Thursday, September 2, 2010

Work and Play


I am not a structured parent.
Well, I like some structure, but not so much.
I'm a fun-seeker.
I realized this today when I wanted to cut off my arms and legs going from
homework,
jobs,
piano practice,
reading,
then dinner.
Because my kiddos are relatively young I'm still a prominent participant in getting through some of these tasks.
And it might be killing me...ever so slowly.
Not that the kids were bad.
They're so sweet, accepting their lot.
But,
I wanted to play (which fact I kept to myself). 
And if I wanted to play, you better believe that THEY wanted to play.
It's gotta be hard being a kid these days. 
I don't remember ever having this much to do. 
Do they get more homework than we used to?
My only memories of elementary school are playing and . . . playing.

I've been thinking about kids who grew up on a farm a generation ago. 
They were busy working all day. 
Did they get a little free time every day or was it every few days? 
Is it okay for kids to just work some days (barf)? 
You know what they say, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
Well, I feel sorry for my kids because I believe that chores and homework and piano and reading are necessary. 
However, I also believe that riding bikes and laying in the grass and playing in the tree house and listening to nature are necessary. 
I'm thinking that my solution is to wake them up even earlier to get some things done before school.
Poor, poor kids.
Poor, poor Mom (who just wants to play).

5 comments:

Raechal said...

Maybe homeschool is the answer. It takes waaaayyyyy less time than traditional school and completely eliminates busy work type homework. It leaves you and your kids with lots more "let's have fun and explore time" which most of the time also happens to be educational too!

Katie said...

You are everyones dream mom!
I can hardly believe how big Will has gotten! Whoa, slow down! He is far from a Sunbeam now. You guys all look great!

katieo said...

hey! thought of you when I read this:
http://segullah.org/slice-of-life/afternoons-of-nothing/

Rebekah said...

Don't worry, Nette. You don't have to homeschool--
childhood, shmildhood. . .
hee, hee, ho, ho!

They will have the same memories of a play-filled childhood that you do, especially since they have a mom who will seek out every opportunity for them!!

You are a great mom.

Logan and Tanya said...

I LOVE Your blog! I can already tell it will be a fun one to follow, even if I'm having to do it from my phone while my laptop is down! ;) thanks for sharing!

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