It wasn't perfect. Some of the lines she had to follow were kind of curvy and she didn't go all the way around loops and things like that. I just praised her effort. After all, it was her first homework and, to me, the road we travel can sometimes be more important than the destination.
I put the homework in her folder to be turned in. When I picked her up, I checked the folder and the homework was re-done with a crayon. All of it. Not just the parts that were less-than-perfect. There was a note on the homework that said:
"Please do your homework with your mom. Please use a crayon."
I asked the teacher what happened and she told me they are to use crayons. Nowhere on the paper did it say that. I asked her if she told Ellie that and she said no, that it was "just how they do it" at their school. I asked if it was in the handbook and I had missed it and she said no. I guess Ellie and I are supposed to be mind readers?
So, I asked her (because I really wanted to seal my position as "THAT Mom" as early as possible in the year), "Did you really make her sit down and re-do this because she used a pen?" and she said "Yes". I asked her if she thought that was excessive and she said "If you don't want me correcting her anymore, I won't".
I tried to explain that it wasn't the correcting I had a problem with. I can totally see why they would possibly help her to re-do the ones she had trouble with. I tried to re-phrase it and she just did not get why I was raising an eyebrow at it.
I know it isn't a HUGE deal but this is one of a series of events so far this year that has led me to the conclusion that this school is not a good match for her (or me!).
It's not that it is a bad school, it's not, it's just that their philosophy is not jiving with how I would like Ellie to experience preschool. I want her to learn something....and that is to learn to love school. To learn to love learning. Not to learn that everything she does needs to be perfect. Or to learn that there is one path to a destination.
I met with Lucas' preschool director and they very much want to have her there. She spoke with me at length this morning about the issues I had.
Best of all, I don't think I would ever NEED to be "THAT mom" at this preschool.
Happy Happy Joy Joy, back to school all over again :/
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1 comments:
Wow! The teacher needs to know that Michael Angelo, Pablo Picasso did not colour or work 'within the lines', nor did a very succesful scrapbooker I know!
Winston Churchill couldn't read or write--or hold a crayon--and failed 6th grade and so did Albert Einstein!
For "THAT Mum"
Churchill said: 'Don't be content with things as they are. The earth is yours and the fulness therof.'
Eleanor Roosevelt said: 'A woman is like a tea bag--you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.'
--and for Ellie: Great job for doing your very first "homework" and for doing it in your own unique style! You are a genius in my book!
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