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spryngI had a lovely day yesterday.
Cabin Girl had the day off from school -- teacher work day, natch -- and her bestie wouldn't be at the care center, so I gave her the option to stay home if she wanted. The only stipulation was that she couldn't watch TV, play on the Switch, or play on her tablet at all. There was a little teeth gnashing, in which I reminded her that she could go to the center if she really desperately needed to watch stuff, but she finally agreed.
I still had to work, so I was clear that, while I'd take off a little early to hang with her, she had to actually let me work, and that if this overall went fine, she would have the option to stay home in the future. The center's been increasingly... not great... for the older kids and I've always had a weird feeling about sending an older kid to afterschool care when I work from home. I've been trying to figure out when/how to transition her to just coming home instead, but I also would rather she hang out and play with other kids than stay here and just watch TV. Hence: the stipulation. Hence: this was pretty much an experiment to see how it'd go.
And it went very well, actually. There were a few times she would bug me and I'd remind her I had work to do, but I somehow ended up being more productive than usual. Probably because I had a little buddy to remind me to stay on task so I could skive off later. She came with me to my crossfit workout in the morning and did a good job staying out of the danger zones and she's seemed curious in general to try it out, too. Somebody else brought their 9 week old baby (!!) with them, which made me feel a little better about bringing my kiddo.
After turning in the last-minute compliance request that had thrown me through a loop that morning (seriously, asking for something big like that during CU Week?? I'm gonna be traveling, fools), I did indeed skive off.
We walked to the library together--well, she scooted halfway on her new scooter. She's outgrown the toddler scooter she got when we moved here and so for her birthday, I got her one her size. The only problem is, all the bigger kid scooters are two wheels only, versus the more stable three for toddlers. So it's a little more difficult to use and balance, but after some frustration this weekend, she's been persisting and getting better and better at it. I've seen how some of her friends deal with learning new skills and the inherent frustration, and even, honestly, how she's occasionally dealt with it in the past, but despite struggling she stuck with it and I have to admit to a bit of Proud Parent Feels (TM).
She picked out two books, helped me pick out books for her brother (planes, trains, and... snakes in trucks, lol), and then we scooted home. It was absolutely gorgeous outside, one of those Florida autumn days that just makes all the awful, sticky hot summer days worth it.
Then with our last chunk of time, we allowed some screen time and we played Skyward Sword together until Dr Lady came home with Toddler.
Even then, CG happily ate the tacos I made and then we spent an entire hour reading the book she'd picked out before she turned on the star night light and said good night*.
Seven years old, huh.
I'll take it.
*Right up until last week she needed us to stay in the room with her until she fell asleep. I finally had the genius idea to ask if it was because the darkness scared her, she said yes, so I got her this little astronaut-shaped star projector that fills the ceiling with pinpricks of light. It took one night for her to adjust to and now she doesn't need us to stay anymore. Absolutely magic.
Cabin Girl had the day off from school -- teacher work day, natch -- and her bestie wouldn't be at the care center, so I gave her the option to stay home if she wanted. The only stipulation was that she couldn't watch TV, play on the Switch, or play on her tablet at all. There was a little teeth gnashing, in which I reminded her that she could go to the center if she really desperately needed to watch stuff, but she finally agreed.
I still had to work, so I was clear that, while I'd take off a little early to hang with her, she had to actually let me work, and that if this overall went fine, she would have the option to stay home in the future. The center's been increasingly... not great... for the older kids and I've always had a weird feeling about sending an older kid to afterschool care when I work from home. I've been trying to figure out when/how to transition her to just coming home instead, but I also would rather she hang out and play with other kids than stay here and just watch TV. Hence: the stipulation. Hence: this was pretty much an experiment to see how it'd go.
And it went very well, actually. There were a few times she would bug me and I'd remind her I had work to do, but I somehow ended up being more productive than usual. Probably because I had a little buddy to remind me to stay on task so I could skive off later. She came with me to my crossfit workout in the morning and did a good job staying out of the danger zones and she's seemed curious in general to try it out, too. Somebody else brought their 9 week old baby (!!) with them, which made me feel a little better about bringing my kiddo.
After turning in the last-minute compliance request that had thrown me through a loop that morning (seriously, asking for something big like that during CU Week?? I'm gonna be traveling, fools), I did indeed skive off.
We walked to the library together--well, she scooted halfway on her new scooter. She's outgrown the toddler scooter she got when we moved here and so for her birthday, I got her one her size. The only problem is, all the bigger kid scooters are two wheels only, versus the more stable three for toddlers. So it's a little more difficult to use and balance, but after some frustration this weekend, she's been persisting and getting better and better at it. I've seen how some of her friends deal with learning new skills and the inherent frustration, and even, honestly, how she's occasionally dealt with it in the past, but despite struggling she stuck with it and I have to admit to a bit of Proud Parent Feels (TM).
She picked out two books, helped me pick out books for her brother (planes, trains, and... snakes in trucks, lol), and then we scooted home. It was absolutely gorgeous outside, one of those Florida autumn days that just makes all the awful, sticky hot summer days worth it.
Then with our last chunk of time, we allowed some screen time and we played Skyward Sword together until Dr Lady came home with Toddler.
Even then, CG happily ate the tacos I made and then we spent an entire hour reading the book she'd picked out before she turned on the star night light and said good night*.
Seven years old, huh.
I'll take it.
*Right up until last week she needed us to stay in the room with her until she fell asleep. I finally had the genius idea to ask if it was because the darkness scared her, she said yes, so I got her this little astronaut-shaped star projector that fills the ceiling with pinpricks of light. It took one night for her to adjust to and now she doesn't need us to stay anymore. Absolutely magic.
