This week, I want to talk to you a little bit about life interruptions, those inevitable challenges that pop up. Sometimes, they're short-term, and sometimes, they're long-term, but one thing we can depend on is that things will happen.
We can perfect our schedules and routines and smoothly sail along while checking those items off our to-do list, but inevitably, something will occur to throw us off track.
Everything from illnesses to job changes, moving, a new baby, and maybe an older child needing more of our help can interfere with your schedule and routine.
For example, if you have an older child who's getting ready to start school, they may need additional time, attention, or help with homework. All of these things can get in the way of preparing your younger child for kindergarten.
How we handle that when it comes up is critical to maintaining forward momentum and progress, and not becoming discouraged.
A huge part of that is not fooling ourselves into thinking that these things aren't going to happen. If we anticipate interruptions and prepare in advance, it significantly helps us navigate them more smoothly than we would have otherwise.
And again, just stay positive and continue making forward progress with teaching our child.
There are several things that you can do to help prepare and navigate these situations. I divide them into two different categories based on whether this life interruption is short-term or longer-term.
Short-term life interruptions are those that aren't going to be around forever. There's a light at the end of the tunnel.
Things like everybody catching a cold or something happening at work will require you to work extra for a couple of weeks.
There are a few things you can do to really help you out.
None of us like to use screens as babysitters, but if everyone's sick with a cold and you're going to turn to that TV a little bit more than you previously have or than you would like to, one of the things you can do to prepare in advance is to create a watch list for your child of educational programs that are better than just flipping on any old thing.
So go ahead and take some time in advance, or when you run across a program that looks good, add it to the watch list.
Have that available for your child so you know that if you're sick and you need to lay on the couch and turn on that TV as a babysitter for a little while, at least they're watching something educational and wholesome that you feel a little bit better about.
Another thing you can do when you're out shopping is to grab educational coloring books, games, puzzles, and other such items. These are really inexpensive at places like the Dollar Store or the bins in front of Target.
Preferably keep them hidden in a little bag or in your closet somewhere where you can pull out some games, toys, and things that your child has never seen before in an emergency.
If you have a printer at home, then the internet is full of activity pages to print out for your child. Please keep in mind, though, that these activity pages should not be counter-productive worksheets that promote meaningless busy work.
Look for printable materials that intentionally develop fine motor skills and overall cognitive development, help improve problem-solving skills, and introduce new topics to your child.
Sounds like a tall order?
No worries, we've got you covered. You can check out our Brain Booster Activity Pack, which helps to accomplish all that and more.
Another great thing to have on hand for emergencies and for these times when this comes up is a mommy's helper on call. So, if you have a neighbor, a babysitter, a friend, a sister, or someone else you know can call when you need extra help, have them lined up. That will give you the opportunity to take a nap if you're sick or to get that conference call done, even if you call them over for 30 minutes or an hour or two.
That can be a huge help. It's another thing that you can do in advance is to sort of have that list of people that you can call when unexpected things happen.
Now, unfortunately, not every life interruption is short-term. Some of them are longer-term. Unfortunately, sometimes severe illnesses do happen, or maybe it's a positive thing. Maybe there's a new job, or you're moving, or you’re having a new baby, and these are permanent changes.
Sometimes, these life interruptions require a complete reset and a complete change of what worked for us before. In those situations, it's really more about us as parents learning to recognize what's not working for us anymore and being willing to throw that out and change it to something new.
You may have to completely shred your to-do list, your schedule, and your priorities and start from scratch as far as saying, okay, well, that worked for me before, but what is going to work for me in my child now in this new phase?
Take some time off and give yourself a period of adjustment. You've been rolling along, maybe with the lessons and with getting your child ready for kindergarten, and if something happens, go ahead and give yourself a couple of weeks.
You don't have to do anything at all.
Your child's not going to lose all the ground that they've gained. It is okay to take some time off and to take a break when you need to and then work back into it slowly. Progress is progress. So it really helps to not get discouraged when these life interruptions happen. This is where, if you do keep a journal or a photo journal or some kind of record of the progress that your child is making and all of the achievements that you've been getting under your belt, this is the time to go back and look at that and to see all of that progress and to really focus on that, that you're moving forward.
And no matter how slowly it's still forward progress. You don't have to check every item off the to-do list every day or every week to really be successful at this.
Even slow progress is still progress.
So focusing on that positively and not worrying about all of the things that you're not getting to really helps.
Don't forget self-care. During these times, our children look to us for that stability, and if we have a positive mindset about all of the life changes and the disruptions, then your child will as well, and it'll be a smoother transition for them.
Most of the Ready for Kindergarten and Beyond homeschool preschool curriculum is designed to be woven into everyday life, and so that helps too. Learning moments can be very, very simple things. You don't have to sit down and take half an hour to do an activity. You can take five minutes while you're riding in the car, while you're giving your child a bath, or while you're doing the dishes, and they're there with you, talking with you to have a learning moment. And that's something that's progress, even if it's not what you intended to do that day.
And then creating a routine. Perhaps you had a routine before, but suddenly something happened, and everything became disorganized and chaotic. Maybe it's time to sit down and reflect on what the new routine should be and what works now, even if you have to completely change how you did everything before.
Having a routine for your child will really help them adjust to new circumstances and embrace whatever activity you're involved in at the moment.
Routine obviously helps us tremendously, and it helps little children even more. If the old routine is not working, feel free to throw it out the window and sit down to craft a new one that works for you now.
Keeping all of these things in mind, staying positive, focusing on the progress that you are making rather than the progress that you're not making, and just really being adaptable to life circumstances and expecting those things to happen goes a long way toward continuing to make forward progress even during difficult times. I wish you smooth sailing in the future, but when things pop up, I know that you're capable of navigating those and getting back on track.