hoorAAaaAAy!

oh, boy! is this former teacher turned mother ever in for some trouble? why yes she is!

e has a little tote that she takes back and forth to school. the identical tote bag is given to each child when they enroll in the school and its purpose is similar to, say, a mailbox. if you have a note for the teacher, a tuition check, or an item to donate to the class, you put it into above mentioned tote. the teacher checks the totes each day, removes the contents and then refills the tote with any items that the school has for you (ie. artwork, newsletters, invoices, work completed in class...) the contents of the tote today concerned me. first, it was crumpled up. second, it had A's and a's all over the place in a random pattern that made this "type A" dizzy. third, the type of a's that were on it, aren't the same font that is taught in the local kindergarten. yikes! just writing that out, makes me see how crazy i am. but for the first time, it's my kid. and suddenly, i see myself turning into eric mcarthy's mother (the mom that drove me the most nuts during my third year of teaching because she thought she knew how to do my job way better than i ever could)! oh, my!

another content from the tote was an assignment. yes, e came home from school today with some "homework". and while i could write an entire entry on that fact alone, this entry isn't about the actual receiving of the homework on the preschool level. it's about the execution of homework.

her bag contained a three page packet of letter writing worksheets. my first thought was, "did everyone get one of these, or just my little angel?" i know, again, writing it out makes me see just how difficult of a mom i am going to be. and i promise you, i will fight these urges tooth and nail because no teacher deserves to deal with this little 'ol teacher turned momma. but i would be lying if i didn't admit the thought crossed my mind.

now you must know that my little e was ecstatic about the homework. it was her first assignment of its kind and receiving it made her feel big, mature and very grown-up. the first chance she had, she wanted to tackle that homework. so much so, that her page almost became a replica of the first page extracted from the tote (see photo above). this momma, not willing to let her babe make "A's" with reckless abandon, and more concerned about precision, had to do a little intervening.

and while i intervened, i saw the micromanaging mother for what she can be, a pain in the tush! and so i decided to step back a little bit. i chose to give her a few tips and then to just step back and let e be e. it was hard! as she rapidly made A's and a's all over her paper with great fervor, i decided to close my eyes and just join in with her enthusiasm. i decided to let go of my need for perfection and to celebrate her enthusiasm for letter making. does it really matter if her A's have curvy sides? at this stage in the education, can an a be lopsided and disconnected from its stem? what really matters is that she is trying, that she cares about learning to make letters and that she is strengthening those fine motor skills just by picking up the pencil.

and just look at her proud little self! she is thrilled- thrilled that she has made letters, thrilled that she has just participated in her first homework assignment, and thrilled with her learning!


and isn't that what learning is all about? yes, it is going to be a long road for this momma. but one thing is for sure, my little e is going to keep it interesting and very exciting.