Stop Reading So Much

Being a homeschooler, we say some pretty odd things sometimes that other parents typically don’t.

Math is not done on the dog.

(well, honestly, sometimes it is)

No we are not using the cat in a science experiment.

(unless it is on feline behavior)

Why are you doing your handwriting upside down?

(apparently it’s better that way)

How did you even get your laptop up there?

(rafters in the garage is not a safe place)

My personal favorite and the one that gets the most laughs when others hear it is when I have to tell my daughter she is reading too much again. She will read for 8 hours straight, stop for a snack and try to pick up the next book to keep going. She will read like this for a whole week too if I am not careful.

josh-applegate-p_KJvKVsH14-unsplash

I love that she loves to read. She is exactly how I was at her age, but my mom was right, we need to find a balance.

Too much of anything, good for your health or not, is not good for you at all.

If you drink too much water, you can actually poison yourself. There are studies on marathon runners that show that when they train too hard, too often, it actually weakens their hearts. Too many protein rich foods can be bad for you. Too many salads all the time can be bad for you. Even too much reading can be bad for you.

Balance is necessary in all things in life.

We need to teach our kids this for their benefit. It is not always reading that needs to be limited in my house. My older boy is obsessed with Legos and will over focus on the smallest details and become very agitated when interrupted. My younger boy has a common tendency to joke around too much when he should be doing other things.

What ever their one thing is, balance is needed. I show my kids balance by modeling it (or trying to, because, let’s be honest, life likes to throw us curve balls) but I also talk to them. I point out how long they have been doing the one thing. I ask them questions to specifically get them to think through what the issue is and what else they could do. I discuss with them why it is an issue, despite how good reading is. I have them tell me options of what they want to do instead of what they were and then they move on.

rachel-ns-pic-canva

Greetings! My name is Joy and I am currently a stay at home mom who is home schooling her three kids in South Carolina. I love learning and I love sharing the love of learning with others so getting to home school my kids and watch the “ah ha” moments when they understand something is unbelievably rewarding. I have been homeschooling since my twins were preschool age so we are going on 8 years now. I am also a military spouse so we have the added joy of being a military family with some of the complications that come with it.  As a family we stay busy with our scouting groups, American Heritage Girls and TrailLife, and we do many camping and hiking trips with them. When I have down time, I am typically reading books I have sitting around the house, on YouTube/websites getting more information on different home school programs or working on plans for homeschool. I look forward to being able to share our experiences with everyone and help encourage all homeschooling families.