tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post1631734592062314149..comments2024-03-28T17:53:43.541-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: Guilt-Free Learning Notes, Week of August 31Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-36482455704331111542014-09-10T17:05:53.493-04:002014-09-10T17:05:53.493-04:00Thanks for writing this! I think I'm about to...Thanks for writing this! I think I'm about to go back to homeschooling in the next year or two. I already force my kids to have quiet time, so I can recharge, so perhaps it won't be so different. At least I'll be the one choosing the curriculum rather than complaining about how poorly done it is.Skywalkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-73361937201001079722014-09-08T22:37:46.069-04:002014-09-08T22:37:46.069-04:00I'm very similar - I don't homeschool, but...I'm very similar - I don't homeschool, but over the summer, I had several moments of "Why are there so many people in this house?!?!" and I only have four kids :) My oldest, who is 14, is an extreme extrovert (though a quiet one - just like some people don't realize one can be a chatty introvert, it is possible to be a quiet extrovert) and I am always amazed at how different we are. She comes home from school all happy and energized and never could understand why I thought she'd want some quiet time in her room after she came home from school!<br /><br />My youngest is 2 (almost 2.5, actually) and she is so intensely clingy that I've really been struggling with being able to give emotional time and energy to my other kids because the little one sucks up so much of it. She's still nursing at night, and doesn't want to let me out of her sight for more than 30 seconds - while the fourth time around, I know just how fast they grow up, I feel pretty tired after 2.5 years of this. <br /><br />It's frustrating when I feel I can't give to mothering what I want to - anyway, your post resonated with me! Rest assured you're not the only mom who loves her children but sometimes feels the need to hide :)Son Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11863309198903282129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-35138589487369496802014-09-08T17:43:42.054-04:002014-09-08T17:43:42.054-04:00You're an introvert who likes to talk a lot. E...You're an introvert who likes to talk a lot. Embrace it! I'm the same: a chatty introvert.Jennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-50916821167933098332014-09-08T15:50:41.916-04:002014-09-08T15:50:41.916-04:00We were just traveling, all four of us. We were al...We were just traveling, all four of us. We were all together all the time. Slept in the same bed and I fell asleep between the two girls. On the way back home my husband succumbed to a late summer cold of death, which necessitated me removing the kittens from our apartment for hours on end instead of washing the Himalayas of laundry. Suddenly I felt like I just couldn't stand my whining and moaning three year old for one more minute and I realized that I hadn't been alone for more than ten minutes during the past week, except for potty breaks (showers had unwelcome visitors too). I'd rather hide from her on a semi-regular basis to recharge than have that feeling that I can't stand the sight (probably more like sound) of my own child. Plus it seemed like she could sense my irritation and it made her even more attention seeking and crazed, whereas after I'd had an hour alone with my smartphone and a nap, we made an apple crisp together and she was happy. So I guess the old saw about if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy, has a kernel of truth to it. At least, if *my* getting a break improves *her* behavior, I have a good rationalization, right?Rebekkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13536021238594385545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-45868478456123740522014-09-08T15:17:53.067-04:002014-09-08T15:17:53.067-04:00I like that, hiding from the children. That perfec...I like that, hiding from the children. That perfectly describes what I'm always doing. I'm trying to reign it in this year as well. I think it's ok to be an introvert, at least I hope so, and I long for the cat behavior of teenagers, brooding and hiding, as I also brood and hide.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06944928044277724293noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-46207688395806363162014-09-08T14:57:48.117-04:002014-09-08T14:57:48.117-04:00My mom had eight kids and she almost never left th...My mom had eight kids and she almost never left the house with all of them if she didn't have to. So don't feel inadequate. And she didn't even homeschool.<br /><br />The following is meant as a suggestion, not a criticism:<br /><br />In a large family it is easy to skimp on read aloud time for the younger members of the family because you've already read aloud the little-kid stuff with the older ones. (Rose tells me that there are books that she'd always heard us quoting, but did not remember ever hearing us read aloud.)<br /><br />Right after lunch is a good time to do this -- or bedtime, two periods where it can help quiet people down. (Of course, maybe you're already doing this and just didn't mention it.)<br />Catholic Bibliophagisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10697706672495544901noreply@blogger.com