Tried and True

"Look Mom! It's snowing!"

I have run into a problem, and it seems to be a re-occurring one.  For the past month or more Thing One has been a little terror and I haven't been able to figure out why, or what to do with him.  Finally I called my mom, and after talking about it I remembered a few things about him that I'd figured out a while ago.

Thing One craves attention.  Okay, that's normal.  He also has a personality type that needs structure.  Having a routine provides him with a sense of security; he's not overwhelmed by complete freedom and he knows when to do what.  That's more of a problem for me.  The only times I have ever been able to keep a schedule were when I was in school or at work. 

These are things that I've known about my oldest son since he was about eight months old, and I had the solution figured out then, too.  It's amazing how often we can forget things.  What am I doing about it this time?  We have started school. 

Nick and I had always intended to homeschool our children; and while three and a half years sounds a little early, Thing One is ready.  He is intelligent and creative; he needs a consistent routine, and he needs an outlet.  Yesterday he identified and colored the circles on a page of shapes and he traced curved lines.  We're working slowly on identifying letters and numbers, and I hope to start him tracing those soon. 

If I let myself think about it, I'm a little daunted by the thought of starting school while I'm pregnant, but yesterday went so well.  It was the first day in nearly two weeks that he didn't deserve a punishment.  I figure that my sanity is worth a little extra exhaustion.  Besides, I have a single serving size container of Haagen-Dazs coffee flavored ice cream in the freezer! 

Zizi