Time for 5
July 24, 2011
'Lava girl'
At the end of last term Tim and I made the decision to pull 5 year old out of pre-school for the rest of the year.
I am looking forward to having this special time with her….
It wasn’t a decision we made lightly. She has a powerhouse personality which usually leaves whoever is with her feeling simultaneously cheerful about the world and completely ready for a nap. So this will be the me over the next 6 months until she heads off to big school.
A couple of things prompted our decision:
- her big/loud personality and size means her self control needs some particular training ….
- I have neglected, and want to address, some of the areas of Christian teaching with her that the other girls had before they went to school.
- she gets extremely tired from spending full days with other little people leading to a very slow day following her two days of pre-school. The other two days I have been looking after another child so it has left us with very little relating time.
- I wanted some days with her alone before she (my baby) goes off to school full time…. to do fun things and to get her impulsiveness a bit more in check.
- she wearies quickly from physical activity, so a little physical training will not go astray.
- we decided at the beginning of this year that she would be better with an extra year at home (May birthday) …so she is now in lots of ways very ready to be in big school…. and preschool isn’t really filling that need .
Some of the things that will change for me because of this decision are:
- my ‘free’ days when I did most of my harrysdesk work will now be spent with her….so I am feeling my way as to how much I can get done at night now my day hours are needed elsewhere.
- blogging regularity and content will change slightly as I gauge what I can and can’t do give a different schedule.
- I will be looking out for ‘home education’ type activities for her…. and maybe sharing those.
- my availability for certain things will change….. more time for the park and visiting …..less time for purely adult conversations during the day (although not impossible)
- less head-space time…. so pray for me (if you do that kind of thing) I am finding myself becoming more and more introverted as I get older.
So…. there it is.
harrysdesk 
Sounds like a really well thought out decision guys. I’m sure you and 5 will get a lot of joy out of your bonding time. xoxo Nomes
That’s a really lovely post Ally. I’ve been thinking about my last 6 months with madam G at home and even though she loves preschool and it’s all good there I feel encouraged by your post to think carefully through what I want to do with her and for her before i send her off to biggie.
Thanks Ally – beautiful wisdom and other person centred-ness. Praying that God will give you strength and joy and refreshment in the measures they are needed.
When I first read ‘time for 5’ I thought something else 😉 … But sounds like a very thoughtful plan, and will pray for your head-space and everybody’s favourite big, loud, impulsive five-year-old. 🙂
Ali, I wondered who would be drawn in by that ‘provocative’ title. Now all we need to do is put the plan into action.
Ally
Good. On. You! We did the same last year with our ‘spirited’ daughter and now she is in Kinder I still feel as though she would benefit from being at home more.
Hope it goes well for you & that your plans for her come through. Stock up on the coffee and chocolate!
Cath, I am sure I will feel many days after she starts school that I haven’t finished training her…and that she was still home with me.
Good tip about the chocolate and coffee!
Ally
So, you have me wondering what are the things I should teach my daughter before she goes to school that you did the older ones? Please don’t keep us in suspense!
Caroline,
I think a big one is that just because others are doing something or saying something doesn’t make it right.
….Obedience to adults.
….Not to repay unkindness with unkindness.
….Inclusiveness
….Gentleness
….. Self Control
Patience…….
…also to rely on HIm throughout the day…when things aren’t going the way she wants.
Pretty much what I want generally for my girls. (Fruit of the Spirit stuff.) I just feel like I haven’t had the time/energy to train her in these things that I had with the other girls.
This sounds like she is a real shocker!
She’s not.
It’s just that because she is loud and big when she fails to do these things it is on full display….. I am concerned that she will quickly get thought of as a ‘naughty’ kid….. and that’s a pretty hard reputation to loose.
In short, how do we keep those delightful parts of her precocious personality and not crush it, but help her to know when and how to reel it in when required.
……. all in just 6 months….. not likely! I am sure this will be an ongoing training process that continues way past the start of kinder!
Quieter kids (like you have) need to be trained in the same areas I think….. what do you reckon? What have I left out?
Ally
Hooray for you! I hope it goes really well.