When You're Not Super Mom

We all have those days. Days when you’re certain that every other homeschool mom in the nation is doing a better job than you are. Days when you can’t face another struggle with Billy not understanding what should be a simple math concept. Or days when the you can’t untangle those misplaced modifiers yourself, so how in the world will you help Susie with it?

What do you do on those days when you’re not super mom? Admit failure and hide in the bedroom? Spend the day on facebook reading what all the other successful moms are doing?

Here’s some alternative suggestions for redeeming days when you’re not supermom.

• Gather the children and watch some educational DVDs. They’ll pick up on something, and you won’t feel like the day is wasted.
• Take off for the beach (or forest or meadow, depending on your location) and enjoy a day off. You can encourage the beginning of a shell, rock, flower, or leaf collection. If the kids are old enough, they can check out a book to help them identify and label their collection.
• Take binoculars and toss in some bird watching. Voila, you’ve redeemed your school day and relaxed at the same time.
• Take an educational field trip to a fire station, water processing plant, wild life reserve, etc. The kids can write about it (or narrate their experience) after they get home. Sometimes that just means telling Daddy about it, but they children learn to put together words and ideas to express themselves. The day is not lost!
• Read great books or listen to them on CD. Reading aloud to children is one of the best activities to increase their comprehension. If you chose books that are just above their reading level, it will expand their vocabulary. Have them tell the stories back to you or draw of picture to illustrate the story. You may feel like you’re taking the day off, but the kids will be absorbing and processing a lot of information. Who knows, this may turn into something so valuable, you’ll add it to your regular school day.

Your turn: What do you do on days when you’re not super mom? Do you ever give yourself a day off?