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Mary G
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| Posted: March 17 2007 at 9:28am | IP Logged
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amyable wrote:
I've always heard that a high protein breakfast has more sticking power, but with my crew allergic to eggs, dairy, and nuts, we kind of run out of regular palatable protein for breakfast, so we are very carb loaded in the AM. That must account for some of our 10 AM crashes. 
I know, Nina, maybe our two families can make a whole curriculum out of cooking. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! |
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I give my kids a hi-protein breakfast but it doesn't help -- someone is ALWAYS in a growth spurt around here ... just when we get started doing SOMETHING, someone is hungry or has to go to the bathroom .... I should be tougher on this but when you gotta eat/go you gotta eat/go!
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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J.Anne
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| Posted: March 17 2007 at 2:01pm | IP Logged
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Erin, I totally agree with what you said. We can't just work when we feel like it. My daughter works best at around 3:00PM, but we have put in place the same exact morning schedule (handwriting, math, latin, reading) and she has adjusted to it well. She now works well in the morning too.
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: March 18 2007 at 7:04am | IP Logged
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As far as the "being hungry thing goes" my kids could eat all day long if we had the food in the house. It amazes me, and they're all thin!! It used to give me fits, but now I just make sure I have some easily accessable snacks around. If they need a snack they know they can just get up and get it. When we're in the classroom, which is away from the kitchen, I keep a large pitcher of water and some cups as well as a box of granola bars, some nuts or something relatively healthy that they can snack on. A friend of mine does it differently in that she prepares a snack for each child in a small lunchbox. They have a certain time for "morning snack" during their day. This helps her because her kids all wanted to go to school so they could have a lunch box!!
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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Mary G
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| Posted: March 18 2007 at 7:44am | IP Logged
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Becky Parker wrote:
| This helps her because her kids all wanted to go to school so they could have a lunch box!! |
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Hijacking the thread for a minute: Isn't it funny what kids think of as school? They want the lunch box or the back pack or the school bus  , or the field trip -- but then they get to use a lunch box and see it's not a big deal, or get THE back pack and realize they don't really need it or see the kids on field trip and realize that with such a big group, no one gets to play all those cool hands-on things at the museum anyway  !
OK, back to talking about getting the critters up -- I think I agree that they'll need to get up for the "real world" -- but how soon do we train them to this? Is it worth it to fight with them over whether they get up by 7:30 or 9 especially when they're in the lower "grades" (K-4)? Is it better to slowly train them to it? I ask as I tend to be a little SgtMajor around here, demanding everyone get up by a certain time -- is this right? Sometimes I think so and other times I vacilate....
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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J.Anne
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| Posted: March 18 2007 at 8:01am | IP Logged
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Mary - My daughter longs to ride the school bus. Maybe I will let her one day just so she will stop talking about it. She thinks school is going to be like the cartoon "Franklin". I WISH school was like the cartoon "Franklin". I also kinda wish I could live in his neighborhood (no weeds, no pedophiles, no children teaching them swear words on the playground...).
Back on topic. I do give my kids a bit of warm up time - um, the get to watch "Franklin" after breakfast. And then we start. That gives me time to drink my coffee.
I am such a morning person that I don't think I could ever be OK with the kids sleeping in. I think you are right in your approach.
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Nina Murphy
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| Posted: March 18 2007 at 7:44pm | IP Logged
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I think Erin is absolutely right  and what is in the best interest of everyone, but particularly the children, and it ultimately falls back on the parents, but who may be struggling with sleep problems, depression, or chronic exhaustion and need healing themselves. Obviously, it is their resposibility to seek help if they are overwhelmed and to pray if they are struggling with self-discipline. But sometimes we go through periods of life that are just plain down times and sleep is the BEST thing....sickness, pregnancy, post-partum.
And that is when it is difficult to not have the externally imposed schedule we *must* be up for, like an office job or outside the home schooling. We, personally, have a husband who works from home and kids who work from home---it is a *double* challenge.
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~~Nina
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graciefaith
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| Posted: March 19 2007 at 7:59am | IP Logged
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I wish i could get up as early as some of you. We get up around 8:30am-9am. They eat breakfast and then i let them play for maybe 30min-1hr. We usually dont start school until 10:30am or so but since it's only kindergarten, we are done fairly quickly.
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Tina P.
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| Posted: March 20 2007 at 1:27pm | IP Logged
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[QUOTE=Cay Gibson] In my household we have:
Dh---morning
Me---Night
Corey---morning
Kayleigh---both (extremely flexible, I don't know how she does it)
Garrett---night
Chelsea and Annie --- night (they are still at the age that they are a reflection of me)[QUOTE]
We're opposite, Cay.
