Hope is not an Effective Financial Strategy

Karmacat

Yep, getting rid of the storage is when you really know you're doing well  

shangaijimmy

Missing in action yesterday. Home schooling seemed to take my constant attention between the 2 little uns, and then I needed to do some work in the evening. Before I knew it was 9pm. I've kind of come to the conclusion that I can't really do any meaningful work whilst home schooling is going on. It just doesn't work for me. So I've settled into a routine of finishing with school at 3, popping out for a run or a dog walk and then starting work at 4. Mrs SJ then takes over with the kids and I crack on with whatever has popped up during the day.

95p TT this morning which is always a nice feeling. A TT in the 90's seems like a 'good' amount!! We're owed a bit of cash for some birthday items for family (cake, balloons and a copuple of presents) to help out whilst people are a bit stuck with not going out. The account looks a tad precarious but the cash will be back with us by Thursday and then payday is Monday. No council tax this month so a hefty overpayment will be winging it's way to the mortgage early next week.

As for the house reclamation... Yesterday I really only disposed of a pair of pj's bottoms that have been outgrown by DS2. I couldn't work out if they were 'short longs' or 'long shorts'. On Sunday we made the decision that DD's bedroom really needed decorating, and she needed a new bed. So yesterday (whilst kids were on a 'live lesson') I dismantled her old bed and loaded it in the car for a tip run. Next to dismantle is the wardrobe. It was a rush buy and although it has been well used in hindsight it was too big for the room. So it will be getting emptied and dismantled today/tomorrow and I'm certain that there will be a load of stuff to get rid of. My plan is for a much more 'streamlined' bedroom! Smaller wardrobe, and a small chest of drawers. I suppose she'll have to have a bed...and after that its just floor space.

This morning I have thrown 2 pairs of broken headphones away. So house reclamation continues! And I remain on the hunt for more...

Cheery_Daff

I'm very impressed with how many things you're finding to get rid of! 

As for work - I'm not remotely surprised you're not getting anything much useful done while homeschooling. I'm distracted enough and I don't even have kids! Parents are miracle workers at the best of times, but especially at the minute. 

shangaijimmy

Cheery_Daff said:

I'm very impressed with how many things you're finding to get rid of! 

As for work - I'm not remotely surprised you're not getting anything much useful done while homeschooling. I'm distracted enough and I don't even have kids! Parents are miracle workers at the best of times, but especially at the minute. 

And therein lies the problem...finding so much stuff to get rid of means we've been accumulating too much! I've steadfastly refused to consider moving to a bigger house with the main reason being that we'd only fill it with more 'stuff'! In reality the declutter is solely down to me as it doesn't bother Mrs SJ in the slightest, but I on the otherhand can not 'settle' with stuff lying around.  I've kind of tolerated it whilst the kids were so little, but now the youngest is 5 enough is enough!!!!!!!!!!

And with this I have binned a second set of headphones this afternoon. And then I broke a plastic stool (really annoyed me anyway as it just moved from room to room to room, seemingly on its own... I had to own up to breaking this one as DS2 was in the room with me, and he's flaming murder for tittle tattle! He'd have told Mrs SJ in a heartbeat!

For me there are two key issues to overcome with homeschooling. The first is that as a non teachers we have no real idea how much is too much, and too little. School have been fantastic in setting work but at times I have thought DD had way too much, and then yesterday she seemed to have very little. So its all guesswork and then trying to be 'fair' between a 5yr and an 8yr old with the amount of work and timings...its like juggling a grenade that could go off at any moment, even with the pin still in! The second difficulty is the lack of friends to charge around with at break or lunch to burn off some energy. My 8yr literally is incapable of sitting still! Thank heavens they have each other as I can not imagine how those parents with just the one are getting on.

Suffolk_lass

When I was developing training material for adults we worked on the basis of no longer than 40 minutes before a stamp or shuffle, or you would lose them - in teaching terms I think that is why early years school they work on 20-30 minute segments with a bit of "now you try this...", going out to 45 minute periods by 6th form. The days of someone talking for 2 hours in a lecture style are long-gone and the different ways people learn is key and can be a real issue. I'm hopeless at studying on my own by reading and assimilating but I have excellent recall when I learn by seeing how something happens or being in a group.

