4Real Forums: How do you handle interruptions?

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Topic: How do you handle interruptions?

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Tina P.
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Posted: April 14 2008 at 12:03pm \| IP Logged

How do you handle non-family interruptions in your school day? We're renovating bits and pieces of our house all year. People come in all different times of day to measure, discuss what we want where, bid, and do the work ... How do you keep your kids focused on working through their school when you have to follow people you don't know through your house?

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Elena
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Posted: April 15 2008 at 3:37pm \| IP Logged

I think for ages 7 and 3 that might be a little tough. Maybe during those specific times you should have them watch an educational show, video, CD or listen to a book on tape while you are occupied.

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Tina P.
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Posted: April 15 2008 at 8:08pm \| IP Logged

Elena, my kids are 13, 12, 10, 8, 6, 5, and 2. Those are my seven. My signature line says "Mom to 7, 3 in heaven ..." because I miscarried three within the past few years. I have many immediate family interruptions as well. Those I've grown up fielding as our famiy grows. I just can't seem to get used to people knocking on our door and asking for my attention. I often wish there were two or three of me.

Does anyone have wisdom on how to handle these interruptions?

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Elena
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Posted: April 15 2008 at 8:24pm \| IP Logged

Note to self: Put on reading glasses before reading forums!

Sorry Tina, I didn't read carefully!

8,6,5,and 2, I'd still go with the videos when the workers or contractors are there.

The older kids I would just give them their assignments and make sure they know they have to get them done during the day! That's what I do with my older kids 10 and up and that works well.

I think I'd put some limits on the family knocking on the door if possible. Maybe just explain to them how you need to keep the kids focused and enlist their help.

Hope the construction goes smoothly.

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Elena
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ALmom
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Posted: April 16 2008 at 4:25pm \| IP Logged

Tina:

No way will you be nearly as efficient while you have workers. Those are the days that everyone under 11 simply gets to do workbook or independent work. My real young ones - anyone under school age basically doesn't have a direct assignment and I don't worry about school for them. They come with me and watch the newest interest - cement mixers, hammering, etc. are fascinating and we find related type tasks to practice. I have my lesson plans that are written ahead of time and detailed enough for my children to know exactly what they need to do. Anything that says discuss with mom will get postponed unless there is a moment. The plan has helped us a lot with the flea interruptions we had.

My older children simply did the best they could to find a room somewhere that was relatively quiet and did the regular days work. If we had to vacate the house for 3 hours because of chemicals or something like that, then they simply had to carry over some stuff into the evening or next day. We would carry our books in a box and move to my moms house or the library during those times but then everyone is working in the same room and my olders just couldn't concentrate.

How long is the stuff going to drag out. We were pretty exhausted juggling things when we were still dealing with fleas and pest control and... months later. I don't know if we would have survived much longer but finally, about 3 months into it we were able to get back to just our own stuff. A remodeling project is likely to take longer than our little flea interruption. I think I'd call it a field day and do your stuff with the littles around the remodeling. They can watch the work with you! We always watch the piano tuner and we turned some of our flea woes into school projects - so my 11 yo made a graph comparing temperature (days high and low) to flea population. We found information on the life cycle of the flea, part of our study in how to get rid of them but also something to add to our science.

A sense of humor and laughing at the frustrations goes a long way in helping survive but it doesn't solve that you are more inefficient.

Janet

Janet

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