Now we're back in Russia, and my routine has been adjust to jet lag, get up, get sick, try to survive the day and have some meaningful interaction with Little Man.
I'm ready for more! However, I'm having a really hard time finding a starting point in providing structure for both of us. I would appreciate any suggestions!
There are certain elements that I know need to be included every day, but I currently begin to feel overwhelmed when I try to think about fitting them all in! Here's the short list:
~Bible Reading
~Physical Therapy (walking, arm strengthening exercises)
~Occupational Therapy (I want to focus on hand coordination for now, thinking ahead to writing)
~Speech Therapy (increasing vocabulary)
And then the more "school" type activities can often be fit into the therapy categories, such as learning colors and numbers and letters.
And here are the other things I'm hoping to fit in every day:
~Grocery shopping, at least every other day so Thomas doesn't have to do it all. This will involve at least 2 hours of the day.
~Outside time for at least 1 hour. It takes us about 25 minutes to gear up for going outside, so I'd like to be there for a while.
~Rest time
~Reading time, books other than Bible Reading time
~Independent play
Am I asking too much? Perhaps I am, but I would appreciate the insight of others! I think that part of my struggle, too, is simply remembering that Isaiah learns differently than other kids. During our time in the States we became increasingly aware that while Isaiah learns well and continues to progress, there are definitely some delays. I have to constantly find that balance of pushing him, but not looking for things that aren't going to happen on a "normal" schedule. I want to make learning fun for him, just like every parent, I think. I want to learn him well, so that I can help him in the best way possible.
3 comments:
Thanks for the comment on our blog. The dates are January 17-27 and yes, Sheila will not be going which makes us sad. Please do pray for her and the kids left behind!
I am sorry we did not all get together while you were still in the States.
We will keep your family in our prayers and congratulations on the little girl!!!
Just a quick thought, Cristy----some of the learning that you want to do with Isaiah can be combined with other activities. Such as while you are cooking, cleaning, ironing etc he can be in his walker strengthening his arms while you practice vocabulary, sing songs,and learn colors. You can also practice those things while at the grocery store as you point out green veg, orange carrots and count items you buy. You're a creative person so I know you can incorporate his learning with every day life and make some of it into games so it's relaxing and fun. (you may already do these things)
I know that's not completely structured, but it is less stressful and gets it all done.
We're so excited about another granddaughter !!
Love mom
I know you posted this a while ago, and I was thinking about it some later that day, but forgot to come back and post it.
I was thinking that it's always better for me to start small and add things in later. You are the best one to decide what is too much to try to fit into your days, but a daily routine is not a thing to overfill. The more reasonable your expectations are, the easier it will be to keep the routine and the more effective the routine will be to reduce your stress and help you be effective and efficient. You know all this, but it's what I thought. My only remotely practical suggestion is that you might include some of the less urgent things every other day--for example, you might do the grocery shopping every other day during a morning time slot, and on the off days have some outside time during that same time. That way you are getting those things in regularly, even if not as often as you would like. So that's what I thought. :-)
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