Marital Talk

I’m cross posting this on my Mom is Teaching blog for obvious reasons.  Or at least I think they are obvious.

It relates to activity level of children and also their sleep habits.  You knew I couldn’t let it go that easily didn’t you? 

The Case Against Homework quotes an Early Childhood Education Professor named Olga Jarrett,

"When kids are not allowed a chance to be playful, that playfulness tends to come out in negative, disruptive ways."

I see this every day.  If Jace stays home with me, we stay indoors, he plays, I write, we read a book, we play, we eat, he plays, I write, we take a nap and when Walker gets home from school I swear it is like someone has fed him a hyper pill.  And, in the end, he gets in trouble.  Then, it is bedtime and he gets in more trouble.  It is a vicious cycle. 

Then, days like today (and most of this last week), the boys have played outside after Walker got out of school and Jace has been to my mom’s and played out doors some as well.  They come in, eat, take a bath and go to bed - exhausted.  And, they sleep well, remember.

Winter time is hard because it is more difficult to get him out and about for long periods of time and I’m sure it will affect Walker as well being cooped up in a classroom.

The bottom line goes like this:

an active child that gets the necessary physical activity does better when asked to do quiet activities and rests better after a day full of activity, mental and physical - pretty simple formula if you ask me.

My opinion goes back to a prior post where I said that my parents felt like it was my job to go to school and do homework and they didn’t intervene.  I feel very much like that.  The only job children should have is playing and learning and the more you can make learning look  like playing, the better off you and the child will be in the long run. 

My husband and I don’t see eye to eye on this all the time.  I mean, he has a hard time gripping the fact that when the boys have been cooped up, they need time to run wild and free.  And, if they don’t get that time, they become difficult and they simply aren’t sleepy at their normal bedtime. 

We are making progress, lots of progress, but it is a four-way battle every night; Daddy versus Mommy versus Walker versus Jace.  Every night….I can’t get Wayne to try to think like a 3 and 5 year old….should be easy, but in most cases, not so much.

Ok, stepping off my soap box.