A kid and a clubhouse…

What can be better than a clubhouse when you’re a kid?  Nothing…  A private place, a place of your own, a place to go when you need to be alone! (with 4 kids in the house and 2 adults, that is a much needed place sometimes!)  This week as part of our new schedule, I have instilled “alone time” in the afternoons.  When Ethan takes his afternoon nap, I have instructed the kids that they will also have quiet time that is to be alone time.  I used to try and have them do quiet things during the afternoon after school work was complete.  Yet it didn’t always happen and somehow things were still loud! However this time, I am really making a point of a regular routine of quietness and time alone.  I feel it is important for the kids to have some alone time away from each other since they are together almost ALL of  the time!

Well it has worked out great.  For me knowing that if I can make it until about 2 pm, I WILL have some quiet.  That is enough to get me through a baby hanging on my leg while John and I make playdough, while Grace is practicing violin in my ear, and Luke is trying to explain his latest Lego creation to me.  Sometimes when the noise level gets high and you feel like you are just about to break, all it takes is a glimpse ahead, knowing that I will get a few minutes to catch up on some things or take a coffee break in quietness…

The kids loved the idea.  Grace transformed her closet into a clubhouse.  She has a pretty large double closet, so she and the boys emptied it out, pushed all her clothes aside,  and they decorated the walls, stacked a library of books, and put in craft supplies.  Dolls and stuffed animals and blankets are in there too.   There are also several board games!  Grace has loved using her alone time to go to her special place and read.  When alone time is over, Luke and John go in there to play board games or color. It is wonderful!

This is just another reason to love homeschooling…to let kids be kids.  To let them learn who they are when they are with themselves.  To also have fun together without much extra stimulation;  just books, crafts, and a special place to go.  Homeschooling fosters relationships between siblings rather than pitting them against each other. They have to learn to get along since they are with each other so much.  They are becoming each other’s best friend.  It is truly a gift.