My kindergartener came home on Friday with her first homework assignment. That’s why I found myself resisting the urge to run to her school on Monday afternoon. Let me explain.
Though my daughter was eager to do her homework, she wasn’t exactly keen on my idea of putting her finished assignment in her bag so she would remember to take it on Monday. She insisted that she wanted to carry it separately. (It was a small brown paper bag in which she was supposed to put three items that helped describe her interests.) As you might guess, she forgot the bag.
My son was the first notice the bag in the back of the van. My first thought was to take the bag to school for her. My second thought was that I had an opportunity to teach my daughter an important lesson.
I compromised by emailing her teacher and letting her know that I was letting my daughter suffer the consequences of forgetting her homework.
Fortunately, my daughter got over her disappointment. It turned out the teacher extended the deadline by a day. Even better, I have a feeling next time she’ll remember her homework.
Though it was hard at the time to let her suffer the consequences, I know that the end result will be worth it. Learning to be responsible is a hard lesson to learn, but it’s worth the effort.