Take My Child. Please.

~ Laura

Two snow days in a row, and, boy, the moms are pissed off.

Sure, I was a little misty when Jonah went off to full time Kindergarten last fall. I missed his chirpy optimism and industrious activity. I disliked his teacher who now had a larger role than I in shaping his young mind.

And what the hell do they do all day? Maybe this is a boy thing, but when I ask Jonah what happened at school, I get two responses: “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember.” I have absolutely no clue what goes on for the majority of my kid’s waking hours.

I’m also pretty skeptical about the entire structure of the school day, the teacher education system, and the existence of school workbooks.

For all those reasons, I was not so happy when Jonah started school full time. But, during the past few months, I have gradually let go. My kid will probably turn out okay even if his teacher and his school are unimaginative and bland.

I let go and began to enjoy having just one child to usher through the day. One child who still takes a two hour nap. Two hours of blessed, blessed quiet.

When the class parent called this morning to announce the cancellation of school, she groaned. “What am I going to do with them today?,” the parent wondered.

I have dressed and undressed the kids three times for the outside; shoveled the driveway; did a puzzle; made breakfast, snack, lunch; read stories; given timeout; drove in a large circle for a carnap; and wiped tears.

There are something like 8 million home schoolers out there. I admire the parents who do that. It’s hard work, and homeschooled kids seem to be doing quite well. Hats off to them, but that’s so, so not for me.

Published by Laura

4 thoughts on “Take My Child. Please.”

  1. So, I only have one kid, and she’s still a toddler, but I hear that from people all the time, too: “What do you do all day with a kid?”. Or I see stay at home moms, or women who will soon be SAHMs, on bulletin boards saying things like, “I don’t know what to do with them all day–what do you do with your kid?” It shocks me. El Pistola wears me out, and she is pretty easy, as far as toddlers go. I can’t imagine having time left over in the day when I don’t have anything else to do. She keeps me hopping all day!
    Maybe I have no endurance. Maybe I am just a wuss. But I never, ever feel bored or run out of things to do on the days I am home all day with her. In fact, I am usually begging for mercy by the time my better half gets home! 🙂

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  2. I actually like having my kids home. Okay the older ones. The little-into-everything-pain is better in small doses. Supervising him is a full-time job. My girls entertain themselves. When I was a total SAHM I hated it when school started. I liked having companions. Okay, the truth is I hated getting up early. I’d rather sleep til 8 and have unscheduled days.
    My other complaint about school is homework. School has them from 8 to 3, yet I have to give them more time through homework. I understand the need for children to practice, to go deeper into a subject, but I wish they would think of another way. I find parenting challenging enough without having to teach too. By the way I love my kid’s school. They don’t use textbooks, it’s project based learning. It’s a wonderful community and great teachers, but I still hate homework.

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