I recently heard someone call themselves a "Play at Home Mom." I loved the term, and while I wish that was ALL I had to do (Does anyone else wish on their shooting stars for a magical maid to come and clean everyday or am I alone on that one?), it made me think about my wee ones and their stage in life.
Some of my friends are really stressing over the fact that their 3-year-old is not yet reading. I have to say, I scratch my head a little at that one, although I try to comprehend how important it is to them. Heck, I'm more concerned if your 8-year-old is not yet reading. This is their time to play, and learn through play, and I'm trying to make the most of it.
Despite the fact that I have lots on my plate and things to do, I make it a point to find time twice a day to sit down and play or read with the kids one-on-one and together (to teach them how to treat each other). Some days I admit, I have to actually leave the house to pay better attention to my kids. There is too much here to distract me from giving them attention.
(And some days there is little play and lots of tears and I end the day saying, "Well, we're all alive and I'll call that a successful enough day.")
Don't get me wrong, I am working with Lily on scholastic goals, trying to get her reading, recognizing her letters. It's not all fun and games in our house. Sawyer does a pretty mean puzzle and Lily can recite whole passages of scripture. Wait, that is kind of fun! And isn't that the point? Mommy's can make learning fun too!
So let me raise my unbreakable glass to childhood. To playing. To sitting down on the floor with my little ones to play and remembering that this is how they learn best. To my husband who works hard so that I can stay at home. And to learning through play.
Now that Lily is 4 I see the day approaching when perhaps she is not going to be under my constant care all the time. When I won't be the one writing down her funny quotes (Did you hear the one about Cee-Lo? She said, "That guy with the glasses is so cool. I never had me a daddy like that yet.").
So let your little ones play.
Let them be children for as long as they can.
And let it be stated:
I am a Play at Home Mom.
Addendum: That sounded nice, right? A Play-at-Home Mom? But let's get real. This is a lot of work. Sometimes I literally bang my head against the cupboard when I see that the kitchen needs cleaning yet again that day. Sometimes I am on my knees praying desperately to not blow up at my kids when they turn a whole box of cereal upside down, again. Sometimes (last night) I'm up almost the entire night with sick kids and the next day I'm grasping at children's DVDs to get me through the day. I do play, but I almost felt like my own words were demeaning what I really do. Maybe I'm a part-time play-at-home mom and a part-time work-at-home mom. That sounds a little more like the truth.
