You're Only a Kid Once Published by adming - On 04.13 - This post haved 0 komentar

Thank you for using rssforward.com! This service has been made possible by all our customers. In order to provide a sustainable, best of the breed RSS to Email experience, we've chosen to keep this as a paid subscription service. If you are satisfied with your free trial, please sign-up today. Subscriptions without a plan would soon be removed. Thank you!

Today's guest blogger is Frances Ruiz, former lawyer and current stay-at-home mom of two. Enjoy!

My next door neighbor was a school principal and he mentioned that when he interviewed his first grade students and asked them what their favorite part of school was, he almost had the same response every time: "recess". I don't think it's because these students are all lazy bums. I think it is because this is the time they get to relax, play, connect with other children and form long lasting relationships.

School is over and summer is here! The memories I have of my childhood summers (circa. 1975) are all very happy. I was lucky to be sent to wonderful camps, where the main activities were playing games, painting, performing on talent shows, swimming, and simply making friends. The rest of the summer, I remember staying up late, thus waking up late, riding my bike, watching movies at home with my parents (on our VHS) or at the theatre and simply "pass" the time playing with my cousins. We would have water ball fights, play in the rain, chase each other ("tag") or play "tira y tapate" ("dodge ball"). Other days we would invent dramatic plays that my cousin would record in her taping recorder (nope, no video cameras, no itouch those days) and we would listen to ourselves afterwards. Or we would just "camp" in our living room and make our own camping sites by placing blankets on top of chairs or sofas. It was very simple then...and it should be this simple now. I cannot retrieve a memory where my parents would sit in front of me and flash Math cards or ABC cards so I could maintain my academic status once summer was over!

Boy, oh boy, times have changed! I just received an email message alleging that students can lose up to approximately 30% of their skills and knowledge during the summer! They call it "Summer Brain Drain". Ok, so what should I do as a mother? Run to the store and grab any and all products that will help my kids maintain their 90% of skill and knowledge this summer? Instead of going to the pool, stay home and read books about science and math? Prepare the flashcards Mommies, it's going to be a busy summer...NOT.

I understand there are children who need some assistance catching up in the summer what they did not achieve during the school year. My parents had to find a tutor for me to help me with English. Apparently, I was failing... I am also in love with learning and reading. That's why my husband and I read to our kids every night. However, I think that the school year is for studying and summer is for kids to be kids. Childhood is a precious and fragile time for our children. That's why we say "you are a child just once". After childhood, summers are full of summer reading and summer projects...ask any tween or teenager. I want my boys to grow up as well rounded kids. I understand that my duty as a mother is to help them achieve their academic goals as well as develop long lasting relationships and memories. The latter, in my opinion, are best formed during summer "recess" with your family and your friends.

Today, I am who I am because I worked hard in school, but also because summers were spent being a kid. I earned a degree in Law and currently work as a translator so I guess I did learned my ABC's. But, thanks to those summers full of nothing and everything, I have the tools to teach my boys that it is okay to just hang out once in a while; that "chilling" (that's what my boys say when they want to relax) on the sofa watching a program together eating popcorn is a great time to enjoy each other's company; that riding a bike is not only exercise, but also fun; that they can stay up late because their friends are over and thus, wake up late (and giving Mom and Dad an extra hour of sleep in the morning).

It's a simple solution for your child to feel like a child while "rebooting" her brain and refreshing it for when school begins in the fall. And if you are still worried your 7 yr. old is not practicing his Math enough this summer simply ask him that if he has $5 and he buys two popsicles at 1.50 each, how much will he spend and how much will he have left? I did this "exercise" with Javier and he excitedly answered: "I'll spend $3.00 and I'll have $2.00 left!" We both had a special moment of pride while we savored our popsicles together in our backyard. Have a great summer!!

26 Jun, 2011

--
Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/ay-mama/2011/06/youre-only-a-kid-once.html
~
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com