Fierce eyes shot up to meet mine over the math book. The words “you hate me!” spat out.
I clenched my jaw. “No, but your attitude stinks.”
Had that child responded with, “yours, too,” they wouldn’t have been wrong.
Prying the day’s plan from my grip one stiff finger at a time, I shoved back my chair. “Go choose a game.”
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I wish the above scene was unique to me, but after years of intense research (read: venting to other moms) I know that it’s just your average Monday.
Or Tuesday.
Definitely Wednesday.
During summer break, while my kids are out roaming the neighborhood with friends, I usually read a homeschool book or two in preparation for fall. Curled up in my comfy chair, coffee at my elbow and the taste of dark chocolate still on my tongue, I envision how *this year* will be different.
This year we’ll all wake up by 7:30, be groomed by 8, breakfast and chores done by 8:30. Then we’ll snuggle on the couch to do our joint subjects like Bible and literature and logic, peaceful whatever-the-correct-hertz-it-is music playing in the background. Perhaps I’ll have fresh coffee and tea for us all, or even a treat.
Sister, I’ve been homeschooling for nine years and have yet to record a five-minute period like that, much less a full morning. I also watched my own mom homeschool for 30 years. When I asked, she couldn’t remember getting us all to cheerfully sit still together for any length of time.
Basically? It’s a pipe dream.
And I mean, honestly, if Jesus—actual Jesus—couldn’t get his students to go through the day without arguing, why do I expect I can?
That’s why I have games in my arsenal. Because when the day goes south, as so many of them do, I need something that snaps us out of our stubbornness while also reminding us that, “Hey! We actually like each other!”
While I *love* games and would probably play all day if given the chance, in the midst of a busy school day with a 1pm deadline breathing down my neck, the decision to drop our work and choose to play instead is a struggle. The taskmaster who runs my day screams in my brain, “But! But! But! Look at all this stuff you’ve gotta do! Tick tock!”
True.
But I also know the following:
1. Kids can’t learn when they’re in freak out mode.
2. Connection is more important than content.
3. Arbitrary deadlines dictated by the national education system don’t take my kids’ needs into account.
4. Done right, homeschooling will give my kids all they need by graduation, hopefully with the added benefit that they still enjoy learning.
And so—when I’m wise—I stop. We grab a game. Not a smart game. Not even a strategic game. Just something to crack our hearts open a little wider and help us smile, maybe even laugh.
I never regret this choice.
Five good games for saving the day:
1. Drop It
2. Zombie Dice (Hide the canister if your kids are young and/or sensitive!)
3. Strike— This super simple game has never failed me!
4. Kornerd
5.Piles!
What games or other tricks do you use to pull your family out of a funk? Share the goodness in the comments!
