“I said I wanted it all and I got it. Wonderful kids, great husband, and a good career—I’ve got a lot of plates spinning. I try hard for work-family balance but there’s never enough time to teach my children as much as I’d like.”

A busy mom once told us, “If you want to communicate with me, make it six words or less and put it on bright green paper.” We get you. You multi-task just to make it through the day. Use drive time to teach your preschoolers numbers, letters, colors, and shapes. When you’re at a stoplight say, “I spy a little yellow truck.” Or, “I see a great big red capital letter ‘A’.”

Mealtime can be learning time too. Ask your four-year-old to bring you an onion and a can of green beans from the pantry (She’ll be able to do it if you’re smart and put them where she can reach!) Your two-year-old can set the table (forks DON’T HAVE TO BE on the left) and fold the napkins.

Children love to do housework—especially when they have their own equipment. So, give them their own child-sized broom, squirt bottles and cleaning cloths. Ask your son to wash the windows down low. Let him dust the legs on the furniture while you do the tops. For quick clean ups, set a kitchen timer for ten minutes, and challenge your child to see how clean you can make a room by working TOGETHER for just ten minutes.

Even though your days are full, try to spend some warm, relaxing, silly time with your kids everyday. Let your daughter choose the book you’ll read at bedtime. (Remember to insert your version of funny voices for each of the characters.)

Go outside and roll down a hill with your son. Take all of your kids for a walk during a full moon. Teach them how to howl!