Education

As a kid, I loved my school break, I mean, loved it! As a parent, I truly hate my kids school break. Selfishly of course, but it has totally messed their schedules up. And for their teachers, they need the break, so I get it.

I have noticed a big difference with Boy B, both before their break and now after and it has been a struggle getting him back on track. Now, that being said, there are other factors, but my point is that the 2 week break has set him back. It has been harder for him to focus and to adjust to the routine of going to school as well. We did keep them on the same bed time schedule while they were out of school as well.

We have had to do a lot of things to ensure that his schedule is on track and spending time, calming him down if his schedule changes.  These are all things that we have to be very in tone with him and what his needs are. Does this add a layer of stress or complexity to our lives? A little. But what it does, in my opinion, is make us better parents.

So today, even though there is no school, we are keeping his lunch schedule the exact same as it would be at school. And we are also breaking his day up into the same intervals that it would be if he were at school. It also helps me see the where the triggers are in his stress levels and helps me adjust his day as needed. I know that school break is important for both the teachers and the students, but does it have to be a 2 week period?

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As a child, my mother has often told me the story that when I was learning to write, that I would become increasingly frustrated because I couldn’t get it right the first time. And because my mother was an elementary school teacher, we had stacks and stacks of the old lined ruled paper and fat pencils.

Last night on the drive home, Boy B asked if he could do his homework when we got home. I mean, I don’t really ever remember a time as a child that I asked to do homework. In fact, I did the opposite that many times, I didn’t tell my mother that I had homework and would do it when I was supposed to be in bed. But last night, after he finished writing the letter Q, both upper and lower case, I asked him to write the first letter of his name and he could not do it.

I had to think quickly, so I flipped the paper over, wrote his name and within seconds, he started writing his name. He was learning to write his name, based off of what I did and showed him. That was such a rewarding moment and experience. It was in that moment, that I felt that the day was complete and that nothing else matter. To see the look on his face that he was writing his own name was just amazing. Was his writing perfect, far from it. But he is learning to write and that is the most important thing.

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