Tired? Who Says?

Lately 3rd trimester EXHAUSTION has set in. #Nesting has also set in FULL FORCE. How is it that I am so exhausted and yet I still clean all the time?!!? And how is it that my house is still a mess no matter how often I clean? Oh wait, kids. It seems while I have been getting more and more exhausted, my kids have been getting more and more energy. WHY?!!? It does make life hard. It made me start thinking though…How can I get a little “rest” while wearing the kids out and teaching them to keep them from falling behind? I certainly don’t have it all figured out, but I did start planning.

Most days I fly by the seat of my pants. I already mentioned the exhaustion. Because of the exhaustion, even thinking about make a plan for a day, or a week, or longer is just overwhelming. So I gave up. That was a TERRIBLE plan, well, no plan. You see all those amazing Pinterest ideas and how many Moms seem to have it all together. That is totally NOT me. But y’all check out this awesome homeschooling room: https://www.instagram.com/p/B9U6My_BDdq/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet. Oh my goodness! Life goals right there! It definitely inspired me to try to do better. I mean, I really have to think this through especially since I could potentially have 2 school aged kiddos at home trying to learn virtually. They need something more structured and more learning friendly. I’ve already mentioned Little Red will be home with me now and he WILL be learning!

We now start the day with breakfast after everyone has changed and gone potty. Then we do an indoor workout, although as it gets warmer and warmer we may switch to a walk first and then an indoor workout. My kids are at an age where they like to run, jump, be silly, and try to see how long they can balance on 1 foot. So I made a “workout” with things they like in mind. They do jumping jacks (form is a work in progress on most of the exercises), push-ups (ends up as more of a stretch), jump on 1 foot and switch, toe touches, leg kicks on each side, jog in place, plank, squats (my daughter REALLY wanted to do this one so we added it in), hop on 1 foot and then switch feet, and balancing on each leg. We work on our counting while doing it. My daughter attended and will continue to attend an academy that teaches both English and Spanish and my son will start there this year so we work on counting in English and Spanish. After we do our workout, we have a dance party! My oldest son is not exactly a fan of dance parties, but every once in a while he joins in on the dance party. Yoga is also a great way to get everyone stretching and moving. Mid day yoga is great too! There are some Yoga channels on YouTube that the kids love to do!

***As always, check with your physician before starting any workout program or starting with your children. Your (and your children’s doctor) knows if there are any limitations to the things you/your children can/should do.***

I didn’t necessarily come up with a plan. I still allow some flexibility in our schedule and what we do. For example, one day we had a plumber out early so I wasn’t able to take the kids on an early morning walk. My husband also took my daughter fishing so she wasn’t around for a walk or our workout. I don’t know how it’s going to go every day especially as it gets hotter out. If the kids are really enjoying a learning opportunity, we stick with it a little longer. So it is flexible and they have fun.

I put together a list of a few activities I thought my kids would enjoy and would still teach them different things. On my list are: writing their names, building their name with blocks, painting with different objects (things other than paintbrushes), write ABCs and numbers, work on shapes in colors using items around the house and/or flashcards, read books, paint or draw or use objects to create rainbows, thread pipe cleaners through colanders (I also have some of the different characters and object boards that you can thread with a shoelace), work on sight words through flashcards and sidewalk chalk, use sight word slap game (think Slap Jack) to find and say sight words, work on syllables and use some YouTube videos to supplement, work on addition/subtraction and patterns using M&Ms/jelly beans/nuts/fruit snacks, pick out items to see if they sink or float and discuss findings, popsicle stick shapes, alphabet search (hide cards or construction paper with the different letters on them and have the kids find the letters), re-learn the butterfly life cycle, re-learn the parts of a plant, do leaf rubbings, shaving cream play with cars (this one is SUPER messy so you may prefer to do this outside, inside in the tub, or cover your whole house in plastic; no seriously, my kids even got it on the CEILING), and perhaps most importantly free play! Free play allows your kiddos to use their imagination to come up with things to do! My list will expand and I will look to other Mamas for ideas as well, but we have started some of the above and so far they have been big hits!

The cars through shaving cream was a huge hit with my daughter and my youngest son. My middle kiddo was on the fence. He liked it but he wasn’t a huge fan of the mess. I put aluminum foil on sheet pans, put the shaving cream on the sheet pan, got a tub to put water in so the cars could have a car wash, got towels, and let the kids pick a few cars to play with. You can also do painting with cars or painting with cars and shaving cream. Most of the shaving cream painting tutorials I have found call for using food coloring to color your shaving cream. With how messy my kids are, no way will I let them play in shaving cream with food coloring. That stuff doesn’t wash out and it will end up everywhere and dye EVERYTHING! Did I mention above that they even got the shaving cream on the ceiling?!!?

All of the kids enjoyed painting with different objects! It started out great. I put different colors on different plates so we could review the colors when the kiddos picked a plate. We would go over it in English and Spanish. Then chaos broke loose when my sons both wanted the same color…so I got the paint and put a little of the coveted paint on Little Red’s plate to appease him and to keep him and big brother from fighting.

The kids have also enjoyed coloring. I had them color their family, rainbows, and then whatever they wanted. We again worked on colors in English and Spanish! Coloring and painting is the easiest way for me to work on their colors with them because it’s an activity they really enjoy! It also works on fine motor skills!

We will continue on our journey and I’ll do other posts on our learning. It’s so nice to have a semi-plan now! I try to sit down each night and put to paper some of the activities we will do so I can go ahead and get the supplies together! Find what works for you and your kiddos and have fun doing fun things while still learning! Going for walks is s fun way for my kiddos to get out and get in some exercise. It may or may not work for your family depending on weather conditions and/or health conditions.

What ways do you keep your kids active and learning? How do you wear them out while they are at home?