A lot of parents out there are seeing back-to-school ads, and yours truly is no exception. Didn't the schools just let out? I think the time children can enjoy the summer has been whittled down to effectively 5 weeks, from Memorial Day to however fast clerks can pull down the Fourth of July promotionals. My mind--only in it's 30s, now--is wondering, "Didn't we just do this?"
Yes, it's the start of the start of the school year (think store Christmas decorations in September). We've recovered from the shock of paying 20 cents for a tube of Elmer's School Glue (if labeled correctly, it is used to repair school systems--I might be on to something there) and only a dime for a spiral bound notebook, and we're actually thinking of starting school early. Why on earth would we consider that? Well, for one thing, our kids asked us to. See? That's why it was so easy to get over the glue thing! Our shock button was depleted already...ran low on shock juice, next to the windshield wiper fluid in the garage. Oh, I shouldn't post this late at night.
So, we are actually considering starting early. We don't really have a strategy other than it gives us a boatload of freedom to declare days off from school when we honestly need a breather.
It falls in line with my overall objective of letting my kids naturally love learning instead of forcing them through a school year, saying "Well aren't you glad you got that done?" I don't want my kids learning some mentality that you have to dread your job. I want them to find out what they like to do and plunge in, full throttle, taking breaks when they need to. We set these patterns now; they don't just materialize when they graduate.
It goes back to a friend who told me that the key to life is living intentionally. What are we looking to cultivate in our kids? What does what we emphasize in our education methods tell our children? They seem like simple questions we should ask. That's probably why we never ask them.
1 comment:
I love the smell of Back to school. A new Box of crayons for 20 cents causes my heart to palpitate! New pencil bozes and and poater boards of parts of speech and the U.S. Comstitution decorating wall space where the color wheel once hung causes wonderin the days to come. Still there is nothing like unbroken crayons, except the Brown Guy bringing a Box of books to the door!
I am so glad to have a flexible schedule that allows us to camp while everyone else is in too hoy classromms. I mean where is California going to get the money for the A C bills by starting school on August 14TH! That is NOt the time to be sitting in a classroom, you should be in a pool or a lake or surfing!
Because of Jesus, Bobbie
Post a Comment