At the dinner table Jill was reduced to tears over her stressful life. It drives her crazy that she doesn't seem to ever have time to lay around and read for hours at a time. As we talked about it we came to the conclusion that school is really what's in the way! Unfortunately it's not really optional right now, so we had to figure out a solution.
Peirce soon joined in on the song to complain that he never gets to watch TV anymore. I said we could quit swimming, and then we'd have more time after school - but they weren't willing to do that.
We talked about it for a while and Jill decided to figure out all the things we normally do in a day and figure out how much time that stuff takes. Then she was left with a block of time that we couldn't figure out what it's used for. This seguayed into a great discussion about using time wisely and we talked about how we could make better use of our time in the morning and in the evening so that we could all have a little quiet time to read or study or watch TV or whatever we want to do. Its was quite an answer to prayer because the kids have been driving us crazy in the mornings lately! Getting them to quickly get ready for the day is more like pushing a rope. Impossible!
We wrote down the things they needed to do in the mornings, and then figured out how long they take (they actually went and got their backpacks ready, laid out clothes for tomorrow, washed their face and brushed teeth, etc.) and we timed each step to see how long it takes. Turns out they could probably get ready for school in 15 minutes in the morning if they did about 10 minutes worth of getting ready the night before. Faces were much brighter after that realization. We figure if they get up and get ready right away, then we have breakfast, then everyone can do their own thing from 7:30 - 8:00. At 8:00 we always read scriptures together for about 15 minutes and then go to the bus.
Tomorrow we're going to give it a try. I'm really excited about the idea!! Imagine.....30 minutes to myself every morning for quiet reading, study, prayer, or whatever I want!! In the evening we're going to all go into our rooms at 8:00. At 8:30 Peirce's lights will be out, and at 9:00 Jill's light will be out - but for that time they can read or play with lego, or whatever they want - as long as it's quiet and in their rooms. They were as excited about the idea as I was! :0)
Thanks Jill for prompting a great FHE lesson tonight! She even came up with a great scripture that applied to it all. Mosiah 4:27
27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he
should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things
must be done in order.
1 comment:
Sounds fantastic!
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