Summer "School"

I just need to rant for a minute.

Every day, my boys practice writing their names, and do some handwriting practice. Then Little Munchkin practices counting, sight words, and cutting. Big Munchkin does math and language work from a workbook.

The other day at the library, they were doing some practice, and a woman told me that I should just let them be kids and play. "Afterall, it's summer vacation!" I smiled, and just went back to helping Little Munchkin with his sight words, but I was pretty peeved. 

My kids have changed homes, parents, and ways of life in the past three months. They are going to new schools this August. That takes a toll on what they learned in school, and how they will learn when they get to school this year. What I am doing is giving just a little extra cushioning to make sure that they are well prepared. 

First of all, the stuff they do amounts to a little under an hour a day, 5 days a week. That's less than one school day a week for the summer. Secondly, kids lose up to 80% of what they learn every school year over the first month of summer vacation. I am just trying to keep a little bit of that in their heads. The rest of the day is filled with playgrounds, legos, arts and crafts, bowling, movies, and the beach. They are having plenty of fun. Lastly, and most astounding to me, since when did it become ok for anyone, but especially a stranger, to criticize a parent IN FRONT OF HER KIDS? 

Seriously, I have no problem with a little friendly advice, but not in front of my kids, and not while I am actively parenting. If you want to come to me later, when they are not around, and give me some advice, I will be open to receiving it, but probably not if you are some random person in the library, or on the street.

This is an active issue. At one Foster Adoptive Parent Association meeting, a foster mom told about how one of her kids threw a huge tantrum in the middle of the store because she wouldn't buy him a toy. As she was taking him out of the store, kicking and screaming, another person came up to her and said "Just buy him the damn toy. Then he will stop." One, that is terrible advice. Two, did you really just undermine that parents authority, in the middle of public, in front of the child? She just said she doesn't reward bad behavior and walked out. I probably would have asked the person how their kids were doing in prison.

End Rant.