I hadn't consciously realised I was a visual learner until someone asked me to remind them of the code for the gym door - I had no idea of the numbers but I could show them the pattern. They had not noticed that keypads are bottom up on calculators and top down on telephones, until I explained why I did not know when faced with their open-mouthed enquiry as to how that worked. My cousin is an Ed Psychologist and nodded sagely when I recounted this.

Keeping your tigger child engaged is a whole different ask (attention span may be the key) I wonder if the 8YO needs to have "go over there and look that up yourself then come back and tell me the answer" as part of their learning to deal with their inability to sit still?

shangaijimmy

I just let DS2 do a dance around the kitchen after every few questions or every sentence. That and pick his pencil up, or his ruler, or his rubber, or his spare pencil, or his spare spare pencil... I'm praying that the rain eases off for a bit at lunchtime to get us out for a walk with the dog. We literally have a 20min window as typically the lunchtimes for DS1 & DS2 don't match!

Only a tiny 5p TT today, which is very disappointing!! Big job this morning. I have a fortunate window of 30mins with all kids on a live lesson at the same time (Mrs SJ working from home and currently chairing a conference call so fingers crossed our broadband holds up), so I will be vanishing upstairs to dismantle DD's old wardrobe and load it into the car for a tip run. This afternoon I should be able to find some time to nip out to the tip, most likely around 2.30pm. Quite exciting really as its an outing! Secretly hoping the queue is huge and I get to sit in silence for 30mins!

I do have some work to do. I have a presentation to try and amend to be suitable for online delivery, and then deliver it this evening. Content isn't totally appropriate for online but needs must. It's usually a very interactive session as well so I think it will be more an outline of ideas and then I'll revisit a few 'bitesize themes' over the coming weeks.

Karmacat

Good grief, Jimmy!  You're a star - you're doing that all day, and then giving a presentation in the evening?  Be kind to yourself!

shangaijimmy

I need to keep myself busy...in all honesty I'm just like DS2 with ants in my pants!

Wardrobe emptied, dismantled, loaded in car and tip run all done during school breaktime. Mrs SJ had strict instructions to start them off if I was delayed getting back, which I was slightly due to a flooded road so I had to detour. Now that tip run has been sorted it leaves me a window mid afternoon to go for a run, so a huge bonus there. I haven't yet sorted through the stuff that was in the wardrobe, I pretty much just threw it all in a huge bag!

Baileys_Babe

You manage to cram so much into your day @shangaijimmy just make sure you don't burn yourself out.

We have always Home Educated our children, one of my children was like your 8yr old, when younger, they are slightly less so now. In the past, if the weather was okay every few maths questions I would set them a physical challenge outside, so many cartwheels or starjumps, or I would set an obstacle challenge which progressed them around the garden and back to the house incorporating the climbing frames and swings. They also seem to be able to concentrate better on being read or listening to instructions to if they are doing something with their hands like colouring in a picture or pattern or using the maze ball.

shangaijimmy

Some great suggestions there Baileys thank you. Funnily enough I'd just commented to Mrs SJ how much easier home schooling had been last time (I'm not for one minute claiming it was easy by the way) with the better weather. We were doing maths and spelling tasks with nerf guns, and then every break/lunch the kids were on the trampoline. When it was really good weather it was paddling pool straight from school. Even me hiding in a corner of the garden for an hour with a beer at 3pm was fantastic!

Well following home schooling I nipped out for a run and it was truly horrific conditions, I seemed to pick an hour when the rain was at its worst! Drenched by spray from cars (just driving along, not veering into puddles), I stepped in a puddle that completely covered my trainer about 5mins in! Then typically just as I was rounding the final corner the rain stopped and the sky was dry for the next hour, grrrr! But all done now!

Quick shower then a rummage and a sort of the stuff in DD's room and in true house reclamation fashion our bin is overflowing (collection day tomorrow). We're in 2 minds as to buy a new carpet or stick with it for a few more years as it'll inevitably end up a mess with her age. I'm going to set loose our carpet cleaner tomorrow and see how it comes out.

Onto this evening and my presentation went well. Better than I thought actually so I'm nor rewarding myself with a beer, whilst watching the snow. Mrs SJ is on the Baileys and watching a film, and we have candles on the go for ambience! I reckon I'll be snoozing by 9pm!!