My mom used to make fun of me and called me the absent minded professor. That started in 2nd grade when I was so focused on finishing my homework before school one day that I walked to the busstop without any shoes on.
I still have this problem. I concentrate so heavily on my projects (primary, my work-from-home-freelance job, cleaning the house, financial planning) that I don't concentrate enough on my children. I forget to be mentally present. And I hate that.
So every day while the kids are at school, I plan a project to do with them when they get home. It helps me change gears, gets me thinking about them, helps me unwind.
This last one was pretty fun. I had scoured the Internet for a good idea, and modified it slightly. I wrote numbers in the bottom of an empty egg carton. Then I placed two beans inside. When the kids got home, we shook the egg carton. We used the numbers the beans landed on to make number problems. Claire wrote and solved addition equations, and since Claire is just starting, during that time, Grace would use the same two numbers to create multiplication and division equations, along with creating fractions that she would then simplify. I loved it. Because usually, I have to choose an art activity for them to both be equally challenged. But this math activity solved that problem. Yay.
What do you do after school? I need more ideas.
