How do we get you, homeschool mama to play? (Cause we all know we don’t do it enough).
When the grocery store has become our down time, our quiet time, this is our sign we need a little more time to play.
So how do we get homeschool mama to play?
So how do we get homeschool mama to play?
Charlotte Mason said it best, “If mothers could learn to do for themselves what they do for their children, we should have happier households. Let the mother go out to play.”
Amen, Charlotte Mason!
Let mama play too.
It dawned on me one afternoon, as me and the kids read on the sofa, I am usually the one reading to the kids.
This specific day we were reading an abridged version of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. The kiddos were painting their masterpieces while I read.
Why don’t we take turns reading, I asked myself?
Each of them could take a turn reading and I could draw too.
So they took turns too and I got to play.
Let mama start the day in play.
We usually began studies at 8 am sharp.
I could, instead, have a warm-up to the day by pouring myself a cup of hot coffee and sitting to read for a few inspirational words first.
This morning routine might simply feel like I’m just waking up slowly, but it could also be characterized as adult play.
When I would sit for a half-hour to record each child’s daily activities, I could slip earpods in and listen to an engaging podcast while finishing my work.
Access the Homeschool Mama Self-Care Podcast here.
Let mama go out to play.
When I would normally invite a mom and her kids for a playdate, I could instead invite her to coffee at a coffeehouse at the kids’ bedtime without the kids.
Novel notion: doing something without the kids.
We maintain relationships outside our homeschool mama role because one day, we won’t be a homeschool mama anymore.
Let mama play dress-up too.
Once upon a time, my grooming consisted of a quick swish of the toothbrush and splash of water on my face each morning, because I didn’t feel I had the time to do anything but address kids’ needs.
I’ve learned, I can hire a babysitter, go to a salon for a makeup application, haircut and colour and book a glamour photoshoot with my photographer friend.
For absolutely no reason except to have a little out-of-homeschool-mama-character.
ps, I’ve come to understand the value of homeschool mama’s grooming too.
Let mama take time for herself while daddy takes care of the kids.
A novel idea. One that we don’t always give ourselves full permission to take for a variety of reasons.
One being: will not he do it as well as me.
After you have spent all day with the wee ones and it’s time for bed, let daddy tickle those kids, read a few stories, and sing those kids sweetly to sleep.
And let mama wind down by herself. There is a time for everything under the sun, like when mama goes out to play.
Teresa Wiedrick, author of Homeschool Mama Self-Care: Nurturing the Nurturer
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I LOVE it! What you’ve written is so inspiring. It’s why I’m really loving this aspect of photography – everyone gets to play for an afternoon!