Days Off

Our calendar in action

I am trying something new for the remainder of December.  I am letting Sebastian decide when to have "days off" from school. We have a large calendar in the dining room that we use for calendar and weather time everyday, so I showed him two "No School" cards.  I stuck one on Sunday since we didn't do anything on Sunday and I handed him the other card.  I explained to him that five days out of the week we will be doing some school work, but that he can put that "No School" on any day and that will be our next day off.  I also explained to him that next week he can choose any two days he likes, and that there are special days where he doesn't have to say No School, that he will just automatically get of (i.e. Christmas). He liked this idea. 

He chose to have today off from school (although he did go to Tae Kwon Do and I count that as Physical Education). I explained to him that it is fine to have a day off today, but then that means he has to do some school work the rest of this week, and even on Saturday too. He said it was okay and now he is quietly playing with some blocks and being very pleasant. 

I will see how this goes.  I think that by giving him some decisions about his schooling he will become more responsible and understanding of his time "at school." Some days he doesn't want to do anything, but most days he loves reading and playing our math games. He especially enjoys any crafts that include cutting and gluing (although his gluing skills need some work). I have noticed when his Daddy is home he puts up a little bit more of a fuss to do his school work, but that is probably because he would rather be watching Digimon with his Daddy.  Maybe this choose-you-own-destiny approach I am undertaking will make him rethink when he takes his time off. 

In any case, it should be fun to see how this turns out. Wish me luck!