About two weeks after P was born, I put her down for a nap and I lay down myself. But my mind was a jumble of things I wanted to do and places I wanted to go. A and I were members of our local Mom's Club and I had ideas for park days and field trips that I wanted to organize. I ended up not napping with P that day, and I got up, grabbed a notebook and began making a list of all that I wanted to do. At the time, I thought it was hormones or possibly that the preeclampsia and pregnancy had zapped my energy and I was listless and too exhausted to have cared much in the weeks prior but as that wore off and I recovered from the c-section, I had a renewed lease on life.
I am starting to think my excitement to plan things had little to do with pregnancy and everything to do with spring!
I love winter. I love snow. Give me a good book, a cup of hot tea and my down comforter and I am a VERY happy girl.
But as spring approaches, as things start to thaw...I become excited at the possibilities of change and growth and new life...
I come out of hibernation.
That is how I feel right now.
We have attended a lot of different homeschool activities and field trips and group playdates. There are always at least half a dozen girls P's age there. Seldom are there any kids A's age there.
A is perfectly content to play with the kids that are P's age. She is even happier if there are some toddlers whose mothers entrust them to A's care.
A has kept contact with her public school friends. But I really want her to have homeschool friends her age. My feeling is that if this is to work long-term, she will need to have friends that like her, are homeschooled, that she can vent to and talk with and spend quality time with. At some point in the teen years you want to be different, but not too different. And then there is the whole Identity vs. Role Confusion thing in adolescence.
I have been praying for A to meet a homeschool pal that she can really relate to that is her age.
I decided to post a message on our local homeschool Yahoo group asking if there were activities for kids ages 10 & up. The immediate response was from a woman in the town next to mine saying, "What you are finding is the common issue among homeschoolers. Many kids go to school around that age or are involved in other activities. My son is frustrated as well. We would love to meet."
The next time I got on, there were two more messages, both from moms in towns adjacent to mine, both with 11 year old girls! They were also interested in meeting. One mom messaged me personally and asked for A's email so the girls can start getting to know each other.
I posted a park meetup for Friday at a local park. I am praying that the weather cooperates and if not, I can come up with a Plan B. (It seems like a small thing compared to the troubles of others, but prayers are appreciated!)
The response has been OVERWHELMING!!
Every time I open my email there is another mom with an 11 or 12 or 13 year old son or daughter who is excited to meetup on Friday.
Suggestions are being made for a bike day at a local park, a mom's night out and a hike through a local nature preserve!
Already the moms are joking with each other about cell phone deprivation in tweens (lol!) and commiserating about the woes of raising pre-teens!
I am considering starting a Yahoo group just for this age group.
I have made it clear that in no way to I want to exclude anyone, but it just seems as though there are a lot of activities for the 8 and under crowd and not so much for the "tweens".
A has been emailing her new friend, B. They have discovered that they both enjoy creating things and reading.
Another girl also loves Taylor Swift and reading and writing stories.
I am getting very, very excited for Friday!
I am starting to think my excitement to plan things had little to do with pregnancy and everything to do with spring!
I love winter. I love snow. Give me a good book, a cup of hot tea and my down comforter and I am a VERY happy girl.
But as spring approaches, as things start to thaw...I become excited at the possibilities of change and growth and new life...
I come out of hibernation.
That is how I feel right now.
We have attended a lot of different homeschool activities and field trips and group playdates. There are always at least half a dozen girls P's age there. Seldom are there any kids A's age there.
A is perfectly content to play with the kids that are P's age. She is even happier if there are some toddlers whose mothers entrust them to A's care.
A has kept contact with her public school friends. But I really want her to have homeschool friends her age. My feeling is that if this is to work long-term, she will need to have friends that like her, are homeschooled, that she can vent to and talk with and spend quality time with. At some point in the teen years you want to be different, but not too different. And then there is the whole Identity vs. Role Confusion thing in adolescence.
I have been praying for A to meet a homeschool pal that she can really relate to that is her age.
I decided to post a message on our local homeschool Yahoo group asking if there were activities for kids ages 10 & up. The immediate response was from a woman in the town next to mine saying, "What you are finding is the common issue among homeschoolers. Many kids go to school around that age or are involved in other activities. My son is frustrated as well. We would love to meet."
The next time I got on, there were two more messages, both from moms in towns adjacent to mine, both with 11 year old girls! They were also interested in meeting. One mom messaged me personally and asked for A's email so the girls can start getting to know each other.
I posted a park meetup for Friday at a local park. I am praying that the weather cooperates and if not, I can come up with a Plan B. (It seems like a small thing compared to the troubles of others, but prayers are appreciated!)
The response has been OVERWHELMING!!
Every time I open my email there is another mom with an 11 or 12 or 13 year old son or daughter who is excited to meetup on Friday.
Suggestions are being made for a bike day at a local park, a mom's night out and a hike through a local nature preserve!
Already the moms are joking with each other about cell phone deprivation in tweens (lol!) and commiserating about the woes of raising pre-teens!
I am considering starting a Yahoo group just for this age group.
I have made it clear that in no way to I want to exclude anyone, but it just seems as though there are a lot of activities for the 8 and under crowd and not so much for the "tweens".
A has been emailing her new friend, B. They have discovered that they both enjoy creating things and reading.
Another girl also loves Taylor Swift and reading and writing stories.
I am getting very, very excited for Friday!