I'm the morning bird, DH is the night owl. My oldest is a night owl, second is flexible, but needs her sleep on either end, third is a morning bird (he's the only one!), 4th, 5th, and 6th need sleep in the morning, and seventh needs sleep all day (kind of like ME!).
We start between 7:00 and 8:00 am. The kids and I say morning prayers and do our Catechism before we eat. By 9:00 am, we have eaten and cleaned up and are working on our typical school day.
Some of my catechism about which I wrote has already changed. We've replaced I hope you don't mind if I recommend some wonderful books to use (seems that to start this during Lent is really appropriate as well) here:
A Life of Our Lord for Children
and (for after Easter)
The First Christians.
Both are appropriate for ages 10 (maybe even a mature 8) on up. I use them as read-alouds. I like to emphasize certain points that children reading to themselves might miss or de-emphasize. I bought both at Roman Catholic Books but could not find the link to the second one. If you can't find what you're looking for, please call them. They're really friendly people! I highly recommend that site as well. These are wonderful books by Marigold Hunt. I love it when *I* learn as well as the kids about my faith. OK, I'm off my soapbox.
Now *I* have a question for you. When you say you do daily family rosaries, morning offerings, etc. do you carry that into the weekend? Sometimes, I feel like I'm a hypocrite because we get so busy with weekend doings ... cleaning, plans, whatever ... that we don't do anything until evening prayers. 
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Nina Murphy
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| Posted: March 20 2007 at 1:43pm | IP Logged
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Tina,
That is a fascinating question and made me think.... We also skip our morning prayers on the weekend  . (Hopefully we all do quick morning offerings of our own and we always do a travel prayer in the car-????---but what are we saying to our children when we stop praying on the weekends!) Thankfully, we have the routine of daily Family Rosary (but sometimes in car, which I don't like)  .
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~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
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Angel
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| Posted: March 20 2007 at 5:06pm | IP Logged
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Erin wrote:
I also have a dream like Amy's regards the afternoons, I sort of manage the mornings  but the reality is I am pettered out by the afternoon, so I don't get the nature study, crafts done in the afternoon. (They are now done on our 'Fun Fridays's,  thanks to the 4Real blogger? who I meant to thank for that idea ) |
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I think that may have been me. I haven't planned ahead enough lately to have our Friday Fun Days, and the kids have not been happy with me. They wanted these to continue even through our winter break!
I've been thinking about the when to wake the kids... Actually, I think about this a great deal. One of the biggest problems with letting the kids sleep past 8 AM is that we don't get as much accomplished as I want to, or (often) as much as the *kids* want to. My kids, especially my oldest, tend to be very routine-oriented, so it doesn't matter if they eat breakfast at 10, lunch must be at 12, and then there must be time to play before quiet time, and everyone needs computer time in the afternoon (of course)... The thing I struggle with, however, is that morning is really the only time I have to do anything without kids climbing all over me. I don't have much time before the little ones get up, but if I have to deal with all 5 immediately after I get out of the shower and before I get to eat, our day does not go well. I get cranky and feel flustered.
So, it's a balance, I guess. The kids need a mom who has had a reasonable amount of sleep (not sure I ever get that with the babies still up half the night a few days out of the week, but I suppose that makes sleep even more important for me) and is somewhat calm, but they can't get up *too* late, or we get nothing done.
I haven't hit that perfect balance yet, and with a baby on the way, I probably won't soon. But it is something to think about.
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: March 21 2007 at 2:37pm | IP Logged
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Tina P. wrote:
Now *I* have a question for you. When you say you do daily family rosaries, morning offerings, etc. do you carry that into the weekend? Sometimes, I feel like I'm a hypocrite because we get so busy with weekend doings ... cleaning, plans, whatever ... that we don't do anything until evening prayers. |
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My problem is that prayer time is such a solitary time for me; I find it hard to share the time with others. I must have quiet and thought-provoking space. I do my prayer time early in the morning or late at night and I have a perpetual adoration hour weekly. Even that hour is more often than not spent with dh or one of the younger girls who love to go.
I can say that together we do a morning offering before starting the day. I say nightly prayers with the children while in training. With the older ones it consists of religious talks which I consider a form of prayer as in talking to God through each other.
We say mealtime prayers.
When I'm reading a religious book, I consider that prayer time.
Throughout the day we might remember to say the Angelus or listen to our Cajun French rosary DVD during quiet work time or play some religious music. It's a variety.
The younger girls and my middle ds are expected to do devotions in the morning by themselves.
This Lent we've been making Stations of the Cross every Friday.
The form of prayer I love the most is at night, in the peace and stillness. I go to each child's bed and utter a brief "Bless and protect him/her, dear Father" and trace the cross with my thumb on their forehead. I hope this single prayer guards them for life. I really do.
Overall my view is that: "Life is not distinct from prayer." (Quote attributed to Fr. Broussard)
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: What Time Do You Start ...
