Cheyenne has always loved school and her experience at preschool was amazing. She was able to develop a love for learning in a nurturing environment. She looked forward to actually going to school and taking on new challenges. Her favorite thing was doing worksheets and coming home to tell us exactly what she learned during the day. She felt so smart. She had a happy heart. She was in love with learning and couldn't wait to attend class Then elementary school happened.
I wrote a post about kids waking up early on school days and how she was so excited to go to school because she had something fun to look forward to. Shouldn't each day at school be a fun and nurturing environment?!
I honestly have to wonder what public school has come to. Is it teachers not having enough time to prep, an unruly class, or maybe just not having access to the proper resources? It makes me sad. I don't like to be the one who forces my daughter to attend class because that is what is socially acceptable. I am not that kind of Mom or person. If she thinks it doesn't fulfill her and make her happy then maybe it isn't the best decision for her at that time. I don't have all the answers but what I can do is offer some nurturing and allow her to make her own decisions.
Just imagine when she's an adult and has to listen to her inner guidance and with the tools I'm helping her use now she is going to be unstoppable.
Picking my Battles with School
I decided to pick my battles when it came to fighting about school this year. I don't have many rules but one rule I do have is education is essential so if you are going to miss school you are either sick or you're doing homeschooling. If you're sick you have to stay in bed and rest but if you're not you are going to be doing a full day of learning and school work. And that's what we've done!
Comparing last year to this year and her emotions around attending the class I have to say this is the best decision we have made. Pick your battles. Luckily for me, I have the opportunity to allow my kids to stay home and am able to teach them and make learning fun.
For Cheyenne emotionally this new rule has changed her outlook on school 100% and there are no fights about going. When she doesn't want to attend she decides she'll be staying home and doing a homeschool day and that's just what we do. As a family, we make decisions that make all of us happy and I want to see my kids with a smile on their faces!
Call me a bad Mom for not sending my daughter to school I don't care because I'm picking my battles.
How do you pick your battles?
8 Comments
Twitter: laurawtgc
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How do you address her absences with the school? I’m behind your decision, though, 100%!
Twitter: lcyra
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Thank you! I just tell the school she will be absent. Usually she just needs a day every now and then as a break so it hasn’t happened too much yet. I just don’t want her pretending she’s sick, I’d rather her just tell me the truth.
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Twitter: vanessa man
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My kids don’t get that option. in my house they have to learn that when they are adults there will be days that they do not like going to work but they have to. Andd that they will have bosses or employees that they will not like or never get along with but they will have to deal with them. For me the time to learn to deal with the issues is now so in my house they go to school. And yes, there are plenty of things that the school and the teachers do that I dislike and do not agree with, but unfortunately we learn to deal with it. I admire you for allowing your daughter to home school on certain days but it certainly would not work for us.
Twitter: lcyra
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Trust me I get what you mean about later in life. I ran a business for almost 10 years with mostly teenagers working for me so trust me I get it when people don’t want to work. I think we all have to choice to choose to do what we love and be true to ourselves! There will always be speed bumps but we live to tell about it right!
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Twitter: KristaFFN
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I love this, love love it!! I homeschool my kids for a number of reasons, but the biggest is that it’s what works for our family, a lot of people don’t get that. You’re doing what works for your daughter which is an amazing thing. I think if more parents were understanding like this there would be a lot less behavior issues in school.
Twitter: lcyra
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I couldn’t agree more! Thanks for stopping by.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this post!!!!!
I just discovered you from fiverr.com, and came to see your site, and saw this AWESOME article!
And just a thought to consider, based on an earlier comment–there is a big difference between deciding not to school/work, and doing the school/work at home.
In my opinion, you are teaching your child how to work BOTH in an environment they did not create (school) AND an environment they help create (home). And in the new economy where more and more people are working from home–either as an employee or self-employed, it appears to me you really are giving your child the best of both worlds.
If you let your daughter not go to school just because she said so, I think that would be teaching her all kinds of bad things, which I won’t go into here.
But, you BRILLIANTLY are teaching her integrity. What is the real objective of education/schooling? Is it BEING AT school? No. It’s doing what needs to be done to progress in your learning. And you are teaching your child the consistency of working even if you don’t feel like it.
AAAAAND, you are teaching her to do that with two different teachers and learning environments. What RICH education you are giving her!
I’m a homeschooling dad, and I know some homeschoolers who had some days like your daughter and they just take their child out of school. I’m all for parents having the right to decide how their children are educated. But I wonder if your solution isn’t TRULY thinking outside the box! I’ve never heard of anyone doing that…and I LOVE IT!
Your post made me wonder if my homeschooling community, replete with people who are self-proclaimed out of the box thinkers, might actually be in a homeschool box. I wonder if my wife and I are in a homeschool box.
Wow.
You have gotten my attention, Laura. Well done!
Twitter: lcyra
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Thanks for stopping by! I never thought of it as thinking outside the box but that is so true. I have to admit I am a little jealous of people who homeschool I don’ think I would have the patience to do it but what an amazing experience it would be.
I appreciate your insight and forward thinking. Thank you for you opinion!
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