I said it. That "d" word. DISCIPLINE. This is our children's education I'm talking about here. If I sluff off, they suffer in the long run - being less prepared for real life and its challenges.
I'm doing more with Blossom3 this year. She LOVES school, as did all my girls at that age. They were just dyin' to learn to read. Prior to Monday, I thought that if I spent more time doing preschool with Blossom3, I'd actually spend less time trying to occupy her and convince her that we'd do some schoolwork later. Thus far, that has entirely proved to be true. She's very content to occupy herself with toys and such wherever I decree, because she's happy that her turn is plenty long and she gets lots of learning time with Mommy. She has big plans for this year. She believes that if she learns to read, she can start her Kindergarten stuff... that's what she keeps telling people anyway. I think we'll just take it one day at a time.
And Blossom4... you can guess what she's doing the whole time. She's learning to play in a designated area. She's never been a big toy baby-child. Household items and sisters' belongings have always held much more appeal for her. So, I'm striving for balance. I strongly believe in free play AND I believe in learning to obey for the benefit for the entire family. Peeling her off of the top of her sister's lampstand is necessary because climbing on that distracts the family. There are other harmless exploratory type of plays that she can perform quietly. We're making progress there.
I wasn't dreading another year and I'm still not dreading it. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be here. It's a privilege, not a burden. That being said, I have been really, really tired by the time bedtime rolls around.
Blessings,
Dominique
