Decision Made - "Hands Off"

There are now only 9 more days of preschool. Yeah - celebrate! I will be so happy when I no longer have to deal with the morph-child that results from her preschool days.

Today I got to school early to pick her up and they were out on the playground playing so I went in to talk to her teacher for a few moments. I wanted to find out if they had been having any issues with her at school. There were only two things that were noted. First is that she is very competitive and feels a need to be the first to finish anything. The second is that is if she is corrected about anything she falls apart. I wish that I could say that these two traits were a result of preschool, but unfortunately I have to admit that these are two things that DH and I have constantly been bewildered by with MB since she was a toddler. Of course I am a little irritated that this is the first I have heard about her doing these things at school and she is almost finished. Everyday I pick her up I ask the teachers how her day was and get a smile and told that it was good. This isn't good, these are things I try to work on with MB constantly, but here I am told that it has been ongoing at school all year.

So, I have been thinking the last few days about our schedule and what we have been doing. I have also been looking at whether or not I am contributing to some of MB's behavior issues and stress. The nature kit (see below) was a wonderful success, both in the girls' enjoyment of it but also because I could sit back and really watch MB take the lead in her own learning. With the information I learned today and my observations lately I have decided to institute a hands-off approach until the end of May. I am not going to insist on Math or Phonics each day. If MB wants to do one of the lessons, we will do it. But I am not going to push it right now. I want to sit back and watch what makes her tick, see how she teaches herself. At the end of May I am going re-evaluate my approach.

I still love the classical approach. I like the trivium, I like the history and literature flow. But I don't want to stress MB out. If I can find a way to still go with the classical approach, but maybe instill a more guerrilla approach, per poppins.

I will say one thing, hearing that MB is still struggling with her competitiveness and emotions at school has reconfirmed for me the need to homeschool her. For a few years at least I can remove her from a competitive school environment and let her approach her studies in the best way for her. And hopefully over time DH and I can show her that learning isn't a competition. It's not who finishes first.

The next few weeks should be interesting. I will be writing....

Peace to all,

Amy