School's... in?

09.02.07

Whoa.  Kids are going back to school, and for the first time so is mine.  It feels kind of exciting, to tell you the truth.  I hear these weepy “put the kid on the bus for the first time” stories from other moms and I have to say… I don’t get it.  I’m not crying, I’m plotting and planning all the things I can get accomplished knowing my girl will be in school for 15 hours a week. 

 

FIFTEEN weekday hours.  I can get my hair cut.  I can go to the dentist.  I can go to the optical shop and pick out glasses.  I can do household shopping all by myself.  Let me repeat that –  I can do household shopping all by myself.

 

Do you have any idea how fast I can buy toilet paper and laundry soap and groceries without a 4 year old alternately dragging her heels and running wild in the aisles?  Without the constant pleas of, “Mommy?  Can we get this?  Mommy!  I need this!  Please please please?”

 

Weepy stories?  Not me.  I’m doing the happy dance.

 

Now granted, I am not putting my child on a bus.  Even I probably am not ready for that one.  But her daycare is offering a 4K program this year, which is a lot equal to half-day kindergarten for 4 year olds, and she’s expected to be there from 8:30 to 11:30 Monday through Friday even when I don’t need childcare.  And it’s free.  Hey, works for me.

 

I bet you can guess that I don’t consider home-schooling an option, hmm?  Yeah, let’s run right out and NOT get involved in that.  A lot of people are doing it.  Quite a few people have expressed outright horror that I might allow the government to educate my child.  I’m not horrified at all.  Like anything in life, I expect we, as a family, will be filling in gaps and expressing our views to our daughter on a daily basis.  If we need to learn more or learn another viewpoint about something, we have the internet.  We also have a library card.  There’s a lot more to education than what happens inside a classroom.

 

I’m not sure I’m smart enough to home-school my child even if I wanted to, although proponents of this type of education tell me that intelligence on my part (the part of the teacher) isn’t anything to be concerned about.  Um, ok.  That seems a little not quite right, but whatever. 

 

One huge barrier to home-schooling (besides the fact that I don’t want to do it) is that my active, bright, busy little girl doesn’t behave all that great for me.  In fact, sometimes we don’t get along at all.  But I went on a big field trip this summer with her daycare and witnessed, with my own surprised eyes, that the girl I deal with at home is not the same girl they have at school.  She loves the kids, she loves the teachers, she listens, and she follows the rules.  Unbelievable.

 

I love my daughter.  I think she is the most amazing human being I have ever met.  I really do.  But I was a grown-up without a child for many years before I was a mom, and I love being alone with the thoughts inside my head.  I’ve missed having that kind of time.  So I really am looking forward to school days. 

 

And my Little Miss is looking forward to it, also.  Almost every day she asks with a sigh, “Oh Mommy, why does it take so long to grow up?”  She’s hoping to learn how to write her name this year.  And because she wants to know everything about everything, learning to read is another item on her agenda. 

 

I’m going to challenge myself this fall.  September and October will be months of organizing my house and my life.  I’m going to go through closets and get rid of stuff, which is one of my favorite things to do.  This house is  reaching maximum overload with toys that are not played with and “that’s my favorite” clothes that are too small.  But just try to get go through a kid’s closet when she’s prancing behind you, screaming, “I need that!  Hey, that’s MINE!”

 

In November the fun begins.  I am signing up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writer’s Month).  My fingers will be clicking the keyboard every spare moment as I make an attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in just four weeks.  I have an idea that has my imagination spinning and my fingers itching, and I’m raring to go. 

 

Some people home-school to avoid public education.  I say… bring it on!