9-Year-Old Boys and Homeschooling and Moms

I have an almost-9-year-old boy. I've raised three of these creatures prior to the current one, and as he pulls his typical 9-year-old antics, I remind his disgusted/annoyed/frustrated older sisters that this is perfectly normal. 9-year-old boys are disgusting/annoying/frustrating.

Case in point:

Big sister said, "Take those out of your ears or you'll ruin them."

He replied, "That's the point."

I am confident that his goal was not to actually ruin the pencil or his ears, but as soon as sister made a comment, he felt the need to put her in her place and communicate that he is above the need to worry about a mere pencil/eraser/ear drum.

Also, get aload of these fingernails:

Gross.

But most of us moms-of-9-year-old boys can look past the smell and the muddy shoes and the constant activity. Most of us see a future right around the corner that all too soon includes careful clothing selections and Axe Body Spray. No hurry.

What we struggle with as homeschooling moms of 9-year-old boys is some variation of this:

Hiding under the bean bag because, math. Poor kid. I asked him to do his two pages of math and it was surely a sign to him of the coming apocalypse. 

I'm sure the big question here for those of you moms who are currently homeschooling a 9-year-old boy is, "So what do I do when he collapses on the floor because I dared to present him with school work?"

A few tricks that have worked for me:

• Turn on some motivating music. The day of the pencil-in-the-ear, we listened to the Star Wars playlist from Apple Music.
  
• Give work in short bursts, followed by activity or "brain breaks". Favorites here are jumping jacks, sprinting up and down the stairs, running laps around the yard, and getting to use the bathroom. Just kidding. But no, really.
  
• Liberally use the stop watch on your phone. My boys in those middle ages love to be timed, whether it's a math workbook page or emptying the dryer.

Homeschooled Boys: Why Apple made a stopwatch on every iPhone.

• Allow food. A bowl of peanuts, a handful of carrot sticks, and yes, even that gum you and I were never allowed in school. I get it - they wanted to preserve their flooring - but in our home, gum often allows a student to focus on the task, much like doodling or knitting or coloring helps us adults to focus on a speaker or podcast. 
  
• Remind them that you are their teacher, and as such, they do need to get their school work done. But when they've finished, let 'em go! Give them the freedom to play/exercise/read/whatever.

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Need more good resources all about boys?

Did you know that other parents struggle with the 9-12-year-old boy group, too? Our friends Hal and Melanie Young over at Raising Real Men have a whole "boot camp" (encouragement/major cryfest/boost) just for parents tackling this stage of life.

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Mom, Are You Taking Care of Yourself?

The guilt. Why didn't anyone tell me about the guilt that accompanies being a mom?

And then homeschooling. On top of the guilt. More guilt. More guilt that motivates me to want do more for and with my kids than is humanly possible, but somehow I run ahead with awesome ideas and don't count the cost. 

Creating 24 layers of rainbow cakes and themed co-op days for 100 kids and their parents (not really, but maybe you do?), photo-copying the entire year's worth of school stuff all at one time (this actually saves my hide in the end), making sure the gluten-free people don't get wheat anywhere, running 4 loads of laundry a day, getting kids where they need to be, lecturing about the affects of Prohibition on the following American decade, working the back end of blogs and sites and marketing, speaking to groups all over, and keeping my toenails painted.

It takes a toll.

Even if you're smarter than I am and saying no to all of the options that abound, are you taking care of yourself? Here's a little checklist to ask yourself this week. It's not meant to add to your to-do list, but to help you evaluate where you might be neglecting your own health. I'm adding no guilt to your cornucopia!

1. Do you know how much sleep you should be getting? Find out here.
   
2. Are you sleeping as much as you should be? 
   
3. Are you brushing and flossing your teeth at least twice each day? 
   
4. Have you seen a dentist this year? Here's why you should.
   
5. Have you had your annual appointment with an obstetrician or midwife? Current PAP guidelines are here (and they're no longer annual).
   
6. Are you conducting breast self-exams? Here's how.
   
7. Take a shower, Mom. A fussy baby can sit in the car seat on the floor of the bathroom while you jump in, soap up, rinse off, and jump out. 3 minutes, tops. Baby will survive, I promise (and I've raised 8).
   
8. Are you eating more or less than you should be? I find myself snacking on the leftovers, and my body doesn't need that food. Try the Lose It! app to help you keep track.
   
9. But don't just count calories. Make your calories count! Get nutrition help if you don't know where to start. 
   
10. Exercise. Oy. The secret? Find something you love to do that moves your body. Anything. Forget trying to look like the people on the video. It's their job to look like that. Is it yours? No. Just move your body every day in some way you enjoy enough to keep you doing it.
    
11. You know that smoking and excessive alcohol are unhealthy. So are prescriptions drugs or coffee or Diet Coke or anything else you feel you must have to make it through every day. Yes, I said coffee. A socially acceptable addiction, but it's still an addiction any way you slice it.
    
12. On the other hand, if a cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea or a cube of butter or whatever is your afternoon pick-me-up, then so be it. It's not cocaine. If you are having serious withdrawals if you don't have that thing, then it's probably time to evaluate your commitment to it.
    
13. Are you nurturing your mind? Reading something you love, listening to podcasts that stretch you, watching TED Talks, taking a class on Khan Academy, skimming the news and current events, attending a book signing.
    
14. Are you taking care of your soul? If you need wisdom, ask our generous God and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. James 1:5