mistake?
I like to treat mistakes with as much positivity as possible. I don’t think it’s fair if a child has been slogging their heart out, only to be told, ‘you got that, that and that wrong. Not good enough.’ Now that my daughter is older, I’m so rusty on schooling that I would have no clue if she is giving the correct answer or not! And that is fine. It’s good for the teacher to know. When Missy Nine was younger, if I spotted any mistakes, I’d ask her if she wanted me to tell her which ones she got wrong, or let the teacher find them and help her later.
The perfectionist in her often wanted to know, so I would show them to her and she’d mostly see it too, and it’d be one big ‘ah-ha!’ moment. At times like that, she’d go back and correct them herself. If she was tired or had simply had enough that day, she’d leave it for the teacher. Either way, we use the attitude here that mistakes are natural, and part of the process of learning. She still can get very upset at times when she realises she can’t be perfect all the time, but hey, we’re working on it!
Praise your child’s efforts. Point out the benefits and rewards.
Let your child know how proud you are that they are giving this their best effort. Remind them when they have finished for the afternoon that they are now free to have some good old, after school fun. If they get a positive grade or comment on their report, make it clear that it’s because they’ve made such an excellent commitment.
My child is really struggling with some subjects, isn’t it up to me to fix it?
Fix it by doing it for them? No. That’s not a fix, that’s a mask. Talk to your child’s teacher about your concerns and ask what things you could do with your child to help. It might be as simple as encouraging your child to spend a little extra time on a subject, or getting some extra help via the school or a tutor.
Being a non-religious family, we have always chosen for our children to opt out of NSW public schools’ religious education program (or scripture) once a week at school.
The current laws on this, state that non-scripture children are not to receive any instruction or teachings during this scripture period, as it would give non-scripture children an ‘unfair advantage’ over the children who do attend scripture. When a child begins school, if parents do not give the school notice of their intention to opt out, their child is automatically placed into scripture classes by default.
I’d like to start this piece back in 1979. This was my first year of school. To this point, I was five years old, and knew nothing at all about religion. My father is an atheist, my mother was raised catholic but was by now non religous herself. My brother and I were raised as atheists. The first time that year that scripture classes started, I was placed into a catholic scripture class, most likely because the school had some knowledge of my mother’s catholic upbringing.
I sat in that class, and was handed colourful colouring-in/workbooks with some bearded man in robes on the front cover. They made us do something with our hands, saying, ‘in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit, amen’. To say I was clueless about what the heck any of it meant would be a glaring understatement.
Anyway. I took these books they gave me home. My father hit the roof. He was very angry at these brightly coloured books I’d been given. It became clear that I was never to go back to that class again. I had no idea what all the fuss was about. From then on, instead of going to scripture, I would sit in the principal’s office and read, sometimes by myself, and other times out loud to a teacher or the principal. I was already an outstanding reader before I started school, so I really didn’t get a great deal out of it. I was the only one in my school who did not attend scripture. That was fine with me.
Once I hit second grade, my parents must’ve decided that I was old enough to make up my own mind, because by then I started attending the church of England scripture classes instead. I kind of didn’t get the point of those classes, really…
So let’s move back to how it is today, raising our children in a religion-free family. My eldest daughter, in the past four years attended a public school in Sydney. We opted her out of the scripture program. She was placed into an overcrowded classroom with a relief teacher. Children were allowed to choose one box of toys from their class and bring it to the classroom, and they would play during non-scripture. By the time my daughter was in second grade, non scripture was so crowded, it needed to be moved to the school hall to accommodate all the students who were now opting out of scripture.
Now we’ve moved to a small country town, and, just like her mother, my daughter is the only child at school not attending scripture classes. This doesn’t bother her, and it doesn’t bother us, her parents. What does bother me, is that despite my request that she still be supervised and looked after, this, going by my daughter’s reports, does not happen. She is left in a room in the office with no supervision. She once asked them, ‘but what if something happens to me?’ To which she was told, ‘scream, we’ll hear you’. Not nearly good enough.
So, knowing that St James Ethics Centre in conjunction with the NSW Federation of P and C associations has requested to do a trial of an ethics based, non religious alternative class for students who don’t attend scripture, I am one excited mother. It irks the hell out of me that my daughter, and us parents have to rush around like mad things getting her ready for school on time, only for her to be not taught anything first thing in the morning, once a week. It peeves me even more that as far as I know, she is not being adequately supervised. (Yes, I do intend to discuss this with the school)
As parents, we teach our child ethics and morals in the home. But we support this program, as we feel that whilst our daughter is at school, she should be learning useful, worthwhile things. Not being plonked off to one side with a book thrown at her. (And like her mum, she was also already an outstanding reader long before she began school)
Oddly, the catholic church, and some other christians, oppose this trial taking place, and possibly becoming a part of schools.
So, I wanted to make people aware of this by writing about it, and providing those who are interested in supporting this, with some links on how they can show support.
And last, but not at all least, here is a list of the email address of all NSW state parliamentarians. The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) Group has been doing this, and their numbers are huge. I urge anyone who feels strongly about this to please write to all of them and voice how you feel about it. I shall be doing the same.
I’d also love to hear other peoples’ opinions on this
Note: please do not attack the ideas/spiritual beliefs of anyone here, I believe if we are mature, we can all have a civilised discussion about this.
