Saturday, June 06, 2009

Anyone want to start a daycare for homeschoolers??

I get so exhausted from Billy. From the moment he wakes up until the moment he finally falls asleep (something he puts off as long as possible), he wants to do things. This morning he's planning what to sell at a market day at our homeschool meeting in a couple of weeks - he's making lists and a sign. That would be all well and good if he could / would do it by himself, but he is constantly asking me for help, advice, or just bouncing ideas off me. "Can you ..", "Look at this...", "How do I ..." ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!! I'm barely awake (it's not even 8am), and trying to read some blogs and getting really on edge by the constant interruptions.

I really wish there was some sort of daycare for homeschool kids, where you can drop them off for a few hours and you can go away and recharge. I really find that the hardest thing - the lack of peace & quiet, and time to myself. I had a wonderful morning earlier in the week - due to a scheduling conflict, Mum looked after Billy while I worked on Tuesday night and he stayed over at their place. By the time they dropped him back the next morning, I'd had a great time. I'd had a bit of a sleep in (well til 8am, but you take what you can get!), I got a couple of hours paid work done, I pottered around the house, I ate breakfast when I wanted and only had to think about making something for me, I didn't have any background noise like the TV, I didn't have anyone talking to me - I could actually complete a thought or a task without getting interrupted. Bliss!!!

Now back to my reality...

(I wish I'd counted the number of interruptions I had while writing this!!)

6 comments:

Suji said...

Sending you cyber hugs again. We need to find a way to "beam me up Scotty" these sons of ours to each other while the other mom takes a few hours' rest.

Until I lost my freelance jobs recently (I was laid off) I had this problem too. So I can empathize.

Leaving stuff like his beloved code books or origami paper around has helped me immensely. Prior to that I couldn't even get cooking done in time for DH's lunch (he walks home from work for lunch currently)!

It's times like these when I wish they'd grow up sooner. At other times (when I've had some sleep obviously) I wish he'd stay my baby forever :)

Sending you relaxing vibes now...

Debra said...

I feel for you. I don't homeschool but my daughter is out of school for the summer right now & I am beat by the end of the day, too. Just a few minutes before I start my day to have a cup of tea, watch the news and get dressed in peace would be great - but she often gets up earlier than me (as early as 6 am!) She is also our only child - not sure if you're in the same situation or not - but I ofter wonder if she had a live in playmate (ie. sibling)it would make a difference. Who knows.

Thank goodness for Grandma's. Hang in there.

libby said...

Poor Kerrie. I honestly don't know how you do it. I LOVE my 6 hours a day peace and quiet :-), though I do miss having the girls at home and LOVE school holidays.

Libby

WendyC said...

Do you have a friend with a child his age whom you could swop afternoons with? You have both kids for an afternoon a week and she has both for another afternoon? I had this kind of arrangement with a friend when N was small and it worked very well. It was a set time each week. Gave us each child free time and the kids loved their scheduled time together.

Kez said...

Suji - the sooner they invent teleportation, the better for us :)

Debra - yep, only child here too! I think that's a LOT of the problem!!

Libby - don't rub it in ;P

WendyC - Sounds like a great idea. Most of his homeschooling friends either don't live locally or have a lot of younger siblings, so I can't think of anyone off-hand unfortunately :(

Bel said...

Keep thinking about the swap idea, Kez - it's a fantastic way to get childcare for homeschoolers. I have a friend whose 7 year old comes here a lot. Other times, she has some or all of my brood there (rarely all of them, only if she insists)! The older ones swap sleepovers with their long-term homeschooling friends (more like family friends now, we've known each other so long).