Brian and I have already decided that we are not cut out for homeschooling. I firmly believe in the public school system. I went to school to be an educator but fell short of completing my degree. I have been told at various times that I should be an educator; I'm not saying I shouldn't, but I am saying I shouldn't be my children's educator.
The irony right now of this statement is that my kids are attending a Lutheran preschool. I love the school, the educators that work there and the church itself. We have had some rough patches but overall, I am happy with our choice to send our kids there.
I have nothing against a private education but I do feel like it's not right for us. There is an excellent Lutheran school system in our town. We've attended events at the school building; it seems like they are on the right track educationally. The cost is prohibitive but even more, I don't want my kids growing up with an air of superiority around them. I went to public school (as did my husband). In fact, I went to school in what many consider to be one of the worst districts in the state!
That opinion aside, I received a wonderful education. I loved most of my teachers (no one loves all of them), had a great fondness for learning and overall became quite a nerd.
What I'm learning not to like is spring break. See, the problem is that Jeremy thrives in a structured environment. It's one of the many reasons we're sending him to all-day kindergarten next year. It's our local school district's pilot year of all-day kindergarten. There is a fee involved but we are committed to paying it because we know that it will help Jeremy succeed.
He's always been a creature of habit, since he was little. I'm not sure about the nature versus nurture, but I can tell you that he grills me on a daily basis about what we're doing. He grills me about tomorrow's activities, too. He keeps tabs on what we're doing and gets frustrated and emotional if we stray from the path I set forth.
Bekah and Doug are more go-with-the-flow kind of people. Bekah does periodically check with me on what's going on, but she's nowhere near as stringent as Jeremy in making sure we're adhering to a strict schedule. Doug is a free spirit. So far, all he requires is some body of water (dog bowls are sufficient), stairs he can climb and cabinets he can raid. As long as he has a cup of milk and one or all of those things, then he's fine.
So you can understand why spring break is not as joyful as it should be. I want very much to embrace the laid-back spirit of not having to rise at dawn to prepare for the day. I like staying up late, I like sleeping in, I like not having to be places by specific times. All of this appeals to me in a great way. The problem is, if everyone is not on board with this plan it makes life extremely difficult.
Today was a perfect example. We did have to be somewhere this morning (albeit not at the crack of dawn). I have tried to get in the habit of laying out the kids' clothes so they can change when they go downstairs. Owing to this week's laid-back schedule, I didn't do that this morning. Before I was even able to brush my teeth, Bekah was in my bathroom telling me Jeremy had scratched her. The evidence was glaring; I knew she wasn't lying. He received a punishment (iPad taken away for the day) and was sent on his way.
That was the first of a series of punishments he received today. As of the writing of this blog entry, he is still awake and trying to "spend time with me." I can assure you, I'm done with that activity today. He was relentless today, asking more than his usual number of questions, being annoyed by and annoying his sister, pushing his baby brother down and generally just not coping well with life.
And that's only day #1 of spring break. Really, 4 more days? Seriously?!?! I'm going to need a vacation when this week is over.
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