Mom School

The last few weeks have been insane, but lesson packed. My sister and I thought it would be really fun to put our three year olds in a joy school program for the year. Benny and Esther love each other so much and were not getting enough play time together. They would seriously go crazy when ever they saw each other and put on these pathetic begging acts to play every time they did see each other. This is really sad since we only live three blocks away and attend church in the same building. So some of Hannah's friends invited us to take turns teaching Joy school. There were five moms and we each took turns teaching two days a week. So basically I only had to teach every five weeks. The other weeks I would just drop Benny off for two hours on Tuesday and Thursday at another mom's house and they would teach the lesson. The semester went pretty well and it was nice to have the two hours to go to doctors appointments and only have to wrestle with Caleb. Benny really enjoyed playing with his cousin.
I have to say though I have learned my lesson of early childhood preschool's. I never liked the idea of putting your child in school at three and four and only decided to try this cause at first the lessons I saw seemed pretty layed back and the kids were learning fun stuff like about bodies and nature, but the more it went on I realized that it was way too structured for little children. The lessons got really lame. I realized I had spent money on lessons teaching my child things that I already taught him on an everyday basis. He was learning how to be kind and polite. How to take care of the world and how to eat right. I'm sorry but if you are not teaching your kid this everyday on your own then what are you doing all day. Benny also learns this stuff in Primary and Family Home Evening lessons. I realized that I could do all this stuff on my own and get way more done. You don't need fancy lesson plans just talk to your kids. Have conversations with them while you grocery shop. Talk about what your buying. Show them by example not to litter and be kind to animlas. You can take them to the Post Office and Fire stations on your own. With out all th tacky songs and flannel board stories. I think that more moms need to quit passing off their children's education and developement to other people. They love being with their mother's and father's at this age. They want to mimick everything we do. They don't need ten other people to tell them how to be nice they just need us. If your worried about your kid getting social interaction with other children then organize play dates or fun crafts so they can have fun and work on motor skills,take your kids to church and primary activities. Go to the park. It is amazing how quickly kids can find another kid to interact with. Preschool would be my last choice for social interaction. What time do they really have to interact and play if it is spent sitting on the floor listening to a lesson or learning to recite songs.
In my opinion Kindergarten is soon enough for kids to be away from there parents on a regular basis. Now I am not saying I am against structure or routine. We have a very structured day and follow a regular routine, but we need to enjoy these few years that we have with our little ones and just have fun teaching them about life and Heavenly Father's plan. Show them they are loved. Take a little time to think before you get in the car or go for a walk, or make their lunch to think about what you can talk about or what they can learn right now here with you. I am also not saying that Benny didn't enjoy his school but he really didn't learn anything that he didn't already know. The mom's always mentioned that they had a little trouble keeping him still or paying attention. Well for goodness sakes he is three how long were they wanting to keep him still. When it was my turn to teach I could never get any of them to sit still for more than five minutes, and I wasn't about to try or punish them. We simply went to play time or a ring around the rosy game. But benny was always excited to go and always wanted to stay and play. I am simply saying that I need to take more time to make sure he gets that interaction and quit worrying about how clean my house is or if dinner is going to be spectacular. I need to just stop breath and say hey it will be there tomorrow. Today we are going to the park.
I have learned a great deal about my self and the kind of mom I want to be. I want to read more books to them and play more games. I want to let my kitchen floor get sticky from glue and glitter. I want to have more fun chats with other moms while our kids play in the back ground. I especially want Benny and Caleb to always be able to say, "My mom and Dad taught me that". And when the time comes for them to leave and go to school. I can say we had so much fun together. I know that they know I love them and will still be here when they get home.