Hello Blog! I've finally taken the first step to sharing my triumphs, trials and tribulations as both a mommy and a full time kindergarten teacher. Ideally, this is the beginning of a place where teachers, moms and teacher-moms alike can come for tips, tricks, stories, advice, camaraderie and hopefully leave with a smile. And if you happen to wear both hats as I do, I welcome you to join me in the balancing act of sending your precious little one into the hands of....*GASP*...another teacher!!
Let me pull a page from the Pre-K 3 archives to give you some background. So, after searching furiously for a 2.5 hour program that shared my philosophies of hands on, developmentally appropriate learning, I enthusiastically sent my little guy (here-after to be know as MLG) to school. Now, I knew it would be difficult to ALSO find a school that embraced my ideas regarding creativity; NO coloring pages, NO step by step, cookie cutter "art" projects, so I faked excitement over the ones that my son came home with that CLEARLY were completed by an adult. "OK," I thought, "you can't have everything, right? I can cultivate his creativity at home."
But then it happened. In November, he was sent home with HOMEWORK; he had to TRACE DOTTED LETTERS OF HIS NAME OOOON...wait for it, WAIT FOR IT...........LINED PAPER!!!!!!!!!! I could feel my face getting hot, heart pounding; my hand uncontrollably reaching for the telephone...
Somehow, I managed to contain myself. But I knew in that moment, I had made a terrible mistake; oh the guilt! My husband, family and non-teacher friends subtly gave advice ranging from getting a hobby to Xanex. However, my teacher friends GASPED as I did, rallying around me in support, full of suggestions on how to handle it, completely condoning my obsessiveness about "the first incident".
This my new friends, is why I am here!
Now that MLG is at the ripe old age of four and a half, and enrolled in a public school preschool, I am painstakingly honing my skills at developing a good relationship with his teacher and other school professionals WHILE staying true to my educational beliefs and philosophies. As I share my experiences, I'd love to hear feedback from others: how you handled a similar situation, what are you REALLY thinking, how you solved your problem, but mostly...how you handled your own BALANCING ACT!
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