“How’d you sleep?” I set my coffee down to get up and start her chocolate milk.
“Good. How ’bout you?” She curls up in her corner of the couch and Nina saunters over to take her share of the blanket.
I start heating the milk and then walk into the living room. “Any dreams?”
“No. You?”
“Yeah. I’ll tell ya when Will’s up.” At this point, I walk back into the kitchen. She’s an introvert like I am. I know she needs quiet and time to ease in in the morning.
I bring her the warm, not-too-hot, foamed chocolate milk. I sit on the other couch, sip coffee and soak up the quiet. She has a couple sips and says, “I’m gonna check out my list.”
Just then, Will walks into the living room, tightening the belt on his robe and rubbing his shoulder. “How’d ya sleep, mom?”
“Good. You? Are you sore this morning?”
“A little. I skied hard yesterday.”
We both laugh and I say, “You ski hard every time you ski.” (He’s an extrovert. He’ll always find something to laugh about in the morning.)
“Yeah. I s’pose I do.” He starts to sit down on the couch but turns, instead, to head for the kitchen. “I’m gonna check out my list.”
I make him a hot drink and then join them in the living room. We discuss lists, plans for the day, weather forecasts, snow accumulations at the ski hill, who had the weirdest dream and what it meant, what’s for dinner, and often, how lucky we are to be doing this homeschool thing.
When the kids are more alert, I start reading from The Adventures and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Nina usually comes to sit on my lap at this point. I think she likes this part of the day as much as we do. As I read, Jen works in a drawing app on her iPad. Will either edits a photo for Instagram or a video for his Youtube Channel. Between Will’s sips of cappuccino and Jen’s of chocolate milk, we’ll make our guesses as to how the mystery we’re reading might turn out. Nina moves to Jen’s lap and hogs the blanket.
When the reading comes to a close for the morning, Will says, “I better call and schedule snow removal. Does it work for you if I take the car this afternoon?” Jen says, “Hey, I just realized Gpa’s birthday is this Thursday. We better get his cards in the mail today if they’re going to make it on time.”
“I won’t need the car this afternoon. Can you get Gpa’s card done before shoveling?”
Will fires up his laptop while he dials on his cell, “No problem. I’m gonna get on math after the card. Can you help me get started on today’s math worksheet?”
“Of course. And I want to get you going on the grammar worksheet, too. Jen, do you need any help getting started on math?”
“I think I’m good.”
Will asks, “What’s for lunch?”
“Pork tacos.”
“Yes!”
And we’re off…
How you start your day is how you’re going to live your day.
And how you live your day is the way you live your life.
– Louise Hay
Nice. I love the quote at the end. With my 5 year old, I continually have to be mindful that he can’t just wake up, eat breakfast, and rush out the door. He has to have some sort of activity in the morning. Making a paper airplane, reading a story, … Something to start the day off right. If we miss that, I’m battling him the whole way, to get dressed and out the door. Worst case, he ends up crying all the way to school.
I guess just like a grownup needs coffee and a paper in order to feel refreshed and start the day, he needs some sort of game. Otherwise the whole day is off. It took me a long time to recognize that. But now that I know he needs it, and I make the time to play with him first thing in the morning, I get his cooperation and the day is so much easier.
M,
Yay! for him that you are tuned into his needs.
I think it’s fair to say that all of us – even down to the littlest tyke – like to feel that we have some say in how our day progresses. Letting kids have time to ease in is so important for creating a happier outcome. Think of temper tantrums and how so many (not all, I’m sure) could be avoided by letting kids have a shot a directing their day.