It Can't Always Be Done My Way

Not every day can be picture perfect when home schooling, or in the world of stay-at-home moms in general.

Our kids don't work the same way we do and this can sometimes cause frustration. I like to sit and get all my work done. I also like to plan and spread my work load oat if I have a big project to do. My kids do NOT work like me! This makes me stop and wonder... Was I always this diligent about my work, or did I procrastinate too at their age?

Here is Faith this morning doing her handwriting page. Some pages have 2 sides to do and some only one. Today was a 2 sided day, causing her to be unhappy. We discussed wasting energy on complaining about the work load, and just get it done. She did! And is now a happy girl again! Lesson learned? Maybe? Time will tell.

As Jacob gets older and finds other things to fill his time, such as telephone, texting, and facebook, his skills of procrastination have gone to an all new level! Thankfully Mike and I have been able to control some of this with rules and guidelines, but he still works at a different pace and method than I would.

Haley hasn't quite reached the level of social life Jacob has, but she would much rather not work as a general rule. Just how her personality is. She has a book to read and a report to write on it. I don't think she has even cracked the book open yet. However, she has gotten 100% on the last 3 reports she has written so I can't say there is anything really wrong with her methods. It just isn't how I would do it.

Today God I pray for patience and understanding. They are individuals who have their own system of accomplishing the work, and it isn't always going to be the way I would do things. Is it okay to let them go and do it their way, and if they fail just pick up the pieces?