We watched the bowl fall from her hand in slow motion:

It banged against the side of the table, spill.  
Ricocheted off the seat of her chair, spill. 
Bounced off the chair leg, spill. 

Then landed upside-down, depositing the remainder of her hot oatmeal onto the newly-cleaned cream carpet. 

I gripped my coffee cup a little tighter than necessary and took a deep breath. 

It was eight in the morning. 

We had already weathered a tantrum about not finding her favorite book, a quibble about the color of her pants (really?), and now this. 

In the words of my husband: Having a toddler is like having a raccoon running rampant throughout the house. 

Sweeping helps to build hand-eye coordination and strengthen little arms! Aren't chores great?

Avoiding the Time Black-Hole

You're ready to leave the house right on time, when you smell it. Looking down, a rather full pair of pants confirms your suspicion: A diaper blow-out. 

In our house, the size of blow-out is directly related to the appointment we're trying to keep. The more important the appointment, the bigger the blow-out. 

With our oldest, I was always late due to trying to do one more thing before we left and the inevitable blow-outs. These tricks have helped us get better: 

1. Penciling in the time we need to leave: This works for everything, especially important appointments or ones that are far away. Committing to a "leave time" helps us plan our time better. 
2. Allowing a "buffer zone": Don't we often wish for five more minutes? By bumping up our leave time by five or ten minutes, it allows for last-minute clothing changes or special stuffed animal grabbing. 
3. Water & snacks bag: Especially during the hotter months, we have a to-go tote filled with water bottles and snacks. It's easy for a older sibling to grab and I don't have to run back into the house to grab a water bottle for anyone (including me!) 

Doesn't a crayon basket make a perfect hat?

Keeping Them Busy

Toddlers need to touch & feel to learn. But it's tricky to have them do this safely: especially when you're busy with older siblings. 

We have found contained messes to be helpful, especially when they need to be in a high chair for any amount of time (see above) while homeschool lessons are taught. 

Simple activities include: 

• Ripping up paper strips
• Busy Bag Numbers
• Playdough
• Assorted snacks in a muffin tin
• Plastic Baggie Painting
• Sewing with Leaves
• Animal figurines (Love these) 
• Color Wonder marker set 
• Melissa & Doug Water Wow
• Plastic scissors & strips of paper

The Ideal vs. The Reality

Even with clever solutions, there will still be trials. Days that we fail at feeling like enough. When we struggle with replacing our clean house ideal to the reality of a lived-in one. 

All those little adjustments we make in our life, and within our hearts, to make room for the little ones we share them with. 

Trying to make everything fit works better some days than others.

Recently we had a long day, when things weren't fitting very well. It was a day of short tempers and long hours, and I was feeling pretty discouraged until I glanced over the staircase to see this. 

The three of them sharing a table & a pot of warm tea together.

 It reminded me: some days will be long and hard, but we're in it together.

And there's no better place to be.

Homeschooling Tips for Difficult Times

• Find your minimum: At the beginning of the week, right after we'd found out the news, I took time to let go of my weekly expectations. The kids were sad, and I wanted to respect their grief so I consciously went through our school agenda for the week and removed everything but the barebones of our curriculum. 

• Supplement your learning: 

• Audio Books: A fun way to supplement learning! My family lives three hours away, so we had a lot of time in the car together. To get the most out of an audio book, I like to pause it intermittently and check in with the kids: "Who are the characters so far?" "What just happened?" "What do you think will happen next?" Easy questions like these help kids build reading comprehension strategies that then help with written material, too. Some audio books we enjoy: The Penderwicks, The Children of Green Knowe 

• Simple Learning Activities: Especially if they're portable, and can travel with you! They're easy to do during long car rides (see above) or in a quiet corner of a funeral home. Here's a few that both my older kids enjoy: Toothpick & Rubber Band Patterns, Busy Bag Buttoning, Leaf Sewing Practice

• Learning Books: Right now we're reading the "Life of Fred" series, which the kids love. Each book introduces math concepts through easy, kid-friendly, very funny stories. Isia enjoys reading by herself during quiet time! So I made sure to pack our current book (see link) for bedtime reading, since the chapters are quick & it's great, low-key learning to discuss the end-of-chapter questions together.

• Learn From It: There were quite a few hands-on learning experiences last week that had nothing to with our curriculum. We learned how to dress for a visitation & funeral. How to shake hands and properly introduce ourselves to adults, especially during the visitation. We learned what's helpful- getting water & extra Kleenexes for Great-Grandma, and what's not helpful. We learned what grief looks like, and had some great, age-appropriate conversations about death. 

• Let it go: Lastly, it's extra important to take care of yourself. During the week, the kids watched several episodes of  "Reading Rainbow" & "Wild Kratts" so I could recharge and work through my own grief. I think honoring & being present for my own grief made me more compassionate to my children's as well. 

The 17-Cent Daily Homeschool Calendar for Kids

• Daily Chores: Bed-making, un-loading dishwasher, emptying trashcans, organizing our shoe area, & sweeping the deck are favorites around here.

•  Daily Weather: Billy only draws the weather so far, but Isia also looks up temperature, writes a weather word, and now records the humidity (a great excuse to talk about percentages). Daily weather observations connect kids with their natural world and include science in your day!

• Daily Quote/Verse Copywork: Memorization is a great way to instill values in kids, and build mindfulness. There are so many words floating around the world through type, screen & audio that it's important to fill our children's core with loving, purposeful ones that aid them in filtering the rest. It's a helpful practice for parents, too (smile).

• Handwork: Simple sewing, knitting, crocheting
 

• Sibling Activities: It empowers older kids to be "in charge of" a simple task with a younger sibling. The best way to strengthen your own knowledge is to teach it to others, no matter how young you are! Whether it's singing the "ABC song" together, doing a puzzle, or reviewing flashcards, it builds sibling relationships and personal knowledge, too.